"Hahaha,"
Before he even arrived, the cheerful laugh reached the Marine camp.
"I've heard about the great things you've done: kneeling and confronting Sakazuki. Good thing I'm not Fleet Admiral anymore."
Sengoku, with his white hair, walked over, happily munching on senbei, making the nearby Tsuru more and more annoyed.
When he was Fleet Admiral, he used to care about his 'image.' But now that he's retired, he just lets himself go... "Shut up, you senbei old man!"
"Being an inspector means no responsibility, so you can talk nonsense all you want."
Tsuru looked at Fujitora. As the Marine "Grand Strategist," she didn't care about the rank of Admiral.
"Admiral Fujitora, why don't you arrest that pirate?"
"Should the 'pirate' who saved this country be arrested according to the law, or should we let him go as a 'hero'?"
Fujitora picked up the dice in his hand. "Let fate decide. I'm not cheating. — Today, Tsuru Vice Admiral will roll the dice. As long as it's not a 1, I'll immediately go and take Luffy and Law's heads!"
Ah... time to go, time to go~~ The white dove, who had been playing dead in a tree nearby, immediately stood up, full of energy. Forget about Vice Admiral Tsuru; even Roman could roll whatever number he wanted! It was clear that they just wanted the "Straw Hats" to leave as soon as possible.
The crew was nearly ready to set sail, but if those guys hadn't "strangely" gotten injured again, they would've already set off the next day.
...As the white dove flapped its wings and flew away, the three people below looked at each other speechlessly.
Roman wasn't even pretending anymore! Even though it was impossible to hide things from the three of them, still:
Ding. With a casual toss, the spinning dice stopped at 6. Tsuru Vice Admiral had already taken action to show Fujitora that if they waited any longer, it would be embarrassing for the Marines.
"Let's go, everyone."
In the old palace of Dressrosa, Roman opened his eyes after resting.
"The Marines are moving. The ones coming to escort Doflamingo are former Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Grand Strategist Tsuru Vice Admiral."
"Tsuru Granny?" Nami paused, her first thought was to visit the sisters under Tsuru's command, but then she quickly remembered her "pirate" persona and decided to run away!
Sengoku, huh...
Law was also a bit taken aback. Strictly speaking, Sengoku was somewhat connected to him, as his savior, Rosinante, was Sengoku's adopted son.
"Anyway, let's head out soon."
Since the plan had already been openly shared with him, it would be awkward not to go along with it. Besides, staying here would just cause trouble for the people of Dressrosa, so it was better to continue taking risks. With the news of the Marines' upcoming actions passed on by Roman, the fighters from the arena began preparing to set sail. After all, many of them were notorious pirates with bounties, so it was best to avoid Marine Admirals if they could.
"Capture the pirates!"
"They're inside the palace—"
"This is an order from above, please step aside!!"
However, when the Marine soldiers rushed into the palace, they found nothing but an empty hall. Not only had the Straw Hat crew disappeared, but so had all the arena's top fighters.
"Well, looks like we've wasted our time."
"…Forget it."
Looking at the "palace" before them, the regular Marine soldiers hadn't noticed, but how could Tsuru and Sengoku not see that this building was the creation of a special ability? They were now stepping into enemy territory, and Roman... What was he really planning? Did he think that by using pirates as pawns, he could expose the world's hidden truths? Or was he scheming with the power of Raftel...
Without a doubt, Roman was seen by Tsuru and Sengoku as an outstanding talent, skilled both in intellect and combat, able to fight and make money. If he were a Marine, both Tsuru and Sengoku would have pushed him toward the position of Fleet Admiral, thinking he could help bring peace to this chaotic world and allow ordinary people to live in safety. But: Celestial Dragons! The strategist of the Straw Hat crew!
Three irreconcilable identities mixed together.
Underneath his polite, responsible, and smooth-talking exterior, what exactly did little Roman want?
"Ha ha ha, Flying Pirate Crew, let's go!"
Seeing Luffy jumping excitedly on the plane's nose, Roman rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, short flights are fine. But long flights? I don't have the patience for that. And besides, Sunny and Merry are probably crying by now."
A large passenger plane tore through the sky, heading toward the far shore. Most of the "passengers" sat obediently in the cabin, but people like Luffy—there were experts standing on the outside of the plane, making Roman speechless.
This was no ordinary "Paper Dance—Boeing 757." It was practically turning into an Indian train car! A bunch of "standby" people were casually enjoying the view while standing on the plane's exterior and wings, something only the world's top experts could pull off.
"Anyway, we don't need to get involved with the Marines."
That's the polite way of putting it. The truth is, everyone here combined still wouldn't be a match for Sengoku on his own...
Thinking back to the Summit War, where Sengoku used a single move, "Buddha Moves the Mountains," to send the Blackbeard crew flying and spitting blood, Roman felt it would be much more comfortable to leave early.
With Roman around, everyone avoided the Marines and flew ahead, landing on the largest ship along the coast. Then they prepared to split up and go their separate ways. "Straw Hat,"
The giant mercenary, Helding, bent down.
"I have four other giant mercenaries as companions. One day, I will unite the Giant Kingdom and revive the legendary 'Giant Pirate Crew.'"
"Oh, really? It'll be fun to fight you guys someday!"
"My 'Yonta Maria Fleet' has over 4,300 people and 56 ships. It'll definitely come in handy in the future."
"Come in handy?"
Luffy looked confused.
"Luffy, Chief has agreed. Please, let us join your crew!"
"Join?"
Luffy looked completely confused.
"In regular competitions, I don't have any rivals, but in front of the strong ones on the sea, I can't call myself the 'champion'."
"Destruction Cannon" Ideo clenched his fist, and the long-legged fighter Brookley next to him also nodded with his arms crossed.
"I've already decided to team up with Ideo and set sail."
"And us! Us two brothers!"
Abdullah and Jeet, who had turned into Usopp's biggest fans, both with average looks and IQ, but who didn't back down even in front of the Beast Pirates, jumped out and shouted.
"I've decided to join this guy's ship,"
"Beheader" Suleiman calmly pointed to the person behind him, Cavendish, which made Cavendish furious.
"If you're getting on my ship, you should call me captain!"
"And me, the rubber straw hat, even if we're all together later, I'll still be the brightest one!"
???
Luffy completely stopped thinking.
"What are you all talking about? If you want to do something, go do it yourself."
Luffy, this slowpoke! "Let me explain," a tall, muscular man with a serious look stepped forward. This man, known as "Admiral" Orlumbus, began to speak. Unlike other younger, more shy, and indirect people, the middle-aged Admiral, with decades of experience, explained things clearly.
"These past few days, everyone at the palace has been respecting heroes and forming their own crews:"
"The order was decided by a draw—"
"First, there's the 'Handsome Pirate Crew' led by 'White Horse' Cavendish with 75 members."
"Then, the 'Barto Club' led by 'Cannibal' Bartolomeo with 56 members."
"Next is the 'Happo Navy' with 1,000 members, led by the 13th generation pillar, Chinjao."
"Then there's the 'XXX Gym Fighters Union' with 4 members, led by 'Destruction Cannon' Eddieo."
"Followed by the Tontatta Tribe Soldiers' with 200 members, led by First Sergeant 'Leo'."
"Then, the 'Giant Mercenary Pirate Crew' with 5 members, led by 'Giant Mercenary' Helding."
Orlumbus then pointed to himself.
"And then there's me, known as 'The Slayer' and an adventurer, leading the 'Yonta Maria Fleet' with over 4,300 members..."
To be honest, this place has adventurers, fitness enthusiasts, small warrior tribes, giant mercenaries, national armies, simple fans, and big stars...
But not a single true 'pirate'! "In total, there are 5,600 people, Luffy-senpai—"
Bartolomeo stepped forward, kneeling halfway in front of Luffy.
"Please drink with us to form a brotherhood! You become the boss, and we'll be your underlings. From now on, we'll be part of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet!"
?!
"Heh~~"
"Roman, what are you laughing about?"
Hearing Nami's question, Roman shook his head.
"I underestimated the heroes of the world. I was worried about..."
Looking at the situation now, those who should show gratitude will do so, and those who should quietly leave will still disappear without a sound.
"I'm not going to drink this!"
Facing the five thousand combat power and seven or eight pirates with bounties over a hundred million, Luffy rejected them outright.
?! "Hmph, I suggest you stop wasting your time."
Sanji lit a cigarette.
"That's right, Luffy can't drink this kind of alcohol."
Zoro took a sip from his cup.
"The taste is good~~"
"Hey hey hey, this isn't the time to drink, right?"
"Straw Hat, why won't you accept us? Are you dissatisfied with our forces? Many things in this world can't be done alone. One day you'll need this strength..."
"So troublesome~~~"
However, Luffy just looked disgusted, causing Robin, Franky, and Brook to smile. Only those who had tasted the ups and downs of life knew how rare such an earnest heart was.
Nami stood next to Roman, while Chopper looked confused.
"Straw Hat, you're going too far!" Cavendish couldn't hold back his pride anymore. "This big star lowered himself to join your crew, and you treat me like this?"
"Bring out the snacks," Ideo thought of a way. "He'll eat and drink at the same time."
"As your benefactor, are you looking down on the strength of your subordinates?" Chinjao was ready to force Luffy to drink.
"Do you guys even count as subordinates?!"
Usopp couldn't help but complain.
"You're all wrong. I just want to become the 'Pirate King,' not a great person!"
Luffy jumped onto the handrail on the second floor, spreading his arms out to face everyone.
"If we really get into danger, I'll definitely ask for your help! When that time comes, you have to come to help me!"
"If you guys run into trouble, you can come to us for help too. We don't have to be the boss or the 'great pirate'! Didn't we fight side by side before?"
... "Gahahaha,"
As a giant of his word, Helding was the first to react.
"That's right! It's the same! Whether you drink that cup of alcohol or not doesn't matter!"
A man's promise is in his heart. Even if the other person doesn't acknowledge it, as long as you do, isn't that enough?
"Exactly!"
"That's right, you have your freedom..."
"But you can't stop us from choosing to loyally follow you!"
As each cup of the brotherhood toast was raised, the seven 'captains' swore to Luffy on behalf of everyone under their command.
"From this moment on, we willingly become your subordinates, the unstoppable spear and the unbreakable shield of 'Captain Luffy'!"
"We, the seven of us, made this decision and drank this 'brotherhood wine' on our own!"
Gulp~~?! "Hey hey hey, you guys—"
Just as Luffy was getting angry, a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Forget it, Luffy."
"Just like you rejected their loyalty, they can choose to pledge their loyalty to you. Besides—"
"As long as you keep being yourself from now on, just think of it as having a group of 'friends' you can rely on in critical moments. It's not such a bad thing, right?"
A hero naturally attracts followers. This is an eternal truth because: "We are all just human."
"Ahhh, Roman, you're saying those weird things again~~~"
"A fleet? Sounds like such a hassle!"
You'll just have to accept it.
—————
(End of this chapter)
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