An Unexpected Backup Plan, Visitors from the East Blue
The heavy metal door slammed shut with a loud "Bang!"
The heart-wrenching screams from the research room were completely shut out behind the cold, steel walls.
"Aaaaaah--! Roy!! Vegapunk!! You'll all die a horrible death--!"
Teach's roar, like a venomous snake, echoed at the end of the corridor, a mixture of fear, resentment, and anger, sharp and piercing, like the dying howl of Beast.
But Roy didn't stop, his expression indifferent, his figure casting a straight shadow under the corridor lights.
The Kuma behind him remained silent until the two stepped out of the research institute, at which point it spoke in a low voice, unusually heavy:
"I'm sorry, Roy."
"I've tried my best to activate the Paw-Paw Fruit's power... but when I tried to access the depths of his memories, I encountered an extremely strong mental barrier."
"Not only could I not recall the memories, but it also backfired on me, almost shaking the very structure of my abilities."
At this point, a rare hint of hesitation crept into Kuma's voice.
That will... seemed to carry some kind of highly aggressive 'mental imprint'.
Roy nodded slightly, showing no surprise, and simply said in a low voice, "Just as I thought."
"It's probably a mental defense system that Rocks D. Xebec had laid within him long ago... a residual will built around 'Conqueror's Haki'."
He paused, his tone growing colder. "That guy... had already anticipated that someone would try to 'find answers through their descendants'."
"Truly a man who can command the submission of Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom."
"Decades have passed, yet it still seems to subtly influence the world."
A breeze blew from the research institute's high platform, ruffling the cloak on his shoulders and lifting a few strands of his dark hair.
"... Rocks, just how many tricks have you up your sleeve?"
A moment later, he turned his gaze to the direction where the clouds were rolling on the horizon.
"It seems we can only pin our hopes on Vegapunk now."
Just then, a burst of laughter and playful chatter came from afar, breaking their reverie.
"Sentomaru, hurry up!! I want to see the jet-powered octopus!!"
"You annoying brat!! Sit still!! You're stomping my head off!!"
Roy looked up and saw Sentomaru walking towards him with an impatient expression, a pink-haired little girl riding on his head.
The child was looking around happily, making a "V" sign with his fingers towards the sky, his face full of carefree joy.
"... Bonney?" Roy raised an eyebrow.
"Wow! Roy!!"
Bonney recognized Roy at a glance, and her eyes lit up instantly! The next second, she leaped up from above Sentomaru's head, spread her arms, and pounced on him.
"Eh?! Kid, stop jumping around like that!!" Sentomaru in surprise, quickly reaching out to catch him.
"Whoosh!"
Bonney, suspended in mid-air, suddenly undergoes a rapid transformation!
With her long, silvery-white hair cascading down her back, her skin wrinkled, and her spine hunched over, she suddenly looked like a tiny eighty-year-old woman!
"...?!" Roy's pupils contracted, and he instinctively reached out to catch her steadily!
"Haha~ You scared me, didn't you!" Bonney was already laughing so hard in his palm that she was doubled over. The next second, with a "whoosh," she turned back into a six-year-old and jumped around, hugging Roy's neck.
"Hey, hey, hey... what's wrong with you, kid?"
Sentomaru rubbed his forehead, muttering, "They play these tricks on me every day, are they deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?"
Kuma explained gently from the side, "Once, I went out on a mission, and when I returned, I found that she had somehow eaten Devil Fruit..."
Roy looked down at Bonney in his arms; the little girl was blinking her big, innocent eyes.
"The Age-Age Fruit..." Roy looked down at Bonney, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
The little girl was looking up at him, her pink hair flying in the wind, her big eyes innocent and harmless.
"Hehe~" Bonney stuck out her tongue, "I love being a baby the most, everyone gives me candy~"
"Don't jump around like that." Roy rubbed her head helplessly.
"Okay~" she said with a grin and a wink.
Sentomaru sighed, turned around and walked away complaining, "You guys are so casual about taking care of kids... You always dump them on me."
Meanwhile, Kuma quietly watched Bonney, his gaze as gentle as a sea breeze.
Roy was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked in a low voice, "... Does she know?"
The Kuma gently shook its head.
She's still too young.
"It's better not to tell her about her mother for now."
Roy nodded slightly, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
Punk Hazard Harbor
The sea breeze was blowing hard, and the gray clouds hung low.
Roy stood on the deck of the Warship, his military overcoat fluttering in the Hunting Roar, his gaze calmly fixed on the distance.
Teach's research couldn't be completed anytime soon, so Roy decided to hand it over to Vegapunk for now.
Just then--
"Brubrubrub--!"
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi in my pocket rang, its two eyeballs blinking, and its tone urgent.
Roy glanced down at the caller ID, raised an eyebrow, and gave a half-smile.
"Oh? Smoker?"
"They actually contacted me on their own initiative?"
He took out Den Den Mushi with one hand and pressed the answer button with the other, his tone unusually teasing:
"Hey Smoker, what brings you here today? Missed me?"
"--You bastard!!"
The Den Den Mushi instantly transformed into Smoker, two thick Cigars dangling from his lips, his entire face radiating anger.
"Roy, you bastard! Don't treat me like the village chief of a newbie village!!"
"This isn't your little devil's 'reception area'!"
"???"
Roy paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Huh? What's with this inexplicable anger of yours?"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Tashigi's soft voice came through, trying to dissuade him. "Sir, please calm down..."
Then, she brought the microphone closer to herself, her tone slightly hesitant. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Vice Admiral Roy Smoker has indeed been a bit stressed lately..."
"Here's the thing, this morning, two teenagers suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Loguetown base, saying... they specifically wanted to see you."
"One... long nose, one blond hair and curly eyebrows."
Upon hearing this, Roy narrowed his eyes slightly.
"... Long nose? Blonde hair and curly eyebrows?"
Two familiar figures quickly came to mind.
"Usopp... Sanji?"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Smoker, Cigar in hand, snorted, "Looks like you really do know these two brats."
"They said you told them to 'come find me if they've thought it through'? You're really something, even dumping recruitment on me!"
Tashigi added, "They insisted that 'Roy told them himself,' so we didn't dare to kick them out rashly."
"The person has now been settled in the base's backyard to rest."
Roy was silent for a moment, a slight look of relief and anticipation appearing in his eyes.
"... These two lads really remembered what I said."
He raised his head and looked towards the East Blue, his gaze deepening in the sea breeze.
"I see."
"Tell them to wait for me in Loguetown, I'll be right there."
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Roy gazed at the undulating sea of clouds in the east, a slow smile playing on his lips.
"Those two brats... have they finally taken this step?"
(PS: Looking for a suitable codename for Roy. For now, don't use the Dark-Dark Fruit, since most people don't know about it, and even if they did, it would only be for a fatal moment.)