Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

The final island isn't actually that mysterious, but there's a sense of familiarity about it for many people, which is quite magical.

Because they don't come from the same place; most of the crew members come from different sea areas.

It includes the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and even Fishman Island.

Even Rayleigh, who was usually very knowledgeable, was somewhat surprised by the different plants on the island.

Unlike the others, Roger started running around the island as soon as the ship docked, sometimes touching plants on the east side of the island, sometimes looking for animals on the west side.

"Roger, what exactly did you discover?"

Rayleigh asked curiously. Roger, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly stood up and let out a long howl.

Rayleigh, this truly is the final island!

"Haven't you noticed? This is the very center of the world!"

Roger laughed wildly.

He should have thought of that.

According to the nautical chart, the final island of the Grand Line is also the starting point of the Grand Line.

Theoretically, this place is not far from Upside Down Mountain.

But Roger discovered something far more important than Upside Down.

Rayleigh, this should be the highest point in the entire world, but look here.

Roger held a broken rock in his hand, which contained some fossilized shells.

Rayleigh took the stone from Roger's hand, somewhat puzzled.

He couldn't understand why Roger had such a fascinated look in his eyes at this ordinary stone.

Kozuki Oden and the others didn't quite understand either.

Roger cleared his throat and said mysteriously:

The continent beneath our feet may have been underwater a long time ago.

"So there are fossilized shells in the rocks here, but this is the highest point of the Red Earth, so theoretically there shouldn't be any shells here."

Upon hearing Roger's words, the fishman Sambell also suddenly became interested and picked up the stone.

If it were something from the sea, no one would know more about it than the fish-men. But upon seeing the seashell on the right, even the fish-man Sambell showed a look of surprise.

"Captain Roger, this seems to be a type of shellfish unique to the South China Sea."

It is said that many years ago, this type of shellfish was on the verge of extinction. Today, only a small number of them can be found in the deep waters of the South China Sea, and even their fossils are rare.

After hearing Sambel's words, Roger instructed the crew to search the island for other types of seashells. Before long, everyone discovered something unusual. The ship's doctor, Crocus, pointed to a magical plant and said to Roger, "This is a plant from the North Sea. It is a very rare medicinal herb."

Pomcro held a huge rock in his hand, on which was a complete fossilized fish:

"Captain, I've found this."

The others also brought different plant and marine fossils and placed them in front of Roger. After carefully examining all the collected samples, Roger finally learned the secret of the final island.

"Ladies and gentlemen, based on what I have, I can confirm that this place was once a place where the four seas met, and countless different marine species and rare plants from different climates grew here."

If nothing unexpected happens, this place was once an ocean.

Rayleigh found it hard to accept, but when he thought about the existence of the Red Line, he felt relieved.

"Roger, this is the product of rock movement, isn't it?"

In the world of One Piece, there is no concept of crust; Rayleigh imagined it as something similar to islands rising due to volcanic eruptions.

But Roger firmly shook his head.

"No, Rayleigh, you might not understand what I'm saying."

What I mean is, the world was once a vast ocean, and this island was right in the very center of that ocean.

After some unknown event, the sea level dropped dramatically, causing the final island and the Red Line to emerge from the sea surface. The continued drop in sea level eventually made the Red Line an insurmountable landmass.

Roger was actually very interested in the formation of the Red Line.

In particular, he had seen many seashells embedded in rocks on the Red Line. At that time, Roger did not connect all of this. After all, no one would believe that the Red Line, which is thousands of meters high, was once the sea.

If Roger's conjecture is true, then there may be no other islands in this world besides the Sky Islands that can float on the sea.

Now all the islands will be submerged by the sea.

Suddenly, Roger seemed to remember something and gasped.

That's right, he thought of the world's most noble people, the Celestial Dragons!

He didn't understand why the Celestial Dragons lived in Pangaea City on the Red Line, but now he seemed to understand something.

If the world were to be struck by another catastrophe like a great flood, perhaps only Pangaea on the Red Line would be spared. Furthermore, the Celestial Dragons' strange attire has always been a source of confusion.

According to their own words, it was a special piece of equipment chosen to avoid breathing the same air as the untouchables, but from this perspective, it looks like a diving suit.

Furthermore, there is strong evidence to support the reason why the World Nobles do not eat Devil Fruits: the Celestial Dragons know that this world has been submerged by seawater before, and they are certain that such a situation of seawater submerging the world will occur again, so they do not eat Devil Fruits.

Because those who eat Devil Fruits will be hated by the sea and become unable to swim. If you knew about this disaster, most people wouldn't choose to eat those Devil Fruits, even though they could provide great power.

So when Roger told his crew everything he had guessed, everyone was stunned.

They couldn't believe their ears. If these words hadn't come from Roger's mouth, they would have attacked without hesitation if it had been someone else, because the other person was definitely lying to them.

But looking at Roger's resolute face and the various pieces of evidence laid out around them, they opened their mouths, but couldn't utter a single word.

Roger, should we tell the world about this secret?

Rayleigh was somewhat worried.

He found the outcome hard to accept, but since it had happened, he had to consider its potential consequences.

Roger now knows the secret that the Celestial Dragons have always kept, and their survival will certainly be very difficult from now on.

Roger laughed heartily:

"It's alright, Rayleigh. Secrets like this are destined to be exposed, but I won't reveal them now, because the timing isn't right."

Upon reaching the final island, Roger used his special abilities to hear a voice that seemed to come from destiny.

From the message that was delivered, Roger learned a sad thing.

He is not a vessel of fate.

In other words, Roger arrived more than a decade earlier than Joy Boy in his destiny.

However, this does not mean that Roger was the wrong choice in this matter. On the contrary, without Roger's arrival, no one in the world would have ever thought of exploring the final island.

Before Roger, the goal of all pirates was to conquer the world and become a world-ruling overlord.

Just like the former dominant force, the Rocks Pirates,

But ever since Roger, everyone has set sail for the legendary One Piece, and everyone's goal is to become the Pirate King and obtain the One Piece!

This included Joy Boy's question: "So what do we do next?"

Crocus sat on the ground, seemingly unconcerned, and asked.

He was originally an unambitious doctor, and if it weren't for Roger and Rayleigh's enthusiastic invitation, he would still be living a carefree life as the lighthouse keeper in Gemini.

Roger smiled broadly:

"Hahahaha, brothers, we've found the ultimate secret of this world! Doesn't that deserve a drink?!"

"Let's have a banquet! Let's have a banquet!!!"

Everyone was taken aback, but they quickly realized what was going on. Although it was different from what they had all expected, it was undeniably quite interesting.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the Roger Pirates members, who love to throw parties everywhere.

The crew rushed off the ship, unloading countless bottles of rum. They were going to drink as much of this liquor as they could on the way!

"Hahahaha, really, he fooled everyone."

"If I could say this to outsiders, I would really say that Joy Boy is a master at getting people."

The crew members took large gulps of rum and chug them down their throats.

They didn't really care what kind of being Joy Boy was in the prophecy, but the fact that they hadn't found the great treasure did leave them speechless.

However, after a few bottles of rum, they forgot about it.

Singing the pirates' songs, everyone reminisced about their journey.

There were bitter memories, happy moments, and all sorts of wonderful journeys. Perhaps this is the courage that made them willing to persevere to the final island.

Roger looked at the jubilant crowd around him and raised his glass:

Guys, Joey Boy, that bastard, messed with me, but I still really want to meet him.

Unfortunately, my illness can't last much longer. If you all survive, please remember to help me see what kind of people these days are called "Yiboyi" (a derogatory term for people who raise Yiboyi).

Then Roger's face broke into a proud smile. "No matter how great a man Joy Boy may be, this era belongs to Gol D. Roger!"

Hearing Roger's boasting, the crew erupted in even more fervent emotion.

The pirate life is all about indulging in the feeling of happiness, what they call freedom. Roger, drunk, stood up, slashed the island with the sword Ace in his hand, and said:

"Brothers, I've decided to name this island."

"To commemorate our conquest of this island, which had remained untouched for eight hundred years, I decided to name it."

"Laugh Tale!!!"

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

The news of the Roger Pirates' successful arrival at the final island spread like wildfire across the world after they left Laugh Tale.

Even with the World Government and the Five Elders' desperate efforts to suppress it, they ultimately failed to do so.

Countless newspapers, large and small, around the world were shocked by this news after learning the truth!

Ignoring the orders of the World Government, they immediately distributed countless newspapers to all parts of the world.

Newsbirds were flying everywhere in the sky.

They are tasked with delivering the news, and at their speed, they will reach inhabited islands around the world within a week.

Countless people saw this shocking news in the newspapers distributed by Newsbird:

"Hey, hey, hey, how could this be real!"

My goodness, there are actually people in this world who can do that.

"The Roger Pirates, what kind of pirate crew could accomplish the feat of circumnavigating the world?"

"I really want to join the Roger Pirates. I wonder what their recruitment requirements are?"

Besides the ignorant masses, forces around the world, both overt and covert, also received this world-shaking message, and countless secret locations were discussing it:

"Has another world conqueror emerged after the Rocks Pirates?"

I don't think the title of "World Overlord" is enough for the Roger Pirates. I believe he fully deserves the title of "Pirate King"!

You're right. On the entire ocean, if there's one person who truly deserves the title of Pirate King, it can only be Gol D. Roger!

On this day, the whole world was shocked by the incredible feat of the Roger Pirates!

Countless people, filled with awe, fear, longing, and resentment, silently watched this pirate crew that made the world tremble.

At Marineford, sirens blared continuously.

This wasn't an attack on headquarters, but rather a sign that they were about to face an unprecedentedly powerful adversary.

All officers and soldiers in this unit must be prepared for combat so that they can be dispatched from the Marshal's office at any time.

At the same time, headquarters issued a summons.

Officers patrolling the seas and the Grand Line, except for those who had to guard certain areas, all officers of general rank and above, including elite soldiers, quickly converged on headquarters.

They had to be fully prepared before they knew the Roger Pirates' next orders.

Even if the Roger Pirates don't make any moves, the Navy can't let them grow too powerful!

Marshal Kong massaged his temples, looking at the newspaper with a helpless expression.

Roger became the Pirate King at a very unfortunate time. If he had waited a few more years, he would have become the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy as a perfect Marine Commander.

Because of Roger, the World Government cannot allow him to leave the Navy until he is dealt with.

Sengoku walked into the office with a serious expression, carrying a pile of files.

"The Air Force Master has issued a summons to the Four Seas Branch as planned. Here is the personnel information and schedule. In addition, as you requested, I have announced another expansion of the soldier force."

He sighed in vain.

"That's all we can do for now. Have a seat, Sengoku. Things haven't gotten that bad yet."