"I'm not joining the Navy. Not today, not ever." Roy took a sip of rum, exhaled deeply, and added with a shrug, "I mean, sure, the Navy's full of talented people—but damn, most of you don't know how to talk to someone properly."
Kuzan sighed inwardly. That was a pretty lazy excuse to reject such an offer. Wait... am I one of the rude ones?
Roy continued, "I follow the Light, not your so-called Justice."
"…I see. That's… honestly a shame." Kuzan gave up on trying to persuade him. He wasn't really the type to talk people into things anyway. And judging by the look in Roy's eyes, this guy never once took the Navy seriously to begin with.
"One more question, if I may?" Kuzan asked.
"Of course, Vice Admiral. Ask anything—I'll answer without holding back," Roy replied with a smile.
But the air shifted. Kuzan's usual lazy demeanor disappeared, and his expression turned sharp.
"Why did you go to sea? Are you simply chasing bounties to make money the 'right' way? Or… are you planning to walk the path of the pirates—like Roger, Whitebeard, and the rest—seeking to conquer the Grand Line?"
Even if Roy wouldn't join the Marines, Kuzan at least needed to know what kind of man he was dealing with. Whether Roy would eventually become a threat.
But Roy shot the question back. "Then tell me, Vice Admiral—why did you join the Navy?"
Kuzan didn't hesitate. "For the Justice I believe in."
Roy leaned in, eyes serious. "Then what is Justice to you? What does it mean, exactly?"
The question caught Kuzan off guard. At this point in time, he hadn't yet become the man the world would one day call Admiral Aokiji. His sense of justice was still forming—uncertain and undefined.
Roy knew this. He knew that one day, Kuzan would craft his own version of justice—transitioning from "Fired-Up Justice" in his youth, to the famous "Lazy Justice" of his middle years, and ultimately maturing into "Composed Justice," the kind that didn't rush judgment or jump to conclusions.
Right now, Kuzan was somewhere in the middle—searching for meaning.
"Please, Vice Admiral. Answer me," Roy pressed again.
"Uh… um… well…" Kuzan faltered.
Roy didn't let up. "You don't even know what your justice really is. So what right do you have to drag me into your cause?"
"Hey now," Kuzan protested, "when you say it like that, it makes the Navy sound like a complete scam."
"Then let me return the question," Kuzan added, getting serious again. "Paladin Roy—what do you think Justice is?"
"Justice?" Roy paused, raising the golden cross around his neck with theatrical reverence. "The Light has taught me that Justice is love, equality, freedom, compassion, humility, honesty, courage, and judgment. These are the eight virtues I live by as a paladin. Before the Light, all are equal."
Kuzan frowned. It… actually made a weird kind of sense. He found himself unable to argue back.
Of course, none of that was real. Roy had made it up on the spot.
Truth was, Roy had known what he wanted since the day he arrived in this world. Killing Momonosuke? That was just a side quest.
This was the world of One Piece—you couldn't be here without a dream.
And Roy had only one dream:
To tell the World Government to go to hell.
To become the true ruler of this world.
The Overlord of this age.
He would become the King of the World.
And when that day came, he'd rename this world: Azeroth.
All for Azeroth.
...But obviously, he wasn't about to say that out loud. If he did, he'd have a Marine squad camping his corpse everywhere he went. Best to avoid that topic altogether.
"And that," Roy said with a final smile, "is why I won't join the Navy. You people have no Light—and no Justice I recognize."
Just then, from behind Roy, a large, burly man with permed purple hair, hairy legs, and fishnet stockings stood up and trembled his way toward the exit. No one seemed to notice her.
Kuzan frowned again. He was definitely too young for this—how did this conversation get so off-track?
"…But Roy, you still haven't told me why you really went out to sea."
Roy raised his mug and answered simply: "For Azeroth."
Kuzan: "…What?"
"Azeroth. Is she your lover? A long-lost family member? A place?" he asked, baffled.
Roy nodded solemnly. "A beautiful place. I have to find it someday." Then he added casually, "But honestly, that's not important. I went to sea to kill someone. A man named Kozuki Momonosuke."
"Momonosuke? From Wano Country?" Kuzan's brow lifted. "So you're out here for revenge?"
"You could say that. I can't stand him. So until he's born, I plan to keep living well."
"…He's not even born yet?"
Kuzan gave up. This guy's trolling me. No way to continue this conversation.
He sighed. So after all that, he didn't answer a single damn thing directly.
Still, based on what he'd gathered, Kuzan drew one tentative conclusion: This guy's a religious nut... probably out here to preach.
Roy stood up. "It's rare to meet a Logia-type Devil Fruit user in person. Let's spar a little, Vice Admiral."
But before he could finish the sentence, Kuzan felt something warm pressing against his neck.
From the outside, it looked like Roy had suddenly pulled a massive greatsword out of nowhere and placed it right at Kuzan's throat.
"Hey, hey… that's going a bit far, isn't it?" Kuzan said, drawing out his words with that familiar lazy tone. But as he spoke, his body began to freeze, and a thin sheet of ice quickly spread over Roy's weapon—Ashbringer.
"Ahhh... what a pain…" Kuzan muttered, stretching. "Really not feeling the motivation right now…"
Roy gave him a sudden grin and whistled. "Oi! You bastard!"
"...Huh?" For reasons he couldn't explain, a fire lit up in Kuzan's chest. His blood boiled. His eyes sharpened. He suddenly really wanted to punch Roy in the face.
Roy's grin widened. Looks like it worked.
Ding!
[You used the skill [Reckoning (Taunt)] on Kuzan. Skill activated. Host, prepare for combat!]
Roy was buzzing with excitement. Of the three Devil Fruit types, Logia was the rarest and most versatile. He'd always wanted to test whether his holy attacks could actually land on a Logia user.
Because as his class sheet claimed: Holy damage ignores physical form.
"…If we're going to fight," Kuzan said calmly, "we should probably go somewhere without civilians."
The two of them exited quickly and made their way to the eastern coast of the island, where it was quiet and empty. Behind them, the bar staff collapsed with relief.
In the years to come, every time Kuzan looked back on this encounter, he'd wonder why the hell he ever agreed to a duel with that guy.
Maybe it was just a failed recruitment mission… or maybe, deep down, I just wanted to see what kind of monster we were dealing with—to give Zephyr-sensei something to report.