Accompanied by the sound of wings beating, the Seagull King carrying a live-broadcast Den Den Mushi flew straight into the sky, looking down over the entirety of Marineford and the newly added islands, smoke of gunpowder lingering, the atmosphere of war seeping deep into people's hearts.
And Orin, holding a pen of a strange design, snapped his fingers as if by magic, and a leaf appeared out of nowhere,
Zoan-type Devil Fruit · Mythical Beast, Tanuki Form.
"It really wasn't for nothing that I spent so many years collecting so many Devil Fruits—finally they're being put to use~"
Using Vegapunk's technology, he successfully found it, and then fed it to a fountain pen.
Under ultra-fine Observation Haki, the image of a long-nosed, imposing old man leapt vividly onto the paper,
"Although I've never seen him with my own eyes, this should be pretty much what he looks like~"
"Come on, let me see it!!! The ability of the awakened Tanuki Fruit!!!"
Along with a wave of physical weakness, Orin's trench coat whipped wildly in the wind, his long hair dancing as a cloud of smoke rose before his eyes.
"Well… it really feels like I've slept for a long time…"
Accompanied by a hoarse yet powerful voice, the figure of an old man slowly emerged from the smoke.
This was the ability of the awakened Tanuki Fruit—by drawing upon the power of people's thoughts throughout the world, or the images held in their minds, it could materialize the person being imagined.
In other words, the better you understand the person you draw, the more familiar you are with them, and the more people in the world remember them, the fuller and more vivid the portion of their soul reflected back into reality from the underworld becomes.
That's right—the underworld that people go to after death truly exists.
Brook once relied on the power of a Devil Fruit to return to reality from there.
The Roger before them now was not completely the real person, but he was almost no different.
His upper limit of strength depended on the user, and he could not be maintained for long,
"but this is already enough."
Orin's expression grew complicated as he slowly stepped forward, his long hair fluttering, a brief moment of hesitation,
"Long time no see, Captain Roger."
As if hearing his name being called, the old man with the figure-eight mustache bared his teeth in a grin and turned his head to look at Orin,
"Oh!!!"
"Isn't this Orin? You've grown this big already!!!"
"And me… I've turned into an old geezer too, huh…"
Orin walked alongside Captain Roger. The two strolled through the battlefield filled with flying shells, and Orin patiently explained the current situation to him.
"So that's how it is—I've been dead for twenty years already…"
"Ace, huh… he actually got taken in as a son by that Whitebeard???"
"What? And he was even taken in as a grandson by Garp?!!!"
"That old bastard!!!"
Even though his soul had long since sunk into oblivion and was only briefly reflected in the living world, Roger still ground his teeth in anger. Even in old age, he hadn't lost his childlike temper.
Meanwhile, Red the Aloof, who had been lingering on the fringes of the battlefield not far from Orin, noticed him.
And when he saw the old man beside Orin, his brain seemed to stop functioning for a moment,
"You are…?!!!"
"Red the Aloof, huh? Hahahahahaha—you've become an old man too!!!"
"Roger?!!!"
Even the Red the Aloof, who had witnessed countless storms and upheavals over the years, found himself doubting reality at this moment, shock uncontrollably spreading across his aged, gaunt face.
He stood there, stunned, but Orin and the other man did not stop walking, continuing forward.
"Since I finally made it back, I should go see some old friends~"
"Hey!!! Buggy, I'm over here!!!"
"Orin???"
Buggy, who had already been searching everywhere for Orin, was overjoyed when he saw him and flew over with his feet left behind on the ground.
But when he saw the old man next to Orin, he froze for a moment,
"Orin, who is this old man… is, is…"
As Buggy spoke, the familiar feeling grew stronger and stronger, until he couldn't even speak anymore, his eyeballs bulging from their sockets, tears and snot streaming down his face, mouth wide open and unable to close,
"You… you… you are…"
"You are…"
Buggy completely broke down, his face smeared with tears and snot,
"Captain Roger!!!!"
Buggy hugged Roger tightly, his eyes locked onto the old man's bold, smiling face,
"It's me. You've grown this big too, Buggy!!!"
"Aaaaaah~!!!"
Buggy cried nonstop, mouth stretched wide—far more exaggerated than Luffy when he saw Sabo.
Orin's eyes reddened slightly, but with the broadcast about to go live, he chose to warp his tears away.
He grabbed the Den Den Mushi and pulled the view back from the bird's-eye shot of the battlefield,
"No matter how the times change, no matter how one monster after another appears on the seas, and no matter how new characters continue to emerge in pirate history, there has only ever been one person known as the Pirate King…"
"So everyone has probably already guessed who will be making an appearance in the Marineford War next, right?"
On the screen, Orin's face still carried traces of excitement and anticipation, and the viewers watching were likewise guessing wildly in their hearts,
"The Pirate King???"
"Yeah, it can't possibly be…"
"Could it be… really???!!!"
Countless people felt their own guesses were absurd, yet as they looked at that legendary man, that man who represented an entire era, and the certainty in his eyes,
…
Countless hearts began to waver and doubt,
You're kidding…
Something like this…
How could it really happen???
Those who had guessed it at this moment had their eyes bulging, standing there dumbfounded.
And the figure that slowly appeared on the screen unintentionally shattered the worldview of the entire world.
They saw a white-haired old man with a figure-eight mustache, smiling boldly and baring a mouthful of gleaming white teeth,
"Is this a Den Den Mushi broadcasting live to the whole world???"
"Hahahahaha… hello~ world, I am… Gol D. Roger!!!"
A brief silence followed.
Countless people watching the screen felt as if their breathing had stopped entirely.
Whether it was the Four Seas, Paradise, or the New World, everyone who saw this scene—everyone who saw that smiling old man—stood frozen in place.
Especially at the Sabaody Archipelago,
"Clatter…"
A shabby old man wearing a white cloak and drinking from a bottle of fine liquor let the bottle fall straight to the ground, yet he seemed not to notice at all, his eyes locked onto that carefree smile on the screen, his eye rims turning red, tears as big as beans rolling down.
Lines spoken long ago seemed to echo in his ears once more,
"I'll never die."
Is it really you, Roger?
Wasn't your body cremated by Orin back then?
Thinking of Orin, Rayleigh felt a wave of daze wash over him,
Was this your doing as well?
...
I recommend checking out my new Pokémon fanfic, "Pokémon System: Me, the Strongest Champion of the League"! It features a system that isn't overpowered, keeping the story balanced and engaging. The main character isn't Ash, but an original, cool MC, which makes it even more enjoyable to read. I'd love to hear your feedback!