"It's the Phantom Sword Pirates!" The pirate holding binoculars shouted excitedly. In an instant, the port was blocked by the surging crowd. In particular, the few people who had been waiting at the front were tragically pushed into the sea by the frenzied crowd behind them.
"Is Lord Roy about to descend upon West Wind Town? Ah, happiness always comes so unexpectedly! No, I must dress up properly so that Lord Roy can be the first to admire my stunning good looks! No, someone kick me!" A "dinosaur" was striking poses when she was tacitly kicked out of the crowd by those around her. Although they admired Roy, they also knew that Roy was not an easy person to talk to, and it wouldn't be good if they got involved with this dinosaur.
"Damn it, stop pushing, everyone stand back. Decapitator Jerry with a 10 million Beli bounty, the man destined to board the Phantom Sword Grand Fleet."
"Pah, you dare to bring up a 10 million bounty? I have 15 million Beli and I'm still squeezing around here."
"Damn it, is this a competitive selection process? When did being a pirate become so difficult? Do they expect a minimum bounty of 10 million Beli, fluency in eight languages, and five years of pirate experience to be given priority?"
"You bunch of bastards, all you do is think about becoming pirates instead of studying. Why can't you be a little more ambitious and join the Navy? Besides, you cowards don't even deserve to be pirates. Do you have tattoos as cool as mine? Do you have scars as sexy as mine? Do you have... Damn it, stop it, bro, if you keep rubbing, my tattoos will be gone!"
The group of people pushed and shoved each other, and the atmosphere became increasingly heated. If Roy's ship hadn't been about to dock and they hadn't dared to provoke Roy, the verbal conflict would probably have escalated into a physical one.
Even so, everyone was still seething with anger, like a volcano about to erupt.
Bang!
The main ship anchored and docked. Roy led his Senior Executive to the port, instantly turning the noisy and chaotic coastline into a quiet and peaceful place. It was as if everyone had suddenly fallen silent, a deathly stillness, with only the gentle murmur of the breeze and the splashing waves proving that time had not stopped.
Roy didn't care about the crowd's adulation. Ever since he wiped out the North Blue's fighting force in one battle, he had become a legend in the North Blue, even surpassing the previous legend Doflamingo's status in the North Blue. Almost every place he went was packed with people, and he was already used to it.
Roy walked silently toward the town center. Suddenly, a wide road appeared ahead of the previously congested area, as if a space had suddenly appeared. Only the continuous "plop plop" sounds of water falling into the water proved the origin of this road.
Only when Roy and his group completely disappeared from everyone's sight did the quiet port suddenly erupt into endless cheers and gasps of surprise.
"Didn't you all say that the first thing you did upon seeing Lord Roy was to rush up and ask to join the Phantom Sword Pirates so as to leave a deep impression on Lord Roy? Why didn't you go?" someone teased the person next to them.
"I... I... you didn't go either, did you?" The person being questioned stammered, unable to speak, and could only ask in return.
"Hehe, the moment I saw Lord Roy, my mind went completely blank, and I even forgot how to lift my leg to walk."
"Yes, yes, me too. It's such a strange feeling. Is it because I'm charmed by Lord Roy? No, I don't want to become gay!"
"Idiot, that must be Lord Roy's aura. I've heard that true powerhouses exude an invisible aura that intimidates ordinary people. In front of a true powerhouse, ordinary people can't even move their feet or speak. I always thought it was just a legend, but I never thought that such an ethereal rumor was actually true."
"I see. No wonder I couldn't look Lord Roy in the eye."
"You guys are obviously not true fans. Apart from Lord Roy, the Senior Executive of the Phantom Sword Pirates are indeed very powerful. Rampaging Ogre Patch, Fatal Owl Jin, and Flaw the Skybreaker—these are all strong figures who have shone brightly in the Floating Waves Sea Area."
"Tsk tsk, the captain's charm is truly astonishing. How many times have we been surrounded?" Jin said with a sigh.
"Lord Roy, your aura is already this strong, yet you still haven't mastered Conqueror's Haki?" Reiju now knows that Roy doesn't know Conqueror's Haki yet; last time he was just using the ability.
"Like Armament Haki, it's still a bit lacking." Roy shook his head. He believed that Conqueror's Haki was a combination of momentum and belief, and his momentum in the North Blue had already reached its peak. His will, honed over many years, was even more resilient than a stubborn rock. All he lacked was an opportunity.
"Lord Roy, you..." Xia wanted to say something to make her presence known, but when she noticed that Roy's eyes were fixed on the fountain in the center of town, she became somewhat discouraged.
Following Roy's gaze, sitting beneath the fountain was a very strange man with blond hair, a black cross tattooed on his Adam's apple, and, most notably, six distinctive vertical lines on his forehead.
Xia asked with some curiosity, "Lord Roy, is there something strange about that guy?"
Roy stroked his smooth chin and said with interest, "It seems so. He looks like an interesting fellow."
This guy's name seems to be Hawkins. Roy still remembers that he was one of the Supernovas five years later, Devil Fruit Ability seems to be related to divination. But looking at him now, he doesn't even seem to be a pirate yet.
Although Roy didn't believe in fate, he was still somewhat interested in these mystical things, so he changed direction and headed towards him.
Hawkins had initially attracted a crowd of onlookers due to his unique Devil Fruit Ability, but the crowd scattered as soon as Roy arrived. Roy was infamous, and even standing next to him was a great pressure.
Hawkins remained unmoved upon seeing Roy; after all, he was the kind of man who would remain unmoved even upon seeing Admiral —that was just his nature.
"Is your ability divination?" Roy asked with great interest.
"Yes," Hawkins replied without looking up, fiddling with the Tarot Cards in his hand.
"That's interesting. Could you please tell me my fate today?"
Hawkins looked up at Roy and said in a deep, powerful voice, "I'm sorry, but you look like you're about to die. It seems today is your day."
"Damn it, you bastard, do you want to die?" Patch roared, his body rapidly expanding. Jin didn't speak, but silently aimed his sniper rifle at Hawkins' head. Xia also completed part of his transformation, his Kenkon pressing his longsword against Hawkins' neck.
In an instant, the weather changed drastically, and a terrifying aura filled the surroundings. Many onlookers in the distance were scared half to death, cursing the idiot who dared to provoke the Phantom Sword Pirates. If a battle broke out, the entire town could very well be reduced to ruins.
Hawkins, however, remained calm, continuing to fiddle with the Tarot Cards in his hand, while Roy raised his right hand, signaling his subordinates to quiet down.
"[Battle] Failure rate 100%, [Escape] Success rate 0%, [Defense] Evasion rate 0%, [Survival] Death rate 100%. Unfortunately, your future has been decided."
"Hahahaha, surrendering to so-called fate is nothing but an excuse for the weak to escape. The only true strongman is one who seizes fate by the throat!" Roy has never believed in fate. No matter how ordinary a person is, they have the right to control their own future.
A gleam appeared in everyone's eyes, and their gazes toward Roy were filled with admiration. Even Hawkins had always been calm and collected, was moved.
"Clap clap clap, that was truly spectacular. Now I'm not at all surprised why the World Government values you so much. If you were allowed to grow, the very structure of the ocean might change. Unfortunately, fate is indeed so capricious and unpredictable, fu fu fu fu!"