As Roy finished speaking,
A brief silence fell over the meeting room.
Everyone was weighing their own worth in their hearts.
Roy looked at everyone, tapped his fingers on the table, and drew everyone's attention to him.
"My idea is that I'll take a few people with me this time."
Hachinosu cannot be left unguarded.
Roy looked at the bear and Crocodile.
"Bear, Crocodile, I'm leaving the island in your care."
Stella and Scarlet are in charge of internal affairs; Kyros, Savi, and Enel, you few will assist with defense.
In case of any issues, please contact us immediately.
Xiong Wen nodded gently. "Don't worry, Captain."
Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, snorted.
He nodded, which was his way of agreeing.
"As for the people who came with me..."
Roy's gaze swept over the faces of several key personnel.
Bullet immediately straightened his back, his eyes filled with...
"Pick me! Pick me!"
Although Tesoro had been the most vehement opponent earlier, he now showed an eager expression—after all, that was the Celestial Dragons ' treasure trove!
Mihawk remained calm, but his grip on the knife tightened slightly.
" Bullet, Mihawk, Tesoro."
Roy called out three names.
"You three come with me. The rest of you stay behind."
The three people who were called upon had different expressions.
Bullet grinned, Mihawk nodded slightly.
Tesoro breathed a sigh of relief and wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead—he was genuinely afraid Roy wouldn't let him go.
"Alright, that's settled."
Roy stood up,
You have half a day to prepare; we'll depart in the evening.
Remember, this operation must be kept strictly confidential. Tell your subordinates we're going to 'visit an ally.'
"Understood!" everyone responded in unison.
After the meeting adjourned, Roy and his three companions immediately began preparing to depart.
Roy then took the Black Blade Shusui and a few encrypted Den Den Mushi, and finally got a 'storage bag' from Pea, emptied it, and that was it.
This operation should yield quite a few good things.
As dusk fell, Ark Maxim quietly took off and flew towards Fish-Man Island.
Inside the cabin, Tesoro, while navigating the ship, couldn't help but ask,
"Boss, you mean that guy Fisher Tiger? He actually dared to attack Mary Geoise?"
"They're much bolder than you."
Roy gazed at the sea of clouds outside the window.
"At least, you alone wouldn't dare to do something so big."
Bullet glanced at the embarrassed Tesoro.
"That Fish-Man really dared to venture into Mary Geoise all by himself; I admire him for being a tough guy, but..."
"With us here, his actions should be easier."
Mihawk, sitting in the corner wiping his Black Blade Yoru, suddenly spoke up, "That Fish-Man doesn't seem that strong, does he? How did he dare to try and break into Mary Geoise to rescue people?"
"Fischer Fisher Tiger..."
Roy recalled information about the man.
"The leader of Fish-Man District was captured by the Celestial Dragons after traveling at sea and became Celestial Dragons slave. After escaping, he has been fighting to liberate slaves."
In terms of strength... he should be about the same as Jinbe, or perhaps a little stronger.
But more importantly, he had something we needed—knowledge of the terrain of Mary Geoise.
Tesoro's eyes lit up. "You mean, he knows where the Celestial Dragons' treasure vault is?"
"They know better than we do."
Roy smiled.
"He was a slave there for several years; in some places, even the guards might not know the area better than he did."
As the four were talking, Ark Maxim had already passed through the passage beneath the Red Line and entered the deep sea where Fish-Man Island was located.
When the dark gold spaceship slowly landed at the Fish-Man Island port, Jinbe was already waiting there with a squad of Fish-Man soldiers.
" Captain Roy!"
Jinbe quickly approached, his face anxious.
"You've finally arrived!"
Fisher Tiger... he's leaving this morning, and I finally managed to persuade him to wait another half day!
"Where is he now?" Roy jumped off the spaceship.
"His own residence, the house that Ryugu Palace arranged for him."
Jinbe pointed in the direction of Fish-Man District.
He said he would wait for you until sunset, and if you still hadn't come, he would set off himself.
Roy glanced at the simulated "sun" Fish-Man Island.
It was actually a huge glowing coral, though the light had dimmed somewhat by now.
"Lead the way."
Fish-Man Island, a small, detached building on the outskirts of Fish-Man District.
Fisher Tiger stood in the doorway, a simple bag slung over his shoulder.
This red-skinned, Fish-Man was over three meters tall, with bulging muscles all over his body, and red tattoos spreading from his chest to his arms.
With her wild, long red hair, she exuded an intimidating aura simply by standing there.
He looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and was about to walk outside.
"Brother Fisher Tiger!"
Jinbe's voice came from the other end of the street.
Fisher Tiger turned his head and saw Jinbe rushing over with four humans.
He recognized the black-clad swordsman in the lead— Roy, the master of Hachinosu, one of the most prominent pirates in the New World recently.
" Jinbe, I told you, you don't need to wait for me."
Fisher Tiger's voice was deep and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken properly in a long time.
I will walk my own path.
But your path may very well be a dead end.
Roy walked up to Fisher Tiger, looking up at the tall Fish-Man.
"Even if you manage to free some slaves by venturing into Mary Geoise alone, leaving safely will be extremely difficult."
Fisher Tiger narrowed his eyes, a hint of wariness flashing in his red pupils:
How did you know I was going to Mary Geoise?
"That's not hard to guess."
Roy said calmly,
"You suddenly return to Fish-Man Island, secretly meet with Neptune and Otohime, hastily bid farewell to your companions, and prepare to leave again..."
I can't think of any other reason than to pull off a big heist.
And for you, that's the biggest goal.
Of course, Roy couldn't tell him that he had watched Pirate King and knew its ending.
Fisher Tiger remained silent.
A few seconds later, he slowly spoke:
"Since you guessed it, then step aside. This is my own choice."
"We can help you," Roy said.
Fisher Tiger was taken aback.
"It's not just about freeing you from slavery."
Roy continued,
"We also plan to take advantage of the chaos to loot the Celestial Dragons ' treasure vault."
Fisher Tiger was completely stunned. He stared at Roy for a long while, then suddenly laughed—a laugh tinged with sarcasm and helplessness:
"Humans... you really are only ever thinking about your own interests."
Say what you want.
Roy didn't take it to heart. It seemed that Fisher Tiger's impression of humans had deteriorated considerably during his years of travel and enslavement.
"But the truth is, with our help, you can rescue more people, and you yourself can come back alive."
Without us, you yourself will become the target of everyone's hatred, and those slaves you rescued may soon be captured and taken back.
Fisher Tiger's smile vanished.
He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.
I know what you're thinking.
Roy looked into his eyes,
You think our motives are impure?
But Fisher Tiger, the world isn't black and white.
Sometimes, dirty tricks can achieve clean results.
What you want is the result, the liberation of those slaves, isn't it?
In the long silence, Fisher Tiger loosened his fist.
"... What are you planning to do?"