"Thank you, thank you!"
With the large number of white doves Roman released, combined with the penetrating Observation Haki and the convenience of the 'Door-Door Fruit,' they quickly and secretly gathered the 'Kin'emon puzzle' and also pulled out a person from the lowest, abandoned area.
"Don't thank me. Just take this little mudfish and get out of here quickly."
"Armor bastard! I'm not a mudfish!!"
The child with a hairdo styled only at the back of his head, wearing a pink kimono and wooden sandals, was shouting at Roman, making Kin'emon, standing beside him, awkwardly touch his hair.
"Let me give you some advice,"
The White Knight looked at Kin'emon, who had a black topknot, a goatee, and eyes of different sizes, dressed in a half black-and-white, half orange kimono, with two sword sheaths decorated with flame patterns.
"Take care of your kid. —You must have noticed, right? This sea is dangerous, and not everyone will forgive a brat who speaks without thinking."
"...Sorry, thank you very much!"
In response to The White Knight's words, Kin'emon bowed deeply in apology, causing Roman, who controlled The White Knight, to sigh.
You can't just teach kids by 'reasoning.' Besides, Kin'emon has been treating Momonosuke like a 'vassal,' letting the little brat do whatever he wants...
But the rest of the world isn't Momonosuke's father, nor his deluded fans. Why should they tolerate him? With that kind of attitude on the seas, he's bound to get into big trouble. If not for the kind-hearted Straw Hat crew, this troublesome kid would have been killed dozens of times by now.
Over-indulging a child only ruins them.
You could say that Kin'emon played a huge role in making Momonosuke the useless person he is now.
A soft mother often raises a spoiled son, while a strict father raises a filial one!
"Anyway, I've done my part to help you here."
The White Knight waved his hand, and after rescuing Kin'emon and Momonosuke, finding them a ship was the greatest 'kindness' Roman would offer. If not for Roman's methods, it would've been easy to make both of them disappear quietly.
"This is the 'Log Pose.' Follow its direction to the next island. This place is about to turn into a battlefield. If I see you here by then—"
The White Knight turned his head, and under the helmet, a cold killing intent could be felt.
"Don't blame me for being ruthless!"
·····
"Hey... Kin'emon."
Just as The White Knight turned to leave, the kid with a samurai hairstyle on the ship bit his lip.
"Th... thank you... for saving me!"
However, The White Knight just kept walking away. Just as Momonosuke was feeling dejected, a white arm waved at them from behind without turning around.
In truth,
Roman didn't hate Momonosuke.
At the end of the day, he was just a spoiled kid who lost his family and had been overly protected.
But he definitely didn't like him either.
Roman doesn't want the Straw Hat Crew have any connection with him—especially considering how they ended up inexplicably going against both Big Mom and Kaido because of that brat. Luffy even got hit by Thunder Bagua and had to go through grueling work afterward, becoming the butt of jokes as "King Luffy."
And then there's that little pervert's complete lack of awareness.
It's okay to not be strong or smart, but you can't be clueless about your own limitations.
If it were any other pirate crew, Momonosuke would have died dozens or even hundreds of times by now! He's the type people call "easily deceived by kindness," or to put it bluntly, he thinks nice people are easy to bully.
Why should the Straw Hat Crew put up with that kid? It's ridiculous!
Vivi fought side by side with the Straw Hat Crew. Shirahoshi did her best to help Luffy. And Rebecca, whom they'll meet in the future, fought all the way to the end. Compared to these strong "princesses," Momonosuke, the son of a shogun, falls short in both character and ability—he's in the gutter!
And yet, he's supposedly the "man of destiny," blessed with the "qualities of a king" and the ability to "hear the voice of all things." Roman doesn't even know what to say about that.
"In the end, whether you live or die depends on your own luck."
Watching the ship gradually disappear into the distance, The White Knight turned back toward the snow-covered research base ahead. His body transformed into a flock of white doves that scattered in all directions.
In contrast to the cold atmosphere here, things were heating up elsewhere!
"It's so hot! So hot!"
Faced with a blast of flames from the "giant dragon," the four Straw Hat Crew members on an adventure—or rather, an investigation—quickly dodged out of the way. Unlike Usopp, who was frantically patting out the flames on himself, Luffy and Zoro immediately got excited!
"Interesting,"
"Hahaha, now this feels like an adventure!!"
Luffy instantly activated Gear Second and launched himself into the air with a punch—
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol!"
"Huh?"
His punch knocked the dragon's massive head to the side, and Luffy looked at it in surprise. Considering his current strength, he could take down pirates worth over 100 million berries with a single hit. But—
*Boom!!*
With a loud explosion, the dragon let out a roar filled with both pain and anger. The sound wave spread out, shaking the surroundings with a thunderous echo.
But the dragon didn't seem seriously hurt. Despite taking Luffy's Gear Second punch, only a few dragon scales had fallen off or cracked slightly, and the damage was minimal—not even enough to draw blood.
"So tough—"
Just as Luffy was marveling at this, a loud thud came from behind him! A massive, bone-spiked, and menacing dragon tail swept through the air, smashing into Luffy like a cannonball. He was sent flying and crashed into a burning building with a loud boom.
"Luffy?"
While Usopp worried aloud, Zoro had already leapt forward! With two swords crossed behind him, he unleashed a powerful slash like the claws of a tiger tearing through the sky—
"Three-Sword Style: Ultimate Tiger Hunt!"
*Crunch!!*
However, the dragon reacted with unexpected agility for its size, snapping down with its massive fangs to block Zoro's swords.
"Tch, what kind of hardness and strength is this..."
From the first exchange, Zoro realized this dragon wasn't an enemy they could take down easily. With his current power, ordinary steel felt no tougher than butter, yet this dragon—
*Boom!!!*
"You bastard!"
Luffy emerged from the rubble, flipping back onto his feet, and furiously kicked the dragon. The force was so strong that the dragon's massive body was pushed sideways for dozens of meters! Sensing danger, the dragon immediately flapped its wings to take off into the sky.
"Don't think you can escape! Watch me take you down—"
"What kind of creature is this?"
Faced with the scorching hot dragon, Robin's Hana Hana no Mi powers were completely useless. Her question was answered by the dove fluttering nearby:
"This isn't a natural creature. It's an artificial being created by 'Dr. Vegapunk' to guard this island... Oh, forget it, you probably don't care about my intel."
Seeing the dove sulking and turning its head away while scattering ice crystals, Robin smiled.
"Because for Luffy and the others, the fun lies in the process of 'adventure,' not just in winning. But for me, it's different. Roman, can you tell me more about this dragon?"
"Hmph, even if you ask, I don't have any more intel. Besides—"
On the other side, a focused Luffy had already leapt into the air, tearing off one of the dragon's wings, causing its massive body to start falling! At the same time, Zoro, who had already sheathed his three swords, turned to Usopp.
"Usopp!"
"Got it."
Usopp fired a seed onto the ground in front of Zoro, which instantly sprouted into a bouncy plant cushion.
"Special move—Bouncy Flower!"
Using the elastic plant as a springboard, Zoro launched himself high into the air. Facing the falling dragon, he slowly drew the Wado Ichimonji from his waist. At the moment the long blade was fully unsheathed, it seemed to transcend time and space, vanishing in an instant.
*Slash!*
When Zoro reappeared, he was already behind the dragon. The sword energy, sharp enough to split even the void, left a black line that cut through everything in its path, visible to both Usopp and Robin.
"One-Sword Style Iai: Death Lion Song!"
Instant kill!
"See? No matter how amazing this dragon is, in front of Luffy and Zoro, it's nothing but 'food,'" the dove said, watching as Luffy and Zoro landed stylishly and started laughing and joking about making a "dragon barbecue."
"Don't waste it; this is a dragon brimming with life energy—even if it's artificial."
The dove flew over, revealing a square "pouch" on its belly.
"More More Fruit—Four-Dimensional Bag!"
With the power of the 'Bag Bag' ability, Roman no longer needed to use the 'Swallow Swallow' ability to store things. Thanks to the added boost from the More More ability, even the massive dragon could be stored away.
"Just casually roasting it would be such a waste. Leave it to Sanji—we could eat for a month..."
No, with Luffy here, even such a giant dragon would only last...
"One week's worth of dragon meat. By the way:"
The dove breathed out a small flame, cooking a piece of dragon meat and handing it to Luffy.
"Try it."
*Chew, chew—*
"Delicious!"
"Good, it's non-toxic."
The dove nodded calmly, while Usopp's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
Wait, what—
"Relax. Luffy has high poison resistance. He's the perfect test subject."
Sure, whatever you say, as long as it's not me being used...
Usopp wiped the cold (or maybe hot) sweat from his forehead.
——————
Meanwhile,
On the Sunny.
"Who are these people?"
The crew on guard surrounded several unconscious men wearing full-body biohazard suits, carrying oxygen tanks, and holding gas guns.
"If it weren't for Roman, we might have fallen for their tricks!"
Still shaken, the group turned to The White Knight, who looked over at Franky.
"Franky, you should install something like an 'air composition detector' in your body. After all, the parts of you that are still flesh need oxygen to breathe."
"No problem,"
Having nearly been knocked out by the enemy's sleeping gas, Franky nodded seriously. An "air composition detector" was no challenge for a shipwright like him who was essentially a scientist, and besides:
Today's events served as a wake-up call for him.
"I'm going to make a few gas masks later—judging by this equipment, there's definitely some shady organization here."
"Roman, this place isn't..."
Nami, of course, knew that this frozen-and-fiery island was the site of the Marine Fleet Admiral battle two years ago, but she didn't expect there to still be people here. Judging by these guys' appearance, could they be with the government or the Marines?
"No, these guys aren't Marines."
Caesar Clown.
Well, looks like Smoker is on our tail too.
Through the eyes of the white dove Roman sent out, a Marine warship flying the G-5 flag was heading this way.
Alright, all the players are making their moves. On this island, we've got human gigantification experiments, facilities for producing artificial Devil Fruits 'SMILE' and 'SAD,' and deadly weapons... Roman began to consider what "useful" things the island might hold.
As for Luffy and the others?
Not my problem!
If they want to go adventuring, let them. That said—
"Roman, some chilled pear syrup! And ice~~"
Luffy, sticking out his tongue, was met with a judgmental glance from the white dove, which was spreading cold air around Robin.
"Don't worry, things are about to cool down real soon."
Ahead of Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Robin, and the others, a huge lake was already coming into view.
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----You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu