"What question?"
"Why did you go to Mary Geoise and create the Mary Geoise Incident?"
"Why? I simply couldn't stand those Celestial Dragons," Roy answered casually.
He was telling the truth.
Aside from wanting to liberate the slaves, gain a wave of reputation, and establish a persona for himself, he simply couldn't stand that group of Celestial Dragons.
But Kuma seemed as though he had not heard that answer at all. He continued to look quietly at Roy.
Roy fell silent under Kuma's stare as well. Then he stood up, stretched out both hands, and said in a helpless tone:
"We are born free. Who dares stand above us?"
He truly was helpless.
These days, nobody believed the truth. They just had to make him show off his persona again~
After Roy finished saying this, Kuma also stood up, his eyes fixed directly on Roy.
After a long time, Kuma finally spoke. "Once, I had the same thought as you."
There was a slight fluctuation in his tone.
"And now?"
"I have never forgotten that thought," Kuma said.
Then, rarely, he spoke at length:
"When I was young, my life was extremely poor. Every day, I wore old, worn-out clothes and carried a huge bundle of firewood on my back while reading as I walked. I always thought the beautiful world described in books, the one outlined by the World Government, truly existed.
"Until later, when I witnessed too much blood and fire. That was when I made up my mind to change this world.
"At first, the method I chose was to use the power of a Devil Fruit to become king. Then, from the top down, I would change that country first, before gradually entering the World Government.
"But after I became king, the decrees I issued for the good of the common people were completely twisted by the nobles. They used them as tools to amass wealth and strengthen their authority. The people were filled with resentment, and because of that, I was given the title of 'Tyrant.'
"When I walked through the streets, I saw the deeply hidden hatred in the corners of the people's eyes, as well as the gloating looks of those nobles.
"From that moment on, I was completely disappointed in this rotten world."
Roy quietly listened as Kuma spoke about the past, then asked, "What happened next?"
"After that, I abandoned that country and went out to sea. Then I was framed by those nobles and commoners and turned into a pirate. When I set sail, there were even many commoners throwing stones at my ship from across the sea."
"Before you left, you didn't make a move against those nobles?"
"No." Kuma shook his head. "But I destroyed the country's sorbet factories."
"Sorbet factories?"
"Yes. Sorbet Kingdom was famous throughout the New World because of its local specialty, sorbet. Every year, those nobles made quite a lot of money from it. Of course, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that at the time, Sorbet Kingdom was a subordinate nation under Big Mom's rule."
Roy smiled. He had not expected Kuma to be such an interesting person.
"I watched those nobles from the shadows with my own eyes. They roared ferociously, but there was nothing they could do. Just like that, their eyes went from anxiety and anger, to pessimism and despair, then to numb emptiness, until they finally welcomed the pirate crew under Big Mom."
"Clap, clap, clap."
Roy applauded.
"You did well. If it were me, perhaps I would have done something even more extreme."
"From that moment on, I understood that the top-down method simply cannot work. Moreover, the masses are very foolish. They need a true leader."
Kuma and Roy talked for a very long time, until night fell.
He wanted to find a like-minded companion somewhere in the world. Roy's ideals suited Kuma's heart very well, but Kuma still planned to go and meet Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, whose influence had gradually begun to grow.
At this moment, Kuma still belonged to no one.
Earlier, Roy had poured an entire set of revolutionary theory and class-struggle ideas into Kuma, already raising the level of Kuma's worldview.
When he met Dragon, who still had no formed ideology and only possessed a heart full of passion to change the world, then no matter how great Dragon's personal charisma was, it would basically be impossible for him to move Kuma~
Roy still had that much confidence.
The sky gradually darkened.
Only after the moon rose did people begin to return one after another.
The first to come back was Tiger. He had not gone far at all.
Behind him followed many Fish-Men, then members of the Longarm Tribe, the Longleg Tribe...
By the time the sun rose again, only a dozen or so people remained on the ship that had originally held several dozen.
Roy was still quite satisfied.
Aside from the Fish-Men, the Devil Fruit users among those slaves had also stayed behind.
"Roy-aniki!!"
After the sun rose, everyone shouted toward Roy.
"Everyone, raise anchor!!"
...
Naturally, Roy would not stay here forever.
He entrusted this group of people to Tiger and asked him to take the people on the ship to the Four Seas, especially the East Blue.
According to Roy, Loguetown in the East Blue was the place where the Pirate King Roger had been born and had died. Therefore, their pirate crew's official departure also had to begin from there.
As for how to withdraw to the Four Seas, Red-Leg Zeff had once withdrawn from the Grand Line, and Admiral Don Krieg had also withdrawn from it. That meant there had to be a way to retreat from the Grand Line back to the Four Seas.
Roy did not plan to act as a nanny and protect Tiger and the others in every single matter.
Having Tiger and the others retreat from the current Grand Line back to the East Blue by themselves would definitely involve no shortage of friction and battles along the way. It would just so happen to serve as training.
As for the Marines' pursuit of Tiger and the others, Roy used Kin'emon's Garb-Garb Fruit to disguise them. That would be enough for them to escape the Marines' pursuit~
After settling matters with Tiger and the others, gaining a wave of loyal underlings, and leaving Tiger with a few cultivation manuals, Roy left once again.
He continued traveling and admiring beautiful scenery while searching for suitable companions and Devil Fruits. Time quietly passed like this.
During this period, aside from a certain three little girls who had been wandering on the Sabaody Archipelago being sent back to Amazon Lily by Elder Nyon, Admiral Sengoku proposed the Seven Warlords plan, causing fierce debate within the Marines. At the same time, he also received appreciation from the higher-ups. It was expected that after Kong, the Steel Bone was transferred to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armed Forces, the position of Fleet Admiral would be handed to Sengoku.
Because there had still been no news of Roy on the seas, and even though the Marines had dispatched Vice Admiral Borsalino, they still had not achieved a satisfactory result. As a result, the Celestial Dragons ran over every two or three days to make things difficult for the current Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armed Forces.
The result was that this Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armed Forces submitted his resignation letter ahead of time. At present, the World Government was arranging the transfer of power.
(End of Chapter)
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