Luffy, who stood at the head of the group, looked pleasantly surprised. The expressions on the faces of his companions behind him were equally colorful.
"What are all of you...?"
"Ah! We're gathering supplies. We're planning to head to the New World right away."
Luffy adjusted the enormous backpack on his shoulders and grinned happily.
He had a favorable impression of this pirate, who knew Rayleigh-ossan and had rescued them from Aokiji.
"Come to think of it, what's your name? I'm Luffy, the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
"My name is Roy."
"I see, Roy... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."
"Didn't we just explain it to you?!"
Nami pressed a hand to her forehead, completely helpless before her captain.
"Oh, right!"
Luffy suddenly understood, then repeated what he had just said.
"That's right! Everyone says you're really strong, Roy!"
"I won't deny that."
Roy looked at the bags and packages they were carrying, then greeted the various people standing behind Luffy.
"It's been a long time, Brook."
"Yohohoho! It truly has been a long time, Roy-san."
"Huh? Brook, you know him?"
"Yes. I once drank tea with Roy-san in the Florian Triangle. Come to think of it, that was more than ten years ago. Yohohoho!"
After greeting Brook, Roy turned his attention toward Usopp and nodded.
"You're doing quite well. When Yasopp received your bounty poster, he was so happy that he drank throughout the entire night."
The moment Usopp heard his father's name, his eyes reddened. He hurriedly waved his hands.
"No, you're flattering me! I still have a very long way to go. I'm not yet worthy of calling myself a true warrior of the sea!"
After speaking to Usopp, Roy looked toward Zoro, who had leaped back to one side and was staring intently at him.
"Mihawk once mentioned a swordsman who uses Three Sword Style."
Zoro's hand immediately tightened around the hilt of his sword.
For the first time, he was directly facing the true World's Greatest Swordsman, who was also the strongest man in the world. Sweat had already begun gathering in his palm.
"I can sense the character of a true swordsman within you, along with your astonishing potential and talent. You still have tremendous room to grow. I'll be waiting for you to challenge me."
Roy nodded to Zoro.
Zoro solemnly returned the gesture with a swordsman's salute.
"That day will come!"
Roy then glanced at Sanji and Robin, the two remaining members he had yet to address, and casually remarked:
"I've heard Germa 66 is currently searching for a prince who left them years ago."
The hand holding Sanji's cigarette immediately trembled.
Roy did not continue.
Some matters only required a small hint.
He then looked around at the numerous bags and packages they were carrying. They had clearly finished gathering their supplies.
"Are you planning to head to the New World now?"
"Yeah. We'll set sail once Rayleigh-ossan finishes coating our ship."
"Rayleigh? He probably won't have time to coat it for you."
"Ah! Why not?!"
"Because he's going to save his captain's son—the son of Pirate King Roger."
"Roger's son?"
Luffy's companions were astonished.
"Pirate King Roger had a son? This is the first we've heard of it..."
Thud!
Under the stunned gazes of the entire Straw Hat crew, Luffy dropped the enormous bag from his back and urgently questioned Roy.
"Is it Ace? What happened to Ace? Roy, do you know what happened to him?!"
...
Roy watched as the Straw Hat Pirates hurried toward Shakky's Rip-Off Bar. He shrugged and resumed wandering around.
As he wandered aimlessly down one of the streets, his Mantra happened to pick up a conversation.
"Batshuayi Island? Isn't that a fairly prosperous island? It has plenty of merchant guilds, so it should have forces capable of protecting it. Surely no pirate would be stupid enough to attack it, right?"
"There really is one!"
"Who? What kind of reckless fool would do that?"
"It isn't some reckless fool. It's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"It's Pirate Empress Boa Hancock! I heard anyone caught in her gaze will be turned to stone..."
The rest of the conversation was nothing but worthless gossip, so Roy stopped listening.
"The Pirate Empress, huh? Considering the timing, Luffy spent three full days and nights flying after Kuma sent him away, only to land on Amazon Lily on the exact day Boa Hancock and her people returned from an expedition."
Roy recalled several reports Baron Tamago had given him over the past few years.
After the new empress of Amazon Lily ascended the throne, she began maintaining an extremely friendly attitude toward trade with Raijin Island.
Trade between Raijin Island and Amazon Lily had become almost completely open, with each island freely supplying goods the other lacked.
Amazon Lily maintained an absolute law forbidding men from entering. Any man who set foot there would be eliminated.
However, to ensure the continuation of Amazon Lily's population, certain women would leave the island to seek men once they reached a particular age.
Ever since Boa Hancock became the queen of Amazon Lily, the women of the island had begun choosing Raijin Island as their preferred destination.
That arrangement had brought an enormous influx of people to Raijin Island.
Boa Hancock deserved a considerable share of the credit for Raijin Island's rapidly growing population.
"I suppose I should go meet her."
After thinking for a moment, Roy made his decision.
For both personal and practical reasons, it was time for them to meet.
Come to think of it, eighteen full years had passed since Roy had first crossed paths with Hancock and her sisters during the Slave Liberation Movement.
Roy had never gone to meet Hancock, and Hancock had never visited Raijin Island to meet him.
Only her younger sister, Boa Sandersonia, had visited once on unrelated business while Roy was in the middle of an important period of secluded training.
"This should count as our first formal meeting."
With that thought, Roy vanished from where he stood.
...
On the sea route from Batshuayi Island back to Amazon Lily, a pirate ship was sailing across the ocean.
The entire vessel had been constructed from an unknown variety of sturdy red hardwood and fashioned into an elegant, palace-like design.
(End of Chapter)
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