The Curtain Rises 5

Chapter 71 The Curtain Rises (Part 5)

On the day of execution, below the execution platform.

Countless people crowded into the temporary square, making it extremely crowded.

The dark figures were densely packed, like countless ants surrounding a nest, gazing up at the tall execution platform.

At this moment, the sky was clear and the weather was fine.

However, an inexplicable sense of oppression and tension seemed to hang over the sky above the town of Rogue.

Despite the large number of people in the square, it wasn't noisy at all; everyone waited solemnly for the appearance of the Pirate King.

Suzuki was also in the audience at that moment.

He calmly turned his head and glanced at the crowd around him, spotting several familiar figures, each one interesting and destined to make waves on the high seas!

Doflamingo, who seemed to feel that being crowded with the crowd would be an insult to his former status as a Celestial Dragon, was hiding in a dark alley and leaning against the wall.

The flamingo was still wearing its pink top and red sunglasses. Its expression was subtle; unlike the others who were serious, it pretended to be relaxed and watching the show, with a slight smile on its lips.

"Tsk, still too young..."

Seeing that this flamingo had clearly not yet grown into the future dark world boss Joker, Suzuki withdrew his gaze and looked in other directions.

Crocodile, who confronted Doflamingo yesterday, is now standing silently at the back of the crowd, a cigar still dangling from his mouth, his deep gaze fixed on the currently empty execution platform.

At the same time, a huge, strangely-looking man stood not far away. He was none other than Gecko Moria, who would also become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea in the future!

His face still wore that wicked expression.

At this time, Gecko Moria was not as obese as he would be twenty years later. Now, his body was full of strong muscles, which, combined with his tall stature, made him appear extremely robust.

Moria was born in the West Blue and is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user with the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, but Suzuki did not encounter him when he went to the West Blue.

Otherwise, given Suzuki's strength at that time, it would have been quite difficult for him to defeat Gecko Moria, who is still very passionate and energetic.

Of course, Suzuki today is not the same as it used to be.

Even though Moria is currently in a period of rapid growth in strength, he still can hardly pose any threat to Suzuki. Once Suzuki gets ahead of him, he will never be able to see Suzuki's back again.

However, Suzuki knew that there were far more than just these three future powerhouses who came to Loguetown to witness the execution of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King!

He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at a man in a green robe to his side.

This is—Monkey D. Dragon!

This vice admiral, who has not yet resigned from the Navy, is the strongest among the crowd currently gathered below the stage awaiting Roger's execution!

Moreover, not only now, but even in the future, Monkey D. Dragon will be one of the top powerhouses on the high seas.

The son of naval hero Garp, and the father of future protagonist Luffy.

And the leader of the revolutionary army that is about to be created!

Regardless of which identity he held, Suzuki took it extremely seriously.

Just as Suzuki was giving Monkey D. Dragon a quick look, Dragon seemed to sense the gaze he was being observed.

He turned his head and saw Suzuki staring right at him.

Dragon's eyes narrowed slightly as he openly observed Suzuki, who was wearing a black trench coat.

Within a few seconds, both of them had roughly assessed each other's strength.

Suzuki quickly withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly to the future leader of the Revolutionary Army.

He offered a greeting, then smiled gently before turning back to look at the other interesting figures worth noting.

Dragon was also constantly pondering and guessing Suzuki's identity.

When did another powerful and mysterious expert appear in the East China Sea?

Or did they come from the Grand Line?

However, Monkey D. Dragon quickly put his thoughts aside, though he couldn't figure out Suzuki's identity or why he was being stared at by him for no apparent reason.

But Long is very confident in his abilities, and he is confident that he can easily deal with both enemies and friends.

At this moment, Suzuki looked at Shanks and Buggy standing together.

This was the first time in over a year that he had seen an old acquaintance from Roger's pirate crew.

When Rayleigh was teaching him, he was also learning alongside Shanks and Buggy.

However, whenever these two get together, they always start arguing for no reason, and then they end up leaving the training area while arguing.

Back then, Shanks and Bucky seemed carefree.

Under the care of the many elders in Roger's Pirates, he lived a happy and joyful life every day.

However, the Roger Pirates had already disbanded long before, and Shanks and Buggy would probably have to rely on themselves to survive and grow from then on.

Suzuki noticed that, unusually, the two of them were together but didn't argue like they usually do.

At this moment, Shanks' face was filled with sorrow, as if he could not believe that his most beloved and admired captain was about to face death.

Shanks is not very old yet, only fourteen years old.

Coincidentally, the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, whom Suzuki met in the ninja world, is also fourteen years old now.

However, although they were the same age, Shanks was clearly not as mature as Minato Namikaze at this time.

After all, although the world of One Piece is also full of killing, the lives of children are much better than those in the ninja world, and they can retain a lot of their innocence.

Suzuki then looked at Buggy, who was standing next to Shanks.

Compared to Shanks, Bucky appeared even more sorrowful, with tears welling up in his eyes.

Bucky may look like a clown, but he is more charismatic than Shanks.

Suzuki knew this very well from the banquet.

In some ways, Suzuki's attention to Buggy was almost as much as his attention to Shanks.

Even though the two seem to be mismatched in terms of talent and future strength, Bucky's miraculous physique is clearly worth noting.

Although they were acquaintances, Suzuki did not bother Shanks and Buggy.

They are already immersed in grief, and even greater grief is yet to come.

Suzuki doesn't mind things like expressing gratitude, but his personality is clearly not suited to comforting others.

Soon, Suzuki also stopped looking around and turned around to look behind him.

Just as he observed others with great interest.

Behind Suzuki, the future world's greatest swordsman, Djorak Mihawk, was also sizing him up.

(End of this chapter)