"Thank you so much, Luffy~~"
On Roman's ship, a bespectacled boy with a middle-parted haircut studied a sea chart while turning the helm.
His name was Koby. He had previously been captured by the fat female captain of the Giant Club Pirates and forced to work as a handyman. He had only escaped after running into Roman and Luffy, and was currently "moonlighting" as a navigator aboard Roman's ship.
Of course, Giant Club Pirates was just Roman's sarcastic nickname. That female captain's real name was Alvida, the same woman who would later eat the Slippery-Slippery Fruit and transform from a fat old hag into a stunning beauty.
As for the earlier battle between Roman, Luffy, and the Giant Club Pirates, it had gone roughly like this:
I got up and one-shotted them with a punch.
Roman wasn't particularly skilled at navigation, while Luffy... Anyone who dared to sail out on a little dinghy and a barrel clearly couldn't be expected to have unlocked the "navigation skill"! So Koby, newly freed from his suffering, was perfectly suited to steer the merchant ship.
There were now only three people on the deck of this six-hundred-ton merchant ship: Koby at the helm, Luffy with Paper Bandages wrapped around his face, and—
Roman, doing push-ups under weighted restraints on his back, huffing and puffing.
'998.'
'999.'
'1000.'
"...Luffy, the Grand Line..."
The bespectacled boy at the helm hesitantly glanced at Roman, who rose and fell like a human pile driver. Compared to Luffy, who had made him feel instantly familiar, the boy named Roman... frightened Koby.
"I heard it's called the 'Pirates' Graveyard.' It's very dangerous..."
Though they had known each other for less than a day, Koby sincerely worried about his "friend," Luffy.
"Yeah, so I need to find some strong companions!"
Straw Hat Luffy faced the sea, brimming with ambition.
"Oh, right. At the Marine base you're heading to, isn't there someone named Zoro being held there~~~"
"If he's a decent guy, I'll make him my companion—"
"No, no!"
Koby shook his head repeatedly in fright.
"I heard that Zoro is a bloodthirsty mad dog who enjoys killing! People in these waters call him a 'demon wearing human skin'!"
"And he must have been arrested by the Marines because he's a bad person—"
"Heh."
A cold laugh from beside him interrupted Koby. Roman, drenched in sweat, stood up and took a towel from a nearby bucket. As he wiped himself down, he spoke casually.
"Bad people, good people—"
"Are Marines automatically good people? Are people arrested by Marines automatically bad people?"
Well, sorry to say this, but before long, your worldview was about to be turned upside down.
"A great man once said: 'To discuss good and evil without discussing positions is hooliganism!'"
Roman pointed at Luffy.
"Luffy saved you. Would you call him a 'good person' or a 'bad person'?"
"Eh? M-Mr. Luffy is obviously a good—"
"But this guy," Roman said, gesturing with one hand. The "bandages" around Luffy's head automatically unraveled and flew toward him, revealing Luffy's foolish-looking face.
Tch, that recovery speed was seriously unscientific.
Although Roman's Paper Bandages were medical supplies soaked in various medicines, having not even a scar left after just a few days was a little too...
"This 'good person' took over my ship a few days ago and 'forced' me to become his companion. So tell me—"
Roman calmly looked at Koby, making the timid boy turn his face away.
"Is Luffy still a 'good person'?"
Ignoring Luffy shouting from the side, "Hey, hey, hey! You clearly agreed willingly!" Roman gave a cold laugh and continued.
"This ship was actually a merchant vessel whose crew had been completely wiped out by a pirate crew!"
"That pirate crew was then poisoned to death by their own captain. In a way, that captain avenged the merchant ship. So tell me, was that captain a 'good person' or a 'bad person'?"
"At the same time, that captain was killed by his combat commander—namely, me! You could say I also sought justice for those pirates who died with their eyes open. So tell me, am I a 'good person' or a 'bad person'?"
Still sneering, Roman tapped the ship's railing and pointed below.
"And this merchant ship was actually carrying weapons to sell to a royal family, so they could suppress civilians who could no longer survive! In theory, by killing the merchant crew, the pirate crew may have saved tens of millions of lives instead. So tell me, were the pirates 'good people' or 'bad people'?"
"Extend that further. The king who bought those weapons wanted to suppress the 'rebels' and maintain stability, while the civilians resisting him simply couldn't go on living. So which side was good? Which side was bad?"
"Th-this... this..."
Faced with Roman's barrage of questions, Koby could only stammer wordlessly.
"Justice or injustice is nothing more than a matter of what people say."
"As long as they want to, anyone can find a 'just' excuse for their actions."
"So smart people know how to dress themselves up as 'justice,'" like Crocodile, like Doflamingo, like... the parasites within the Marines!
"Only certain idiots shout every day about becoming the King of the Pirates—"
Roman glanced at the straw-hatted man beside him, but all he saw was Luffy's stupid face full of question marks.
"But... but I believe justice must exist—"
Crash!
Swish!
A paper blade appeared beside Koby's neck, cutting off his rebuttal.
"The 'justice' of the weak is just a slogan!"
"Just like now," Roman said, cold killing intent spreading from his body. "With a light swing of my hand, your 'justice' would vanish into smoke—"
"That's enough."
A hand came between Roman and Koby. Luffy's steady voice interrupted their "argument."
"Roman, don't scare Koby."
Crash!
The paper blade in Roman's hand collapsed, turning back into paper and "melting" into his arm.
"I'm only telling the truth, Luffy."
"Is the side with more people 'justice'? Is the weaker side 'justice'? Is the side that gets bullied the most 'justice'?"
"Don't joke around. How do you know that your 'justice' isn't 'evil' in someone else's eyes? Humanity stands at the peak of all things not because of 'justice'—and justice isn't something so weak."
"Justice is stronger than evil, smarter than evil, more..."
"That's enough, Roman."
The foolishness on Luffy's face had disappeared, leaving only seriousness.
"I don't understand justice, and I don't want to."
"Those I get along with are my friends. Those I don't like, I punch away!" Luffy cheerfully brought this "debate" to an end.
"Hahahaha~~~"
Roman paused, then laughed as he shook his head.
"You're right. What principles, what justice..."
If someone looked right to you, they were a friend. If they didn't, they were an enemy.
It was that simple.
"Great, we've reached the Marine base!"
Standing on the dock, Luffy put one hand on his hip and shouted. Seeing how excited he was, who would have thought he was a "pirate"? Anyone unaware might have assumed he was some Marine's "relative"...
Wait!
This guy really did seem to be related to the Marines—
"Koby, you're amazing!"
Luffy exclaimed sincerely, and even Roman had to admit it.
Three people had sailed a merchant ship weighing several hundred tons, one of whom was an amateur and another a complete idiot. Reaching their destination safely was already...
"Luffy, if you really want to sail, you'd better find a professional navigator. Relying on drifting is..."
"Food! Food!"
However, Luffy clearly had no intention of listening. He had already dashed into the harbor in a blur.
"Let's go."
Roman patted Koby's shoulder, making the timid boy shudder all over.
"Though I don't really like you, still—"
"You're the captain's friend, after all."
"After this 'farewell meal,' you can become a Marine, and we'll continue being pirates—"
Though he probably wouldn't ever properly do pirate "business" again in his pirate career... If dining and dashing counted... Forget it. As a transmigrator, he represented the dignity of four billion people on Earth!
He should forget about dining and dashing.
So:
"I'm stuffed~~~"
"Boss, how much?"
After creating a mountain of empty plates, Roman stood up to pay. Expecting Luffy to understand the concept of "money" was about as miraculous as expecting the Celestial Dragons to understand compassion.
And Koby?
Could a handyman who had suffered endless abuse in the Giant Club Pirates possibly have something like Berries?
"Oh, right. That Zoro is being held at this Marine base, isn't he?"
In an instant, the entire restaurant fell silent, and everyone froze in the middle of whatever they were doing.
'Hey, Luffy, see?'
Koby quietly whispered to the "blunt-spoken" Luffy.
'Everyone's terrified. That Zoro really must be a terrible bad guy.'
"I see..."
Seeing Luffy's sudden look of realization, Koby sighed in relief and smiled.
"Oh, right. I checked the notice earlier. The highest-ranking officer at this base is a colonel named Morgan—"
Clang! Crash!
The restaurant patrons, who had seemed to be under a paralysis spell moments before, acted as if they had heard some forbidden curse! Their faces changed dramatically, and they immediately jumped up and fled!
"Hey, hey, hey! You haven't paid yet!"
After shouting after them, Roman helplessly turned back and gave the proprietress an apologetic nod.
"Sorry, it seems my friend caused you some trouble."
"N-no... it's fine..."
Facing the trembling proprietress, Roman could only shrug. Then he turned around and grabbed one person in each hand.
"Let's go, Luffy."
"And you—"
Before you continue