In the year 1499 of the Sea Circle dar, a occurred that would shake the entire world. The Grand Line, which had remained unquered for 800 years, was finally cimed by the Roger Pirates.

  After gathering the four Road Poneglyphs, Roger, with the assistance of Kozuki Oden, successfully reached the fabled isnd of Raftel, the true final destination!

  At first, this news spread as mere rumor across the seas. However, as time passed, and more evidence surfaced, the Wover was forced to aowledge that the Roger Pirates had indeed achieved this near-impossible feat.

  The world at rge may have been unaware, but the Wover knew all too well that Raftel held a massive secret, one so dangerous that it could never be revealed to the public. Fearing that the Roger Pirates had discovered this secret, the Wover unched an all-out effort to locate them, determio elimihe crew before they could reveal what they had learned.

  "A bounty of 5.5648 billion berries… the highest in history. I've never heard of a bounty that high. Even Whitebeard's is only half that," Cudius muttered as he ghrough the neer in his hands, his tone filled with astonishment.

  In its desperation to capture Roger, the Wover ulling out all the stops. The massive bounty wasn't just for show, anyone who could tribute ter's downfall was enced to try.

  The bounty had been raised from just over two billion to more than five billion in one fell swoop, with the sole goal being Roger's death, no matter the cost.

  "Yhness, didn't the Five Elders order CP-X to get involved too? We're supposed to capture Roger and bring him to justice," Stussy said with a pyful smile as she stood beside Cudius.

  I days, Stussy had been fog on managing her business in Happy Street, which had reached a point of self-sufficy. But now, not wanting to be "fotten" by Cudius, she had hurried back to reassert her presence.

  Cudius kly what she to, but didn't mind her as. After all, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

  He chuckled at her ent. "Yeah, the Five Elders want us to act. Even though CP-X may not be as powerful or mysterious as the legends suggest, we still have to follow orders. But what does that tell you?"

  "What does it tell me?" Stussy asked.

  "It tells me that they're out of options. Roger is slippery like a damhe Marines have been chasing him for over twenty years, and they still couldn't catch him. Now he's quered Raftel. Holy, if he decided to hide out there, who could ever find him?"

  Cudius ughed as he spoke.

  Stussy paused for a moment, sidering his words, before asking, "So… are you saying it's impossible to capture the Roger Pirates?"

  "Well, it's almost impossible. But Roger? Maybe. This could still be a defining moment for CP-X," Cudius mused with a thoughtful smile.

  Catg the entire Roger Pirates crew might be a tall order. After all, by now they could have scattered across the seas, with each powerful crewmember hiding in various ers of the world. Cudius had some ideas about where a few of them might go, Rayleigh, for example, or Dr. Crocus. But the rest? He wasn't sure.

  Crocus wasn't a threat, though. He had only joio treat Roger's illness and had no i in the pirate life. Cudius wasn't pnning to go after him. As for Rayleigh, well… it wasn't worth the trouble right now, and there was no pressing need.

  But Roger? He was the key target. Cudius's memories told him that ser would travel to South Blue, to the isnd of Bateril, where he would marry his lover, Rouge, and leave behind his bloodlihen, before his illness could cim him, Roger would surrender himself to the Marines.

  This would provide some relief to the Wover. They would be able to announce his capture, setting the stage for his execution in his hometown, the future legendary site of Loguetown i Blue.

  Of course, this entire narrative could be maniputed. Roger's self-surrender could easily be spun as CP-X's success in capturing him.

  With this in mind, Cudius began plotting his move. CP-X was developing well, but it needed more influence. And Roger could be the stepping stoo eveer power.

  "If I py my cards right, I might even secure a position among the highest ranks of the Celestial Dragons," Cudius murmured to himself.

  "What was that?" Stussy asked, having not quite caught what he'd said.

  "Nothing. Just thinking out loud. There's a lot of potential here," Cudius replied with a smile.

  Among the eeial Dragon families, the Donquixote family headed by La held signifit power. Cudius, however, operated mostly indepely, with little e to his family. In the past, La had never viewed Cudius as a threat. But by the time he realized Cudius had bee a promi figure in the eyes of the Five Elders, it was too te for him to do anything about it.

  Cudius hadn't inally inteo oppose La, but now that their is were once again colliding, they had bee rivals. Cudius khat in order to keep advang, he would o wrest trol of the Donquixote family's power from La.

  "I didn't think I'd have to waste time on such trivial matters," Cudius thought to himself, "but maybe I use the momentum of curres to crush La entirely."

  As he pohis ered the room holding a special edition of the neer. "Yhness, you should take a look at this. Today's World News has just released a special issue. The Wover is officially calling Roger the 'Pirate King!'"

  Cudius froze for a moment, then took the paper.

  The Wover had already admitted that Roger had reached Raftel, but the title of "Pirate King" hadn't been used until now.

  It seemed the Wover was growing desperate.

  They were gearing up to "" Roger… and theroy him.

  Pirates were a proud and petitive bunch, especially the powerful ones. Now that a "Pirate King" had been decred, many of them would likely be itg to challenge Roger. If anyone could find him, they'd surely want to take him down.

  "So, 'Pirate King—Ger.' They've pletely hidden the 'D' from his name," Cudius muttered quietly.

  Roger's real name was Gol D. Roger. When he had first made a name for himself, the Wover had referred to him by his full name. But as his fame grew, they slowly began to obscure the "D," rebranding him as "Ger" to hide his ties to the infamous "D" lineage. Now, as they pushed the narrative of him being the Pirate King, it was clear that they were doing everything they could to erase his real identity from the public's mind.

  Over time, the world would likely fet the name "Gol D. Roger" entirely.