Naturally, Roy took every one of their expressions in, but he did not care in the slightest. The two sides were on completely different levels. A lion would never bother arguing with ants. Doing so would only diminish its own bearing.
Of course, if the other party did not know life from death and insisted on seeking death, Roy would also grant his wish.
"Everyone, you've worked hard."
Roy looked at the group before him and spoke softly.
"It wasn't hard!"
All the former slaves shouted excitedly. To them, the current Roy was like a spiritual pillar.
"Good. It looks like everyone has grown a lot over this past year. Then today, we officially set sail!"
"Oh!!"
Everyone cheered.
Yasopp grinned widely. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Burgess waved both arms toward the sky. Laffitte took off his top hat.
Even Gin and Daz, who usually never smiled, had the corners of their mouths rise slightly. The gazes they directed at Roy's back were filled with fervor and worship.
"However—"
Roy spoke again, and everyone immediately quieted down. All of them looked at him eagerly.
"Before we officially set sail, there are two more matters." Roy held up two fingers.
"The first is something everyone has already seen. That ship beside us is our pirate ship."
As he spoke, Roy pointed at the dragon-headed ship nearby.
"This ship was built at my request by Tom's Workers of Water 7. That's right, just as you're thinking, it was made by Tom-san, the very man who built the Pirate King Roger's pirate ship and helped him conquer the Grand Line. This ship was also built by him, and the materials used are not inferior to Roger's Oro Jackson."
Everyone's eyes lit up, and their gazes toward the dragon-headed ship filled with little stars.
"Of course, what I want to say is that I haven't decided on a name for this ship or our pirate crew yet," Roy continued, then began his persuasion.
"Since all of you acknowledge me as captain, then naturally, I also need to show the spirit and presence of a captain who can convince the masses, and give my crew a basis for confidence."
As he spoke, a massive amount of lightning instantly erupted from Roy's body.
"As you can see, I once pierced through the guard forces and crippled the Army. I myself possess tremendous power, and I also possess the ability of Instant Transmission. The source of all these powers is the Devil Fruit I ate.
"Even among the strongest Logia-types, it is one of the abilities that can be called 'invincible,' an ability that grants the power to control lightning—the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
Wrapped in lightning from head to toe, Roy stood there like a god.
Everyone stared at Roy in a daze, their mouths hanging open one after another.
The scene fell into an eerie silence. None of them had expected their captain to actually be a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
"Captain, mighty and unmatched!"
Suddenly, amid the silence, a loud shout drew everyone's attention.
The one who shouted was Gin, who had remained silent until now.
At this moment, the gaze he directed at Roy was filled with intense confidence and unwavering loyalty.
He firmly believed that his captain would definitely conquer the Grand Line and become the Pirate King!
"Captain, mighty and unmatched!"
Under Gin's lead, everyone began shouting the slogan as well.
After Jinbe saw the lightning wrapped around Roy's body, he understood very clearly that Roy might have already developed his fruit ability to an extremely profound level. A person like this was fully qualified to be his captain. And so, he followed everyone else and shouted along, thoroughly acknowledging Roy's status as captain and leader.
As for Arlong and the others, no matter how brainless they were, after Roy displayed his strength, they would not seek death on their own. All of them shrank their heads back and shouted along with Tiger and Jinbe.
Everyone, Arlong included, was filled with confidence in Roy.
Roy was very satisfied with the changes in everyone's expressions. It seemed that no one had any objections anymore. Properly showing one's strength was still very necessary.
After the cheers gradually died down, Roy finally said, "Then I plan to name our pirate crew the Thunder God Pirates, and our pirate ship the Thunder God. What do you all think?"
"No problem, Captain Roy!!"
"Let's decide on that, then. Thunder God!"
"Wihahahaha, I like it, Captain!"
Everyone voiced their opinions one after another, but the general tone was approval.
"Good. From this day onward, we are the Thunder God Pirates!" Roy clapped his hands, and his expression turned solemn.
"Then next, what I'm going to talk about is the second matter."
Roy's voice began to turn serious. When everyone saw him like this, they unconsciously straightened their backs.
"From now on, everyone present here is a companion. Some of you were personally invited by me. Some of you are brothers who endured hardship, life, and death together with me at Mary Geoise. Others came to join us midway because of our reputation. So now, I will explain our pirate crew's rules.
"First, from now on, I hope everyone will be family. Discrimination is not allowed! Friction is fine. After all, if pirates didn't have friction and conflict among themselves, what kind of pirates would they be? But discrimination is absolutely intolerable. The ideal of our pirate ship is that all people are born equal. No one is born a head above others!"
Roy was warning racialists like Arlong and his group. After hearing Roy's words, they stayed silent.
As for the group of former slaves, they thought Roy was caring about them, and their eyes once again reddened with emotion.
"Second, betrayal is not permitted! Pirates value loyalty and companions. We are people who entrust our backs to our brothers. If anyone dares stab us in the back, I will be the first to refuse to let him go!
"Remember this. Since I was able to charge into Mary Geoise, then as long as anyone betrays us, no matter where you flee, even to the ends of the world, I will not let you off!"
Roy's serious words made everyone's hearts tremble, but even more people shouted in response and agreement.
"At present, our pirate crew only has these two requirements. If you feel that you can't do it, or if our ideals no longer match in the future, then bring it up to me face-to-face. We can part on good terms."
Seeing everyone's expressions turn serious, Roy suddenly changed his tone, and his voice softened.
(End of Chapter)
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