"So this is it," Luffy breathed, his usual goofy grin replaced by a rare seriousness as he gazed up at the platform. "Where it all began."
Nami felt a strange prickling sensation. The System's interface in her mind flickered.
[Localized Energy Spike Detected: Execution Platform. Historical Resonance: Maximum. Potential for 'Critical Event' catalyst: High.]
Before Nami could process this, Luffy was already moving. "I'm gonna get a closer look!" He started towards the platform, but then paused, noticing a small, unassuming bar tucked away at the edge of the plaza, its sign faded, its windows dusty. It looked ancient. "Hey, Nami, look! Gold Roger's Bar!"
Nami followed his gaze. The sign, barely legible, did indeed proclaim "GOLD ROGER'S BAR - Last Stop Before the Legend."
"Think he really drank here?" Luffy wondered aloud, already heading for the entrance.
Nami, despite a sense of unease about the platform, found her curiosity piqued. "Only one way to find out."
The interior of the bar was dim and quiet, a stark contrast to the bustling plaza outside. It smelled of old wood, stale beer, and something else… a faint, lingering scent of strong tobacco and adventure. A few grizzled old-timers nursed drinks in shadowy corners. Behind the worn wooden counter stood an ancient, wizened man with kind eyes and a face like a weathered sea chart, polishing a glass with a slow, methodical rhythm.
"Welcome," the old man said, his voice raspy with age. "Not many come in here these days looking for more than a cheap drink. Most are too busy staring at that damn platform."
"Is this really where Gold Roger used to drink?" Luffy asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
The old man chuckled, a dry, rustling sound. "That it is, sonny. Drank here many a time, he did. Especially before… well, before." He gestained vaguely towards the plaza. "Used to sit right there," he added, pointing to a specific stool at the bar. "Said the ale here was the only thing strong enough to settle his nerves before a big voyage."
Luffy immediately scrambled onto the indicated stool. Nami took the one beside him, feeling a strange sense of unreality.
"Tell us about him!" Luffy demanded, leaning forward eagerly. "What was he like?"
The old bartender smiled, a distant look in his eyes. "Roger? He was… a force of nature. Laughed louder than anyone, fought harder, dreamed bigger. He had a fire in him, that one. A fire that lit up the world." He paused, then looked at Luffy, truly looked at him. "You remind me of him, a bit, boy. That same wild spark in your eyes."
Luffy beamed. Nami felt a warmth spread through her.
"He offered me a drink once, right before he set off on his final voyage," the old man continued, his voice soft. "Said, 'Have a drink with the future Pirate King, old man! It'll be a story to tell your grandkids!'" He sighed. "I should've taken him up on it." He then picked up a bottle of dark, potent-looking liquor. "Care for a drink on the house? In his memory?"
Luffy grinned. "Thanks, old man, but I don't drink! Nami doesn't either! But we'll take some meat if you have it!"
The old man chuckled again. "No meat, sonny. Just strong drinks and old stories." He then looked at Nami. "You sure, missy? A little something to steel the nerves? This town… it has a way of testing people."
Nami smiled politely. "Thank you, but no. Water would be fine, though."
As the old man poured them water, he continued to share anecdotes about Roger, painting a picture of a man larger than life, fiercely loyal, and utterly free. Nami listened, captivated, trying to reconcile the legendary figure with the man who had plunged the world into the Great Pirate Era.
Meanwhile, across town, Zoro was having a less enlightening experience. He'd found a sword shop, "Arms & Armaments," but the proprietor, a nervous, balding man, seemed more interested in selling him overpriced, gaudy display pieces than functional blades.
"I need katanas," Zoro stated bluntly, Wado Ichimonji resting on his shoulder. "Three of them. Good quality. Sharp. No fancy decorations."
"Ah, yes, a man of taste!" the shopkeeper twittered, gesturing towards a wall of ornate, jewel-encrusted swords. "Might I recommend this exquisite piece, said to have belonged to a Wano nobleman…"
Zoro just grunted, his eye scanning the plainer, more practical-looking blades tucked away in a dusty corner. His gaze fell upon a particularly wicked-looking black katana, its aura feeling… wrong. And another, with a strange, almost cursed feel to it, Sandai Kitetsu. And a plainer, but well-balanced one, Yubashiri. Before he could inquire, the shop door opened and a figure in a Marine uniform stepped inside.
It was a young woman, with dark blue hair cut in a short bob, wearing glasses, and carrying a katana of her own. She exuded an air of stern competence. "Excuse me," she said, her voice crisp. "I'm looking for information on recently stolen Meito. Has anyone tried to sell you any unusual blades?"
It was Tashigi.
Zoro froze. She looked… uncannily like Kuina. His childhood friend and rival. The resemblance was so striking it made his breath catch in his throat.
Tashigi, oblivious, turned her attention to the swords on display, her brow furrowing in disapproval at the gaudier pieces. Her gaze then fell on Wado Ichimonji at Zoro's hip. Her eyes widened.
"That sword…" she breathed, stepping closer. "That's… Wado Ichimonji, isn't it? One of the 21 Great Grade Swords! What is a pirate like you doing with such a magnificent blade?!" Her voice was filled with outrage and a swordsman's reverence.
Zoro just scowled. "None of your damn business, four-eyes."
Tashigi bristled. "A sword like that deserves a worthier owner! Not some common pirate thug!"
Back in the markets, Sanji was in his element, a whirlwind of focused culinary energy. He haggled fiercely but charmingly with fishmongers over the price of giant sea kings, meticulously inspected crates of vibrant fruits and vegetables, and debated the finer points of spice blends with wizened old women who had probably been selling their wares since before Roger was a rookie.
"Non, non, madame!" he'd exclaim, waving a dismissive hand at a slightly bruised tomato. "For my bouillabaisse, I require only the most virginal of produce! Plump, unblemished, bursting with the sun's kiss!"
He managed to acquire an impressive haul: massive sides of beef, crates of exotic fruits Nami would love, sacks of fine flour, rare herbs from distant islands, and a particularly fragrant block of sea-salt-aged cheese. He even found a stall selling live, giant fighting beetles, which he purchased with a grin, knowing Usopp would be thrilled. "A little something for the sniper's morale," he chuckled to himself. His supplies were secured.
At the execution platform, after Luffy and Nami had thanked the old bartender and left Gold Roger's Bar, Luffy couldn't resist any longer. The crowd had thinned somewhat.
"I'm gonna climb it!" he declared, his eyes sparkling with that familiar, reckless light.
"Luffy, no!" Nami protested. "There are Marines everywhere! And it's… disrespectful or something, isn't it?"
But Luffy was already scrambling up the weathered wooden supports of the massive structure with the agility of a monkey, ignoring the gasps and shouts of the remaining onlookers. He reached the top, the very spot where Gold Roger had delivered his final, world-changing words.
He stood there for a moment, gazing out over Loguetown, the wind whipping through his black hair. Then, he threw his head back and yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing across the plaza, "I'M MONKEY D. LUFFY! THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE KING OF THE PIRATES!"
Nami facepalmed, groaning. So much for not causing an international incident.
Marines in the plaza, alerted by the commotion, were already starting to converge, their expressions grim.
And then, chaos erupted from a different direction.
"Well, well, well! Look what we have here!" a familiar, gratingly flamboyant voice cackled. "If it isn't Straw Hat Luffy, making a spectacle of himself! Perfect timing for Captain Buggy's glorious return to the spotlight!"
From a nearby alleyway, Buggy the Clown burst forth, followed by his equally bizarre crew – Mohji the Beast Tamer with his lion Richie, Cabaji the Acrobat, and a motley assortment of sword-wielding, brightly-dressed pirates. Buggy's eyes, however, were fixed on Luffy with a look of pure, murderous glee. He held a pair of stocks in his hands.
"You ruined my plans in Orange Town, Straw Hat!" Buggy shrieked. "But today, Loguetown will witness your pathetic end, right here on this historic stage! Bara Bara Festival!" He threw his disembodied hands, still holding the stocks, towards Luffy.
Luffy, surprised by the sudden appearance of his old nemesis, barely had time to react. Buggy's hands expertly clamped the stocks around Luffy's neck and wrists, trapping him on the execution platform.
"Shishishi! Buggy!" Luffy grinned, unfazed. "Fancy meeting you here!"
"This is no laughing matter, Straw Hat!" Buggy cackled, reassembling himself below the platform. "Prepare to die!"
Nami watched in horror, her blood running cold. Luffy, trapped. Buggy, about to execute him. Marines closing in. The System in her mind was screaming warnings.
[CRITICAL EVENT TRIGGERED: THE EXECUTION OF STRAWHAT LUFFY!]
[THREAT LEVEL: IMMINENT AND CATASTROPHIC!]
[UNNATURAL STORM SIGNATURE DETECTED – RAPIDLY APPROACHING!]
Nami looked up at the sky. The previously clear blue was darkening with an unnatural speed, a sickly green-black tinge spreading from the east. The wind picked up, howling through the plaza, carrying the scent of ozone and… something else. Something ancient and powerful.
"Not on my watch, you damn clown!" Nami snarled, her mind racing, her newly honed instincts screaming. She took a deep breath, centering herself, feeling the power coiling in her limbs, the techniques KF23 had drilled into her for a 'year' snapping into focus.
She launched herself forward, towards the platform, her voice a sharp crack in the rising wind. "Buggy! Get your ridiculously oversized nose away from my captain!"
Buggy turned, a look of surprised annoyance on his face. "Well, if it isn't the little thief girl! What are you going to do, navigate me to death?"
Nami didn't waste words. She closed the distance with a burst of speed that surprised even herself, her footwork precise, her body low. This was it. Her first real fight using what she'd learned.
"Let's see if you find this funny! Koku Arashi Sai! (Black Gale Breaker!)"