That's right.
Forming an alliance—this was the next step Romu laid out after the battle of God Valley.
That day, after clashing with the thirteen violet-gold kings, Romu was slammed by an overwhelming force and thrown into the chaotic currents of the void.
Fortunately, he woke quickly—and before being dragged too deep into the turbulence, he used Observation Haki far beyond normal limits to find the thinnest "seam" in the void. He shattered it and returned to the One Piece world.
But those thirteen were far too powerful.
Romu was badly wounded.
With the last of his strength, he summoned a "mask-carved coffin," then entered a deathlike state, drifting with the waves until he was washed into Wano.
Relying on his terrifying regeneration, he eventually woke up.
To be honest, God Valley shook him more than he expected.
He hadn't imagined the Five Elders could dig out something as absurd as those thirteen violet-gold knights.
In his judgment, this was the Elders' handiwork.
And most importantly—
Imu, the most mysterious figure in this world, still hadn't moved.
All of it made Romu—who'd gotten a little complacent after absorbing Rocks—snap back to caution.
He decided to fake his death, hide behind the scenes, and build an alliance.
One: it would let him dodge Imu's attention.
Two: it would let him gather intelligence—figure out what other "cards" the World Government still had hidden.
Three: it gave him time to fully recover and push his strength even higher.
After awakening his Fruit—and after fighting the thirteen violet-gold kings—Romu had gained new insight into both his abilities and Haki.
The Next Night — Wano
A small diner.
Charcoal spat sparks.
Glossy "pistol-leg" meat sizzled on the grill, fat dripping and popping.
An elderly couple stood by the stove, calmly brushing oil over the meat. Every so often, they glanced toward the dining area—at a very strange pair of customers.
"Dear…"
The old woman adjusted her round reading glasses and spoke slowly.
"That young man looks so skinny and fragile… but he can eat."
"One plate, two plates… he's already had over forty, hasn't he?"
"What an energetic youth."
Beside her, the old man kept brushing oil, smiling warmly.
Their little grill shop had been open for decades.
Because they were honest and the food was good, even in Kuri—criminal heaven—no one dared mess with them.
"Old man!"
Romu raised his empty right hand and grinned.
"Another ten servings!"
"Don't rush, it'll be ready soon."
The old woman laughed, showing a few missing teeth.
What made a shop owner happier than seeing customers devour their food?
"Thanks, A-Zi!"
Romu waved, then lowered his head and kept eating.
He didn't need food for energy anymore after eating that Devil Fruit—
but good food was still good food, and he wasn't about to pretend otherwise.
Across from him, Redfield ate two bites and stopped, staring at Romu like his brain had short-circuited.
This was the same Romu who'd slaughtered God Valley and sucked people dry like a demon?
Why was he so… easygoing in private?
Romu noticed Redfield's confusion, but didn't bother explaining.
He kept eating.
Back in his old world, he'd been raised with decent values. He treated ordinary people kindly.
Of course—
Marines, pirates, bounty hunters… that was different.
Whatever their reasons, they'd all chosen a life with their heads on a blade, killing on the sea.
Different ideals, same outcome.
If you died, that was on you.
As his old world said: live by the sword, die by the sword.
Romu looked at the mountain of empty plates, patted his full belly, and exhaled.
Now that he'd eaten, it was time for business.
This place had too many eyes and ears.
He was about to pay and leave—
then he remembered: his pockets were cleaner than his face.
Pay?
"The first mission."
Romu's expression turned solemn.
"Give the order!"
Redfield straightened instantly.
"Pay the bill for me."
Romu said it flawlessly—so smoothly it was almost suspicious, like his face was coated in Armament Haki.
"…Huh?"
Redfield's eyes bulged again.
But after confirming Romu was serious, he coughed awkwardly and admitted he also had no money.
Pirates didn't carry cash.
"In that case…"
Romu frowned, genuinely conflicted.
Then his eyebrows relaxed as if he'd found the solution.
He raised his voice.
"Thanks for the meal!"
"I left the money on the table!"
On a Side Road
Redfield followed behind Romu, looking utterly miserable.
Romu waved it off.
"Oh, come on."
"It's just a gold chain. Later I'll buy you a thicker one—999 pure gold."
Redfield's mouth twitched.
In just one day with Romu, his mental image of the man had been refreshed multiple times.
Especially just now.
He genuinely hadn't expected Romu to use the gold chain around Redfield's neck as payment.
As if realizing how ridiculous it looked, Romu cleared his throat and returned to business.
"Do you remember 'Humming Brook'?"
…What?
Brook?!
Redfield's expression snapped from weird to deadly serious.
That was his childhood idol.
How could he forget?
"Boss…"
"You know Brook too?"
Redfield asked, visibly excited.
Romu wanted an alliance, not a pirate crew, so the title wasn't "captain"—it was "boss."
"Of course."
"And I know he's your idol."
Redfield's excitement instantly turned into panic, like he'd been drenched in ice water.
He hurried to explain—
"I admire Brook only because—"
Romu cut him off.
"Relax. I know."
"I want you to invite him into the alliance."
If Romu wanted a world-flipping alliance, he needed manpower.
Brook was one of the strong people Romu had his eyes on.
Brook didn't look that strong later on Luffy's crew—
but Romu suspected that if the "Soul King" awakened his Fruit, his ceiling would be terrifying.
A Fruit called the Revive-Revive Fruit sounded too mysterious to be ordinary.
And Redfield had history with that "perverted skeleton," so Romu planned to use that connection.
"What?!"
Redfield blurted out.
Romu ignored the shock, rubbed his chin, and continued.
"Leave now. Go to Ghost Island."
"Find a skeleton with an afro."
Based on Romu's estimate, the Rumbar Pirates should already be wiped out in the Florian Triangle.
Brook, who ate the Revive-Revive Fruit, should still be in soul-form, wandering around his own corpse.
"I've heard of Ghost Island… but what does an afro skeleton have to do with Brook…?"
Redfield frowned, baffled.
His boss somehow knew everything, yet always sounded like he was speaking in riddles.
Romu saw the confusion and spoke lazily.
"Don't overthink it."
"When you find that skeleton, you'll understand."
He wasn't being mysterious on purpose.
He was simply lazy, and explaining everything sounded annoying.
Redfield still had doubts, but he nodded.
After all—
Even yesterday, Romu had casually bypassed Redfield's Observation and blocked a sword strike with a pure energy barrier.
For someone as proud and solitary as Redfield, once he accepted someone, he obeyed completely.
Under Romu's gesture, Redfield gathered his cloak and turned to leave—
but just as he leapt away, Romu called out behind him.
"Oh, right."
"If he refuses…"
"Tell him I can take him to the end of the Grand Line—where his captain Yorki wanted to go—and help him sail around the world."
Redfield vanished into the night.
Romu withdrew his gaze, hands in his pockets, and walked down the mountain while thinking.
If he wanted an alliance capable of toppling the world—
Redfield and "Soul King" alone were nowhere near enough.
He had many more targets:
That "unknown dojo master" in the East Blue—Koshiro.
Skypiea's "Thunder God"—Enel.
The 12th leader of the Happo Navy—Chinjao.
Anyone strong.
Anyone with unclear depth.
Anyone with hidden potential.
He wanted them.
Most importantly—
he needed to find Dragon, Garp's son.
By Romu's estimate, the future Revolutionary leader should already be in his teens.
Find Dragon, and the Revolution could begin early.
Monkey D. Dragon—
in Romu's eyes, the only "D" who looked remotely normal right now.
Far better than the likes of Roger.
Romu was confident:
If he gathered all those people under one banner, getting information on Imu wouldn't be hard.
As for Whitebeard, Shiki, Kaido—
Romu didn't plan to contact them yet.
Those men didn't need recruiting.
When he raised his arm and called, they would come charging behind him.
He believed that.
Besides—
after awakening his Fruit, Romu felt something strange.
He could… communicate with nature.
Not like Roger's "Voice of All Things," that mostly useless gimmick—
Romu's awakened ability seemed to cultivate a natural power.
A power that didn't require devouring human life-force.
A power that, if he wanted, could be drawn endlessly from nature itself.
And the "quality" of that energy felt higher than what he currently used.
If he had to compare it—
it resembled something like Sage Mode.
That, too, was a key reason he chose "build an alliance" instead of "keep devouring."
Before he realized it, Romu was back at Scrap Village.
Looking at the warm lights of countless homes, he breathed out slowly.
He was ready to leave.
But before going, he wanted to buy a map of Wano.
Since he was here—
he planned to visit the capital, the Flower Capital, and try his luck.
Maybe he could find the hidden location of one of the Three Ancient Weapons:
the super battleship—
Pluton.
Just then, his Observation caught a commotion nearby.
Romu vanished.
A Dark Alley
"You…!"
"What did you bring me here for?!"
A young woman leaned against the wall, tense.
Teal hair. A hair ornament on the right side.
A pink skirt in Wano style, long slender legs in yellow short boots.
A katana at her waist.
Youthful, elegant, gentle.
Opposite her stood more than ten burly men dressed like fishermen, weapons in hand, closing in.
"Heh."
"Since we're in Kuri, no point hiding it—"
"We're traffickers."
"We catch girls like you. What do you think we want?"
"This one's prime stock. Sell her to the Kurozumi family and we'll make a fortune."
"Hahaha—!"
On a nearby hill, Romu crossed his arms, frowning.
"This woman…"
"Why does she look familiar?"
He couldn't place her.
But there wasn't time.
She was in real danger.
He jumped down and landed in front of them.
"Sorry to interrupt."
The men turned.
Seeing Romu alone, they immediately got arrogant.
"Kid, you got no idea—"
"We'll let you off. Get lost."
"Three seconds. If you're still here—"
One of them licked his lips.
"Hey, this kid's pretty. Even men have buyers."
"Right."
"Big harvest today—buy one, get one free!"
They'd decided to take Romu too.
"Run!"
"They're traffickers—get out of here!"
The girl shouted urgently.
She thought help had arrived, but seeing a "skinny boy," she tried to save him instead.
Romu didn't move.
He didn't do anything visible.
Yet the traffickers all rolled their eyes back and collapsed one by one.
The girl froze.
"…That was Conqueror's Haki?"
Romu nodded slightly.
No surprise she knew the term—
because Romu had recognized her now.
She bowed deeply, hands together on her knees, a full ninety degrees.
"Th-thank you."
"I am Amatsuki Toki…"
Romu's mouth curled.
So it really is her.
A Paramecia Time-Time Fruit user.
A woman from eight hundred years ago—
Kozuki…
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