Roy got straight to the point.
It was not as if members of the Mink Tribe could not join other people's pirate crews. Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi had both once gone out to sea and followed Kozuki Oden and Roger.
Moreover, not everyone among the Mink Tribe was content with the status quo. There were still many men who longed for the sea and adventure.
Later on, the fact that Pedro and the others formed the Nox Pirates and set out to sea proved this point.
"Oh? You simply want to recruit companions?" Duke Inuarashi was very surprised by Roy's purpose.
He did not think the other party was lying. After all, once someone had reached the level of an overlord of the sea, he would not even bother lying.
And Duke Inuarashi could clearly sense that among the group behind him, some people had obviously shown signs of interest.
This was an invitation from the strongest man in the world. For those who aspired to go out to sea and adventure, it had a fatal attraction.
"I'll only say this once. The fact that I personally came here is enough to show how seriously I take this. Whether you want to join my pirate crew is entirely up to you. Also, aside from you, the Ruler of Day, there is also that Ruler of Night. Pass my words on to him too."
As he spoke, Roy placed his hand on Jinbe's shoulder. Looking at Duke Inuarashi's faintly flickering eyes, he could not help but continue:
"You don't need to worry about that Poneglyph on the island. I truly have no interest in it. If I wanted it, I would have gotten my hands on it long ago. In this world, there still isn't anything I want but can't obtain."
Ignoring the sudden change in Duke Inuarashi's expression, Roy directly used Instant Transmission and left the place.
What he said was indeed true. With Instant Transmission in hand, forget this world—even the moon was somewhere he could reach.
So the Road Poneglyph truly did not have much use for him.
After Roy left, Duke Inuarashi was left behind with an unreadable expression.
Finally, after exchanging several looks, they spoke.
"Who knows whether this is good or bad…"
Meanwhile, in a certain corner of the street, a pair of tiny bead-like eyes stared excitedly at the place where Roy had stood before leaving.
"So this is the bearing of the strongest man in the world? He really is cool. Garchu!"
As a notorious local delinquent on Zou, Pekoms greatly admired powerful men and yearned for the vast, stormy sea.
"Garchu! I've decided. I'll tell Pops and set out to sea. No matter what happens, I'm going!"
Aside from Pekoms, there were also many other members of the Mink Tribe whose eyes were sparkling as they thought things over inwardly.
…
Not long after Roy returned to Raijin Island, he received a message from Tamago.
"King the Conflagration led the Beasts Pirates' army and, with an overwhelmingly powerful stance, defeated the Thriller Bark Pirates? He even wiped out every single member of the Thriller Bark Pirates' fleet, and Captain Gecko Moria had his jaw shattered by one kick from King?"
After reading the message, Roy could not help but grin.
It seemed that even though Kaido was dead, many things were still moving along their original trajectory.
"But are they showing off their strength to us?"
Tamago replied, "According to the information, King and the others rejected the Big Mom Pirates' invitation and are currently leading the people under the Beasts Pirates toward Raijin Island."
"That's fine too. The Beasts Pirates are also a very powerful force. They refused Charlotte Linlin, so are they coming to fulfill the previous wager? Or do they simply look down on Big Mom? Either way, King still has some discernment."
Purru, purru, purru.
Just as Tamago was about to say something else, the Transponder Snail on Roy's desk suddenly rang.
"What is it?"
"Big Brother Roy, it's Tiger." Tiger's voice came from the other side of the Transponder Snail.
"Just now, a pirate ship entered Fish-Man Island. A man came down from the ship carrying a long black blade on his back, with eyes like a hawk."
Roy's expression shifted. He already knew who Tiger was talking about.
"What happened? Did something occur?"
"Because the blade he carries is one of the Supreme Grade Blades, Chalcis got excited at the sight of a worthy opponent and exchanged a couple of moves with him."
For a swordsman, crossing blades with another of the same kind and testing each other's swordsmanship was an extremely common thing.
This result was within Roy's expectations. Mihawk was the future world's greatest swordsman, so it was only natural that he had this level of strength.
Then he heard Tiger continue:
"Losing or winning wasn't really the issue, but the other party wants to challenge you, Big Brother. He said he came to challenge you in his capacity as a swordsman."
On Fish-Man Island, Tiger scratched his hair, looking troubled as he stared at Mihawk, who stood in front of him with a cold expression and his arms crossed over his chest.
"In his capacity as a swordsman?" This surprised Roy a little. Since when had he become a famous swordsman?
"Ahem." At the side, Tamago looked at his captain's puzzled expression, then thoughtfully handed over a newspaper.
On it was a photo from the previous battle against the Whitebeard Pirates, showing the sharp sword aura Roy had drawn out with his finger before Whitebeard shattered it with a quake.
The report beneath the photo extravagantly praised Roy, claiming that with this single display of bladeless sword aura alone, he was undoubtedly one of the world's top great swordsmen.
That reporter was a real talent. He could even capture a photo like this!
And he even wrote such a bizarre report. Well, it could not really be called fabrication, because what he wrote was actually true.
Roy had cultivated some swordsmanship manuals obtained from the core warehouse, so he could indeed be called a great swordsman.
However, since Mihawk wanted to challenge him, it was not impossible.
But if Mihawk lost, he would have to join the Thunder God Pirates.
Using his freedom as the price for the challenge, while also having to show a certain level of strength—otherwise, Roy had no time to deal with one challenger after another.
In any case, the outcome of Mihawk's challenge was already decided.
It just so happened that after Mihawk challenged him, Roy could establish a rule that only those who defeated Mihawk would be qualified to challenge him. That would save him a lot of trouble.
And it would also greatly train this future strongest swordsman. It would achieve several things at once.
After Tiger conveyed Roy's meaning, Mihawk thought it over briefly, then agreed.
For a swordsman like him, the sword was the only thing that mattered.
Everything else, freedom included, was unimportant.
And so, after the upcoming duel was settled, Tamago hurried off to make arrangements.
(End of Chapter)
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