"Hurry up!" Wayne's gaze swept over the black dots approaching on the sea. "The navy will seal off this island at any time. We're leaving now!"
"Wait! Loguetown, do you know its exact location?"
Rouge turned to look at the sea, pointing southeast: "Roger said his hometown, Loguetown, is in that direction, but it's a bit far. We likely won't make it in time by boat."
"Boat? We don't need those things!" Wayne strode to the small wooden house door and lightly touched the house. To Rouge's astonishment, the entire wooden house let out a slight creaking sound.
Soon, the wooden house broke free from the earth's restraints and floated a meter above the ground.
"This is?!"
"Hehe," Wayne couldn't hide a hint of pride. He swept up and sat on top of the wooden house. "This is my ability. What are you standing there for? Go on, get inside!" Wayne urged.
"Oh… alright, alright!" Rouge stepped inside with surprise and looked out the window.
The familiar island below was shrinking and blurring at an astonishing speed, until it was swallowed by the surging cloud tide, leaving no trace.
Above the clouds, Wayne flew to the wooden house.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Rogue, it's me!"
"I know, and the door isn't locked," Rouge's voice came from inside the house.
"Oh." Wayne pushed the door open, only to see Rouge intently staring at a small piece of paper in her hand. It was slowly wiggling towards the southeast, as if it had a life of its own.
"Hm?" Wayne began to ask. "Is this Roger's…"
"Mm." Rouge nodded lightly, carefully shielding the paper in her palm with her fingertips. "It's his Life Paper. It can lead us to him."
Wayne began to think, as having only one direction could easily allow them to miss Loguetown.
"Lady Rouge, please keep a close eye on the Life Paper's movement. If there's any change in direction, tell me immediately, understood?"
"Don't worry, I will." Rouge solemnly agreed, then walked to the low bed in the corner and bent down to pull out a long wooden box.
The lid opened, revealing a cutlass lying quietly inside. Indeed, it was "Ace," one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords.
The sword's appearance was unexpectedly simple and unadorned, with its sharpness contained. It hadn't even been infused with Haki to become a Black Blade.
This might indirectly indicate that Roger was not a pure swordsman; otherwise, given his strength, forging a Black Blade shouldn't have been difficult.
"Here!" Rouge held up "Ace" with both hands and offered it to Wayne. "This is what I promised you. Take it! I hope you'll make good use of it in the future."
Wayne took "Ace," gently stroked the blade with his palm, then shook his head: "I can't accept it yet. Keep it with you for now. When I need it, I'll naturally come for it."
Actually, the reason Wayne didn't want to accept it was that Roger's personal sword was too famous and too conspicuous, easily attracting the navy's attention. So, it would be best to retrieve it after his reincarnation.
After all, Wayne didn't know any swordsmanship right now, so holding the sword would just be for display.
Nineteen hours later, Wayne was dozing on the bed.
"Wayne!" Rouge's urgent voice woke him. "The Life Paper's direction is wrong!"
Wayne instantly sobered up, looking at the slightly trembling piece of paper in Rouge's hand. "Damn it! We flew too far!"
Without hesitation, Wayne maneuvered the wooden house to turn around in mid-air, while also lowering its altitude appropriately to see if Loguetown was nearby.
The clouds parted.
"Look down!" Rouge pointed out the window, where the outline of an island appeared on the azure sea.
What was striking was that it was tightly surrounded by a full circle of navy warships, and the docks were teeming with people, navys everywhere.
"Is that… Loguetown?"
"No doubt about it. It seems Roger has already been escorted here." Wayne looked at Rouge: "Listen, we're going down now, but please remember, follow all instructions."
"Stay close to me, don't speak. If we're exposed, it's over, understand?"
Rouge took a deep breath: "I understand, I won't cause you any trouble."
The two quickly changed into the prepared plain coveralls, pulling down their hoods to cover their hair and part of their faces.
Then, Wayne held Rouge and descended from the sky, silently entering Loguetown and blending into the crowd.
Soon, Wayne found a hotel relatively close to the execution platform, rented a room, and settled in first.
The room was small, and the window was high, but it offered a glimpse of the execution platform in the center of the square.
Rouge stood by the window, her gaze fixed on the distant high platform: "Is that the place?"
"Yes, tomorrow is the day of the execution. We'll stay here today and go out tomorrow."
Rouge touched her slightly bulging abdomen, looked out the window, and nodded silently.
The next day, half an hour before the execution.
Loguetown Square was already packed with people, a surging sea of heads, and the clamor was filled with shouts from onlookers.
"Hold on tight!" Wayne grabbed Rouge's hand, forcefully pushing through the dense crowd.
"Hey! Why are you pushing!" Complaints rose and fell, but Wayne ignored them, quickly leading Rouge to their target location.
Although this spot was still some distance from the execution platform, they could at least clearly see the situation on the platform. Most importantly, this was Roger's inevitable path to the execution platform.
"We can only go this far," Wayne said in a low voice, his tone leaving no room for doubt, "Remember, don't speak. If we're exposed, I'll be in a lot of trouble, and I hate trouble."
Rouge nodded vigorously, "Mm, I know."
Countless people came to witness Pirate King Roger's execution today. At the edges of the square, in the gaps of the crowd and the corners of the alleys, many future big figures gathered.
By the viewing stand, Crocodile smoked a cigar, expressionless.
In the depths of a dark alley, Doflamingo's flamboyant pink flamingo feather coat stood out strikingly. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, his smile sinister and wild.
In the bustling crowd, Gekko Moriah grinned, watching with extreme focus, his eyes flashing with excitement. At this time, he was still very thin.
On a street a little further from the crowd, Dracule Mihawk, carrying a magnificent silver long-sword, stood proudly with his arms crossed, as if the surroundings had nothing to do with him.
On the edge of a rooftop, a figure in a dark green cloak stood silently, the shadow of his hood covering most of his face. Monkey D. Dragon, who didn't yet have a slipper print on his face, quietly awaited the start of the execution.
Finally, to the toll of bells, The Pirate King appeared.