"Ha ha ha—"
Bang!
"What the hell are you laughing for? Do you know you nearly scared us to death?!"
Facing Roman's fury, Luffy, having taken a punch, could only meekly go, "Yes, yes, yes," before immediately changing the subject with renewed energy.
"Where are Nami and Usopp?"
"They took the things we bought back to the ship first."
Speaking of business, Roman put away the turmoil Luffy had just caused him.
"Nami said a storm was coming soon, so she and Usopp went to watch the ship. It'd be terrible if it got blown away."
After leaving all the weapons behind in Cocoyasi Village, Roman's merchant ship itself had been dismantled for materials to build the coastal fortress. With Roman's cautious nature, he had no intention of letting some merchant ship owner show up in Cocoyasi Village one day and cause a bunch of bullshit trouble.
So now, the Golden Merry was the only ship they had left—and the only one they could sail out on.
"And those Marines behind us—"
Roman did not even need to turn around. By focusing on the paper crane he had left in the plaza earlier, he could easily grasp the situation.
"Luckily, Buggy's group acted as a shield for us. Otherwise, we'd be the ones facing the Marines right now."
But those guys had already been trapped by billows of smoke and were about to be caught in one sweep...
"Move, move, move! There's a troublesome guy behind us!"
Roman's urging only stirred the curiosity of the meat, booze, and cigarettes trio beside him.
"What troublesome guy?"
After all, Roman's strength was obvious to everyone. If even he looked like he wanted to get the hell out of there, then whoever was behind them...
"It's the Marine officer stationed in this town! Headquarters Colonel Smoker, the White Hunter."
"A colonel..."
"Wake the hell up, you three!" Roman's forehead throbbed with veins as he looked at their three disdainful faces that clearly said, Just a colonel?
"How many times do I have to tell you? He's from Headquarters! Headquarters! He's nothing like those worthless East Blue branch officers—"
"And Smoker is a Logia Devil Fruit user too..."
"Stop!"
A figure standing in the middle of the road and a voice interrupted Roman's "lecture," causing Sanji beside him to suddenly speed up!
?
"Ahh~"
"Beautiful..."
"Roronoa Zoro!"
However, the bespectacled girl blocking the road ignored Sanji's heart-filled expression and merely faced Zoro with a sword-drawing stance.
"I never thought you were a pirate."
"You toyed with me. I'll never forgive you!"
"Heh, then come and try—"
"Ahhh! What did you do to that poor girl—"
Clang!
The two katana violently struck together, and even the rain pouring from the sky could not hide the sparks flying between them.
"You go on ahead."
At Zoro's words, Luffy grabbed Sanji, who was muttering, "Bastard, how could you raise your hand against a lady...," and rushed past the two of them. Roman nodded behind them.
Once he entered "battle mode," Luffy was actually quite reliable.
Though calling it a battle was a bit much. In truth:
After just a few exchanges, the Marine sergeant named Tashigi was easily disarmed by Zoro and pinned against the side of the street with his sword.
"Until I become the World's Greatest Swordsman, I will not lose to any swordsman."
After saying that coldly, the Three-Sword Style user turned and sheathed his blades.
"See you."
Very good. As long as Zoro did not get lost, he was reliable too.
"Someone's ahead!"
?
Roman, positioned in the center of the group, looked up and saw a silver-gray-haired man with two cigars in his mouth blocking their path. Though he looked like a real villain, his coat made his identity clear.
"A Marine? Move aside—"
Facing Luffy charging toward him at high speed, the man merely waved a hand, and white smoke suddenly spread out! Before Luffy could react, the smoke wrapped around him like a living creature, instantly binding him in place!
It was clearly only intangible smoke, yet even Luffy, with the strength of a thousand pounds, could not break free.
"Bastard!"
Seeing Luffy in danger, Sanji raced over. His legs, capable of shattering stone, launched a fierce flying kick at the man!
"Collier!"
Then:
Puff.
The vicious kick passed straight through the man's cheek, finding nothing to strike! Half of the silver-haired man's face scattered apart, and he only gave Sanji a cold glance.
"Annoying small fry, get lost!"
"White Smoke Blast."
Boom—
With just one simple punch, Sanji, completely unprepared for a Logia Devil Fruit, was sent flying.
"Sanji!"
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
Luffy barely freed one hand and threw a counterpunch, but the place where his fist landed was just as empty. There was only smoke!
Whoosh—
The smoke beside him suddenly solidified into the silver-haired man! He grabbed Luffy by the head from behind and slammed him into the ground, drawing the weapon from his back as he mocked him.
"You're worth thirty million Beli?"
With strength like this.
"Your luck has run ou—"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A series of sharp projectiles cutting through the air came from behind. Several white arrows tore through the rain curtain toward the silver-haired Marine, making him disdainfully exhale smoke.
Useless.
Puff, puff, puff.
The arrows passed through his body, but the wounds only dispersed into drifting smoke! As long as he turned into—
"Paper Dance—"
But Roman had wanted him to enter Elementalization, because that way:
"Pinwheel!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!
A massive paper pinwheel created by Roman's power began spinning at high speed. The artificial gale blew Smoker, who had entered Elementalization, backward through the air, his white smoke scattering behind him! Forced to cancel his Elementalization midair, he violently drove his weapon into the ground to steady himself.
"You are?"
"I can't let you hurt my captain whenever you please."
Roman glanced at Luffy and Sanji, who had broken free, as well as Zoro rushing up from behind. Then he tilted his head toward the harbor.
"Run!"
??
"My pinwheel won't last long in the rain!"
At that, the trio immediately turned and sprinted without hesitation!
"Run~~~"
"Hmph. Your companions abandoned you and ran away."
In the blink of an eye, the trio had become nothing more than a few tiny dots.
"Heh heh, that's none of your concern—"
Just as Roman was considering how to get away, a familiar voice drifting farther away came from behind him.
"Gomu Gomu—"
A terrible feeling rose in his heart! Sure enough, the next second—
Smack.
A hand grabbed the back of Roman's collar, and then:
"—Rocket!"
Fuck me—
Whoosh!!!
Roman experienced the Human Cannonball before he could even finish cursing, his suddenly tightened collar choking him! The scenery around him began racing backward as he was dragged away at high speed, leaving only his drawn-out shout in the wind.
"Luffyyyyyy—"
"Ha ha ha ha! A victorious escape!"
"Fine, while that experience wasn't exactly pleasant, I have to admit it was effective."
Amid the wind and waves, the Golden Merry cut through the swells and sailed onward.
On deck, Roman rubbed his chin, seriously considering whether Luffy's method of "transportation" could be widely adopted.
"No, no, no! We absolutely do not want to experience that!"
Nami and Usopp wanted nothing to do with Roman's Human Cannonball-style method of transportation.
"Look, the lighthouse ahead!"
"Once we pass that, we'll be on the Grand Line."
As Nami explained, Sanji carried over a wooden barrel from the side.
"Since we've made it here, let's hold a ceremony."
Placing one foot on the barrel and declaring one's dream was an old pirate oath made at the beginning of a voyage.
"This..."
"Roman, get over here~~~"
Facing Luffy and the others' smiling faces, Roman, who was usually so serious, smiled as well. He had the White Knight Paper Puppet take the helm, then walked into the empty space the group had deliberately left for him and placed one foot on the barrel.
Thud.
"I'm going to become King of the Pirates!"
"I'm going to become the World's Greatest Swordsman!"
"I'm going to find the All Blue!"
"I'm going to draw a map of the entire world!"
"I... I'm going to become a brave warrior of the sea..."
"Usopp, why did your dream suddenly go in such a different direction?"
At Roman's jab, Usopp shouted, "What's it to you?" Then:
Everyone looked toward Roman. He had been the first crew member Luffy invited, and also the most serious and dependable person aboard this ship full of accidents, but...
"Roman, you're up—"
At Luffy's words, Roman thought seriously for a moment before breaking into a smile.
"My dream..."
"Is to see the day all of your dreams come true!"
"Tch, what was that? Your dream is even more halfhearted~~~"
At Usopp's jab, Roman looked up at the dark, overcast sky that kept shedding raindrops, yet laughed heartily as though he could see clear blue skies stretching for miles.
"Ha ha ha ha ha~~~~"
"It really is a halfhearted dream. How about I change it—"
"How about all of us reach the end of the world together?"
"Hey, hey, hey, do you think this is shopping? You can't just exchange it..."
"Can't I? Ha ha ha ha~~~"
"Good companions."
Atop that lighthouse, a caped figure stood amid the wind and rain. A pair of gratified eyes pierced through the raging waves and watched the distant Golden Merry, where everyone was laughing and fooling around.
"Nothing can stop a man from setting sail!"
"Go, Luffy."
"Go turn the world upside down!"
Before you continue