"Squeak, squeak, I can't stop laughing~~"
In the waters near Cocoyasi Village, aboard a warship representing 'justice,' dirty laughter echoed in the cabin.
"120 million Berries, being a thief is really profitable."
Colonel Nezumi of the Marine branch, true to his name, looked at the small 'hill' of gold, silver, treasures, and pearls in front of him, his yellowish eyes reflecting a greedy shine.
"Almost makes me want to become a 'thief' myself. Squeak, squeak~~"
"Hahaha~~"
"Colonel, you're joking again..."
The other officers in the cabin laughed along. The boss laughed, so why shouldn't I laugh? Would I dare not to laugh?
"What does it matter how good that thief is at stealing money? Didn't our 'righteous' Marines easily confiscate the stolen goods?"
"Yeah, the Colonel has connections. If there were a few more 'thieves' like this in the East Blue, we'd be rich just sitting here~~~"
"But Colonel..." an officer picked up a Belly from the pile of treasures.
"Most of this money is covered in dirt and blood, and it's all tattered..."
"Squeak, squeak, it doesn't matter, money is money."
"This is all the money that poor little girl saved up over eight years, believing that freedom would come, working hard and diligently... like a fool. You can't despise it!"
"Hahahaha~~~"
"Hahaha~~"
"Ah——!"
?!
"What's going on outside?"
The noise from the sailors outside made the smug Colonel Nezumi frown and twitch his mustache.
"Those useless fools! I gave each of them 100,000 Berries, what more do they want?"
He nodded towards an officer, signaling him.
"You, go check it out."
The officer nodded and walked out, but as soon as he opened the cabin door:
"Hey, what are you doing standing there?"
The officer who opened the door stood motionless at the entrance, making Colonel Nezumi unhappy. But no matter how unhappy he was, he couldn't punish him, because:
A corpse wouldn't respond to punishment.
Bang!
The officer who opened the door fell straight back, his eyes wide with astonishment, a white throwing knife embedded in his forehead! Judging by the deeply embedded blade, he was clearly dead.
"Who?!"
"What——"
"What's going on..."
"I heard you all laughing just now?"
In a calm voice, a handsome young man stepped over the officer's corpse and walked in.
"Hope you can keep laughing."
What...
"How dare you!"
"We are Marines!"
"Do you want to go against the entire Marine——"
Swoosh!
With a flash of the blade, the officer who had been shouting moments ago had his head sent flying into the air.
"Well, I'm a pirate."
Roman's cold gaze swept over, making these bullies feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!
"It's only natural for pirates to kill Marines."
Swoosh!
"Ah—"
"Spare—"
"No—"
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh,
Roman's figure swiftly moved through the cabin, and before the officers could even finish their pleas for mercy, their heads had already fallen. In the crisscrossing flashes of the blade, they turned into a pile of meaningless meat chunks!
"Don't... don't kill me...!!"
"I'm a Marine captain... I..."
Captain Nezumi, who had fallen to the ground, was trembling like a mouse encountering a cat, retreating continuously until he hit the cabin wall! Faced with Roman's cold gaze, he didn't hesitate to:
Kneel and beg for mercy!
Bang, bang, bang,
In a series of kowtows, Captain Nezumi cried and pleaded.
"Please spare me, sir!"
"I'll do anything you want if you let me live."
"I can help you gather information within the Marines, cover your tracks, and point out the routes of merchant ships..."
A complete scumbag, a disgrace, trash!
Walking past the small mountain of treasure in the center of the room, Roman casually picked up a gold coin.
"Alright, I can spare you."
??
"Th-thank you, thank you so much..."
Faced with Captain Nezumi's expression of relief, Roman raised the gold coin in his hand.
"Don't rush, let's play a game."
Although paper currency Berries are the world's common currency, the kings of various countries are fond of issuing gold coins with their own portraits, so:
"This gold coin has a flower on one side and a portrait on the other."
"If it lands on the portrait, you live! If it lands on the flower, you die!"
Let fate decide your life or death.
This...
A fifty-fifty chance?
But in this situation, Captain Nezumi had no room to bargain, so he could only grit his teeth and agree:
"Alright—"
Crack,
However, Roman simply pinched the gold coin with his thumb and forefinger, bending it in half!
Ding,
A gold coin that would always land on the "flower" was thrown in front of Captain Nezumi, along with Roman's cold voice.
"Go ahead, toss it."
But the fate of the weak is always in the hands of the strong.
This!!!
"You... you despicable..."
Captain Nezumi, trembling all over, looked up, his face still showing the remnants of "narrow escape," and his yellow-brown pupils filled with despair!
"Oh, isn't this what you just did to our navigator?"
Swoosh!
With a flash of the blade, the Marine captain named Nezumi was split into "two"—neatly cut in half. His last thought:
...was that thief's... companion...
——————
"Hey, you outsiders, move aside!"
A group of villagers holding pitchforks, kitchen knives, and iron pots angrily confronted Zoro and Usopp, who were blocking the road.
"This is Cocoyasi Village's business, outsiders..."
Swish,
A figure descended from the sky. Although he looked like a handsome young man, the white wings on his back and the smell of blood around him immediately made the excited villagers wary.
"People of Cocoyasi Village,"
Roman retracted his wings and looked at these people using tableware, kitchenware, and farm tools as weapons.
"If you rush to Arlong Park like this, you're just going to your deaths."
"None of your business!!"
"Should we just keep watching Nami risk her life out there for us?"
"We've been dragging Nami down... might as well end it today..."
"Outsiders, you are Nami's... companions, right?"
A scarred policeman stepped forward.
"We apologize on behalf of the whole village for Nami stealing from you."
The policeman bowed his head, and the villagers behind him also bowed to Roman and his group.
"Please... please take Nami away!"
"She's a kind girl, she did it for our village..."
"So you plan to fight with these things?" Roman pointed to the small knives tied to wooden sticks and the iron pots modified into shields...
"Frankly, you were planning to die, weren't you?"
...
"Please don't stop us—"
"No," Roman waved his hand, interrupting the plea.
"I won't stop you, but you need new weapons..."
"Brother Roman," not far away, Yosaku and Johnny were carrying several large wooden crates. These crates were the cargo from Roman's merchant ship. —Although they were weak, they had strength.
"Good," Roman waved his hand, and white paper flew over, forming 'crowbars' to open the crates, revealing:
New long-barreled flintlock guns and sharp, oiled swords lying quietly in the straw!
"Take these weapons."
Roman grinned, a very bloody smile.
"If you're going to die, at least take a bite out of the enemy, right?"
---
"Hey, Roman."
On the way from Cocoyasi Village to Arlong Park, Zoro spoke casually.
"Those villagers, even with weapons, three... no, five of them couldn't handle one ordinary fishman."
"So, why let them add to the casualties—" Roman interrupted Zoro, "That's what you wanted to say, right?"
"...Yes."
"You're right, but Zoro."
Roman looked back at the gradually distant Cocoyasi Village.
"This is a chaotic era. Being weak isn't scary, what's scary is not having the heart to become strong."
"We can help them kill all the Arlong Pirates, but if another 'Cat Pirates' or 'Dog Pirates' come here, should we come back from the Grand Line to save them?"
"People must rely on themselves, that's the most correct thing."
After saying this 'great truth', Roman turned to Zoro and Usopp with a slight smile.
"Although I said that, the strength gap between the fishmen and the villagers is too big. How about this—"
"Before the villagers arrive, let's see who can take down more fishmen, how about it?"
This is also why he wanted to go ahead.
"Interesting, I'm in!"
Behind Roman and Zoro, who were exuding killing intent while chatting, was Usopp, whose legs felt like jelly. Even so, he kept up with the two in front of him.
----
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