"Roa!!" Whitebeard's eyes were shadowed, his voice icy cold. So it was that brat after all? No, it should be said, it was normal for it to be that brat!
"Pops! Who's that by his side?" Marco suddenly exclaimed again. On the back of the pterodactyl in the sky, beside Roa, there were two other people. One was a short, chubby boy, not worth much attention. But the man standing beside Roa was different! He was a man whose fame echoed throughout the entire world.
"Wang Zhi?" Whitebeard frowned slightly. How did even Wang Zhi get tangled up with this brat?
The soaring pterodactyl suddenly dove down, heading straight for the Moby Dick.
"Everyone be careful! A formidable foe is here!" Marco yelled at the top of his lungs. The members of the Whitebeard Pirates instantly gathered around their Pops. There was no need for any doubt; if a fight were to break out, the approaching individual was definitely not someone they could touch lightly.
The pterodactyl suddenly swooped over the deck. Roa nimbly jumped off Dylan's back, followed closely by Wang Zhi. Roa first glanced at Field, whom Marco was holding by the collar. Seeing that he was merely a little dishevelled, Roa breathed a sigh of relief and spoke, "It's good that you're alright."
If Field had died, it would have been quite troublesome. After all, a vassal's vassal is not my vassal. Roa could only control Field, but he couldn't control Field's usury empire. While he could regain control of the usury business by taking down the other company executives as well, wouldn't that be a lot of trouble? And there might be some oversights.
"Boss!" Field was moved to tears. Boss, he cares so much about me! I must work for him until I die!
Then, Roa finally looked up at the old acquaintance he hadn't seen in over seven years. "Uncle Whitebeard, is there some misunderstanding? We are honest and reputable businessmen. What exactly are you doing?"
This is Calamity Roa! Marco, standing beside Whitebeard, stared intently at Roa. He was the same age, appearing equally youthful. Yet, he was already a true trendsetter whose bounty was only a few million short of Pops's!
"Enough nonsense, Roa," Whitebeard looked down at Roa, his eyes devoid of warmth, his crescent-moon mustache trembling with the opening and closing of his mouth. "The Sphinx incident, you were behind it, weren't you?"
"Oh?" Roa raised an eyebrow. "What incident are you referring to? If you mean selling weapons, then yes, that is indeed my business." He suddenly waved his hand. "Oh right, that's your hometown, Uncle Whitebeard. So, I did you a big favor? Corrupt royalty should be overthrown!"
"No need to thank me, it's nothing special. I just think that if everyone had guns and the power to protect themselves, this world would surely become bigger and more beautiful."
"What are you still pretending for, you brat?!" Whitebeard's golden hair suddenly flared. The island itself trembled, and the sea surged uncontrollably. The man's rage caused both land and sea to quake!
Roa could visibly see the 'black aura' on the island suddenly intensify. Pops is angry! Marco took a deep breath. Was a battle about to begin?
"Calm down, everyone!" However, at this moment, the safety net Roa brought into play worked. Wang Zhi stepped forward and spoke, "We're all old acquaintances. There's no need to be at each other's throats the moment we meet."
"We can talk things over."
"Wang Zhi!" Whitebeard, still fuming, glared at him. "Are you here to back up this brat?"
"Just a coincidence." Wang Zhi certainly wouldn't admit that he had been tricked by Roa. If he could help it, he wouldn't want to get involved in this mess. He merely said calmly, "I just came along to see if I could mediate your conflict."
"Then stand aside!" Whitebeard glared at him, then turned his icy gaze back to Roa. "Brat! The Sphinx riot, you instigated it, didn't you?"
Wang Zhi, who had been somewhat annoyed by Whitebeard's disregard, suddenly froze. In other words, Roa deliberately started a war, and then went to sell weapons? That was entirely something Roa would do! Wang Zhi had almost no doubts and immediately believed it.
Wait! Now that I think about it, could Roa also have been involved in the war between me and Shiki?
As Wang Zhi fell into contemplation, Roa said with a surprised expression, "Where did that come from? I've never even been to Sphinx." Honestly, he only played a supporting role in that matter. He didn't even personally act; he just let Morgans' intelligence organization subtly guide public opinion. The main reason was truly that the Sphinx people deeply believed what they read in the newspapers and desperately wanted to take shortcuts to a better life.
"Besides you, who else would be interested in such an utterly barren country?" Whitebeard sneered, "Sphinx doesn't even have the ability to repay your loans!"
"But you're different, Roa. Just sniffing out the suffering of Sphinx, wouldn't that make you feel refreshed?"
Wow, he really knows me too well. No logical deduction needed, just pure understanding. But, he still had to act tough.
Roa feigned anger, "Do you have any proof, Uncle Whitebeard? If not, I'll sue you for defamation! Don't think you can bully me just because I'm young! I know how to use the law to protect myself."
"This guy..." Marco gritted his teeth. He was smiling! Perhaps he didn't even realize it, but the corners of his mouth were unconsciously curving upward, his upper face trying hard to show an angry expression, but his lower face was smiling. What was he smiling about? Because of Sphinx's current situation? Or because he found Pops's anger amusing?
Indeed, just as Pops said, this guy was a born evil seed! How could Sphinx repay his enormous loans? It wasn't about the money at all! He simply wanted to see that poor country sink deeper into the mud!
But Roa also had something to say. He didn't want to smile either, but the 'black aura' emanating from Whitebeard was truly delicious. Whitebeard truly considered Sphinx his home, and besides anger, he also felt a little pain over the country's current state.
"..." Wang Zhi shook his head, somewhat speechless. No wonder Whitebeard was so angry. That brat Roa really didn't do anything humane. He wasn't even doing it for the sake of selling weapons. Tasting all the delicacies of the world, that brat is truly working towards that goal!
"I've hated you since you were a child. I've never seen such indifference in a child's eyes!" Whitebeard slowly tightened his grip on his Bisento. "Even among the scum gathered in the Rocks Pirates, no one was more repulsive than you."
"Turning people's suffering into sustenance for your growth, your ability is already disgusting enough! But, it just happens to be on you, someone who doesn't even treat people as people!"
Wang Zhi couldn't help but nod slightly. Too true. To this brat, humans were no different from birds in the sky, fish in the sea, or chickens and dogs on the ground. They were, in essence, food.
Roa's smile gradually brightened, the corners of his mouth curving high, his eyes narrowed. "What are you saying to a teenager? What if I get psychological trauma?"
Not treating people as people? Isn't that pure defamation! This depends on the person, alright! I'm not DIO, who goes on about eating bread but then has a big son with bread! I'm not a fetishist!
Then, Roa nodded slightly. "However, it's true, we seem to be naturally incompatible."
"If it's just disgust, it doesn't matter. I don't care who you go and harm; I just want to take care of myself and my family." Whitebeard's golden hair once again fluttered without wind. "But this time, you dirty little brat! You've done something you absolutely shouldn't have!"
"Now, prepare to pay the price!"
Buzz!!
Conqueror's Haki surged again, streams of black Haki lightning sparking from Whitebeard's body, pressing down on Roa.
"Didn't I say it already? I don't understand what you're talking about, Whitebeard." Roa's narrowed eyes suddenly snapped open. "But if you want to fight, I can oblige."
An equally furious Conqueror's Haki roared forth. The two incredibly powerful auras collided, instantly making the Moby Dick tremble continuously, its deck and railings crumbling. Wang Zhi shook his head helplessly. As expected, it could only come to this.
"Roa?" He asked. Since he was already here, and had promised to help, he had to do something.
"No need to rush, Uncle Wang Zhi," Roa said with a smile. "It's not time for you to help yet."
"Huh?" Wang Zhi was momentarily stunned. Then his face suddenly changed. This brat, he doesn't actually want to fight Whitebeard alone, does he? Wang Zhi admitted that Roa was indeed very strong, and even he would be slightly outmatched when Roa went all out.
But that was Edward Newgate! Newgate, who could rival Roger and Shiki! A truly strong candidate for the strongest in the world! Roa might win in a few more years, but how could he be a match now?
"Anyway, act according to the situation, Uncle Wang Zhi." Roa stepped forward, slowly drawing the twin blades from his waist. With each step he took, his black fur grew a little. In just a few steps, a tiger-man warrior covered in black fur appeared before the members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Act according to the situation? Wang Zhi looked bewildered. What situation? What situation am I supposed to act according to?
"A Mythical Zoan, just like Marco!" The burly, tall, and equally young Jozu the Diamond looked at Roa warily. "Cat-Cat Fruit, Qiongqi Form!" Speaking of which, only the remnants of the Rocks Pirates knew the name of Roa's 'ability', and had some understanding of the specific powers he possessed.
"If Pops hadn't personally told me, I truly couldn't imagine there would be such a ferocious Devil Fruit ability in the world!" The beautiful woman with sexy, plump lips, Ice Witch Whitey Bay, said with a solemn tone. Freely controlling calamities, stirring negative emotions in people, and even being able to turn people into puppets! Most importantly, people's suffering was his food! He could grow stronger through it! It seemed this ability itself appeared solely to bring disaster to this world!
"Don't worry," Flower Sword Vista was calmer than his comrades. "His opponent is Pops!" Hearing this, the executives of the Whitebeard Pirates also relaxed. Yes, no matter how powerful Roa's ability was, his opponent was Pops! How could Pops lose?
"Come on, Whitebeard." Roa bent his knees slightly, his body rocketing into the sky. He arced through the air and lightly landed on the island's coastline. Whitebeard's brow furrowed slightly. What was this brat planning now? He brought Wang Zhi, but didn't have Wang Zhi make a move. He wanted to fight him one-on-one. Did he have the strength for that? From what he knew of Roa, this brat would never put himself in danger!
However, this hesitation only lasted for an instant. Whatever Roa was planning, winning was all that mattered! But Whitebeard didn't act immediately. He first looked up at Wang Zhi.
Wang Zhi shrugged. "Don't worry, at least for today, I have no interest in bullying the young." Otherwise, given Whitebeard's personality, he would probably immediately abandon Roa to deal with him.
Only then did Whitebeard leap up, landing heavily in front of Roa. Roa's twin blades were half-inserted into the ground, which instantly melted into lava. The lava then spiraled up along the twin blades.
"Speaking of which, when I was little, besides you and Stussy, all the executives taught me. Now, even Stussy is my ally," Roa slowly raised his head, various elements wrapped around the twin blades in his hands, looking at Whitebeard with a smile. "So next, let's complete the last regret of my childhood."
"Brat, no matter what you're plotting, I'll make you understand the price of provoking me!" Along with Whitebeard's cold voice, the blade of his Bisento became shrouded in black, surging Haki black lightning leaped forth, while translucent spherical ripples surrounded it.
"Going all out from the start?" Wang Zhi, watching from the Moby Dick, felt a toothache at the sight. Newgate really seems incredibly angry.
Roa, what trick do you have up your sleeve this time—
"Eh!!" Wang Zhi slapped the ship's railing, unable to help but exclaim. Because he saw Roa charging directly towards Whitebeard.
No way? Is he going for a head-on attack? Are you serious, Roa? Maybe you should reconsider. Do you really want to challenge Newgate's frontal destructive power?
"Five Realms of Annihilation!" Roa was clad in magma armor, various elements mixed on the twin blades in his hands, along with the bloody aura of Tiger Soul and the shockwaves of Eight Impact Fist. Finally, it was enhanced by Haki infused with willpower. In close-quarters combat, this was his strongest state!
Come on! It's time to kick down that door!
But.
"Hmph!" Whitebeard merely roared, bringing his Bisento down heavily on Roa. It was as if the first encounter between Kozuki Oden and Whitebeard in the original story was replaying.
The leaping Roa's twin blades collided heavily with the Bisento striking down from above. However, unlike Kozuki Oden's evenly matched encounter, this time Whitebeard was giving his all in a fit of rage. Roa instantly felt his entire body vibrate violently. The elements wrapped around his twin blades were dispersed by the shock. Then, a torrential force crashed down upon him.
"Ugh!" In just an instant, Roa became a black blur, sent flying by a single slash.
"As expected." Wang Zhi was not surprised at all.