"Little girl, we'll have to rely on you a lot from now on." Seeing Xun carrying a huge stack of books that reached her head, Roy felt a little guilty, as if he were a heartless boss exploiting child labor.
However, the little girl was full of energy. "Captain, leave these to me. After all, I will be the Ship Doctor in the Pirate Kings, and I can't let you down."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, almost laughing until they cried. They didn't expect this little girl to have such a talent for flattery. Even Roy, who was used to being flattered, had to admit that he was very pleased with this sentence, just like drinking iced cola on a hot summer day.
"What are you doing? I'm being very serious. Stop laughing! Be careful, or I won't heal you anymore, hmph!" The little girl bared her fangs and threatened, looking incredibly fierce, making you want to grab her little face and pinch it.
"Ahem, I have to strongly condemn you all. None of you are ambitious or have any sense of pressure. Don't you feel ashamed as future crew members of the Pirate Kings?" Roy rebuked righteously.
Patch and the others were already used to Roy's occasional shamelessness, while Reiju and the others were wide-eyed with surprise. They never expected that Roy was hot-blooded and violent in battle, would be so frivolous and willful in ordinary times, which gave them a strong contrast.
Just as everyone was chatting and laughing, a burst of cannon fire suddenly came from the sea ahead, and then two somewhat comical-looking people ran towards Roy as if they were fighting over something.
"Lord Roy, there is an ignorant pirate gang daring to provoke us ahead. Please allow me to fight and crush these fools who don't know their own mortality."
"Yes, yes, Lord Roy, leave such trivial matters to us newcomers who have just boarded the ship. Seniors, please rest assured and wait for our good news."
The two goofballs talking were Augustine and Solomon, who joined the crew in West Wind Town. Roy had brought them in as officers to fill the gap, considering the gap between the Senior Executive and ordinary crew members.
After all, the fact that the two of them were able to survive the battle between Roy and Doflamingo shows that they are quite strong. If they joined other fleets in the North Blue, they might even be able to become Vice Captain.
But they were already Roy's die-hard fans, and they were already satisfied to join the fleet. After being promoted to officers by Roy, they were even more energetic, feeling that they would not live up to Roy's expectations if they did not achieve something.
"Hmm? They actually dared to attack my fleet. They're not easy to deal with." Roy's heart skipped a beat. You see, he never liked playing dumb or hiding his true intentions.
Most pirates would feel a chill upon seeing such a massive fleet, and would generally abandon any unrealistic ideas. Even those who were confident in their strength and still refused to give up would gather intelligence before making a move. Knowing Roy's terrifying record, even the most arrogant person would have to weigh their own strength.
If his previous bounty of 300 million might have been due to his potential or level of threat, then defeating Doflamingo was a real achievement. Under such circumstances, anyone who dares to challenge him must be a force to be reckoned with.
"Do you know which pirate crew came to provoke us?" Roy asked with a serious expression, even wondering if it was one of the other Shichibukai or one of the Four Emperors' fleets.
"Lord Roy, I know. Judging from the pirates' flag, it's definitely Night Demon Victor, who has the third-highest bounty among the Supernovas." Augustine quickly raised his hand to answer, while Solomon withdrew his hand from mid-air with a look of grief and indignation.
Roy looked bewildered. What the hell? This wasn't what he expected. What happened to the Shichibukai or the Four Emperors?
It's not that he looks down on the Supernovas. In fact, pirates who have a bounty of over 100 million and are called Supernovas in the first half of the Grand Line are definitely very strong. However, not every Supernovas can have the impressive record of defeating the Shichibukai like Luffy.
Generally speaking, the Supernovas would be absolutely crushed by the Shichibukai without any suspense, especially since the Great Pirate Era has not yet reached its peak. Excluding Roy, the freak, the highest bounty among the Supernovas is only 160 million Beli, which is far from the eleven who will be known as the Worst Generation in the future.
While bounties don't fully represent strength, they can reveal a lot. That is, the quality of Roy's generation of Supernovas is definitely not very high. Under such circumstances, how dare this Night Demon Victor challenge him? Should we say he's lost his mind or does he have some hidden trump card?
Roy didn't underestimate Victor because of the bounty on his head. Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit, and he wouldn't make the same mistake as Doflamingo.
"Make way for him, fleet ahead. I want to see just how strong someone who dares to challenge me is," Roy said slowly, narrowing his eyes.
"Tsk tsk, someone's about to run into trouble. The captain's already bad mood is only adding fuel to the fire by this guy's provocation. Hopefully, he has the strength to match his courage, otherwise, his fate will be very miserable." Jin muttered to himself, gloating.
"Huh? Really? Then it means it's not my turn to make a move," Patch said dejectedly.
"I'm so happy to see Lord Roy take action again!" Augustine burst into tears once more.
"This is youth!" When Solomon said this, Roy thought he had been possessed by some watermelon-headed guy.
"Fire! Blast them to pieces! Let them cry out, wail, and die in endless despair!" Victor shouted madly, his face flushed with excitement, as if he were drunk.
"The ship, Captain," a crew member interrupted Victor's daydream in a low voice with a mournful face, "Our firepower is no match for the Phantom Sword Pirates. Their cannons have a longer range and greater power, and even their ships are more sturdy than ours. If this continues, I'm afraid we'll be wiped out before we even see Phantom Sword Roy."
This is normal. With the addition of the Vinsmoke Family, Roy's crew's technological capabilities have jumped to the forefront of the world. Even Marine warship may not be able to match the performance of Roy's fleet in all aspects. A rogue pirate like Victor definitely can't compete with Roy in terms of equipment.
"What?" Victor's face was embarrassed. Then he punched the ignorant subordinate to death to vent his anger. He began to struggle with the situation. To be fair, these scenes were nothing. With his strength, he could quickly turn the tide as long as he took action.
However, someone as concerned with his image as him would naturally be unwilling to make a move before Roy did, as that would be too undignified.
"Hmph, a useless piece of trash who only knows how to rely on firepower," Victor thought sourly.
"Captain, the Phantom Sword Pirates have stopped their attack and opened the road for us to enter. Could this be a trap?" Just as Victor was struggling with this question, the noise of cannon fire suddenly stopped, and a subordinate reported this.
"Idiot, what are you afraid of? It's obvious that this damn Roy knows my name and doesn't dare to offend me, so he took the initiative to back down." Victor cursed and swore, completely fearless. If it were daytime, he might not have dared to go deep into enemy territory, but he was Night Demon Victor. Night was about to fall, and soon it would be his world.