"Hope?"
Hearing those two words, Shiki first looked stunned. Then he laughed without the slightest attempt to hide his mockery.
"How ridiculous. You're actually placing your hope for changing the world on a pirate?"
Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper was not afraid at all. Instead, he asked in return, "At least in the history I know, only Captain Yemu has ever dared to say such things openly. What about everyone else? The Marines, pirates, even the Pirate King Roger. What have they done?"
This time, Shiki was genuinely surprised.
"Wasn't Roger the one who changed the world? This Great Pirate Era was started by him."
"What does that have to do with ordinary people like us? All I see is pirates hurting this world!"
The shopkeeper's question left Shiki momentarily silent.
In his way of thinking, he had never once looked at things from the perspective of the world's ordinary people.
His sharp gaze fixed on the clothing store owner in front of him, then shifted to the two beautiful attendants whose faces had gone pale with fear.
Only after a long while did he slowly say, "These jewels are yours. Are my clothes ready?"
"Yes… Yes, they're ready…"
Only then did the shopkeeper come back to his senses and realize how many things he had just said in the heat of the moment that he never should have said.
At that moment, all he wanted was to send this customer away as quickly as possible.
...
In the world of ice and snow, Shiki controlled his body and floated upward, flying into the sky above Loguetown.
He looked down at the town below and gazed at the towering execution platform. Recalling the clothing store owner's words, he muttered to himself, "Do you see this, Roger? The so-called Great Pirate Era you stirred up before your death is this laughable in the eyes of ordinary people."
Of course, Shiki was not someone who cared about the lives or thoughts of ordinary people. But being able to use those words to mock Roger was enough to satisfy him.
After saying that, Shiki did not stay in Loguetown for long. He controlled his body and flew straight toward the sea.
Not long after he left Loguetown, new newspapers were delivered to the town by News Coos, shaking the world.
"Big News: The legendary great pirate Shiki the Golden Lion escaped from Impel Down yesterday!"
Aside from that, there were no other details reported.
...
It took only a day and a half for Shiki to travel from the East Blue to the New World, to an island called Totorola.
This was an island Shiki kept floating in the sky with his own ability. It was also his pirate ship. As long as Shiki did not die, this island would float in the sky forever.
Although he had already learned from the conversation between Yemu and Sengoku in Impel Down that his Aerial Fleet had been completely purged by the Marines and the World Government, when he returned here and saw the island's lonely few survivors, the veins on his forehead still bulged with anger.
His arrival naturally drew the attention of the people on the island.
A man dressed like a clown, whose footsteps made strange pu-pu-pu sounds, and an animal that looked like a gorilla rushed over happily with tears in their eyes.
"Boss Shiki…"
"Woo, woo, woo…"
Aside from them, there were only a number of small fries.
Seeing this, Shiki asked with an ugly expression, "Dr. Indigo, Scarlet, are you two the only ones left?"
The two froze. Dr. Indigo's comical face rarely looked so serious, and anger showed in his expression as he said, "After you charged into Marine Headquarters alone, Boss, the Marines and the World Government began purging us. Everyone in the fleet except Barobar was either captured or killed. Only Scarlet and I stayed here and escaped disaster. As for Barobar…"
Dr. Indigo was about to continue, but Shiki angrily waved a hand and cut him off.
"Don't mention Barobar's name again!"
Dr. Indigo and Scarlet both froze, then looked at each other in confusion.
"That brat Barobar was a traitor to our pirate crew. He was a spy planted by the World Government at my side."
"What? So that's it. Our intelligence… No wonder. That bastard…"
As the ship's doctor and Shiki's strategist, Dr. Indigo instantly understood many things, his face filled with anger. Scarlet the gorilla pounded his chest furiously as well.
Shiki did not pay much attention to them. Instead, he looked at the small fries who had remained and asked, "How many people are left in our Aerial Fleet now?"
"Uh… Fewer than ten… fewer than ten who can still fight. After you were captured, Boss, the rest all went out to sea…"
As for what happened to them, it went without saying.
In an instant, Shiki's rage surged.
"Are you kidding me? I spent decades building this up, the power I would use to rule the world, and it all vanished just like that?"
At that moment, revenge was the only thing on Shiki's mind. But looking at the few small fries left under him, he asked unwillingly, "Dr. Indigo, how long do you think it would take for our Aerial Fleet to return to its former strength?"
"Well…"
Dr. Indigo looked around.
"At least fifteen years. And that's if everything goes smoothly."
At this point, as if worried Shiki would not understand, Dr. Indigo explained, "After you were captured, Boss, all our territories in the New World were divided up. Right now, we have no source of income at all. And because of Roger, the situation in the New World is extremely complicated now, with many new rookies appearing. If we want to recover our former strength, the price we'll have to pay will probably be several times greater than before."
"Fifteen years…"
Shiki clenched his fists tightly.
He was already fifty-five. In another fifteen years, he would be seventy.
"Seventy…"
Although Shiki's body was as strong as a monster's, seventy was still an age where even he would have to admit he was growing old.
"Damn it…"
He could already feel that his dream of once again ruling this sea was slipping away from him.
Now, he could not even take revenge on the Marines and the World Government.
"Damn it!"
For a great man like him, this was the most tragic and unacceptable thing of all.
Seeing his boss so furious and unwilling to accept it, Dr. Indigo looked helpless. After thinking for a moment, he tried to comfort him.
"It's fine, Boss Shiki. There must be a way. Our dream can definitely still come true."
But Shiki ignored him and said with a dark expression, "Pack up. We're going to visit an old friend first."
"Huh? Who?"
"Who else but Newgate?"
"White… Whitebeard? Why?"
That answer startled Dr. Indigo.
"What? Are you scared?"
"Of course not. I'm just curious why you want to go, Boss."
"I just want the answer to a question. Only after I get that answer can I throw myself fully into a duel."
"A duel!"