Vinsmoke's Attack

Kakarot had considered many ways to reestablish his authority, but the scene before him had definitely not been among them. Roy was sitting boldly in a chair, picking up sashimi from the table beside him and popping it into his mouth, smacking his lips from time to time. He was simply not taking Kakarot seriously at all.

"Causing trouble on my turf, kid? I have to say, you've got some nerve." Though Kakarot was somewhat puzzled, he still assumed Roy and the others were merely putting on a calm front.

"Oh? And you are?" Roy took a towel from behind him and wiped his mouth, speaking unhurriedly.

"Hmph. For a rookie pirate like you, being personally captured by me is an honor. Remember this: Marine Colonel Kakarot is the one taking you in."

"Pfft—hahaha! Hahaha, Kakarot!" Roy had been drinking juice when the unexpected name nearly made him choke.

Kakarot stared at Roy with a face full of dark lines, unable to understand what was so funny about his name. Even Patch and the others looked utterly confused, while Kayou began wondering whether he had joined the wrong crew.

"Haha, don't tell me there's another one named Vegeta."

"Hmph, wasn't Vegeta killed by you people? Are you trying to provoke me?" Kakarot said with a grim expression.

"Huh? You mean that Big Backhead from before? Well, damn, that's impressive. I hadn't even felt like dealing with you, but now it seems like I'd be letting that name down if I didn't fight you. Let me see what gives you the right to have such an awesome name."

Roy moved in an instant, vanishing from before everyone's eyes. Kakarot's pupils contracted sharply. He had never expected Roy to attack without warning. Kakarot might have been something of a fraud, but becoming a Branch Captain still required some strength. Handling pirates with bounties below twenty million was generally no problem for him. But against a monster like Roy, the outcome was obvious.

In mere moments, Kakarot was stomped into the ground by Roy, completely unable to resist. Seeing the so-called Marine Colonel fail to last even a single move against Roy, Kayou was utterly shocked. This was his first time witnessing Roy fight, and he could only marvel inwardly, Anyone who can eat my cooking without changing expression really is a monster.

Kakarot was falling apart inside. Damn it, Marine Headquarters had screwed him over! A pirate this strong didn't even have a bounty? This was outrageous. A bounty did not entirely represent one's strength—for example, the Shichibukai generally only had bounties of one or two hundred million, yet their strength was far beyond that of ordinary pirates with bounties in that range. But most of the time, a pirate's strength was still judged by their bounty.

Yet someone like Roy, whose strength was absurdly formidable and who would count as a notable figure even on the Grand Line, did not have a bounty at all. That was truly hard to justify.

"Seriously, trash with a combat power under five actually dared to call himself Kakarot." Roy spoke listlessly. He had originally worried that this Kakarot might suddenly transform into a Super Saiyan, but it seemed he had overthought it.

What the hell does my name have to do with you? Kakarot cursed inwardly, but outwardly he said, "Boss, you're absolutely right. I really have disgraced that name. I now deeply recognize my mistake, and I hope you'll give me a chance—a chance to turn over a new leaf and become a better man."

Kakarot spoke in a low, submissive voice, not daring to use the Marines as a threat at all. As an old hand, he naturally understood that powerful pirates who had just set sail were all absurdly arrogant, acting as if heaven came first and they came second. If he dared threaten Roy, he would probably lose his life on the spot.

Roy had no intention whatsoever of helping the Marines clear out their rotten elements. The more scum like this there were in the Marines, the more comfortably he could live as a pirate.

Still, Roy did not intend to let him off so easily. Though Kakarot was a fraud, he had at least spent time in a Marine Headquarters training camp. There had to be quite a few Marine training methods in his Dream Memory.

Why could the Marines suppress the seas? At the root of it were naturally their enormous manpower and systematic cultivation methods. Roy had long known that Shave involved stomping the ground more than ten times in an instant—0.36 seconds—to use the recoil to generate explosive speed for movement. But without the proper training method, it was almost impossible to master. If it were really that easy, it would never have become a Marine secret technique.

As Roy searched through Kakarot's Dream Memory, the disdain on his face grew stronger and stronger. This Kakarot really was a massive fraud. There were almost no useful memories. Forget Haki—he did not even possess a single training method for the Six Powers. The only thing of some use was a collection of memories concerning swordsmanship training. Though Kakarot did not specialize in swordsmanship, there were quite a few powerful swordsmen in the Marines, and he had attended lectures from some of them during his time at the Marine training camp.

Suddenly, a warning surged through Roy's heart. He shouted, "Fall back!"

Fortunately, Patch and the others reacted quickly as well. The moment they heard Roy's warning, they knew something was wrong and swiftly retreated.

Boom! A missile exploded where Roy had been standing moments earlier. The violent shockwave even blasted the surrounding trees into the sky. Roy and the others had retreated in time, but they were still left covered in dirt and dust.

Roy's expression darkened. No one would be happy about getting ambushed, and Kakarot had also been caught in the blast, reduced to ashes without even letting out a scream. Even with Roy's strength, fleeing while carrying someone would involve a certain degree of risk. A fraud like Kakarot was not worth taking that risk for.

"Yo-ho! You actually dodged my Supreme Invincible Casanova Rocket Launcher. Looks like you've got some skills after all." An extremely punchable voice sounded before Roy and the others. Sanji's face combined with Zoro's hair gave Roy a bizarre feeling. Could this guy be Sanji and Zoro's illegitimate son? Damn, why did he suddenly feel like he had uncovered some earth-shattering secret?

"Seaweed Head, with technology at this level, you must be from the Vinsmoke Family, right?" Roy shamelessly borrowed Sanji's insult. In truth, he was rather surprised as well. The Vinsmoke Family truly deserved its reputation as the Pirate World's famous black-tech family. For a moment just now, he had thought he had returned to his previous life.

Still, the Pirate World's technology tree was rather crooked. Most ships were clearly wind-powered sailing vessels, yet their weapons were ridiculously advanced. Later on, there were even things like Pacifistas.

"Damn it, bastard! Who are you calling Seaweed Head? You know I'm from the Vinsmoke Family, yet you still dare provoke me? I really don't know who gave you the courage." Yonji first flew into a rage, then said smugly, "Oh, Liang Jingru, of course."

"Ah? What? Are you trying to make up some random person to fool your way out of this? Forget it, there's nothing to say to you. Let Lord Yonji give you a proper lesson first."

"Perfect. I've been wanting to see just what's so impressive about the legendary Lineage Factor."