South Blue. Baterilla Island.
An ordinary island with no special products, no fame, no important geographical position.
In the vast ocean, there were islands as numerous as stars.
There was no powerful government or nation on this island. Only a small town with a population of merely a few thousand.
Islands like this were relatively isolated from the outside world and rarely received foreign ships.
But one had to admit, as long as there were no pirates or other criminal gangs causing trouble, living here was quite safe.
Yet on such an inconspicuous little island, a truly significant figure now hid.
Pirate King Gol D. Roger!
Once, while sailing in the South Blue, he'd met a woman here named Portgas D. Rouge.
The reason they'd met was because Roger had discovered that the woman's name contained a 'D'.
This had made him curious. And curiosity was often the beginning of falling in love.
Rouge was a remarkably beautiful woman. Perhaps she didn't possess any great strength, but her character was both strong and gentle simultaneously.
It was here that Roger had met the person he loved.
That's right. He and Rouge had fallen in love.
But for a man like Roger, love had never bound his hands and feet.
After staying briefly, Roger had still chosen to head toward the vast ocean.
And Rouge had promised Roger she would wait for him to return.
This wait had lasted many years.
Fortunately, Roger had finally returned. Unfortunately, he'd been diagnosed with a terminal illness and hadn't much time left.
Even so, Rouge still loved Roger deeply. The two of them lived in seclusion on this island.
There was only a small town on Baterilla Island. Few people, isolated from news, low education level. Not many could read, so they didn't bother with newspapers.
It could even be said the News Coos were too lazy to visit.
Though some people on the island had heard of Pirate King Roger, such matters had little to do with these country folk. Rather than study that, they'd prefer thinking about where to fish tomorrow.
Additionally, after going into seclusion, Roger didn't carry himself with the bearing of a great figure like the Pirate King. He wasn't conspicuous at all. So he'd lived in seclusion here undiscovered for two years.
When Roger had left the New World, he'd also taken some treasures with him, so food and clothing weren't problems.
However, to better integrate into Baterilla's environment, Rouge had her own ideas.
So Roger and his wife didn't simply idle away on the island.
Rouge would embroider handkerchiefs, scarves, and other items daily, entrusting Roger to sell them for modest income.
Roger actually enjoyed this, experiencing ordinary life.
At this moment, in Baterilla's port, Roger sat among a group of vendors, chatting and joking with them. Before him was a stall displaying Rouge's handicrafts.
"Hey, Roje, you look like a strong man, but why are you selling women's items here all day? Why not go fishing with me tomorrow? You can make much more money there!" a fishmonger said.
After hearing this, Roger said with a look of disdain, "Don't underestimate these, alright? These are all made by my beloved wife. There are no finer handkerchiefs and scarves in the entire world. It's only because you're all poor that I sell them cheaply. If you went to Seabody Archipelago, you couldn't take a single scarf from my wife without millions of Berries. Just be grateful."
"Hahahahaha!" The vendors around all burst into laughter.
This guy Roje might not be good at other things, but he was excellent at bragging.
Roger also started laughing, but as he laughed, he began coughing. His face turned red and pale alternately, and he covered his mouth with his hand.
When his breathing stabilized, he looked at his palm and saw blood.
"Are you alright, Roje?" another vendor asked.
Roger wiped the blood onto scrap paper at his feet, smiled, and waved his hand. "Nothing, nothing. Just an old problem..."
Yes, an old problem. Just getting worse.
Now, forget about exerting full strength. He'd probably be out of breath after fighting for three to five minutes.
When he'd been at sea before, Roger had never feared his illness, even though it was an incurable terminal disease.
He could face impending death calmly.
This was the basic requirement for being a great pirate. If you feared death, why go to sea?
But after coming to Baterilla and living in seclusion with Rouge, he'd begun to vaguely fear death.
What he feared wasn't his own death, but what would happen to Rouge after he died.
"Warship? Is that a Marine warship? It's so big! This is the first time I've seen such a large ship!" "A warship in the South Blue can't be that big. It should be the legendary Marine Headquarters warship, right?"
Just as Roger was contemplating these messy thoughts, a commotion suddenly erupted in the port.
Hearing the noise, Roger turned his head toward the harbor. Sure enough, an enormous warship was slowly entering port.
"Marines? Are they here for me?" Roger thought with surprise.
After all, Baterilla Island was deserted. Not to mention Headquarters warships, even South Blue branch warships were rarely seen throughout the year.
But seeing there was only one warship, he concluded it wasn't coming for him.
There was no reason for the Marines to know he was here, so how would they dare send only one warship to cause trouble?
Looking at the warship, then at the bloodstains on the scrap paper at his feet, Roger sighed and thought to himself, Perhaps the time really has come. Even if I'm reluctant, I should leave...
Thinking this, Roger said to the vendors around him, "I'm really not feeling well. Coughing up blood again. I'm going home to rest. You guys keep chatting."
"Alright, get well soon, Roje," the vendors all said with smiles.
It was nothing unusual. Everyone knew Roje had poor health and often went home early like this.
After packing his things, Roger shouldered his bundle, turned and left the small market at the port, heading home.
At the same time, the warship's gangway slowly lowered. Finn and Stussy descended from the ship together.
Doberman served as acting commander, guarding the warship.
"This?" Stussy stood at the harbor and looked around the island.
Nothing surprising. So ordinary it couldn't be more ordinary. Looking at the surprised expressions of the people at the port, you could tell they weren't very worldly.
"Finn, is Roger really here?" Stussy asked in disbelief.
After their intimate encounters, Stussy's manner of addressing Finn had changed slightly. No longer so formal, she simply called him Finn directly.
Finn smiled. "The impossible often happens right before our eyes."
"I hope it's true. What should we do? Are you really not planning to call for support from Marine Headquarters?" Stussy nodded, then asked with some concern.
"That's not necessary," Finn shook his head.
Stussy wanted to say more, but seeing Finn remained unmoved, she finally fell silent.
This man was excellent in every way, except he was a bit arrogant, wasn't he?
She remembered when she'd first met him, he'd been like this...
But judging from the Marines' reputation, he wasn't such a blindly arrogant person. What was going on?
Still, she'd already boarded Finn's ship and couldn't disembark now. What's more, she still had some confidence in Finn. Though his actions were always unexpected, in the end, it seemed he could achieve his goals?
"Blockade the port. No one is permitted to enter or leave Baterilla Island until I give the order. Haven't those guys from the South Blue branch arrived yet?" Finn asked the Marine captain beside him.
The Marine captain first responded to Finn's order, then said, "South Blue Branch 307 and Branch 329, totaling ten South Blue standard warships and three thousand personnel, have arrived near these waters and are en route."
Though Finn hadn't planned to call for Headquarters support, manipulating the South Blue Marines to create momentum wasn't problematic. With his status, who in the South Blue branches would dare disobey his orders?
They were all rushing this direction, but due to inferior warship quality, their speed was merely adequate.
"Tell them they don't need to land on the island. Just blockade the waters around Baterilla Island and cooperate with our Headquarters operations," Finn ordered.
"Yes, Vice Admiral," the Marine captain responded.
Finn said nothing more, but stood at the harbor and waited briefly. A middle-aged man, surrounded by several people, approached nervously, accompanied by a Marine lieutenant.
As soon as the middle-aged man reached Finn, he quickly said, "Sir, we're all good citizens."
Finn remained expressionless and asked seriously, "Are you the head of this town?"
"I'm the mayor..." the man said cautiously.
"Don't be nervous. We're the righteous Marines. As long as you haven't done anything illegal, we won't make things difficult for you," Finn said with a smile.
The man also breathed a sigh of relief. He truly was a decent man and had never done anything too terrible in his life!
Very honest. At most, he just bullied poor people in the town occasionally.
"Sir, do you need our cooperation with any work?" the mayor asked quickly.
"Well, have there been any suspicious individuals on the island in the past two years?" Finn asked.
The mayor looked stunned momentarily, then shook his head. "No suspicious individuals."
Finn waved to Stussy standing beside him. Stussy handed him Roger's bounty poster.
Finn handed the bounty poster to the mayor. "Think carefully before you answer, otherwise this won't be just your problem."
The mayor was shocked. How could this Marine change his attitude faster than flipping a page?
But he didn't dare be careless. He quickly took the bounty poster and looked. Pirate King Gol D. Roger?
Bounty of 5,564,800,000 Berries?
What did this mean?
Did this Marine commander think such a significant figure would hide in their little place?
Was he joking?
As mayor, he was one of the few "superior people" on this island.
And it just so happened that Roger hated associating with "superior people" most. He was just a street vendor here, so the mayor genuinely didn't recognize Roger.
"Is he among the people on this island?" Finn asked.
"There shouldn't be... No, how could such a significant figure be in a place like ours?" the mayor said quickly.
Finn sighed and slapped the mayor across the face, knocking him to the ground.
"Useless fool! The whole town only has a few thousand people, and you can't even recognize them all. How can you be mayor? You're just collecting salary for doing nothing," Finn said with disgust.
Then, pointing to several vendors at the harbor, he said, "Go bring those people to me."
Soon, several Marines brought the vendors over. They were nearly frightened to death because they'd just witnessed this Marine big shot slap the mayor unconscious...
Why were they being summoned? Were they going to be executed?
"Sir, we've never broken the law..." a vendor cried out quickly.
Finn tossed the bounty poster over. "Look. Is there anyone on the island who resembles this person?"
"Hmm?" The vendor took one look and said, "It's Roje! Definitely him!"
"Roje?" Finn smiled. It seemed Roger really was on this island.
Stussy beside him also showed a hint of surprise and excitement. He really is here!
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