The first half of the Grand Line, Paradise.
Fierce winds mixed with rain battered the sea while washing the bloodstains from the deck.
"Lord Roy, the pirates from the Giant Sword Pirates have confessed!"
Inside the ship's command room, Bruno, dressed in a suit, was reporting to the man before him.
The man opposite Bruno was also wearing a black suit, but unlike Bruno, who was soaked through, he looked like he had just woken up, utterly languid.
Roy yawned and scratched his head, removing the magazine that had been covering his chest.
"Mm, Bruno, you did well. Since the pirates have confessed, go after them next.
Handle things on the ship as usual. You're fully in charge. Unless it's something important, don't come disturb my sleep."
"Yes, understood, Lord Roy!"
Bruno gave Roy a slight bow before turning and leaving.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves. All hands, head southwest toward Mock Town."
Bruno's voice echoed across the ship. Accompanied by the creaking of strained wood, the vessel turned around and sailed onward over the sea.
Listening to the wind and rain outside, along with the shouts of the crew.
Roy rubbed his bleary eyes and let out a helpless sigh.
This was the world of Pirate King, and it was currently the Great Pirate Era.
The seas were now full of undercurrents. The strong devoured all, while the weak ate dust.
Roy felt helpless about that as well.
After all, in his previous life, he had merely been an ordinary assembly-line worker. Yet after waking up one day, he had arrived in the world of Pirate King.
His life had been going perfectly well, but then he was suddenly transported here. It really was damned irritating.
It had already been twenty-three years since he came to the world of Pirate King.
After receiving the brutal lessons of Pirate King society, Roy only wanted to hold onto the World Government's iron rice bowl, use his position to gain benefits, and comfortably wait for those major events to happen.
As everyone knew, the world of Pirate King was filled with freaks and people with absurdly low moral standards.
No one would want to come here.
If he truly had to be transported somewhere, Roy would actually have been more interested in the anime under Leihuo Sword.
More than twenty years had passed since he was transported into this world.
During that time, Roy had only understood two things. First, being a pirate was definitely less stable than being a Marine. Second, being a Marine was less profitable than working in a department directly under the World Government.
Fortunately, Roy's father in this life could be considered a high-ranking official in the World Government's CP Organization.
With a tiny bit of help from his family background, plus the golden finger he had been born with—the soundwave abilities of Zebra from Toriko—
Through those two advantages, Roy had climbed to the position of CP9 Deputy Chief in his early twenties.
Reaching that seat at such a young age meant Roy could be considered a promising young man.
But the greater the appetite, the greater the responsibility.
Roy should have been on Enies Lobby right now, basking in the sun and enjoying a perfect sunbath with his secretary.
However, because a large batch of supplies had been lost this time, Roy had no choice but to personally deal with this trouble.
The gale outside still raged, while the agents' cries rang out continuously on the deck.
Sizzle!
A match lit the cigarette hanging from Roy's mouth.
He rubbed his eyes and opened the unfinished magazine on the table.
Studying was something that could not be interrupted.
And this material from West Sea Foreign Language added a splash of color to the dull voyage.
Bang!
Who knew how much time had passed.
The ship's shaking startled Roy out of his study session.
After picking up the tissue beside the table and wiping the sweat from his hands.
Creak!
Bruno shoved open the command room door.
"Lord Roy, we've arrived at Mock Town."
Looking at Bruno, who was soaked through and even more disheveled than before, Roy extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand and said solemnly, "Bruno, this batch of supplies is extremely important to us. So you must be cautious from here on. I don't care how strong this pirate crew is. Bring every last bit of the supplies back to me."
Roy was a man who liked to train his subordinates. If he could avoid doing something himself, he absolutely would not work.
"Yes! I understand, Lord Roy."
Clearly familiar with Roy's personality, Bruno gave him a slight bow before turning to summon the agents into action.
Roy was actually completely confident in Bruno.
After all, having a CP9 agent wipe out a pirate crew whose highest bounty was only 60 million Beli was more than manageable.
CP9 was known as the strongest team in the CP Organization.
And in the manga from Roy's previous life, CP9 had suffered a crushing defeat solely because they encountered Monkey D. Luffy, the Child of Destiny.
After all, that guy had defeated two Shichibukai in less than a year after setting sail. It would have been stranger if anyone could beat him.
Roy's exceptional Observation Haki and Zebra's soundwave control abilities allowed him to clearly sense everything outside while remaining in the command room.
"Echo Map!!"
It was a supreme move that could determine the size and distance of objects dozens of kilometers away.
Although the abilities Roy inherited were not so absurd that they reached dozens of kilometers, he could still use sound to form a mental image of intelligence within more than ten kilometers.
Roy liked giving his subordinates opportunities to hone their abilities, but because this shipment contained quite a bit of his own private cargo, even though he was too lazy to act, he would not neglect to keep watch.
World Government agents blended exceptionally well with a dark, rainy, wind-swept night.
In Mock Town, a settlement formed by gathered pirates.
As Bruno and the others arrived at the Giant Sword Pirates' secret base.
The hunt for the Giant Sword Pirates began.
The Den Den Mushi playing music filled Roy's command room with a cozy feeling.
At the same time, within the Giant Sword Pirates' forest base, lives were swiftly erased amid the wind and rain.
Just as Roy thought Bruno would quickly secure victory and bring back the supplies.
Boom!
A massive explosion caused the ash Roy held between his fingers to fall all over his pants.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions shattered the tranquility of the rainy night.
"Damn it, did they get caught in a trap?"
Roy's expression changed. After tightening his belt, he rose and rushed out of the command room.
"Damn it, what is Bruno doing?
Why are there explosions? My cargo better not burn up."
The fierce wind mixed with rain lashed against people's faces painfully.
Inside the Giant Sword Pirates' secret base in the forest at the edge of Mock Town, World Government agents and pirates had become tangled in a chaotic melee.
When Roy rapidly used Geppo to reach the hidden base.
The first thing he saw was Bruno using Iron Body to fight two pirates.
"Lord Roy, the captain of the Giant Sword Pirates is a Devil Fruit user."
After Bruno shouted those words while using Iron Body, an explosion sent him flying.
"Oh, a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user...?"
Roy could easily identify the ability used by the pirate who had kicked Bruno away.
However, this Bomb-Bomb Fruit user was not yet the Mr. 5 from Baroque Works.
Looking at the man below, who was at least three meters tall and used his own blood as explosives.
Bambina, with a bounty of 60 million Beli?
He had hidden himself quite deeply.
Were the people at CP6 collecting salaries for nothing again?
They gave me intelligence like this? Damn it, they were even worse than Spandam and me. A pirate crew with a bounty over ten million, yet they did not even know their captain's ability.
Which old bastard was trying to set me up?
"Men, show me your courage and kill them all.
Anyone who dares ambush the Giant Sword Pirates, tonight I'll let them learn the cruelty of flesh-and-blood fireworks!"
He flung the blood in his hand toward a group of agents charging at him.
The chain of explosions and the formidable strength their captain displayed made the pirates howl as they began counterattacking the agents.
Boom!
Bruno struggled to his feet from a pile of rubble.
Perhaps because Roy had arrived, Bambina did not continue attacking Bruno.
Instead, the Giant Sword Pirates' first mate, who had been following Bambina, grabbed a machete and charged at Bruno.
As Bruno became entangled with the Giant Sword Pirates' first mate.
Roy drew his sword and looked at the flames caused by the consecutive explosions.
To prevent his cargo from suffering further damage, Roy decided to personally take action and end this quickly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The crack of gunfire and the crisp clashes of blades rang through the forest.
"Hey, brat, are you their leader?
Who the hell are you people, daring to ambush the Giant Sword Pirates?"
Looking at the chaotic base, Bambina was exceptionally furious.
With a wave of his hand.
Explosive blood flew directly toward Roy, who was currently in the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The Bomb-Bomb Fruit ability caused Bambina's blood to explode through the air like cannonballs.
Roy twisted in midair to evade Bambina's explosive attack.
The blade in Roy's tight grip came down toward Bambina's head as he spun through the air.
Bang!
Meeting Roy's swinging longsword, Bambina, whose hands wore knuckle dusters, smashed his fist into Roy's blade.
The powerful recoil sent Roy tumbling twice through the air before landing on the ground.
Looking at the pirate, who was now enraged beyond measure.
"Oh, I didn't expect you to have some skills. No wonder you managed to steal my supplies."
Having earned a 60 million Beli bounty from the World Government, Bambina naturally possessed extensive combat experience.
Seeing that his punch had not inflicted much damage on Roy.
Bambina immediately leaped forward, swinging his fist as he continued attacking Roy.
"Weakness Sonic Wave!!"
A sound no one else could hear came from Roy's mouth. Through the principle of ultrasonic reflection, Bambina's weaknesses were laid completely bare before Roy's eyes.
Roy tightly gripped his blade and looked at Bambina, who resembled an enraged bull.
"One Sword Style: Straight Slash!"
Slash!
Facing Bambina's incoming fist.
Roy slightly lowered his body. With a sudden burst of strength from his calves, his sharp blade slid across Bambina's chest as their bodies crossed.
"Not good!"
Bambina suddenly sensed danger. As he crossed paths with Roy, he immediately chose to sacrifice the lesser to preserve the greater, tilting his body and using his shoulder to block the fatal slash.
A great spray of blood burst from Bambina's body.
And Bambina was a ruthless man.
As the blood sprayed out, he decisively used his ability to trigger a violent explosion in the blood.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The massive blast shook the forest in the rainy night once more, and the force of the explosion allowed Bambina to flee backward.
He clutched his shoulder and felt his stamina rapidly draining away.
"Brat, I'm an explosion man who ate the Bomb-Bomb Fruit!
You actually dared to attack me at close range. You've probably been blasted so thoroughly that not even bone fragments remain, hahaha!"
With brutality in his eyes, Bambina looked toward the place where his blood had exploded, his face filled with arrogance.
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