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Logue Town isn't the kind of place you would normally consider coming to. The heavy marine presence on an island that is only loosely tied to the World Government makes it a low priority for your work, but the constant pirates trying to move through makes it too dangerous for a pleasure visit.
No, the only reason you're here is because your boss insisted.
He was very cagey about it, saying he 'had some business there' and nothing else. And every time you asked since, he blew you off, staring into the distance the way he does sometimes.
So that's how you find yourself wandering cobblestone streets, alone, with your hat pulled down low. There's not high chances you'll be recognised, but it's better not to invite that kind of risk. Not that it would be the end of the world if you were recognised. You know how to disappear into a crowd, but it would make life significantly more difficult.
So you meander, trying to look like any other tourist off to see the execution platform where Gold Roger died. There's something about it that calls to you. It's not that this is where one of the world's most reviled men was killed: you know intimately how the world government uses propaganda and creative journaling to control the narrative. It's not even about what Roger must have seen at the end of the world, what knowledge he must have gained. There's just something about it, something magnetic.
Maybe it's just you. As you look around the square, you notice how busy it is. There's people everywhere. Families, friends meeting up, tourists gawking like yourself, strange figures covered head to toe in thick cloaks.
As you watch, a kid comes running in, following a hat that's been snatched by the wind.
That's magnetic, too.
It's an old straw hat, but lovingly cared for. You can tell this kid really treasures his hat by the way he picks it up and gently brushes it off. Then he plops it straight on his head and runs off into the square.
You know how suspicious staring can be, so you force yourself to look away. Idly, you wonder where your boss has ended up. You determinedly don't think about what he could be up to, because there's got to be a reason he didn't tell you.
By the time your eyes are indubitably drawn back to the kid, he's somehow gotten on top of the execution platform and is looking out across the square.
You wonder wgat he sees up there, and if it's anything like what Roger saw, over twenty years ago. Other people start to notice, and a murmur starts up through the crowd.
You think about leaving, about getting out before whatever is going to happen happens. Instead, you just pull back into the wall a little more, suppressing your haki signature as much as you can.
Once the show begins, you are glad you did. Because the strangers take off their cloaks and that's Buggy the clown. He's only a small time pirate but nonetheless someone you've had your eye on.
He seems to have some beef with the kid. Maybe they're rival crews? It doesn't matter, after whatever argument they're having ends with the kids in stockades. "Tell me, Straw Hat, feel honoured? You'll die in the same place as the king of the pirates!"
There's a storm coming, and you have the feeling you're right in the middle of it.
It rolls in quick, with the clown declaring he will publicly execute the Straw Hat kid and a list of made up crimes to fit.
There's some back and forth happening on the platform, but otherwise silence. It's as if the world itself is holding it's breath, waiting. You certainly are.
Then suddenly-
"Listen!" the kid yells, the sound echoing off all the stone. "I'm the man who'll be king of the pirates!"
It takes a while before anyone says anything, too shocked over such a proclamation.
A fight breaks out, between Buggy's crew and two new people who've come for the kid. You're not watching that, you're watching the platform, where Buggy raises his sword up high ready to do the deed.
"Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp," the kid calls out. It doesn't have the same force behind it, but it carries all the same. "Sorry, but, I'm dead."
He smiles a big grin that chills you to the bone. It's not just because of the situation, but there's a familiarity to it, like you should recognise that smile.
The sword comes down.
Lightning strikes.
The execution platform falls at the same time the rain does.
You have no idea how you're going to explain this to your boss, but you know you need to get out before all hell breaks loose.
What you do know is that's the man who'll be the next king of the pirates. He will go where Roger went. He will see what Roger saw. He will bring about a new era. You can only hope it's the kind of era you want. For some reason you think it will be.
-
"Sabo," your boss says when you finally catch up with him later.
"Did you see that kid?" you ask, heart still full with that strange sense of certainty.
"Keep an eye on him," Dragon says, with a very familiar smirk. "He's going to be one to watch."