'Buru Buru!'
'Buru Buru!'
On the deck of the 'Black Loyalty', the Den Den Mushi in Roy's hand kept ringing.
Then...
'Click.'
The call was rejected.
Roy's expression darkened.
The Den Den Mushi was the one Zephyr had left him before he, Binz, and the others formed the 'Pirate Guerrilla Force' and went their separate ways.
Ever since then, Roy had kept in touch with them through it from time to time, checking on how they were doing.
But now...
The call wouldn't connect.
He knew exactly what that meant.
"Zephyr-sensei... Binz... Ain... You stubborn idiots."
He gritted his teeth and let out a bitter laugh.
After spending so much time with them, Roy knew how they thought.
The day Edward Weevil attacked the Marine recruit training ship had become a nightmare they would never escape.
The moment they founded the Pirate Guerrilla Force, they had already made up their minds. Even if they were no longer Marines, even if they had to defy the laws of the world, they would hunt Weevil down themselves.
That meant they would never allow him to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Even if it meant going against the World Government... even if it meant becoming enemies of the entire world.
Roy was absolutely certain that Zephyr and the others were still pursuing Weevil.
They might even be fighting him already.
And there was only one reason they weren't answering.
They didn't want to drag Roy into it.
They had long accepted whatever fate awaited them.
But Roy was different.
He was Zephyr's chosen successor.
His disciple.
The banner, and the legend, of the Marines' new era.
"...Those bastards."
Roy clenched his fists.
"Who the hell do they think I am?"
There was no way he could accept such a ridiculous reason.
"You think this is enough to stop me?"
As he spoke, he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket.
"Fal. Set a course for North Blue. Head to these coordinates."
He casually tossed the note to Fal, who was at the helm.
These were the coordinates the World Government had given Kuma over the Den Den Mushi back on Egghead. Roy was certain Edward Weevil was somewhere nearby.
Fal caught the note, then pulled a sea chart out of his stomach and compared the location.
"These coordinates..."
"Huh? Boss, this is near the Kingdom of Luvnier."
"The Kingdom of Luvnier?"
Roy frowned.
"Yeah. It's one of the World Government's member nations in North Blue. They also claim it's the homeland of the great explorer Noland."
Fal's expression turned odd.
"And I just saw it in the news not long ago. The World Government's 'Special Envoy for the Inspection of the Nations' is supposed to visit Luvnier next."
"The Special Envoy for the Inspection of the Nations..."
Roy raised an eyebrow.
Of course he knew who they were.
The World Government had dispatched Celestial Dragons as special envoys to tour its affiliated kingdoms while secretly searching for traces of the Twelve Zodiac.
There was one envoy assigned to each of the original Four Blues and Paradise.
The New World, however, had three.
"Weevil's near Luvnier... and the Special Envoy just happens to be operating in the same waters..."
Roy muttered to himself.
He could smell a conspiracy.
Of course, someone like Edward Weevil wasn't capable of plotting something like this.
Which meant...
"'Buckingham Stussy...'"
The name surfaced in his mind.
Without another moment's hesitation, Roy waved his hand.
"We're heading to Luvnier."
He looked toward Fal again.
"When the 'Black Loyalty' was repaired, I had the SSG install the new Den Den Mushi functions, right? The ones that can switch frequencies and intercept communications?"
"That's right."
"Run them at full power. Monitor every public communication channel the Marines and the World Government are using around that area."
"Understood."
After giving the order, Roy headed toward his cabin.
"Stay on full alert tonight. Until we reach North Blue, don't let anyone disturb me."
His tone left no room for argument.
"Yes, sir!"
Fal, Hans, and the others had no idea what Roy intended to do.
But from his expression alone, they knew whatever it was, it was important.
And just as always, when it truly mattered...
They would never be the ones to hold him back.
With that, Roy turned and stepped into the captain's cabin.
'Buzz!'
The illusion created by the Mirage Fruit appeared once more inside the captain's cabin.
A Space Gate silently opened.
Roy stepped through it and entered the pocket dimension again.
Without wasting a second, he raised his hand.
A thick rope appeared in his palm.
It had been tightly tied into a large, intricate knot.
Roy handled it with unprecedented care.
Because he knew exactly what was sealed inside it.
This was the item he had asked Vegapunk for.
It was the rope knot Joy Boy had sealed away inside his old companion, the giant robot 'Emeth', using technology from the Ancient Kingdom.
Almost no one in the modern world knew how to make knots like this anymore. Only in places like Weatheria had researchers discovered something vaguely similar, the so-called 'Wind Knot'.
A Wind Knot could release a powerful gust when untied.
The knot in Roy's hand, however...
...was a 'Haki Knot'.
Sealed within it was Joy Boy's greatest Conqueror's Haki.
The reason Roy had taken it from Emeth needed no explanation.
"If clashing with stronger Conqueror's Haki can strengthen my own awakened Haki..."
He understood one thing better than anyone.
Looking back through history...
Joy Boy might very well have been one of the strongest people to ever live.
In the original story, merely releasing the Haki sealed inside this knot had forced the Five Elders out of their transformed states, and even Imu had seemingly been injured by it.
That was why Roy treated it with the utmost caution.
Of course, according to what the Golden Lion had told him, awakening Conqueror's Haki was, at its core, a clash between souls, a confrontation with the will of the Haki's owner.
So Roy had no intention of simply untying the knot.
Instead...
"If I want to truly experience Joy Boy's Haki..."
"...then I'll become part of the knot itself."
Taking a deep breath, Roy slowly closed his eyes.
The next instant...
'Buzz!'
His soul flowed out of his body.
Then it slowly entered the rope knot before him.
'Underworld Fruit, Level 5:' 'Allows Soul Evasion, letting the user merge their soul into certain objects, temporarily turning them into Homies and gaining complete control over them.'
In the space of a single breath...
The rope knot opened its eyes.
"...What a strange feeling."
Rope Homie Roy muttered to himself.
He could clearly feel that he had become the knot itself.
Everything contained within it was now part of his own senses.
"Then... let's begin."
Without hesitation, Roy controlled his new body.
Slowly...
He loosened the first knot.
'Buzz!'
The instant it came undone, an overwhelming power erupted from within him.
Haki.
Conqueror's Haki of unimaginable magnitude.
Roy wasn't surprised.
He simply continued untying it.
'Buzz!'
As the second knot came loose, Roy felt his soul collide with that invisible Haki.
His body was already becoming difficult to control.
As a Homie, he was naturally affected by Haki's ability to suppress Devil Fruit powers.
Even so, Roy remained calm.
Silently, he controlled his rope body once more...
...and untied the final knot.
"Come..."
"Joy Boy."
"Let me witness..."
"...the strength of your spirit!"
'End of Chapter'
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