That's right—it wasn't him who should die, it was the system!
Shano had been holding it in for a long time!
The most frustrating part of this crappy system… was that it wouldn't show the point value and identification comments until after a successful sacrifice.
He hadn't been around at the time, and just assumed that thing was a regular old autographed photo—probably not worth much.
Who would've thought it held such important meaning to Tashigi?
He had a pretty good impression of that sword-obsessed girl from the manga. She and Smoker were both part of the Navy who actually stuck to their own sense of justice.
Now, through a strange twist of fate, even though she wasn't that close with Smoker yet, she had already become one of his loyal fangirls.
That alone was enough to stir a rare twinge of guilt in his conscience.
He needed to make it up to her properly!
After a bit of thought, he had a plan in mind.
He quietly got up and headed to the first floor. From his backpack inventory, he took out a bamboo sword, signed his name on it, and handed it to the female shopkeeper.
"Could you please hold onto this for me? When that Navy girl comes back, give it to her. Tell her I'm keeping her photo as a memento, and this sword is something I've used for years in training—this is my gift in return. I hope she treasures it."
"No problem at all! That girl already told me to keep an eye out. You can leave it to me!"
The shopkeeper accepted it with a beaming smile.
Only then did Shano feel at ease. He returned to his window-side seat on the second floor and resumed eating with gusto.
That should be enough to make things right with Tashigi, right?
As for where the bamboo sword came from…
He'd picked it up years ago on a whim from the trading market. It was dirt cheap, so he bought it as a keepsake and left it in his backpack, barely touching it since.
Now, it was finally being put to good use—
[Lake Toya from Sakata Gintoki]
[Type: Equipment]
[Value: 30 Points]
[Description: A completely ordinary mass-produced wooden sword, bought by Sakata Gintoki during a TV shopping segment for 1000 yen (including shipping).]
[Seller's Note: After staking out the closet in Yorozuya for three days and nights, I finally got my chance! Huh? Why does the closet next to it seem like someone's in there too?]
...
After lunch, it was already past 1 p.m.
The view from the second floor was excellent—they could see the entire plaza, including the execution platform.
So no one was in a hurry to leave. They just sat quietly by the window, enjoying the rainy scenery.
"Huh? That's weird…"
Nojiko furrowed her brows. "The rain's getting heavier, but the number of people in the plaza isn't going down—it's actually increasing?"
Everyone else noticed it too.
Looking across the plaza—
More and more people were gathering toward the execution platform.
Many of them were armed, burly, and covered in scars—clearly not your average townsfolk.
"Wasn't it around this time, eighteen years ago, when Roger was executed?" Zeff guessed. "During this period, a lot of pirates come to Loguetown to pay homage. It's not strange if they've all shown up today."
"And the island's security being lax doesn't help either. That Captain Smoker guy still hasn't returned, right?"
Kuina shrugged and added, "I heard when he's around, pirates are terrified to step foot here for fear of being caught. But now, most of the marines have been reassigned to the docks to welcome some big-shot, so the pirates on the island feel no pressure and have started gathering on their own."
Shano glanced over the crowd, scanning the scene. Seeing no familiar faces, he withdrew his gaze.
His reason for coming to Loguetown had always been the execution platform itself.
These small fry… as long as they didn't cause trouble, he couldn't be bothered to deal with them.
Of course—
If these pirates didn't know their place, and started looting or hurting civilians while Smoker was away—
Then they couldn't blame him for showing no mercy.
"Say, Captain…"
"Hm?"
Shano turned to the speaker.
It was Kuina.
She looked like she'd been holding something back for a long time, and the sound of the rain had finally stirred her thoughts. After some hesitation, she couldn't hold it in any longer:
"It's been a while now, and I realized—you've never really told us, have you? What your dream is, the reason you went to sea in the first place?"
Her curiosity was understandable.
The wind that carries a boy chasing his dream… is more precious than gold.
Shano was eighteen this year. By all rights, he should be in the prime of youth, full of hopes and dreams.
And he had said a lot about dreams—like how he would take her around the world to challenge swordmasters and become the world's greatest swordsman…
Or how he would help Zeff achieve his lifelong dream of finding the sea of cooks, All Blue…
He even said, since Nami had made a bold declaration to map the entire world, then as her big brother, he'd make sure she could pull it off…
All the dreams of his crew, this man had taken onto his own shoulders.
But—he'd never once talked about his own dream, what he himself wanted to chase as a captain!
Nami, Nojiko, Zeff… even Silver turned to look at Shano.
They were all just as curious—and had been for a while.
Under their collective gaze—
Shano shrugged, picked up his cup of post-meal tea, and took a sip.
"Dreams, huh… I've always felt they're something that change with time."
He looked at Nami and Nojiko and said with a smile, "Back when I was a kid, all I wanted was to make these two mischievous brats accept me as their big brother—that was my dream back then."
"Later, that dream changed to protecting my family. To become strong, very strong—so strong that no pirate in the East Blue could stand up to me!"
"And now?! Don't try to dodge the question, Captain!"
Kuina stared into his eyes. "You've already achieved those goals, haven't you? So what is your dream now? In the future—what are you chasing?"
My dream now, huh…
Shano fell silent for a long moment.
He turned his head slightly and looked out the window, through the curtain of rain, at the execution platform.
After eighteen years of wind, rain, and sun, it still stood tall, facing the sea.
The square was still crowded with people, just like it had been eighteen years ago. For a moment, he almost thought he saw that kneeling man, laughing wildly even as he awaited execution.
"He who had wealth, fame, and power—the man who had everything in this world: the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Before he died, he said something that sent the whole world out to sea—"
"You want my treasure?"
"If you want it… you can have it. Go find it! I left everything I had in that place!"
...
Eighteen years ago—
Afflicted with an incurable disease, the Pirate King Roger surrendered to the marines after one final drink with Whitebeard beneath the cherry blossoms.
Right before his execution, he shouted those words to the world.
And so, the Great Pirate Era began.
Now, eighteen years had passed. The seas had grown more chaotic, more unstable. More and more pirates had set sail.
And yet… nothing seemed to have changed.
The Celestial Dragons and the World Government still stood above all, looking down on the people. The common folk were still caught between heavenly tributes and pirate plundering, living in silent misery.
What was everyone waiting for?
What had Roger really seen on Laugh Tale, that made him laugh so freely in the end?
Was it really all just to wait for that prophesied child from 800 years ago?
Wait six more years for him to become white-haired and laugh like a lunatic regardless of the situation—just to overthrow this shitty old order?
To hell with this bloodline and destiny crap!
Shano wasn't buying it!!!
"…Since you're all so curious, I might as well tell you now. My dream…"
He glanced around at the table, grinned slightly, and just as he was about to speak—
BOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion from a cannon tore through the curtain of rain, blasting in their ears!