False Hatred, Absolute Strength

"Both human and pirate..."

"But they're with the princess and Jinbe, and they just rescued the king and three princes... They're our people!"

"Go! It's Luffy, right? Take them down!!"

Having endured the physical and mental torment of the 'New Fish-Man Pirates,' the successive defeats of the king and his three princes, and the rampage of Hody Jones, the ordinary mermaids and Fish-Man were already in a state of utter despair. Now:

Thank you all!

"Straw Hat, take them down!!"

Some raised their arms and shouted until their faces were flushed, some clapped wildly, and some shouted praises of the heroes. The sounds of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of mermaids and Fish-Man blended into a torrent of sound that echoed throughout the square and even reached the coral buildings and the waves, creating a long-lasting, rolling echo.

In contrast, most of the Straw Hat crew remained calm and composed.

After all, what kind of emotional connection could they possibly have with Fish-Man Island? Keimi was their only acquaintance, and Jinbe had only ever interacted with Luffy and Roman before. Furthermore, there was no basis for racial or cultural identification.

As for the scale, the yellow sands of Alabasta, the world-destroying thunder of Sky Island, and for Roman, who experienced the world war at Marineford... compared to those, the scene in front of him was like a kindergarten brawl.

Hmm, should we do something to those giant Sea King later?

The cheers and hostility around him were just noise that Roman automatically filtered out. He was figuring out how to get 'intelligence' from those giant Sea King —he remembered there was something called a 'Whisper-Whisper Fruit'?

That Devil Fruit ability is essentially a flawed version of 'Voice of All Things,' limited to animals, allowing the user to convey their thoughts to them. However, the user cannot read the animal's mind; the creature must willingly communicate with them to understand their thoughts. Unfortunately, Roman never encountered a user of this fruit...

Boom!

"That piece of trash Vander Decken!"

Hody Jones, rising from the ruins, fixed his fierce gaze on the Straw Hat crew standing calmly in the plaza. Since Shirahoshi appeared here unharmed, it proved that another key figure in the plan— Vander Decken IX— had failed.

"Jinbe, you tricked me!"

"I should have realized this when you obediently surrendered!"

Jinbe was once Shichibukai, yet he was captured by a bunch of small fry... If everything hadn't gone too smoothly today, Hody Jones wouldn't have even thought of this.

"It seems you get along well with humans?"

Hody Jones felt increasingly disgusted as he looked at Jinbe standing with the Straw Hat crew.

"Your former captain, the 'hero' Fisher Tiger, died because humans refused to give him blood..."

"Your companions Arlong and his gang, all died at the hands of humans, and now you're still standing on the side of these wicked humans—"

"Tsk, I hate guys like you who make sweeping generalizations."

Roman stepped forward with a sigh.

"People are different from each other. By the same token, Fish-Man- Fish-Man are different from each other." Roman stepped forward. "Among you Fish-Man, there are robbers, criminals, ordinary people, and—heroes."

"Judging people as good or bad based on their profession, race, or nationality, even if you've never met them."

Roman looked around, and wherever his gaze fell, there was immediate silence.

His voice wasn't loud, but thanks to the 'Tremor-Tremor Ability,' it clearly reached the ears of the hundreds of thousands of Fish-Man present.

"Such subjective and delusional thinking is wrong, as anyone with a modicum of rationality knows. A great man once said, 'Without investigation, there is no right to speak,' so..."

Roman looked at Hody Jones. His calm gaze held an undeniable air of dominance—

Have you ever personally gone to the sea to investigate or contacted any country?

"This·····"

Have you ever gone to countries on Earth to observe and understand the lives of ordinary people?

"I·····"

"Have you even had a serious conversation with the pirates who pass through here?"

"Without······"

"So,"

Roman spread his hands:

"Your hatred for humanity is nothing more than 'information' instilled in you by others. You didn't even bother to discern its truthfulness before hastily adopting it as your life's creed. And then you stop at nothing to stop it!"

"It is precisely because of your hatred that you lack 'determination' and 'belief' that you are capable of doing anything! — including the random slaughter and humiliation of your compatriots."

"Admit it, you're nothing but a bunch of 'fakes'!"

Roman's words were piercing to the heart.

"Whether it's belief or strength."

!!!!!!!

These words were not just addressed to Hody Jones, but conveyed to the entire Fish-Man Island.

In fact, Roman wouldn't care about a madman like Hody Jones, whose self-hypnosis is so deeply ingrained. However, since Fish-Man Island will become the Straw Hat crew's territory in the future, there are some things that should be said sooner rather than later:

"The right choice here is for you to see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears to determine who is the enemy and who is the friend."

"Roman... thank you."

Although Roman's words were unpleasant to hear, that was precisely what true 'respect' meant.

Roman waved his hand in response to Jinbe's words of thanks.

"I'm just telling the truth, after all, I never lie."

?!

'The pirates you tricked and killed have something to say...'

Roman calmly returned the look to Nami beside him, who was trying to convey the same meaning.

'I didn't deceive them; their greed blinded them.'

"Fart!!!"

A roar interrupted Roman and Nami's 'team chat', and Hody Jones, rendered speechless by Roman's barrage of words, simply gave up and went all out.

"Nonsense! I'll tear you to pieces and show you what a superior race truly is!"

Hehe,

Roman glanced at Hody Jones with a nonchalant air; the other's exasperated look seemed strangely familiar. Since you insist on a physical fight instead of a 'verbal duel,' then I'll just have to reluctantly oblige.

"Brothers! Come in!!"

At Hody Jones's command, hordes of armed Fish-Man surged into the square, creating a truly massive crowd.

"Hahaha, you guys almost fooled me!"

"It's just a pirate crew of ten people, even if you add Jinbe... oh, and the noble 'Mermaid Princess' and a shark."

Hody Jones spread his arms wide. Couldn't win an argument? No problem, defeating the opponent was victory!

"I have 100,000 men here! I could wipe you all out with a single breath!!"

"I am the true King of the Pirates!"

·······

Very good, very confident!

I like.

"Luffy, what do you think?"

Roman turned to look at Luffy, who had been precisely stepped on by the other party, and Luffy had indeed taken a few steps forward to look at Hody Jones.

"You said... what kind of king do you want to be?!"

Oh... Luffy, did you steal someone else's line?

Stare--

One look!

As Luffy looked up and swept his gaze, a unique aura emanated from him!

It was fearless generosity, sincere anger, unwavering heroism, and chilling coldness... These unique personal marks belonging to Luffy were unleashed, transforming into invisible waves that echoed repeatedly in the plaza, penetrating everything in their path! Wherever it went, the bodies and souls of the Fish-Man were utterly powerless against this aura.

Conqueror's Haki Impact!!

Dead silence—

In an instant, the square, which had been filled with shouts of battle, fell silent! It was as if someone had pressed the pause button; the scene was utterly absurd. Then:

Snap,

Snap, snap, snap,

Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!

Like Domino, the Fish-Man across the plaza collapsed to the ground, their eyes rolling back in their heads. This suddenly created a large empty space in the otherwise densely packed plaza.

"What... what... what kind of sorcery is this?!"

Faced with a stunned Hody Jones, Luffy simply calmly adjusted his straw Straw Hat.

"Hey! You, Huo something, I'm definitely going to beat you to a pulp! Where you are or what kind of king you become is none of my business. But—"

Luffy raised his head, and his Haki eyes sent a shiver down Hody Jones's spine.

"One 'King' among pirates is enough."

"Hehe, as expected of our captain."

Roman, arms crossed, nodded. Luffy's unwavering belief is what makes him so captivating. Unlike his previous simple 'dream,' Luffy is now seriously aiming for the 'throne.' So:

"Hey, guys, pull yourselves together!!"

"No... don't panic, we still have 50,000 people..."

Step, step, step.

"Well, I talked about the importance of communication before, now I want to talk about the importance of strength."

Roman's eyes narrowed as he walked up to Luffy, and an equally terrifying shock instantly emanated from him!

Unlike Luffy, Roman's Conqueror's Haki is quite different:

It was haughty indifference, a calm gaze, icy rage, and silent killing intent... If Luffy's Conqueror's Haki was like a fierce fist striking the Fish-Man's bodies and souls, then Roman's Conqueror's Haki was like a cold torrent sweeping across them:

Snap snap snap snap snap—

Amidst the resounding thuds of countless people falling to the ground, Roman's calm voice rang out.

"You have no one left."

Why do mermaids and Fish-Man become slaves to humans?

It's just that they lack ability but are good-looking/unusual. — A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.

········

Glug,

Hody Jones was startled awake by the sound of his own saliva swallowing, only to suddenly realize that the cadres next to him all had their mouths wide open, but their faces were bluish-purple, as if they were drowning and suffocating.

That's because, under the combined Conqueror's Haki Impact, even their basic instinct to breathe was taken away—

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

A hard slap from one person, though it caused several cadres to bleed from the corners of their mouths, also helped them escape from their extreme fear.

Splash!

Hody Jones grabbed a handful of the Energy Steroids and threw it straight into his mouth! Then:

Puff!

"Ahhhh!!"

He stabbed a Fish-Man Pirates in the leg, forcibly waking him up amidst the splattering blood.

"Wake up these useless people!"

With his gray hair, murderous aura, and bloodshot eyes like a demon, Hody Jones looked at the other officers and said, "Give each of them an Energy Steroids!"

"If they still can't muster the 'courage,' just slit their throats!!"

——!

"They've gone mad..."

"This guy... is a devil!!"

"He doesn't even consider his own companions... no, he doesn't consider anyone a companion at all!"

"No, absolutely not! I don't want someone like that as king... Oh... right, and the Straw Hat crew too..."

"Straw Hat Luffy!! Help us—"

"Save Fish-Man Island!!"

Well, I have to say.

This Hody Jones truly lives up to his reputation as a 'villain'...

"Luffy, Roman."

Zoro, holding three swords at his waist, stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with the two, glancing helplessly at the 'corpse-strewn' square.

"You've killed everyone, aren't we just bored?"

In response to Zoro's complaints, Luffy replied nonchalantly.

"What does it matter? The enemy is so weak, there's no point in fighting like this."

"Don't panic, look over there~~"

Compared to the straightforward Luffy, Roman pointed to Hody Jones and his crew who were on drugs.

"We cleared out the regular enemies, leaving you with a few elite monsters. Consider it—"

"A warm-up match for the reunion?"

"Alright."

The rest of the Straw Hat crew stepped forward, eager to show off their skills. Since Luffy and Roman had already demonstrated their abilities, they, as future members of the pirate crew, should also put on a show!

P. S.: Double monthly passes tomorrow, hmm. I'm not asking for much, just a thousand would be great... By the way, I won 100 yuan in the lottery last month, tears welling up~~~ My safety net...