"Roman~~"
"Let me out!"
Luffy, who was excitedly calling for help from inside the iron cage, was ignored by Roman, who instead looked to the side.
Orange short hair, perfect figure, holding a three-section staff. Yes, it was Nami, a genius navigator... Great, finally a break from the boring daily routine.
So scary!
However, under Roman's 'scrutinizing' gaze, Nami felt a chill all over her body, as if a blade was sliding across her skin! It felt like she would be beheaded in the next second...
"Roman!"
"She's Nami, our navigator."
As Luffy's voice came, Roman extended his hand to the frightened girl who had fallen to the ground.
"Nami, huh..."
"Hello, I'm Roman."
"My idiot captain has troubled you—please bear with us in the future."
"Ah, ah, ah? Okay... okay..."
Nami, who was pulled up by Roman, blinked. In front of her was a handsome, sunny, and polite young man. Why did she feel so scared just now...
"Roman?"
"Captain, could that guy be..."
On the other side, the members of the Buggy Pirates looked at Roman, who was acting as if no one else was there, and hesitantly asked their captain.
"Could it be that Silver Light..."
"Are you the combat captain of the Silver Light Pirates, 'The Counterattacker' Roman?"
Captain Buggy, who was sitting grandly on his throne, propped his face with one hand, pretending to be profound.
"Is this woman also from your Silver Light Pirates? Sent as a spy..."
What—
Nami, who had just stood up, was shocked and almost fell to the ground again!
The Silver Light Pirates, a group of pirates who came to East Blue from the North Sea. In just half a year, they became famous in East Blue! Their captain had a bounty of 30 million, and they had two combat captains with bounties of ten million each. Even the ordinary pirates were seasoned fighters.
And their ship, the 'Riding the Wave', was incredibly fast! They had clashed with the ruler of East Blue, 'Admiral' Krieg, and easily destroyed three of his warships before leaving.
—Definitely a fearsome group that could stop children from crying at night!
"Sorry, you got the wrong person."
Roman denied it without hesitation, making Nami breathe a sigh of relief. So it was just a coincidence...
"The Silver Light Pirates, along with their ship, have been sunk to the bottom of the sea by me,"
?
"Now, I am a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Roman." Roman turned to face the crowd of pirates and calmly replied, "That's all."
??
Wow, that's even scarier!
Poor Nami felt like she was going to fall to the ground again, her legs turning to noodles and sliding down...
Snap,
"Are you okay?"
Facing Roman's 'inquiry', Nami, who was being held up by one hand, forced a smile that was worse than crying.
"I'm... I'm fine..."
"Oh? So, the Silver Light Pirates no longer exist?"
Captain Buggy sneered and pointed at Luffy in the iron cage.
"But your judgment is poor, siding with such an idiot."
He then pointed around at the densely packed pirates.
"And even worse judgment, trying to fight against so many of us in the Buggy Pirates!"
Clang!
Click,
Clang—
Cutlasses, flintlock guns, chains... various weapons were held by the members of the Buggy Pirates. Upon hearing that the 'Silver Light Pirates' only had Roman left, their courage immediately surged!
"How about this,"
Sitting in the main seat, looking at the three surrounded people, Captain Buggy touched his bright red nose.
"Roman, I'll give you a chance."
"You fire the cannon, using that straw hat idiot's head to swear allegiance to me!"
"If you do that, you and Nami can become our 'partners'," Captain Buggy grinned, lifting his chin, "I might even make you the captain of my combat team."
"How about it, power..."
"I refuse."
Roman interrupted before he could finish, facing the pirates surrounding him from all sides, he stepped forward with empty hands!
"You want my allegiance?"
"Sorry, it's clear you don't have what it takes."
"Hey, hey, Luffy..."
Retreating to the edge of the cage, Nami looked anxiously at Roman, who was facing the pirates alone, and then at Luffy in the cage.
"He'll be killed! There are so many of them..."
"He won't,"
Luffy in the cage smiled confidently.
"Roman is very strong."
——————
"So this is the extent of the Buggy Pirates' abilities?"
In just a few minutes, the rooftop was littered with bruised and battered pirates, and Roman, with bare hands, shook his head.
"I think you guys should honestly join a circus,"
"At least you won't have to worry about getting killed."
To be fair, the members of the Buggy Pirates, although dressed quite... bizarrely, were not just similar to circus performers but identical! However:
Their agile movements and ruthless skills were not fake! Not to mention ordinary people, they were at least above the pirate 'average level.' However:
In front of Roman, they couldn't even 'fight,' let alone leave a scratch on him.
One punch, one pirate, one kick, a group.
Complete domination!
"Captain, there's something off about this guy."
Riding a unicycle, with a cutlass at his waist, hair covering his left eye, wearing a scarf and a cloak, the Buggy Pirates' chief of staff, Cabaji, leaned slightly towards his boss and whispered.
"I saw several times when our weapons clearly hit him, but they had no effect."
"Does that guy have some kind of armor under his clothes?" Captain Buggy touched his chin and snapped his fingers.
"Mohji, give everyone a beast show!"
"Yes, Captain."
A guy wearing a ragdoll headgear and fur of the same color on his chest responded to the order. As he 'stood' up, he immediately cast a shadow!
Don't get me wrong, this guy isn't some giant, but under him is:
A giant lion!
Although it's called a lion, its size is more like an elephant.
And for animals, a huge size means immense 'strength'.
"Oh oh oh, the vice-captain is here~~"
"Go, Vice-Captain Mohji!"
"Take him down, Richie—"
The giant lion's name is Richie, and the guy sitting on it is Mohji, the vice-captain of the Buggy Pirates. One man and one beast slowly approached Roman, their house-sized bodies casting a large shadow over him.
"Well, I should have given you a chance to surrender."
Mohji sneered from the lion's back, "But I don't want another annoying guy besides Cabaji to compete with me for power, so—"
"Roar!!!"
A genuine 'lion's roar' accompanied by a foul wind assaulted Roman at close range! Even Nami, who had retreated to the back, instinctively covered her ears.
"Richie, tear him apart!"
Following the sudden 'lion's roar' were two millstone-sized lion paws, descending on Roman with a fierce sound! Eight dagger-like claws were about to disembowel him.
Clang!!
However, with a crisp collision sound, the giant lion's paws suddenly stopped! They were held back by two hands. Although Roman wasn't exactly weak, he looked like a child wrestling with a giant compared to the elephant-sized lion!
"What—"
Even more surprising was that the giant lion was being slowly pushed back by Roman.
"Richie, bite him!"
Following the tamer's order, the giant lion lowered its head, using its third weapon: sharp teeth! It bit down on Roman, as if it would decapitate him in the next second.
Hmph,
Roman silently fell backward, his back touching the ground! His legs curled up, compressing his body into a tight ball. Then, facing the gaping maw, he suddenly stretched out!
Inch by inch, as Roman stretched his body, his vertebrae moved and pushed lightly. Each inch of movement straightened his body bit by bit.
At the same time, the movement of his spine also drove the movement of all his bones and the stretching of his muscles, like a lever, transferring power from the ground, through his arms, back, chest, and finally to his legs.
All his strength gathered in one place!
This power burst forth, strong and vigorous, like a powder keg suddenly ignited. For a moment, Roman's entire body was like a skilled archer, his spine like a bow, his legs like arrows, and all his strength was unleashed in this kick.
Boom!!
With a loud bang, the giant lion flew high into the air! In the stunned eyes of everyone, it drew an arc and then crashed heavily onto the roof! The massive impact caused the roof to collapse under the weight, leaving a huge hole and:
Snap,
Roman flipped up with a carp jump, still empty-handed, and patted his pants.
"You don't think,"
He glanced at the dumbfounded Buggy Pirates,
"That a mere ten million bounty is worthy of a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, do you?"