Chapter 362: Loguetown
The date was now April 5th, Year 1496 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Charlotte had been sailing the East Blue for an entire year.
He had visited Foosha Village, then Shimotsuki Village, and even made a stop at Cocoyasi Village.
Nearly every place the main cast would eventually visit—Charlotte had already walked those roads.
Along the way, he encountered many people.
Like Shimotsuki Kozaburo, the famed swordsmith.
Unfortunately, the elderly man didn't give Charlotte much attention, his hair already snow-white with age.
But his son, Shimotsuki Koshiro, showed great interest in Charlotte.
Upon meeting him, he immediately drew his Wado Ichimonji and challenged Charlotte.
The result?
Charlotte's daughter, Esdeath, defeated him handily—Charlotte didn't even need to lift a finger.
Esdeath was absolutely thrilled.
At sixteen, she had reached the level of a swordmaster by the age of fourteen.
But she'd been starved for worthy opponents.
To think that in the quiet East Blue, she'd actually found a young swordsman with skill!
Koshiro was even more excited than she was.
They dueled for an entire day and night, but Esdeath's skills still reigned supreme.
After losing, Koshiro handled it terribly.
Perhaps unable to accept being beaten by a woman, he vanished from sight and never appeared before Charlotte again.
Charlotte didn't bother wasting time with him.
This was someone who, in the original story, looked down on women—yet had been defeated by Charlotte's daughter.
Charlotte didn't have much patience for that kind of man.
Having completed his quick tour through the East Blue,
the Rockefeller Pirates arrived at Loguetown, their final stop before heading to the Grand Line.
Standing before this now-insignificant town—
destined to become infamous for the execution of Gol D. Roger—
Charlotte felt a wave of emotion.
If nothing went wrong, Roger would be executed here two years from now.
Come to think of it, Charlotte had only ever met Roger once.
It was twelve years ago, at the God Valley Incident,
and even then, they didn't exchange blows.
Okay, fine—Charlotte admitted it.
Back then, when facing Roger, he chickened out.
He still felt guilty about it.
After all, he had been the first to betray Rocks,
which eventually caused the whole crew to fall apart.
"Captain! We need to resupply!"
Barrett came walking over and said, looking at the harbor ahead.
Charlotte nodded.
"Alright. But be careful on the island. There's a Marine base here."
That warning wasn't really for Barrett—
but rather for the group of brats, like Robert, who were clearly itching to cause trouble.
"Got it, Dad! We won't cause any trouble!"
Robert and Deidara chorused.
Charlotte rolled his eyes.
Their promises were as reliable as a fart in the wind.
The ship docked.
"Let's go," Charlotte said as he led the crew into Loguetown.
At that very moment, the town had already received word that the Rockefeller Pirates had arrived.
"What do I do? What do I do?! They're here!
Should I fight for justice—or hide and wait until they leave?!"
The Loguetown colonel was pacing frantically in his office.
"Sir, I think we should pretend we didn't see anything.
That's the Rockefeller Pirates we're talking about.
Even Navy HQ doesn't dare provoke them."
The major beside him offered his advice.
The colonel stared at his subordinate.
"…You're right. We'll pretend we saw nothing!"
And with that, a public notice was issued:
"Due to a sudden illness, Colonel of Loguetown is under emergency medical care.
All stationed Marines are to return to base immediately to prevent unforeseen incidents!"
This statement shocked those in the know.
Many civilians angrily shouted at the Marines for being cowards.
By now, the Rockefeller Pirates were no longer the unknown group they once were.
With Charlotte's constant travels and Morgans spreading news like wildfire,
his influence in the four seas probably exceeded even Roger's.
Unless Roger was executed,
Charlotte would forever overshadow him in notoriety within the Blue Seas.
Charlotte walked to the town square of Loguetown.
It was still a quiet place,
with nothing but a fountain gently flowing in the center.
"No one could have guessed that in two years…
this very spot would cause the entire world to erupt."
There wasn't much to look at.
Seeing not even a single Marine in sight, Charlotte shook his head.
"The Marines are getting more useless…"
But then again, it made sense.
Most Marines were now in the New World, fighting for territory against Golden Lion Shiki.
After that naval battle that nearly wiped out the Flying Pirates,
the Marines wouldn't pass up such an opportunity to reclaim bases across the New World.
As for the Four Blues?
They didn't care.
Even if the unpredictable Rockefeller Pirates were still roaming around,
they figured it was fine.
After all, Charlotte had been in the Blues for nearly six years now—
and hadn't done anything outrageous.
He was so quiet, it was hard to believe he was even a pirate.
Though recently, rumor had it that Roger's crew had returned to the Grand Line.
Their motives? Unknown.
But Vice Admiral Garp had already been dispatched to pursue them.
Charlotte aimlessly wandered through the streets of Loguetown.
Unaware…
That his sons were already up to no good.
---
"Robert! Look—a casino! Should we check it out?"
Deidara pointed at a building down the street.
Robert's eyes lit up.
Outside the casino, two bunny girls were cheerfully trying to lure in customers.
"A casino?! We haven't been to one before!
Let's go take a look!"
"Yeah!"
The two of them walked over, arms around each other's shoulders.
Seeing this, the rest of their brothers followed.
Their dad had said not to get separated.
"Hey there, little brothers!
Looking to get rich overnight?
Come to Bartolomeo's Casino—we'll make your dreams come true!"
As they got closer,
the sweet voice of the bunny girl made Robert and the others blush furiously.
"Oh! A group of little princes!
Why don't you come in and play a game or two?"
The bunny girls had already noticed them and practically sparkled with excitement.
After all, Robert and his brothers were dressed in high-end clothes,
clearly children of the rich.
To seasoned bunny girls, these kinds of boys were gold mines.
Without wasting a second, they ushered them inside.
---
"Robert! Do you even have any money?"
Deidara whispered as they were led in.
Robert proudly raised his chin.
"I've saved up lots of allowance!
Just watch me dominate the table!"
He didn't bother to keep his voice down.
The nearby bunny girls' eyes lit up instantly.
They were going to bleed these little nobles dry.
To be continued…
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