"Hahaha! Mr. Roa! Then it's settled!"
At Ryugu Kingdom, the ancient Fish-Man King laughed, his eye wrinkles folding like a thousand-layered cake. "You'll be responsible for the funds and company structure, and we'll handle the personnel from Fish-Man Island."
"Of course!" Roa smiled, raising his cup to the king. Although Fish-Man Island also had its share of "darkness," to truly hold it in his grasp later, he'd give them some face for now.
The joint venture with Fish-Man Island had been finalized. As previously agreed, Roa would provide the capital, and Fish-Man Island the manpower. Fisher Tiger was appointed as the Minister of Transportation, overseeing all Fish-Man employees. Many Fish-Men from the Fish-Man District, including Jinbe, joined the company alongside him.
However, even though the company was established, it would take a considerable amount of time before it could truly begin operations. There were three essential tasks yet to be done.
First were the sea beasts; they were the power source for deep-sea transportation, an indispensable link. Next, Tiger would lead the Fish-Men to tame a large number of them.
Second were the ships; sea beasts provided the power, so vessels were naturally needed to carry cargo. This part was relatively simple, as Fish-Man Island had many skilled shipwrights.
Finally, the most crucial and troublesome part: the Fish-Men needed to map the currents of the deep sea. The Four Blues were straightforward, with mostly fixed currents, but the Grand Line had many currents that appeared and vanished abruptly. They needed to discover and utilize these currents. This task required the most time. Even if the Fish-Man King promised to send a large number of Fish-Men to carry out this mission, and even if they only needed to find currents leading to a large sea area, it would likely take at least a year or even longer. Roa wasn't particularly concerned; even without relying on currents, the combination of Fish-Men and sea beasts was already far faster than conventional ships.
Thus, the cooperation was delightful. A win-win!
"Hahahaha! How exciting!" The old king grinned, showing his teeth. "Distant guests, tonight, we drink until we drop!"
The "guests" referred to Roa and his companions, as well as the Roger Pirates.
"Wahahahaha! Then we won't hold back!" Roger burst into laughter. It was all thanks to Roa; otherwise, this old king wouldn't have entertained them. After all, despite not being favored, the Ryugu Kingdom was still an affiliate of the World Government.
"We're actually having a banquet with them?" Buggy devoured his food while whispering to his good brother, "What's Captain thinking?! A year ago, that guy Roa almost killed us!"
"Because positions are always changing, I suppose." Shanks's eating manners were no more refined than his brother's, but his words were far more insightful.
"Hmph!" Buggy was displeased with his brother's answer; he thought Shanks should be hostile towards them, just like him! The red-nosed brat glared fiercely at Doflamingo and Bege across the table.
"What's that guy looking at?" Bege noticed Buggy's gaze and spoke, annoyed.
"Ignore him, he's just an insignificant brat," Doflamingo said, completely disregarding the two young pirates on Roger's ship. With Bege and the Byrnndi World, he was no longer the Doflamingo who could only endure insults! Now, he was feeling quite inflated!
Doflamingo just gazed dreamily at the mermaids dancing gracefully on the banquet hall's stage. In Mary Geoise, many of his childhood playmates' families kept mermaids. It was truly nostalgic to think about now! Damn Roa, he has the power, why didn't he just conquer Fish-Man Island? If he had, I could have kept a few thousand mermaids myself!
Of course, Doflamingo could only complain inwardly; he dared not utter a single word of complaint about Roa. Fear was already rooted deep in his heart, never to be dispelled.
After a lively banquet, the Roger Pirates prepared to depart. They had visited Fish-Man Island before, and with the Poneglyph already in hand, they naturally wouldn't linger.
Before leaving, Roger turned back to look at Roa, who was grinning as he saw them off, and suddenly asked, "Roa, I've always been a bit confused. What exactly do you want to do?"
He claimed to no longer be a pirate, and indeed, he was engaged in business. But how did his actions differ from those of a pirate?
"Me?" Roa scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It's a bit embarrassing to say, but it's actually due to my appetite."
"Appetite?" Roger frowned slightly. Out of ten pirates, at least nine acted for their own desires. But what did "appetite" mean?
"However, I hope this world becomes freer than anyone else!" Roa said earnestly. "Good luck, Roger! With you, you will surely find the Final Island, expose the truth hidden for eight hundred years, and finally, free people from the World Government's order!"
"Let this world achieve true freedom!"
Freedom? What Roger pursued was also freedom. No one could restrain his freedom. The reason he sought the One Piece was simply because he wanted to. But when Roa spoke the word "freedom," Roger only felt an instinctive thrill of dread within his heart.
Let this world achieve true freedom? Roger looked deeply at Roa, then turned and left without a second thought.
Roa quietly watched their departing figures.
Go for it, Roger.
I'm genuinely rooting for you.
"Boss, this was actually a good opportunity," Dilon said softly from behind Roa. At sea, there was absolutely no chance of defeating the Roger Pirates!
"What are you talking about?" Roa smiled. "Roger isn't our enemy."
Almost at the same moment, on the departing Roger Pirates' ship.
Buggy scurried over to his captain. "Captain, that guy is super annoying. We won't really become friends with him, right? I can't accept that!"
"Friends?" Roger paused, then burst into laughter. "We'll never be friends! But, we're not enemies either."
Buggy was slightly stunned. Not friends, not enemies? What kind of relationship was that?
"That's how it is for me," Roger lifted his hand, rubbing the blue-haired boy's head beside him, his tone somewhat elusive. "But later, Buggy, after you and Shanks set sail, be sure to be very careful of that kid Roa."
"Huh? Set sail? I don't want to set sail! I want to keep sailing with you, Captain!"
"Wahahahaha! Idiot, what nonsense are you talking about? What child stays with their parents after growing up? You'll have your own adventures!"
"Buggy is quite timid, after all."
"Hey! You bastard Shanks! What did you say!"
Amidst their bickering, the Roger Pirates reached the port, set sail from Fish-Man Island, and headed for Paradise.
However, not long after setting sail.
"Woah! Where's that sound coming from!"
"Sound? What sound? Captain, we don't hear anything!"
"There really is one! A huge sound! Someone's talking! I just can't make out what they're saying!"
In the pitch-black deep sea, a voice echoed, audible only to the monsters dwelling there and a very few exceptionally gifted individuals.
"The birth of the king is still fifteen years away, and the king of the sea has not yet been born, but a new king, who should not have appeared, has arrived."
"Where will the new king lead the world, and will the promised day arrive?"
"It is yet unknown. Let us quietly await the birth of the king."
The Roger Pirates had left in style, but Roa and his companions were not in a hurry to depart. Having finally arrived at Fish-Man Island, whose scenery was praised by all, it would be a waste not to enjoy it thoroughly!
They spent over a week playing. During this time, Umit's people arrived. Roa knew nothing about corporate structure management, so he left professional matters to professionals. Umit's team directly interfaced with Ryugu Kingdom, and with Tiger's cooperation, the company, named Deep Sea Transport, quickly took on a rough shape. Once the sea beasts and ships were in place, they could immediately begin transporting cargo.
Roa didn't put much effort into it. After enjoying himself enough on Fish-Man Island, he prepared to return to the New World. Neptune tried to persuade him to stay, but Roa didn't sense any genuine emotion in his mood. After all, Fish-Man Island was simply too vulnerable to Roa.
The submarine soon departed from Fish-Man Island, returning to the New World along the route they came. However, just as they were about to exit the massive cave. Roa suddenly paused.
Huh, did I hear something?
Aside from this small interlude, the journey back to the surface was smooth sailing, without any interference. They successfully returned to the surface, rendezvoused with the Snail Grand Fleet, and smoothly began their return to the latter half of the New World. This had truly been a long journey. First, they went to the West Blue, circled around, then rushed back to the New World, and then traveled to Fish-Man Island. Fortunately, the rewards were plentiful.
Just then, a call came in.
"Boss! There's news from the North Blue again!" Morgans' voice, as always, carried a hint of wanting to stir up trouble.
"Oh? Is Hero Garp's son doing something again?" Roa asked casually.
"As expected of you! You guessed it right away!" Morgans chuckled. "He organized some representatives of the moderate faction and plans to negotiate with the extremist faction, urging them to stop their radical retaliatory actions."
Since the attackers from Flevance caused a huge commotion at last year's World Summit, the Marine named Dragon voluntarily requested a transfer to the North Blue. Over the past year, he had been secretly contacting the Flevance emigrants. Preventing indiscriminate retaliation by the extremists and deepening understanding with the moderates—one could say he was a troublemaker.
However, although he disguised himself and tried to keep a low profile, unfortunately, Roa's people were present in almost every slightly larger group of Flevance survivors, so all his actions had been under Roa's observation.
"That's quite annoying," Roa said, sounding displeased. "If you haven't suffered their hardships, don't tell them to be kind. Don't they understand such a simple principle? I really can't accept this!"
Over the past year, those radical Flevance emigrants, knowing they were doomed, had practically turned the entire North Blue upside down. They were fearless in death, cold, and cruel, and had become the nightmare of the entire North Blue. As proof, in the serialized comics of the North Blue World Economic News, the Flevance people had already replaced the Vinsmoke Family as the main antagonist group.
But now, this guy Dragon was stepping forward, wanting to stop all this. Did he understand the suffering of the Flevance people, just standing there giving orders? You can't stand up and preach "Love and Peace" when persecuted people start fighting back! No, this kind of thoughtless saintly behavior must be stopped!
"If he wants to stop it, then give him something more intense." Roa said calmly, "The son of a Marine hero, a Marine supernova, colluding with rioters causing chaos in the North Blue. Morgans, is this news worthy of the front page of the World Economic News?"
"Absolutely! I'll get right on it!"
North Blue, a certain sea area.
A ship sailed quietly on the sea.
"Are you really going to do this?" Trafalgar, a Flevance emigrant and once a highly respected doctor in that country, looked at the figure standing at the bow with complex emotions. He had originally changed his name and prepared to live out the last part of his life peacefully with his wife.
However, the man who had hidden himself in a hood came looking for him. At the time, Doctor Trafalgar was so scared he almost fainted on the spot, but thankfully, the man had no ill intentions. He was just very interested in everything that had happened in Flevance.
So, Trafalgar told him everything that happened in Flevance in detail. Then, something unexpected happened to Trafalgar: this man, who had absolutely no connection to Flevance, became extraordinarily indignant after learning everything. He even actively began contacting more Flevance people, offering them refuge, and of course, preventing the extremists' mad retaliation.
Trafalgar truly couldn't understand what he was thinking.
"We have no future," Trafalgar said. "Most of the Flevance people have gone mad. You've dealt with them so many times, you should know you can't stop them."
"I have to try." The cloaked figure's voice was deep. "Innocent people shouldn't be affected, rage shouldn't spread limitlessly, and their lives shouldn't be wasted on such things!"
"Wasted? What are we wasting?" Trafalgar said with a hint of self-mockery. "What else can we do? Like me, pretend nothing happened and just quietly wait to die?"
"If you must fight, then pull the trigger on the object you should truly hate." The cloaked figure said gravely. "And didn't you say someone deliberately ignited the powder keg? The current situation in the North Blue is what they wanted to see."
"Since it was a conspiracy from the start, it should be stopped even more."
Doctor Trafalgar opened his mouth, unsure what to say. Just then, a news bird flew overhead, and a newspaper drifted down, landing perfectly in Doctor Trafalgar's arms. The doctor instinctively picked up the newspaper and opened it, his expression suddenly freezing.
He blinked in disbelief, then looked up at the dark figure in shock. "Are you... named Dragon?"
"What?"