Someone capable of crossing blows with the Pirate King could not possibly be weak. The fact that he could cow the giant bears in the forest with a single sentence was proof enough of his strength.
Roy often drank with him, and the two gradually became fairly good friends. Roy invited him to set out to sea with him again, but he refused with a smile.
In his words, he was already a decrepit old geezer. Besides, Roger had already become the Pirate King, so there was no meaning in him going out to sea again.
Roy respected his thoughts and continued maintaining his daily routine.
Over the course of that year, Roy had basically succeeded in cultivating all three types of Haki. By combining Observation Haki with his own Touch Perception, ki sensing, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's electric net and electromagnetic field, and the Time-Time Fruit's temporal power, Roy had basically become extremely skilled at predicting the short-term future.
He had also trained a mind-reading ability similar to Queen Otohime's. As long as he touched the other person's body, he could sense what that person was thinking.
As for Armament Haki, Roy had reached the point where he could use it skillfully. As for mastery…
With Roy's current physical strength, even without using Haki, he could beat the entire world.
Needless to say, Conqueror's Haki, that kind of spiritual pressure, was no problem either.
As for the other skills, such as the Six Powers, swordsmanship, and sniping, Roy only borrowed from them for reference.
Just like that, at the end of 1504, Roy finally received a call from Tom.
"Freedom kid, the ship's finished! When are you coming to take a look?" Tom's voice on the other end of the Transponder Snail was full of energy, followed immediately by a burst of hearty laughter.
"I'll be right there."
After putting down the Transponder Snail, Roy directly used Instant Transmission and left the Goa Kingdom.
When Ace came back here carrying a large fish, he discovered that no matter how he searched, he could not find any trace of Roy.
Looking at the two books on the table, titled Six Powers and Haki, along with a dull gray sack, young Ace fell silent for a long while. Then, after carefully putting the books away, he turned and left.
The next time he came to this great tree, it would be five years later, when he brought his two younger brothers here and turned it into the three of them's secret base.
No.
It was a secret base for four people.
Water 7, Tom's Workers.
"This ship's design really is pretty good!"
Looking at the dragon-head figurehead at the bow, Roy was extremely satisfied.
"Of course! This is Tom-san's hard work, and the two of us put in plenty of effort too!" Cutty Flam, who would later be known as Franky, said proudly from the side.
"Hahahahaha! This old man has built so many ships in his life, but other than Roger's ship, this is the one that felt the most satisfying to build."
Clearly, Tom was also in a very good mood.
"I really am grateful, Tom-san. If you ever need my help in the future, just call my Transponder Snail number. With my abilities, I should still be able to help a little."
"Sure! If anything unexpected really happens in the future, you'll be the first one I call, hahahaha!"
…
Roy brought his pirate ship back to Loguetown in East Blue.
Since this was the place where the Pirate King Roger was born and died, he decided to make it the main place where he would set sail.
Such a treasure ship suddenly appearing near Loguetown naturally drew attention.
Especially from the many pirates there, all of whom looked over the ship with greedy eyes.
However, Roy completely ignored those greedy gazes. He picked up the Transponder Snail and began dialing numbers one by one.
East Blue, Cocoyasi Island.
"Thank you for the oranges, Nami, Nojiko."
Tiger smiled and rubbed the heads of the two little girls in front of him, accepting the oranges they had given him.
Ever since Tiger and the others came to East Blue, they had not received any orders from Roy. So, they had simply found an island and stopped there to rest for a while.
Whether it was fate or some other kind of destiny, the island Tiger chose was precisely Cocoyasi Island.
"Huh? These oranges cost Berries? And ten thousand at that?! Isn't that a bit too much, Nami?"
Tiger called it too much, but there was not the slightest hint of blame in his eyes.
"All right, Nami, stop joking around."
Nojiko stopped Nami at just the right moment. Nami mischievously stuck out her tongue, then went to find Hatchan.
She loved eating the takoyaki Hatchan made, and basically went to play with Hatchan every day.
"By doing this, Bellemere won't blame you, will she?" Tiger looked at Nojiko and asked.
Back when they had first docked at Cocoyasi Island, the island's residents had thought they were pirates… Well, strictly speaking, they were indeed pirates.
Bellemere was a retired Marine, and she was the first to stand up. She had an extremely unfriendly clash with Arlong, Kuroobi, and the others among Tiger's group.
Of course, that conflict was eventually stopped by Tiger and Jinbe. After that, when the residents saw that Tiger and the others bore no ill intent, they gradually began to accept them.
Later, during the time Tiger and the others spent resting and reorganizing, they helped Cocoyasi Village drive off quite a few pirates. Only then did the villagers officially treat them as their own people.
However, because Bellemere's relationship with Arlong and the others had become very strained at the beginning, and because Tiger and the others were still pirates by nature, she preferred to keep out of sight and out of mind. She rarely interacted with Tiger and his group.
"…Bellemere wouldn't say anything…"
Before Nojiko could finish speaking, the Transponder Snail in Tiger's arms, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly rang.
Tiger immediately took a deep breath, then picked up the Transponder Snail.
"We can officially set sail now, Tiger. I'll be waiting for you in Loguetown."
"Yes, Captain!"
Such a simple sentence made Tiger tightly grip the Transponder Snail.
Then he shouted in the direction of the island:
"Brothers! The captain said we're setting sail!"
Hatchan, who was making takoyaki for Nami, trembled. Kuroobi and the others, who were sparring with Jinbe, all stopped moving.
"Is it finally time to officially set sail?"
Whether it was Jinbe or Arlong, both of them now very much wanted to meet Roy, the hero of freedom who had made Tiger-aniki wait for a full two years, and see what kind of man he truly was.
On a high spot in Cocoyasi Village, inside the orange grove, the sun was already slanting west.
A woman dressed in blue saluted in Tiger's direction.
"Captain?"
(End of Chapter)
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