Long Island Rest, Silver Fox Duel

Wow!

"The vast grasslands, the vast grasslands~~"

In any case, when it comes to landing on an island,

Luffy, Chopper, Usopp were definitely the first to run off; they disappeared in a flash before the ship even stopped!

"You say no, but your body says no."

Roman shrugged as he watched Usopp rolling around on the grassland with Luffy and Chopper, putting aside the inexplicable emotions he had just sensed.

Just like Sanji said, Usopp always looks like he's about to face a major disaster. It's quite normal for his Observation Haki to 'misjudge' things.

"Nami, come practice your 'Baku Baku Pages' ability."

Regardless, making the most of your time to train is always a good idea. Furthermore, the 'Baku Baku Factory' of the Munch-Munch Fruit allows for the incredible ability to fuse the powers of objects; if you could master its development...

Um?

This is--

A gigantic sailing ship... Roman was already tired of commenting on the shipbuilding technology of this world. These were giant ships with displacements of thousands or even tens of thousands of tons, all with bizarre shapes. Like this cat... fox figurehead ship slowly sailing from the other side of the island.

As the giant ship approached, two anchors, resembling Cat Claws, flew out and anchored themselves on the shore, surrounding the Golden Merry.

A true 'iron chain across the river'!

What does this mean?

As the saying goes, skill breeds daring. After encountering all sorts of Heavenly Annihilation bosses along the way with Luffy, Nami couldn't muster any interest in the 'small' pirate ship in front of her.

"If you want to fight, get out here!"

Zoro's motto is: If it can be solved with a sword, it's not a problem.

"We are the 'Fox Pirates'," a large group of people wearing goggles appeared on the deck, grinning as they looked at the trapped Golden Merry clearly malicious.

Our goal is—

"Duel!"

?

Wait! Fox... Could it be that guy?!

In an instant, Roman's expression changed.

"Roman, is the Fox Pirates really that strong?"

Nami, who had been nonchalant, was startled, and even the others turned serious. —Any enemy Roman called 'strong' must be terrifyingly powerful...

"No, no, no, he's not strong at all."

Roman waved his hand first, then added after thinking for a moment.

"Fox himself isn't strong, but his Devil Fruit ability..."

That's really impressive!

We must get our hands on it...

"Davy Back Fight?"

Nami, who stepped forward to negotiate with the other party, was taken aback. What was this thing that she had never heard of?

"That's right," a group of blindfolded pirates on deck chuckled coldly, "This is a war that begins once both captains agree. A brutal duel aimed at Milton the other's crew!"

"If you want to fight, then fight," Zoro said impatiently, arms crossed. "Why bother with all this fancy stuff?"

"I see,"

Sanji lit a cigarette. "This isn't a fight. Davy Back Fight is a pirate game."

"Yes," Robin, who was well-informed, took over the conversation and explained.

"This game is a remnant of a Pirate Paradise called 'Pirate Island' from the past."

"Simply put, it's a 'talent snatching' game among pirates in order to get better crew members."

"That's right!"

"The winner can choose the crew members from the opposing ship—or, if they don't find anyone they like, they can take the opposing ship's pirate flag!"

Facing the enemy ship swarming with pirates, Roman nodded, recalling this scene.

"A duel where 'comrades' and 'dignity' are staked; victory increases strength, defeat brings devastating losses..."

"It really is a game for pirates."

"How can that be—"

Nami was the first to object, saying that using one's companions as a gamble was disgusting.

"We will never accept this kind of duel!"

Hahahaha~~~

"That's not up to you," the crowd on the other deck burst into laughter.

"These things are decided by the captain! Our captain is already there, and as long as Monkey D. Luffy nods, you're all chips on the table—"

Brush!

Upon hearing this, Roman unfurled white wings and instantly flew backward toward the island.

"Go stop Luffy!"

Nami's voice came from behind, but Roman had no intention of stopping any duel. What a joke! He'd survived powerful enemies like Crocodile and Enel; did he think he'd get thrashed here? What Roman needed to do now was:

Speeding!

He swept across the grassland like a whirlwind, leaving a trail of 'ripples' that parted to the sides of the grass.

After crossing a hill, two opposing groups of people came into Roman's view. One group was Luffy, who was furious and being held back by Usopp and Chopper. The other group consisted of a middle-aged ugly man with a parted haircut, Red-Nose, inverted V-shaped eyebrows, triangular eyes, and wearing a purple fur coat, as well as a Masira carrying a bag and a woman with a good figure holding a magic wand.

"Silver Fox - Fox!!"

Of course, Roman didn't see any beautiful Masira, only Fox's signature split hair! The thought of acquiring the ability immediately made even Fox's appearance, which was so ugly that the entire Straw Hat crew rejected her, seem 'cute' in Roman's eyes.

Who is it?

Faced with Roman's barrage of attacks like cannonballs, Fox's team reacted instinctively in shock:

"Flower Shuriken!"

"Hamburger shell—"

"Slow····"

Then Roman, having already Observation Haki to its fullest extent, dodged the three attacks with a quick maneuver in mid-air, followed by:

"Paper Dance - Octopus!"

"Hahahaha, just let me insert it!"

"Let go of me! Don't come any closer!"

"Just accept your fate. No matter how much you scream, no one will save you—"

"Aaaaaah~~ It's in! Blood, blood!!"

The scene was extremely chaotic and bloody! The Straw Hat Trio standing nearby were stunned, but of course... it wasn't a censored scene.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you are at least the captain of a ship." Roman released the other man with satisfaction after drawing a large tube of blood from Fox's arm with a large syringe, and at the same time untied the paper arms he had used to bind his two men.

"She's screaming so pitifully, anyone who didn't know better would think it was a young girl who encountered a strong man."

········

"Roman, what brings you here?"

Seeing Luffy's bewildered expression, Roman, having obtained Fox's blood, waved his hand with satisfaction.

"You can continue, just pretend I don't exist."

This--

Although the Fox trio, now up, wanted to immediately turn on Roman and beat him up, they hesitated when they thought about his inhuman speed and strength, and how he had instantly overwhelmed them.

Forget it, a gentleman's revenge is never too late...

"Fufu... Fufu~~"

Fox rubbed his arm and forced a laugh, his eyes filled with apprehension as he stared at Luffy across from him.

"I didn't expect your Straw Hat crew to have such a skilled fighter. So, about the duel—"

Bang!

After firing a shot into the air with his hunting rifle, Luffy looked seriously at Fox face was deathly pale.

"I accept it, you Skull Splitter!"

"You... you actually called me..."

Fox had instantly fallen into a deep slump, could not recover.

But:

Since I've accepted the Davy Back Fight challenge, I'll show you my undefeated record of 920 matches! With that decision in mind Fox glanced at Roman, who was preparing to turn his blood into pages.

The opposing crew member is very strong...

That's even better!

Once we win, they'll be my subordinates, hee hee hee hee~~

"So, you weren't going to stop Luffy, but to steal his abilities?"

Faced with Nami's helpless words, Roman patted the girl's shoulder earnestly.

"The ability to record can't be considered stealing... Recording!... Can something done by someone with special abilities be considered stealing?"

Then came the usual clichés like "amazing ability" and "can boost combat power," Nami rub her forehead. —Originally, this was Roman's habit, but now it's "infected" her.

"Whatever makes you happy, but if we lose this duel, the other side will take away our crew."

"How is that possible?"

Roman waved his hand without hesitation. It wasn't that he looked down on the Fox Pirates —they had amassed a large number of elite crew members through these Davy Back Fights, most of whom were 'minor experts' with bounties in the tens of millions. Many even possessed special abilities, but:

Compared to the current Straw Hat crew, it's like comparing heaven and earth!

Although Nami herself is unaware of this, if she uses the book she has wisely, she could be considered a 'big shot' with a bounty of around 40 million. She's definitely not some nobody.

Add to that the other Straw Hat crew members, who have all improved by one or two levels, and it would be a miracle if they lost! Besides:

"The only real threat they pose is their captain's abilities,"

Roman waved the 'Slow Paper' in his hand and gestured for Nami to look at the others who seemed completely unfazed.

"Let's treat this as a 'vacation,' and today's training will be changed to real combat."

"Although it's mostly just playing around~~"