Chapter 697: Buggy's truth! Luffy and Ace's Promise! (End of the arc)
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Chapter Events:
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[We thought you were merely just another nameless pirate…]
[But Buggy the Clown, you were actually once a member of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger's crew!!!]
The announcement from the Marine shocked everyone in that moment.
"EHHH!?"
"WHAAAT!!?"
All the escaped prisoners were stunned as well. Buggy froze after hearing that:
"How did they know…!!?"
[It's impressive that a man like you has managed to stay off our radar for this long. Hiding under the surface only to show yourself at this time?]
The Marine seemed to commend Buggy in that moment.
[We haven't found a connection between you and Fire Fist Ace, but we're certain that your objective is the same as Strawhat Luffy: To rescue Ace.]
[We've also confirmed that over 200 prisoners are on that ship, including Jimbei, Crocodile, and Ivankov…!!!]
[Let me warn you now. If we don't open the gates of justice at Marineford, you won't be able to leave the Tri-current!!]
[There is nowhere for you to escape to, and no way for you to survive…!!! That's all…]
After saying that, the Marine intended to cut off the communication, but Luffy interrupted them: "Hey!! Wait, Marines!!!"
"I'm going to save Ace!!! So you just wash some potatoes and wait!!!"
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Oro Jackson:
"Haaaa!!! Finally! The great truth! Revealed in detail!"
Buggy's mouth hung open as he saw his full truth revealed in this manner in the manga.
"Hahaha! It seems the author plans to give you a cloak that doesn't fit you to wear, Buggy." Rayleigh laughed before commenting.
"What do you mean by a cloak that doesn't fit me, Rayleigh-san? Aren't I already a member of the Pirate King's crew?" Buggy exclaimed.
"Haha, what Rayleigh-san means is that your counterpart in the manga is so weak that he can bear this bad reputation." Shanks joined the conversation.
"That's reasonable… But Buggy… Your counterpart is truly cunning, it seems the prisoners you freed believe that you are really powerful! Hahaha!" The same goes for Gaban.
"He even aspires to become the Pirate King! Hahaha!"
"Not content with just the Yonko title! Hahaha!"
"So, is Buggy going to participate in the Summit War? Shahaha! That would be entertaining!"
"Kohohoho! I wonder how Whitebeard's expression will be now that he knows a member of the Pirate King's crew is targeting his head!"
"He'll definitely run from the war upon seeing Buggy! Hahaha!"
More Roger pirates joined in the teasing and fun about Buggy.
Seeing this, Buggy became more and more depressed. "I'll become stronger than Shanks's counterpar!!!" he shouted with all his might, catching Rayleigh's and the others' attention who fell silent.
Rayleigh smiled after hearing that, "That's the spirit, boy. In the Pirate King's crew, there shouldn't be any weak trainees."
…
Wano Country:
"Gurararara! So this little clown wants to take my head too?" Whitebeard laughed while reading this scene before the volume's conclusion.
Buggy was thinking about how to exploit the over 200 prisoners he freed to build his own reputation and power, a power that could bring him glory… Then by taking the head of an old Yonko like Whitebeard, he would take his place as an Emperor… No, perhaps even more than that, he might become the Pirate King.
These were Buggy's daydreams that all readers around the world found ridiculous and illogical.
Well… They'll all get slapped in the future.
"Don't mind him, Oyaji! He's just a weak fool… As Teach said, people's dreams never end, Zehahah-" Marco grabbed his mouth after he repeated Teach's laughter contagiously.
The rest of the crew looked at Marco strangely embarrassed at this moment.
"Gurarara! Indeed, people's dreams never end… As for my counterpart, he has already achieved all his dreams, it won't make any difference if he leaves the stage and leaves the field to the youngsters to compete for their dreams."
It seemed that Whitebeard realized something from this volume that no one else did...
"I just wish Ace had the chance to compete with these youngsters and not end his journey like mine…"
Newgate's gaze contained a hint of sadness and pity as he looked at the last scene in the volume.
Ace ascended the stairs to the execution platform.
…
Back to Oro Jackson,
Roger and his wife emerged from the art store on the ship's deck, sadness looming over them due to the last scene in the volume.
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[Marine Headquarters, High Noon]
"Three hours until the execution… Take the prisoner to the execution site!!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku ordered.
…
"Up the stairs…" One of the executioners accompanying Ace said.
"…" Ace's expression was grim… At this moment, childhood memories began to surface in his mind.
The stairs he was climbing seemed unbelievably long, as if they were taking him to the sky.
("Listen Luffy… We are definitely going to live without regrets!!!")
("Yeah!!")
These were memories from when they were children.
…
"Stop."
"We're opening the door."
The executioner halted Ace to allow him to open the door leading to the execution platform.
The door swung open, bringing with it sunlight.
…
("Someday will go to sea!! We'll live the way we want!!")
("Freer than anybody!!!")
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"These are Ace's words to Luffy when they were children, aren't they?"
Roger lit a cigar he had taken from Rob earlier, pondering.
"Mm," Rouge nodded with heavy emotions.
This final scene was very heavy on her heart; she couldn't bear to see Ace lose his dreams like this.
"He just wanted to be free…" she said.
"But the current result is completely contrary to those words and promises, Ace lost his freedom… and may lose his life..." Roger smiled a helpless smile.
The crew wanted to welcome back their captain, but they fell silent upon sensing the aura of the Conqueror Haki that caused the sky to collapse and the clouds to gather at this moment.
"My son just wanted to be freer than anyone else…"
"Is the Marines, the World Government, and Blackbeard ready to repay the debt of destroying my son's dream?"
The smile on the Pirate King's face seemed terribly ominous... undoubtedly, if Sengoku and Garp were present and saw this familiar smile, they would warn everyone nearby to flee as quickly as possible.
Because this smile meant only one thing.
Someone was going to die, and that someone certainly wasn't Roger.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 681: Rob's Impression of the Last Chapters of One Piece! (Part 1)
Chapter 682: Rob's Impression of the Last Chapters of One Piece! (Part 2)
Chapter 683: Descent of the Planets! Naruto Shippuden again!
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BlackStar_BH:
Finally, this arc has over!
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