"Roman,"
Back on the Sunny Merry, Luffy excitedly came over.
"I heard you're recording everyone's abilities? How about my Rubber Fruit—"
As he spoke, Luffy stretched out his arm, with a fearless look of 'take my blood,' making Roman roll his eyes.
"What can your Rubber Fruit develop into, a balloon?"
Smack,"I'm just a useless rubber man, sorry~~"
Luffy knelt in despair.
"Come on, everyone take three 'blood bottle papers'." Roman couldn't be bothered with Luffy's antics. His 'superhuman' and Zoan abilities were the most useless to Roman.
Abilities that only work on oneself are 99% useless to Roman, as his 'Paper-Paper Fruit' already includes the paper body constitution, and unfamiliar constitution-changing abilities are not worth it for him.
Luffy's Rubber Fruit can't even produce rubber, not even for making balloons!
...Speaking of which, it could be used to make 'bulletproof vests' or something. Unfortunately, in this world, if you don't have confidence in your own body, you're truly useless.
Communication, healing, what else is needed?
As Roman prepared for everyone's future 'training,' he faintly heard Luffy's signature attack sound:"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
?
"Ah, just a mere sea beast."
Facing the sea beast, as big as the Sunny Merry, being punched away by Luffy, Usopp remained calm. After seeing monsters dozens, hundreds of times bigger than this:
Ah, once you've seen the vast ocean, nothing else compares~~Splat,
Two 'things,' one big and one small, were spat out by the sea beast, falling onto the deck.
"What is that? A fish..."
"No, it looks like a person..."
"Could it be... a mermaid??" In an instant, Sanji's eyes turned into heart shapes, and he flew through the air to catch the falling mermaid girl. First, he gentlemanly placed her on a chair, then:He spun like a top, turning into a noodle shape.
"Mermaid! Mermaids are the dream of all humanity, the treasures of the sea, I've finally seen a mermaid~~~"
?!
Roman glanced at the rescued mermaid girl. Indeed, even though this mermaid named Camie seemed a bit dull, her appearance was above average among humans, and her fish tail hit many men's weak spots, making her—
A tragedy.
Where is this place?
This is the second intersection of the Red Line and the Grand Line, the headquarters of the Celestial Dragons, with the Holy Land Mariejois located here! And the mermaids... or rather, Fish-Man Island is located 10,000 meters below the sea under the Holy Land, as the last stop of the first half of the Grand Line:Not far from here, the Sabaody Archipelago takes advantage of its location. The slave trade is rampant, catering specifically to the Celestial Dragons. After all:The Celestial Dragons are notorious for being both wealthy and brainless despite their cruelty.
In summary: Foolish, rich, and eager to buy!
Mermaids, who are beautiful but lack strength, are the best 'goods'. Even male fish-men, with their unique appearances, become highly sought-after slaves...This is why Arlong hates humans so much:Most fish-men secretly swim to the surface as children to glimpse the bustling Sabaody Archipelago, dreaming of the wondrous human creations;But when they grow up, they face the nets and weapons of the slave hunters, and the disappearance of their friends and family.
Such extreme contrasts gave birth to fish-men like Arlong.
As Roman once said, he doesn't hate fish-men.
But he despises cowards who don't dare to take revenge on the slave hunters and Celestial Dragons, and instead vent their impotent anger on ordinary people.
..."I always thought I was human,"
Along with the mermaid girl Camie, a giant starfish was also rescued,—he is now standing with his hands on his hips, explaining to Luffy.
"But when I realized I was a starfish, I had already learned the human language."
This world is truly bizarre.
In Roman's view, this starfish named 'Pappag' is likely something that escaped from a laboratory, or a human soul attached to a starfish. However, this starfish aspiring to be a fashion designer is not important, what matters is:"By the way, I'll treat you to takoyaki."
"I have a friend 'Hatchan' who makes the best takoyaki—"
The mermaid girl Camie took out a Den Den Mushi from her shell backpack, and after it connected:"Cough, cough, Camie, don't come over!"
"Hahaha, you want to save him, right? Then come on! This is the Flying Fish Riders' base, 5000 meters east of Sabaody 44. You have half an hour, or we'll sell him."
This is the true nature of the sea: you might get eaten by sea beasts if you're not careful, or captured by slave hunters...
"Sniff, sniff, Hatchan!"
Facing the crying mermaid girl, Luffy immediately focused on the key point.
"Who is Hatchan?"
"He's the owner of the takoyaki shop where I work. Sorry, Luffy, I have to go save—"
"This is important, let's go save the takoyaki!"
..."We're saving the takoyaki shop owner," Nami facepalmed, "But speaking of Hatchan..." She recalled the six-armed octopus from her hometown under Arlong.
"Hopefully, I'm just overthinking~~"
"Alright, let's head to Sabaody 44—"
Okay, it's almost time for the Sabaody Archipelago. Roman, following Nami's instructions, or rather the directions the mermaid girl Camie got from 'asking' the fish, turned the ship's helm while thinking aimlessly.
For the sake of the Straw Hat crew, it's best to 'hang back' and take it easy for a while, until Kuma sends everyone away...Wait a minute!
Roman, steering with one hand, touched his chin with the other.
Where would Kuma send him?
You know, Kuma is very particular about where he sends people: Luffy was sent to Amazon Lily, winning the heart of the Empress; Zoro was sent to Kuraigana Island, taken care of by Perona, and trained by Mihawk;
Nami flew to Weatheria, perfect for studying sky weather; Usopp landed on Boin Archipelago, gaining many battle plants; Chopper fell to the Torino Kingdom in the South Blue, perfect for showcasing his medical skills; Franky landed on Karakuri Island, getting access to Vegapunk's lab...Robin flew to Tequila Wolf in East Blue, encountering the Revolutionary Army uprising; Brook landed on Namakura Island, conquering the locals with his music. Only Sanji... was sent to... Kamabakka Kingdom, a place that brings tears to anyone who hears about it!
Everyone else was sent to places where they could improve their combat skills, but Sanji was sent to 'hell.' Roman could only conclude that Kuma saw through Sanji's identity as the third prince of the Vinsmoke family and sent him there to toughen him up...Otherwise, everyone else had a huge leap in combat power over the two years, gaining a bunch of cool new skills! Only Sanji got 'Geppo' and a 'Sea Pork Hormone Soup' that quickly restores stamina.
With Roman around, even the soup is unnecessary. —In a serious fight, people use potions, who slowly eats to recover health?
And to be honest, Roman didn't remember the Straw Hat crew drinking soup to recover health in his previous life...Who knows if Sanji forgot or if the ingredients were missing?
Well, let's leave it at that~~Anyway, Roman has a bunch of recorded Devil Fruit abilities, so he's not afraid of Kuma sending him away. At worst, he'll just find a place to develop his fruit and train—"Everyone, be careful, it's the Flying Fish Riders!"
Camie's warning brought Roman back to reality. Ahead of the Straw Hat crew, a group of people riding giant flying fish were gliding towards them menacingly!
After all, air forces are like bullies, dropping bombs and then returning.
As a naval vessel, it's generally not equipped to deal with air attacks...But the Straw Hat crew is not an 'ordinary' pirate crew, and Roman is an expert in aerial combat—Whoosh,
The flying papers quickly formed into 'fighter jets' that roared towards the enemy. The Flying Fish Riders, still stuck in the 'hand-thrown bomb' era, were stunned:Rat-a-tat-tat!
"Hey, hey, hey, Roman! Don't shoot them all down, leave one for me to play with!"
"And me, and me!"
"I want one too—"
Do you guys think this is a game?
Although thinking this, Roman's 'bullets' were non-lethal blunt objects, just knocking the riders off their mounts. After all, strictly speaking, these guys would soon be 'allies'...And leaving the flying fish for Luffy and the others to play with isn't bad either.
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