"Who is it?" Gin instantly became alert. However, before he could even raise his iron-ball tonfa into a stance, he discovered that the iron-ball tonfa on his shoulder had vanished.
"This really is a strange weapon."
As Roy spoke, he played with the iron-ball tonfa for a moment before tossing it back to Gin.
"Who are you?!" After catching his weapon, Gin still looked at Roy with eyes full of vigilance.
This person had been able to take his weapon from his hand without him noticing. His strength was far above Gin's.
"Introducing myself is too troublesome. Take a look at this."
Roy flipped his palm, and a newspaper and a wanted poster appeared. Then he handed them to Gin.
Although he was shocked that the other party had suddenly made those things appear, Gin still reached out, took them, and carefully read them.
Then—
"Attacked the Holy Land Mary Geoise, broke through the guard army, bounty of six hundred million berries!!"
Gin lowered the newspaper with trembling hands. When he looked at the face that was identical to the one on the wanted poster, his eyes were filled with fanaticism.
"This is the man I've been looking for!"
In the original version, Gin was fiercely loyal to Krieg, and he believed that Krieg would definitely become the Pirate King, simply because Krieg was the undisputed overlord of the East Blue, aside from Arlong.
And now, Roy, who was countless times more outstanding than Krieg, had appeared before him. Gin, who was only fifteen years old at this time, instantly made his judgment.
"This man will definitely accomplish great things. He is worth following!"
Seeing the look in Gin's eyes, Roy smiled. He knew that he did not need to waste any more words.
A person who was strong and extremely loyal was very hard to find.
Daz counted as one, and Gin counted as one as well.
"I'm currently recruiting companions and planning to set sail together. Are you willing to join my pirate crew?"
"Captain!!" Gin blurted out. His cold eyes were filled with fanaticism.
Roy laughed despite himself. Among all the companions he had recruited, this was probably the easiest one.
"Then, since you plan to board my ship, I have a certain 'boarding test' for you."
Roy once again took a wooden box out of his spatial ring. There was also a book placed on top of the wooden box.
"I expect that it will still be another year or two before I officially set sail. During this time, use these things properly to make yourself stronger. You should know that I don't accept weaklings on my ship."
Gin took them. On the cover of the book at the top, two words were written: Six Powers.
After he opened the wooden box, he discovered a fruit inside. It had strange spiral patterns and was shaped like a large white strawberry.
"What is this?" Gin looked at Roy in confusion.
In the East Blue, Devil Fruits were only legends. There were even many people who did not know that Devil Fruits existed.
Gin had lived at the lowest level of society since childhood, carving out a path for himself through sheer ferocity. However, the limit of his knowledge was being able to recognize some words. He did not understand much else.
"This is a Devil Fruit, a secret treasure of the sea. After eating it, you will obtain powerful strength. It is something that everyone on the sea desperately desires."
Roy explained to Gin, "Of course, no power in this world comes free. At the same time that you gain power, you will also become a complete landlubber. Also, you can only eat one fruit. If you eat another one, your body will explode and you'll die."
Only then did Gin understand. Then he gritted his teeth and swallowed it down.
"Also, this kind of fruit tastes awful. Extremely awful."
Roy looked at Gin's face, which had already turned blue-green, and continued, "The fruit I gave you is an ancient Zoan-type: the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dire Wolf. It can greatly increase your physical strength. Together with this Six Powers training method, as long as you train seriously over the next two years, your strength will definitely improve by a large margin."
Gin swallowed the Devil Fruit in his mouth with difficulty, then revealed a smile that looked uglier than crying.
"Yes! Captain!!"
...
Many people liked hot-blooded, fist-to-flesh fighting matches. Because of that, fighting islands usually had quite a large number of people.
Aside from the various people who came to watch the matches, there were also fighters who carried their dreams with them and wanted to make a name for themselves here.
Recently, a man named Jesus Burgess had begun to distinguish himself. His Wave Motion Elbow was extremely powerful, and very few people could withstand his attacks.
If nothing unexpected happened, perhaps in a few more years, this rookie fighter might become the new-generation fighting champion who dominated the arena.
Inside the arena lounge, Burgess was sitting in his seat and drinking rum in big gulps. After high-intensity combat, fine wine and delicious food were the best things for relieving the pressure on the body.
"So you're Jesus Burgess? You really do look like you have some skill."
"Pfft!"
Burgess immediately sprayed out the wine in his mouth. Just as he was about to stand up, he discovered that a hand had appeared on his shoulder and was pressing him down, making him completely unable to move.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?!"
"Hm? 'Heinous Criminal' Roy? This is news from several days ago already. Why are you showing me this..."
In the next instant, he fell silent. His mouth opened wide as he looked at the face in front of him, which was exactly the same as the one on the wanted poster.
"Do you still have any doubts about my identity?" Roy smiled at Burgess.
The latter swallowed his saliva and immediately shook his head.
What kind of joke was that? The other party was a major criminal who had attacked the Holy Land Mary Geoise, while he was merely a third-rate boxer who had only recently gained a little fame on some fighting island.
"Wihahahaha! Then, may I ask what the famous Mr. Roy has come to find a boxer like me for?"
"It's simple. I want to invite you to join my pirate crew." Roy did not speak vaguely and went straight to the point.
"Why come to me? You should know that on this island right now, there are quite a few people who are more famous and stronger than I am."
"Because I've taken a liking to the potential and talent in you. That's why I came to invite you."
In the future, among those whose names would shake the seas, aside from Burgess, there would not be a single other fighting champion. From this, it could be seen what kind of people the rest of the group on this island were.
"Wihahahaha!" Burgess laughed very happily.
"Then, Mr. Roy, if I join your pirate crew, what benefits can I get? Or rather, what is your future goal? You should know that if you only want to drift around and play on the sea, that would be far too boring."
(End of Chapter)
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