"Gyahahahaha! You sure can drink, kid!"
"Hahahaha! Just kidding! I'm amazing at drinking!"
This was Roa's first time drinking alcohol since crossing over. He slapped the table with one hand while lifting his glass and draining it in a single gulp.
It's only alcohol. Watch me neutralize it with the tough body I forged through countless hardships!
After agreeing to form a secret alliance, the atmosphere at the banquet naturally became extremely cheerful.
The two of them were actually quite compatible in their outlooks. Kaido wasn't as sunny and cheerful as Roa, who treated everyone else in the world like NPCs, but he was also a passionate, lively social butterfly of a big man. A little alcohol made his emotions especially exuberant.
Add to that their old friendship from the Rocks Pirates, and they naturally hit it off wonderfully.
As they reminisced about the glorious days on Beehive Island, Kaido even began laughing and crying at the same time, becoming extremely emotional.
Bullet wolfed down his food while looking up at Roa and Kaido, who were drinking each other under the table like sworn brothers.
They were truly powerful!
Whether it was Lord Roa or this man named Kaido, both were powerful experts far beyond his reach!
When Bullet had witnessed their clash with his own eyes earlier, he had felt a sense of urgency.
It was the urgency he felt at being so weak, while the lord he followed and the enemy he faced were both so powerful that he could not help at all!
Become stronger!
I have to become even stronger!
Bullet sped up his eating. Unlike Lord Roa, food was the source of his strength!
Dylan quietly ate his food in silence, calm and unhurried, without much reaction.
He only needed to quietly follow behind this lord, just as he had always done.
And Lord Roa would naturally take him with him to the summit of the sea. That was only natural, something destined to happen.
As Roa and Kaido chatted, he suddenly asked, "By the way, Big Brother Kaido, do you know where Aunt Stussy is?"
"Stussy?"
Kaido was slightly surprised. "Why are you looking for that woman?"
Back when they were with the Rocks Pirates, that woman had been one of the only two officers who treated Roa coldly.
Kaido suddenly thought of a possibility. His gaze at Roa became a little strange. "That woman is running a pleasure business in the New World now. Don't tell me you—"
"What are you talking about in front of a child, Big Brother Kaido? Do you want to get arrested by the Marines for contaminating a pure young man's ears?" Roa said indignantly.
"A pure young man?"
Kaido twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Anyway, I want to find Aunt Stussy and ask her for directions."
Roa explained.
The Vinsmoke Family had no territory and had always wandered across the seas, so confirming Judge's whereabouts was no easy task.
Roa's intelligence-gathering ability was basically nonexistent, and Kaido, whose subordinates were all useless rabble, was not much better.
So they needed to find someone with excellent intelligence-gathering abilities.
For example, Aunt Stussy.
Or rather, Cyborg Stussy.
"Believe whatever you want."
Kaido neither confirmed nor denied Roa's explanation. He then told Roa where Stussy was.
Not long afterward.
The enormous Azure Dragon seized the flame clouds and wound its way into the sky.
Standing on the deck, Roa waved at his departing big brother. "Take care of yourself, Big Brother Kaido! Remember to call if anything happens!"
"You're not getting any younger, so while you're building your career, don't forget to deal with your love life too! If bringing up a child is inconvenient, I can help you raise one! I'm still waiting to hold my niece!"
Even the departing Kaido could not help turning around to look at Roa, who was spouting nonsense.
What a nutcase.
"Lord Roa."
As he gazed at Kaido's departing figure, Dylan's voice came from behind him. "Is Kaido really trustworthy?"
"It doesn't matter."
Roa shrugged indifferently. "What's there to talk about trust with pirates? Shared interests are enough."
At least when it came to overthrowing the World Government, the two sides did indeed have an unbreakable foundation for cooperation.
Besides, they probably would not have any opportunity to cooperate in the short term. The current New World was not their stage.
"Anyway, let's set sail."
Roa stretched and yawned. "Let's go find Aunt Stussy."
Without black aura to eat, he felt like sleeping. He would not be so hungry in his dreams.
"Yes."
Dylan nodded.
"Lord Roa!"
Bullet suddenly spoke.
"What is it, Bullet?"
Roa glanced back.
The young Bullet looked solemn. "Only after witnessing your power did I realize how insignificant I am. I want to become stronger! Please guide me in my training!"
Guide him?
Ah...
Something this boring? I'd rather sleep.
Roa's eyes shifted.
"True experts are tempered through battle." Roa, who had become this strong purely by eating, said this with complete seriousness. "So, Bullet, play with them."
With a snap of his fingers, the wraiths staggered out of the cabin like zombies. Their pure-black eyes, devoid of expression—or perhaps impossible to tell whether they had any expression at all—locked onto Bullet.
"I see!"
Bullet assumed this was Lord Roa's secret to becoming so powerful. Although he had never once seen Lord Roa fight seriously during those six years, how could Lord Roa's words possibly be wrong?
The young Bullet clenched both fists. "I understand, Lord Roa! Let them attack with all their strength!"
Having never experienced life's setbacks, Bullet was much more normal than the one from the original story. He could still burn with passion and become extremely excited.
"Have fun."
Roa waved his hand, and the wraiths instantly pounced on Bullet.
Bullet immediately found himself locked in a bitter struggle.
After all, Roa had deliberately selected the wraiths capable of using Haki. Otherwise, they would have been completely unable to threaten Bullet.
They were the absolute elites among the wraiths. Not one of them had a bounty below one hundred million, and some even exceeded three hundred million.
Bullet's two types of Haki had only awakened recently, and he was still a complete beginner. He also had not used his ability much. Facing such a group of opponents, he naturally could not win quickly.
Still, he was already quite impressive.
But he was still far too lacking!
Roa leisurely lay on a lounge chair to the side, watching Bullet fight desperately.
As expected, the claim in the movie that a fifteen-year-old Bullet fought Rayleigh to a draw was pure Buggy-style boasting.
If he was only weaker than Roger and equal to Rayleigh, where did that leave Gaban?
If he really was that powerful, would he have merely drawn with Crocodile after leaving the Roger Pirates? Would he have needed twenty years of training to reach Emperor level only after mastering his awakening? Wasn't peak Rayleigh already at Emperor level?
Ugh, what's wrong with society these days? Why is everyone so impatient? Can't they be a little more down-to-earth? It must be a problem with the system. Imu, repent!
Not long afterward.
New World, Velvet, night.
The island was not large and had few resources, yet a large number of ships were docked at its port. That was because the island was home to a very special town.
Roa wore a large pair of sunglasses and swaggered down the streets with Bullet and Dylan.
Shop windows of all sizes lined both sides of the road. Looking at the scantily clad women inside, Roa could not help sighing repeatedly. "This is really not suitable for children. I'll have to collect some evidence and report it to the Marines."
"This one's too small. Doesn't seem very promising. Oh! This one's a little too big. The potential of humanity is truly astonishing!"
"The Longarm Tribe is so ugly—huh? Impressive. There are even people into this sort of thing?"
"A cat girl from the Mink Tribe? I suppose being furry isn't necessarily a bad thing."
"There are mermaids too? How outrageous! This one hasn't even split its legs yet!"
"Hey, an octopus fish-man is going too far! Human proclivities truly cannot be underestimated!"
"What? There are giants too? Amazing! The courage to open up a path through the wilderness—that is truly humanity's anthem!"
After making a full circuit, Roa had used up all the surprise he had accumulated over six years.
Aunt Stussy really has something.
After stopping along the way to collect evidence, the three of them finally arrived before a brightly lit high-rise building.
On each level of the building's terraces, pitiful women in ragged clothing displayed to the people below just how destitute they were.
This incited the men below to roar with righteous indignation as they forced their way into the building.
"Scarlet Sleepless City, Lord Roa. Stussy should be inside."
Dylan remained as calm as ever. His only dream was to follow Lord Roa to the summit of the sea; he had no pointless desires.
"Let's go!"
Roa's eyes filled with determination. "I want to see what this is all about!"
Before you continue