Roya watched Arlong with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
This made Arlong even more furious.
He absolutely could not tolerate being looked down on by a human.
After landing on the ground, Arlong's eyes were bloodshot as he charged toward Roya in a sweeping rush.
"Shark ON Tooth Wheel!"
Arlong wanted to use his most confident weapon—his teeth—to tear Roya to pieces!
Roya shook his head slightly and said softly, "The fun is over."
As soon as Roya finished speaking, he thrust the drawing pen in his hand forward.
In an instant, the air spiraled around the pen's tip, and a slash shot straight toward Arlong's heart!
The sword intent of a Great Swordsman at his peak was displayed by Roya to its fullest at this moment.
But Arlong no longer felt any fear.
There was only Roya in his eyes.
He did not even try to dodge.
It was as if he wanted to die together with Roya.
However, the slash tore straight through Arlong's heart.
"Pfft!"
Everything had happened far too quickly.
Arlong only felt all strength leave his body as darkness enveloped him completely.
"Five-Turn Illusion!"
Roya murmured, and five afterimages appeared out of thin air, tidying up the scene.
At this moment, Cocoyasi Village had once again returned to peace.
Just then, the real Kensuke led the villagers over.
They had heard the commotion from the marketplace and had all come to take a look.
They never expected to see this scene the moment they arrived.
They all froze, but in the next instant, cheers erupted from them!
It was the joy of seeing the great mountain weighing on their hearts shattered to pieces.
Although Arlong and Nezumi were both very weak—in the Grand Line, they were nothing more than cannon fodder—in the East Blue, they were indeed incredibly powerful!
Against two such "powerful" men, these civilians truly had no way to appeal to Heaven or Earth for help!
But Roya's appearance had rescued them from their miserable plight.
Kensuke came before Roya and, representing all the villagers, thanked him. "Thank you. Thank you so much, sir. If it weren't for you, we truly wouldn't dare imagine what our lives would have been like from now on."
"You shouldn't be thanking me, but them."
As he spoke, Roya pushed Nami and Nojiko out from behind him.
Kensuke naturally understood what Roya meant.
These adults had actually been less courageous than these two children.
If the two girls had not stepped forward and told White Dove the truth, they would probably still be suffering here.
Nami crossed her arms over her chest, her pretty face filled with pride.
At that moment, Kalifa returned to Cocoyasi Village, carrying a large amount of Belly.
"Everyone, I found these bribery records and Belly in Nezumi's office. You can come to me to reclaim however much Belly you were forcibly charged!"
While Kalifa was distributing the Belly to the villagers,
Nami and Nojiko dragged Roya to the small courtyard behind the house.
The entire courtyard was filled with an Orange Grove.
The system's electronic voice rang out in Roya's mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on checking in at the Orange Grove. Reward: Navigation Encyclopedia.]
Seeing the system's reward, Roya glanced at Nami beside him.
This reward was useless to him, but to this girl who yearned for the sea, it was probably a priceless treasure!
Nami and Nojiko picked one plump orange after another for Roya, placed them in a basket woven from vines, and handed it to him.
"Roya, this is just a little token of our appreciation. Don't look down on it, okay?"
Nami blinked at Roya.
Nojiko tugged at Nami beside her before saying to Roya, "Lord Roya, we don't have anything good to give you. All we have are these oranges we grew with all our hearts. Please accept them, and don't think they're too shabby!"
Hearing Nami and Nojiko, Roya immediately said, "How could I possibly dislike them? I couldn't be happier!"
As he spoke, Roya produced a Navigation Encyclopedia from beneath his cloak as if by magic and handed it to the sisters.
"I didn't bring anything good with me on this voyage. This is all I have, so I hope you like it."
When Nami saw the sea charts in the book, her eyes immediately lit up.
"Of course I like it!"
"Good. It's getting late, so we're getting ready to leave."
Seeing Nami's reluctance, Roya said softly, "Nami, Nojiko, remember what I told you. If you want to live freely on this sea, you have to work hard to become stronger!"
After leaving the Orange Grove, Kalifa had also finished dealing with the villagers' affairs in Cocoyasi Village.
Once they reunited, the two of them boarded their warship and left Cocoyasi Village.
Nami and Nojiko were also at the harbor, watching Roya and Kalifa gradually disappear into the distance.
Nami clutched the navigation book tightly and swore in her heart: I will definitely become Roya's personal navigator one day!
Out on the sea, Roya and Kalifa were sunbathing on the deck.
When she saw a News Coo flying over from the sky, Kalifa took out one hundred Belly and bought a newspaper.
"Roya, you're in this issue's newspaper again."
"Oh? What are they saying this time?"
"What else could they say? Of course, they're praising your wisdom and valor, Roya~"
As Kalifa spoke, she looked at Roya and gave him a flirtatious wink.
But Roya ignored Kalifa, narrowing his eyes as he enjoyed the bright sunlight.
Just then, his personal Den Den Mushi for an admiral rang.
A flicker of phantom light flashed, and the Den Den Mushi appeared in Roya's hand the next second.
As soon as he answered it, he heard chaotic noises coming from the Den Den Mushi.
"This is the sea area near Syrup Village! The G-53 Branch Marine fleet is requesting support!"
"Kuro of a Hundred Plans is slaughtering Marines here! Anyone capable of fighting, come provide support immediately!"
Hearing the voice from the Den Den Mushi, Roya immediately remembered.
It was Kuro of a Hundred Plans, who had invented Shakushi in the original story!
From a certain perspective, Kuro of a Hundred Plans was indeed extremely talented. He simply yearned for a peaceful, comfortable life.
"Kalifa, let's hurry over and provide support!"
Elsewhere, near the waters around Syrup Village,
Kuro looked at the corpses covering the ground, a vicious smile curling across his lips.
He turned to Jango beside him and said, "Jango, hasn't the hypnosis ended yet?"
"Morgan's willpower was somewhat beyond my expectations. It should take about five more minutes. I need to put him under deep hypnosis!"
"Hurry up. I estimate the Marine reinforcements will be here soon!"
As he spoke, Kuro used the Ten-Blade Cat Claws in his hand to stab a Marine soldier who had tried to ambush him to death...