Recalling the Past, A Legend Begins

"Do you think my dream is too casual?"

Roman spread his hands, looking at the others on the deck.

"But there's no helping it. Dreams, and such, are generally deeply connected to one's past."

"Whether it's an idol, a friend, parents, or a benefactor... whether it's strength, knowledge, or dreams, people pass them down from generation to generation."

"You all have precious memories, but my past..."

"Roman, the past is already—"

The tragedies of this world... you could say they were everywhere. Nami stepped forward, wondering how to comfort Roman, but he raised his hand to stop her.

"You misunderstand, Nami."

"My past, should I say: it was very happy."

?

Then why were you acting so deep?!

Facing his comrades, whose faces clearly showed 'Are you kidding me?', Roman shrugged.

"As for my past,"

"An ordinary family, an ordinary life, an ordinary daily routine..."

"Whatever I wanted to eat each day, I'd just make a call... and someone would deliver it. (Referring to food delivery)"

"Whatever I wanted to watch each day, it would appear before my eyes with a flick of my finger, be it novels, anime... or operas. (Referring to smartphones)"

"If I was bored and wanted to exercise, I could follow a coach... an instructor to train my body, boxing, sports, shooting... (Referring to online fitness)"

Hey, hey, hey, that's not 'ordinary' at all!

Zoro, Nami, Sanji, and Usopp were speechless. In this chaotic world, even royalty... no, even kings wouldn't have such treatment, right?

"Every day was a peaceful, uneventful life. The most serious injury I ever sustained from childhood was accidentally cutting my finger..."

"As for battles, deaths, and such, I only ever saw them on TV or in newspapers..."

Seeing Roman's 'so bored' expression, everyone couldn't help but feel the urge to punch him!

Is this the legendary 'blessed with good fortune but unaware of it'?

Such an upbringing is already—

"In short, that's what my past was like."

"Although I had many wild daydreams, they were just dreams."

"And then, I inexplicably ended up at sea as a pirate..."

"Although thanks to the various books I read when I had nothing else to do, and the combat swordsmanship I learned for fun back then. I've managed to get by as a pirate..."

Big Brother, your strength, which earned you a bounty of 100 million, is just 'getting by'?

Then what are we, rookie sailors?!

Except for the carefree Luffy, the others were beyond words.

"Because I have no deep-seated regrets, I don't really have any dreams either."

Roman summarized his 'transmigration'.

"Punching the Yonko, stepping on the Three Admirals, and so on. Although I thought about it occasionally, they have no grudge against me, and I have no motivation. —At most, it's a fleeting interest that I quickly forget."

Nami, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji exchanged glances.

Understood! This Roman is just a royal brat who's too bored.

"In short, I actually envy you all."

Roman finally got to the point. "You all have goals that you strive for your entire lives, and you are unwavering. I truly envy that! Compared to you, I'm just a lazy fish drifting with the current."

"But today is different,"

Roman spread his arms, as if embracing the world.

"I want to see the moment your dreams come true. —Perhaps it will be laughter, perhaps tears, perhaps just melancholy, perhaps even emptiness. But:"

"I really want to see it with my own eyes!"

Well, if he had to say it, this was Roman's 'dream'.

"Heehee~~~"

"Roman, you've been saying incomprehensible things for a long time."

Luffy adjusted his straw hat, looked up at Roman with a bright smile.

"So you want to see 'One Piece' too."

"I've decided, I'll fulfill your dream!"

"Alright, Luffy, it's fine for you to understand it that way."

Roman shrugged, and as he spoke about past events, he seemed to feel much lighter. It felt a bit absurd to confide in people while always harboring past secrets. However:

"Heh heh heh, there's still a lot I learned from books, like the Revolutionary, or the Five Elders, or the Void Century, or..." Even:

"One Piece and the Blue Sea, I—"

Roman deliberately stretched out the word "I," while Luffy and Sanji wore expressions of "Please don't spoil it." Roman's expression turned serious.

"I don't know either."

???

"I'll beat you, believe it or not!"

"Hahaha, I was just scaring you. I'm not an encyclopedia~~~"

In the ship's cabin, a group of people sat together, with a nautical chart from the Buggy Pirates spread on the table.

"The entrance to the 'Grand Line' is a mountain."

"A mountain?" X4

"Although I find it a bit hard to believe, if the map's location is correct, the entrance is indeed at Reverse Mountain, where the lighthouse is..."

"Are we supposed to crash into the mountain?"

Facing their bewildered and uncertain expressions, Roman tapped the table.

"We're not crashing into it, we're preparing to 'climb' it."

???

"Ahead is the Red Line, where the four great seas—East, West, North, and South—all converge through canals..."

"The powerful currents of the Four Seas push the seawater to the mountaintop, and then merge into a single stream flowing down, which is the starting point of the Grand Line."

Roman began to use his "book knowledge" to educate the group.

"The entire Grand Line circles the world, which means..."

"Wow, look, it's calm over there~~"

Usopp, leaning against the window, looked out into the distance.

"Then why do we have to take such a bizarre route?" Zoro posed a question, "Why don't we just head south..."

"The answer lies in that calm sea."

"That's the Calm Belt. The Grand Line is sandwiched between two areas called the 'Calm Belt'."

"As the name suggests, the Calm Belt is an area with no wind. Sailing ships are practically immobile there, but more importantly..."

Roman pointed to where Usopp was looking out the window. Their current sea was experiencing a torrential downpour, yet not far away, the sea was calm and bathed in sunlight.

Outside, the paper puppet 'White Knight' was steering the ship, wearing a raincoat. Roman had deliberately steered the Golden Merry off course to this location.

"No matter how dangerous or powerful I say the Grand Line is... you all don't have a concrete concept. So,"

BOOM BOOM BOOM—!

Amidst thunderous sounds, the entire Golden Merry jolted violently! It was like a pathetic leaf in a raging storm. By the time it finally stabilized, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji in the cabin rushed outside. Then:

"What the hell is this?!" X4

Four faces... no, three faces were dumbfounded.

Because the pathetic Usopp had already foamed at the mouth and fainted.

In the calm sea next to the Golden Merry, a group of... hundreds of meters, or even thousands of meters? giant sea beasts surfaced! Their bodies, just above the water, resembled continuous rolling mountain ranges!

The Golden Merry, carrying Roman, Luffy, and the others, was like an ant next to a giant in front of these sea beasts. They were so insignificant that they didn't even warrant their attention.

"Calm Belt specialty: Giant Sea Kings."

Behind the dumbfounded trio and Nami, who was hugging the cabin door and weeping, and beyond the unconscious Usopp, Roman slowly emerged.

"Now you understand, this is why everyone obediently takes the Grand Line."

"Roman—"

"Turn back, turn back!!"

"Don't talk about that..."

"Bro... Big Brother..."

Even the fearless trio were so terrified their souls felt like they were cracking! Facing these hundreds or thousands of meters of colossal beasts, their fists, feet, or even swords would be utterly useless, not even worthy of being called 'scratching' them. And if these beasts just rolled over...

Their only fate would be to be buried at sea.

Without them saying anything, Roman had already instructed 'White Knight' to steer the Golden Merry in an arc. They had only "visited" the edge of the Calm Belt to show the crew the terror of the Grand Line, not to genuinely court death.

—However, without Roman, it was hard to say if Luffy and the others wouldn't have recklessly sailed into the giant Sea King's nesting grounds...

"Alright, let's set sail for Reverse Mountain."

The Grand Line, here we come!