"Thank you so much, Luffy~~"
On Roman's ship, a boy with glasses and a middle parting hairstyle was steering the ship while looking at a sea chart.
His name was Coby. He had been captured by the 'Iron Club Pirates' and forced to work as a servant by their fat female captain. He was rescued by Roman and Luffy and was now working as a part-time navigator on Roman's ship.
Of course, the so-called 'Iron Club Pirates' was just Roman's nickname for them. The female captain's real name was Alvida, who later ate the 'Smooth-Smooth Fruit' and transformed from a fat woman into a beautiful lady.
As for the battle between Roman, Luffy, and the 'Iron Club Pirates'—well, it went something like this:
I got up, and with one punch, it was over.
Roman wasn't very skilled in navigation, and Luffy... anyone who dares to go to sea with a small dinghy and a barrel can't be expected to have 'navigation skills'! So, the rescued Coby was just right to steer the merchant ship.
Now, there were only three people on the deck of this 600-ton merchant ship: Coby steering the ship, Luffy with his face wrapped in paper bandages, and:
Roman doing push-ups with weights on his back, huffing and puffing.
'998'
'999'
'1000'
"...Luffy, about the Grand Line..."
The boy with glasses steering the ship hesitated and glanced at Roman, who was doing push-ups like a human pile driver. Compared to the instantly likable Luffy, the boy named Roman made Coby feel afraid.
"I heard it's called the 'Pirate's Graveyard,' very dangerous..."
Although they had only known each other for less than a day, Coby genuinely worried for his 'friend' Luffy.
"Yeah, that's why I need to find some strong crewmates!"
Energetic straw-hat Luffy faced the sea with high spirits.
"By the way, the Marine base you're going to has a guy named 'Zoro' locked up, right~~~"
"If he's a good guy, I'll make him my crewmate—"
"No, no,"
Coby shook his head in fear.
"I heard that Zoro is a bloodthirsty mad dog who enjoys killing! People in this sea call him the 'Demon in Human Skin'!"
"And he must be a bad guy if the Marines caught him—"
"Heh,"
A cold laugh interrupted Coby. Roman, covered in sweat, stood up, grabbed a towel from a nearby bucket, and casually said while wiping his body.
"Bad guy, good guy—"
"Are Marines good guys? Are those caught by Marines bad guys?"
Well, sorry to say, your worldview is about to be turned upside down.
"A great man once said, 'Without considering the standpoint, talking about good and bad is just being a rogue!'"
Roman pointed at Luffy.
"Luffy saved you, do you think he's a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'?"
"Of course, Luffy is a good..."
"But this guy," Roman gestured, and the 'bandages' on Luffy's head automatically unraveled and flew over to him, revealing a silly face.
Tsk, this recovery speed is unscientific.
Although Roman's 'paper bandages' were soaked in various medicinal solutions, healing without even leaving a scar in just a few days was too...
"This 'good guy' took over my ship a few days ago and 'forced' me to be his crewmate. So—"
Roman calmly looked at Coby, making the timid boy turn his face away.
"Is Luffy still a 'good guy'?"
Ignoring Luffy's shouts of 'Hey, hey, you volunteered!' Roman continued with a cold laugh.
"This ship was actually a merchant ship wiped out by a pirate crew!"
"The pirate crew was poisoned to death by their captain, indirectly avenging the merchant ship. So, was that captain a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'?"
"And that captain was killed by his crewmate—me! So, I avenged those restless pirates. Am I a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'?"
Roman knocked on the ship's side and pointed below as he continued his cold laugh.
"And this merchant ship was actually carrying weapons to sell to the royal family to suppress the starving commoners! The pirate crew that killed the merchants theoretically saved millions of lives. So, are the pirates 'good guys' or 'bad guys'?"
"Extending further, the king who bought the weapons did so to suppress the 'rebels' and maintain stability, while the rebelling commoners were simply trying to survive. So, between them, who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?"
"This... this..."
Faced with Roman's series of questions, Coby, wearing glasses, stammered and couldn't respond.
"Justice or not, it's just a matter of words."
"As long as they want to, anyone can find a 'justice' to excuse for their actions."
"So smart people know how to paint themselves as 'justice,' like Crocodile, Doflamingo, and the corrupt Marines!"
"And only some fools keep shouting that they want to be the 'Pirate King'—"
Roman glanced at the person with the straw hat, but all he saw was a face full of question marks.
...
"But, but I believe justice exists—"
Whoosh,
Swish!
A paper knife was suddenly at Coby's neck, cutting off his rebuttal.
"The 'justice' of the weak is just a slogan!"
"Just like now," Roman's body began to emit a cold killing intent, "with a flick of my hand, your 'justice' would vanish—"
"Enough,"
A hand came between Roman and Coby, and Luffy's steady voice interrupted their 'argument.'
"Roman, don't scare Coby."
Whoosh,
The paper knife in Roman's hand disintegrated, turning back into paper and merging into his arm.
"I'm just telling the truth, Luffy."
"Is the side with more people 'justice'? Is the weaker side 'justice'? Is the bullied side 'justice'?"
"Don't be ridiculous. How do you know your 'justice' isn't 'evil' in someone else's eyes? Humanity didn't reach the top of the food chain through 'justice,' and 'justice' isn't something so weak."
"Justice is stronger than evil, smarter than evil, more..."
"Enough, Roman."
The 'silliness' on Luffy's face was gone, replaced by seriousness.
"I don't understand justice, and I don't want to."
"Those who get along with me are my friends, and those I don't like, I'll knock them away!" Luffy cheerfully ended the 'debate.'
...
"Hahahaha~~~"
Roman paused, then laughed and shook his head.
"You're right, what logic, what justice..."
Those who look pleasing to the eye are friends, those who don't are enemies.
It's that simple.
——————
"Great, we've arrived at the Marine base!"
Standing on the dock, Luffy shouted with one hand on his hip. Seeing his excitement, who would think he was a 'pirate'? Anyone who didn't know might think he was a Marine 'relative'...
Wait!
This guy really is a Marine relative—
"Coby, you're amazing!"
Luffy sincerely praised, and even Roman had to admit:
Three people steering a several-hundred-ton merchant ship, with one being an amateur and another a novice. Reaching the destination smoothly was already:
"Luffy, if you really want to sail, you'd better find a professional navigator. Drifting is..."
"Food! Food!"
However, Luffy didn't listen to him at all and had already dashed towards the port.
"Let's go,"
Roman patted Coby's shoulder, making the timid boy shiver.
"Although I don't like you much, but—"
"You're the captain's friend,"
"After this 'farewell meal,' you become a Marine, and we'll continue being pirates—"
Although I guess my 'pirate' career won't involve any real pirate 'business' anymore... If dining and dashing... Forget it, as a dignified transmigrator, I represent the face of four billion Earthlings!
Dining and dashing is out of the question.
So:
"I'm so full~~~"
"Boss, how much?"
After creating a pile of empty plates, Roman stood up to pay. Expecting Luffy to have a concept of 'money' was as miraculous as expecting a Celestial Dragon to understand 'compassion.'
As for Coby?
A servant bullied by the 'Iron Club Pirates,' could he possibly have any Berries?
"By the way, Zoro is at this Marine base, right?"
In an instant, the entire restaurant fell silent, and everyone froze.
'Hey, Luffy, look'
Coby whispered to the 'blabbermouth' Luffy.
'Everyone's scared, Zoro must be a big bad guy.'
"I see..."
Facing the clueless Luffy, Coby sighed in relief and smiled.
"By the way, I saw a notice earlier. The highest officer at this base is a Captain named Morgan—"
Clang, crash,
The restaurant patrons, who seemed to be under a 'freezing spell,' reacted as if they had heard a forbidden curse! Their faces changed drastically, and they stood up and ran!
"Hey, hey, you haven't paid yet!"
Roman shouted helplessly and turned back to the trembling landlady, nodding apologetically.
"Sorry, it seems my friend caused you some trouble."
"N-no... it's fine..."
Facing the trembling landlady, Roman could only shrug, then turned back and grabbed Luffy and Coby by the collars.
"Let's go, Luffy."
"And you too—"