For Freedom! Dragon Takes Action!

"Hahaha! Mr. Roa! Then let's agree on that!"

In the Dragon Palace, the aged mermaid king smiled so broadly that the wrinkles around his eyes resembled a mille-feuille. "You'll be in charge of funding and company structure; we, the Fish-Man Island, will handle the manpower."

"Certainly!"

Roa smiled and raised his glass to the other party. Although there was a lot of dark energy surrounding Fish-Man Island, in order to truly control Fish-Man Island in the future, he would give them some face for now.

The agreement to establish a joint venture with Fish-Man Island has been reached.

Just as agreed beforehand, Roa provided the money, Fish-Man Island provided the manpower, and Fisher Tiger served as the Minister of Transportation, in charge of all the Fish-Man employees. Many Fish-Man from Fish-Man District joined the company with him.

This included Jinbe.

However, that's how the company was established.

However, it will take a considerable amount of time before it can be truly put into operation.

There are three essential things to do.

First are the sea creatures, which are the power source for deep-sea transportation and can be said to be an indispensable link. Next, Fisher Tiger will lead the Fish-Man to tame a large number of sea creatures.

Secondly, there are ships. Sea creatures provide the power, so naturally, ships are also needed to carry cargo. This is relatively simple, as Fish-Man Island has many shipbuilding craftsmen.

Finally, and most importantly, this is the most troublesome step.

The Fish-Man must explore the direction of the deep-sea currents.

The Four Seas are relatively calm, as the currents mostly flow in a fixed direction. However, the Grand Line has many currents that appear and disappear suddenly, so it's necessary to identify which currents can be used.

This task will take the most time. Even though the Mermaid King promised that Fish-Man Island would send a large number of Fish-Man to carry out the mission, and even if all that is needed is to find a current leading to a large area of the sea, it will probably take at least a year and a half to complete.

Roa wasn't too concerned; even without relying on ocean currents, the combination of Fish-Man and sea monsters was already far faster than sea ships.

Therefore, the cooperation went smoothly.

Win-win!

Haha! This is so fun!

The old king grinned Delia, "Guests from afar, tonight, let's drink until we drop!"

The guests refer to Roa and his friends, as well as the Roger Pirates.

"Hahaha! Then we won't hold back!"

Roger laughed heartily.

It's all thanks to Roa.

Otherwise, the old king wouldn't have entertained them.

Ultimately, despite being disliked, the Ryugu Kingdom is still Affiliated Nation of the World Government.

"Wow, we actually got to have a banquet with them?"

Buggy, wolfing down his food, whispered in his best friend's ear, "What's the captain thinking?! We almost got killed by that Roa guy a year ago!"

"Because one's stance is always changing."

Shanks's eating manners were no less refined than his good friend's, but his words were certainly much more sophisticated.

"Snort!"

Buggy was very unhappy with his best friend's answer; he should have joined him in opposing the other side!

The Red Nose brat glared fiercely at Doflamingo and Bege across from him.

"What's that guy looking at?"

Bege noticed Buggy's gaze and spoke up, somewhat annoyed.

Ignore him, he's just an insignificant brat.

Doflamingo paid no attention to the two brats on Roger's ship.

With Bege and the accomplice World, he's no longer the Doflamingo who could only take the blame!

Now, he's very arrogant!

Doflamingo was simply gazing absently at the mermaids dancing gracefully on the banquet hall stage.

In Mary Geoise, many of his childhood friends kept mermaids as pets.

Thinking back on it now, it really brings back fond memories!

That despicable Roa! He clearly has the power, so why doesn't he just take over Fish-Man Island? If he did, he could raise thousands of mermaids himself!

Of course, all Doflamingo could do was complain in his heart; he wouldn't dare say a word against Roa.

Fear has long been rooted in my heart and can never be eradicated.

After a lively banquet, the Roger Pirates prepared to take their leave.

This wasn't their first time visiting Fish-Man Island; having already obtained the Poneglyph, they naturally wouldn't linger.

Before leaving, Roger turned back to look at Roa, who had come to see him off with a grin, and suddenly asked, "Roa, I've never quite understood what you're trying to do?"

He claims to no longer be a pirate, but in fact he is indeed doing business.

But how is their modus operandi different from that of pirates?

Me?

Roa scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly, "It's a little embarrassing to say, but it's actually because of my appetite."

"Appetite?"

Roger frowned slightly.

Of ten pirates, at least nine are driven by their own desires.

But what does appetite mean?

"However, more than anyone else, I hope this world will become a freer place!"

Roa said earnestly, "Go for it, Roger! If you can find the Laugh Tale, uncover the truth hidden for eight hundred years, and finally free people from the World Government's order!"

"Let this world achieve true freedom!"

Free?

Roger also sought freedom.

No one can restrict his freedom.

The reason he went in search of the Great Treasure was simply because he wanted to find it.

But when Roa uttered the word "freedom," Roger felt only a primal sense of dread rising within him.

Will this bring true freedom to the world?

Roger gave Roa a deep look, then turned and left without a backward glance.

Roa simply watched them leave in silence.

Keep it up, Roger!

I'm genuinely cheering for you guys.

"Boss, this is actually a good opportunity."

Dylan spoke softly from behind Roa.

There's absolutely no chance of defeating the Roger Pirates at sea!

What are you saying?

Roa laughed and said, "Roger is not our enemy."

At almost the same moment, the Roger Pirates left.

Buggy sidled up to the captain, "Captain, that guy is super annoying! Are we really going to be friends with him? I can't accept that!"

"Friend?"

Roger paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. "We'll never be friends! But we're not enemies either."

Buggy was slightly taken aback.

Neither friend nor foe?

What kind of relationship is that?

"That's how I am,"

Roger reached out and ruffled the head of the blue-haired boy beside him, his tone somewhat detached, "But from now on, Buggy, when you and Shanks set sail, you'd better watch out for that kid Roa."

"Huh? Going to sea? I don't want to go to sea! I want to sail with you, Captain, forever!"

"Hahaha! You idiot, what nonsense are you talking about? What kind of child grows up and still follows their parents around? You'll have your own adventures too!"

"Buggy is a coward, after all."

"Hey! You Shanks! What did you say?!"

Amidst the commotion, the Roger Pirates arrived at the port, sailed away from Fish-Man Island, and headed for Paradise.

However, shortly after setting sail...

"Wow! Where did that sound come from!"

"A sound? What sound? Captain, we didn't hear anything!"

"It really is! A super loud sound! Someone's talking! But I can't hear what they're saying!"

In the pitch-black depths of the sea, echoes sounds that only the monsters that dwell there, and a very few exceptionally gifted individuals, can hear.

"The king's birth is still fifteen years away, and the king across the sea has not yet been born either. However, a new king who should not have appeared has arrived."

Where will the new king lead the world? Will the appointed day ever come?

"It remains to be seen; let us await the birth of the king."

The Roger Pirates had already departed in style, but Roa and his companions were not in a hurry to leave.

Having finally arrived at Fish-Man Island, a place renowned for its beauty, wouldn't it be a waste not to make the most of it?

This trip lasted for more than a week.

During this time, Umit's men arrived.

Roa knows nothing about company structure and management; leave professional matters to professionals.

With Umit's people directly connecting with the Dragon Palace, and with Fisher Tiger's cooperation, the company called Deep Sea Transportation had already taken shape in a short period of time.

Once the sea creatures and ships arrive, we can begin transporting goods immediately.

Roa didn't put in much effort; after having his fill of fun on Fish-Man Island, he prepared to return to the New World.

Although Neptune tried to persuade him to stay, Roa couldn't detect any genuine emotion in his words.

After all, Fish-Man Island was far too vulnerable for Roa.

The submarine soon set sail from Fish-Man Island, retracing its route back towards the New World.

However, just as they were about to exit the enormous cave...

Roa suddenly paused.

What's that? I think I heard something.

Apart from this minor incident, the return to the surface was smooth sailing and uninterrupted.

They successfully returned to the surface, successfully rendezvoused with the Snail Fleet, and smoothly began their return voyage towards the latter part of the New World.

This was truly a long and arduous journey.

First, they went to the West Blue, took a stroll around there, and then rushed back to the New World before heading to Fish-Man Island.

Fortunately, the harvest was quite fruitful.

Just then, a phone call came in.

"Boss! There's trouble again in North Blue!"

Morgans' voice still carried the same mischievous urge to stir up trouble.

"Oh? What's the son of Garp the Hero up to again?"

Roa said casually.

"As expected of you! You guessed it right away!"

Morgans chuckled and said, "He's gathered some moderate figures to negotiate with the extremists and persuade them to stop their radical retaliatory actions."

Since the attackers from Flevance caused a ruckus at last year's Reverie, a naval officer named Dragon has volunteered to be transferred to the North Blue.

Throughout the year, he had been secretly in contact with immigrants in Flevance.

Preventing indiscriminate retaliation from extremists and deepening understanding with moderates can be described as being a troublemaker.

However, despite his disguise and efforts to keep a low profile, unfortunately, Roa had people in almost every slightly larger group of the Flevance remnants, and all his actions were actually under Roa's watchful eye.

"That's pretty annoying."

Roa said somewhat unhappily, "Don't advise others to be kind if you haven't experienced their suffering. Don't you understand such a simple principle? I really can't accept this!"

Over the past year, the radical remnants of Flevance, who knew they were doomed, have practically turned the entire North Blue upside down.

They are fearless and ruthless, and are now the nightmare of the entire North Blue —as evidence, in the comic book serialized in the North Blue World Economic News Paper, the Flevance have replaced the Vinsmoke Family as the biggest villainous group.

But then Dragon stepped forward and said he would stop it all.

Does he understand the suffering of the Flevance? He's here giving orders!

You can't stand up and say "Love and Peace" when the persecuted start to fight back!

No, this kind of mindless, overly compassionate behavior must be stopped!

"If he wants to stop it, then give him a more forceful approach."

Roa said calmly, "The son of Marine Hero, a naval Supernovas colluding with rioters wreaking havoc in the North Blue, Morgans, does this news deserve to be on the front page of the World Economy News Paper?"

"That's enough! I'll get right on it!"

North Blue, a certain sea area.

A ship sails silently on the sea.

Are you really going to do this?

The Flevance survivor, Doctor Trafalgar was once highly respected in that country, looked at the figure standing at the bow of the ship with a complicated expression.

He had already gone into hiding, intending to spend the last part of his life with his wife.

However, the man who had hidden himself in his hood approached him.

Doctor Trafalgar was so frightened he almost fainted on the spot, but thankfully, the man meant him no harm.

He was simply interested in everything that happened in Flevance.

So Trafalgar told him everything that had happened in Flevance.

Then, something unexpected happened to Trafalgar: this man, who had absolutely no connection with Flevance, became unusually indignant after learning everything.

He even began to proactively contact more Flevance, offering them shelter and, of course, preventing the extremists from launching a vicious retaliation.

Trafalgar simply couldn't understand what he was thinking.

"We have no future."

Trafalgar said, "Most of the Flevance have gone mad. You should know from all the time you've dealt with them that you can't stop them."

We have to give it a try.

The man in black robes spoke in a low voice, "Innocent people should not be affected, anger should not be allowed to spread indefinitely, and their lives should not be wasted on such things!"

"Waste? What else is there to talk about waste?"

Trafalgar said with a hint of self-mockery, "What else can we do? Pretend nothing happened and quietly wait to die like I did?"

"If you absolutely must fight, then pull the trigger on the one you truly deserve to hate."

The man in black robes said in a deep voice, "Besides, didn't you also say that someone deliberately detonated the powder keg? The current situation in North Blue is exactly what they wanted to see."

"Since it's a conspiracy from the start, we should stop it even more."

Doctor Trafalgar opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

Just then, a News Coo flew overhead, and a newspaper drifted down, landing right in Doctor Trafalgar's arms.

The doctor instinctively picked up the newspaper and opened it; his expression suddenly froze.

He blinked in disbelief, then looked up at the dark figure in astonishment. "You... are you called Dragon?"

"What?"