This was a perfect chance to further spread the name of their captain's strength!
Think about it. Their captain was already the strongest man in the world. If he gained the title of world's greatest swordsman on top of that, what kind of overwhelming prestige would that be?
This matter had tremendous potential.
The Beasts Pirates and Hawk-Eye Mihawk were already on their way to Raijin Island. The Moonlight Pirates had lost all their companions, leaving only Gecko Moria, the defeated dog, to lick his wounds and quietly withdraw from the New World as a failure.
As for the Big Mom Pirates, nothing else happened apart from their mama, Charlotte Linlin, taking another husband.
After the Senzu Beans removed the chronic illness from Whitebeard's body, he ignored the attempts of those adorable young commanders to stop him and drank fine liquor with great boldness.
On Zou, a group of Minks led by Pekoms told their families they were leaving, then quietly slipped off the island and set out to sea.
Time passed just like that, and the year arrived at 1506.
During this period, aside from the major incidents Roy caused in the New World, there was also the vicious event where five hundred soldiers were killed by a young boy from the World Government. There was also a minor incident on Drum Island, where a reindeer was abandoned by its parents because of its blue nose, then was later driven out by the herd after accidentally eating the Human-Human Fruit.
And so, as time flowed on, King finally led the Beasts Pirates to Raijin Island.
"Lord Thunder God."
Inside the Golden Palace, Roy received King and his group.
Standing at the very front of the line were Kaido's original Three Calamities.
King stood inside the palace and lowered his head slightly toward Roy, who was seated above them, expressing his greeting.
"I believe all of you already know this. Before your former boss, Kaido, was killed by me, he made a wager with me. Logically speaking, all of you should now be my subordinates."
The group behind the Three Calamities stirred slightly, then quickly calmed down again and looked toward King.
All of them took King as their leader.
"According to the wager, we have indeed become members of the Thunder God Pirates," King said after a moment of silence. "But we do not understand Captain Roy very well. Could you allow us to observe for a period of time, find our own positions, and then officially merge into the Thunder God Pirates?"
"Observe?"
Roy raised an eyebrow and looked at King with interest.
Among the original Four Emperors of the pirate world, each one had a second-in-command by their side.
An emperor's deputy, meaning the right-hand man of one of the Four Emperors. Whether in strength or status, they were second only to the emperor who led the pirate crew.
Katakuri of the Big Mom Pirates, Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates, Benn Beckman of the Red Hair Pirates, and the man now standing before Roy, King, formerly of the Beasts Pirates.
Roy could feel a trace of pride in King.
A person like him would not truly submit unless he personally felt or experienced strength powerful enough to convince him completely.
But once he submitted, he would become the best kind of helper.
While King was proud, he was also calm, decisive, and confident in his own strength.
He was resolute and dared to put his thoughts into action.
As the only normal and reliable one among the Three Calamities, he had to take care of the Beasts Pirates' normal operations on one hand while cleaning up after his self-destructive boss Kaido on the other.
King was indeed not simple.
But precisely because of that, Roy appreciated him even more.
"You want to observe? Fine. No need to wait until later. We'll do it today."
Roy stood up directly.
"A very famous swordsman came to challenge me earlier. You can watch properly from the side."
After saying that, Roy paid no attention at all to King's group and walked straight forward.
In the direction Roy was heading, the large, dense crowd of Beasts Pirates immediately separated to the left and right sides of the passage.
They opened up a perfectly straight path for Roy, while Roy did not even glance at them. He simply continued walking forward on his own.
"Big bro?"
Queen, who was holding a bowl of oshiruko, and Jack, who wore a small braid, stepped forward.
"We're going. Let's see the bearing of this future boss, the man who is now the strongest in the world!"
…
Roy paid no attention to King and the others following behind him. He arrived at a specially built combat arena.
At the center of the arena, Hawk-Eye Mihawk had already been standing there for some time. His entire presence had already been raised to its peak.
When Roy entered the arena, Mihawk looked over, and his gaze sharpened.
"Where is your blade? Why did you not bring one?"
That distinctive rough voice rang out. Roy waved his hand slightly and smiled.
"A blade? I stopped using one long ago. To the current me, whether I have a blade in my hand or not is no longer important. As long as I wish it, anything in this world, whether a stone or a blade of grass, can become my blade. I need no weapon in my hand. My intent itself is the blade."
"No weapon in your hand, but your intent itself is the blade?"
Hawk-Eye's eyes clearly brightened for a moment. Then, thinking of the photo in the newspaper, he nodded solemnly.
"I understand."
Then he drew the Black Blade, Yoru, from his back.
"The current me still cannot reach the realm you speak of. But sooner or later, I will!"
As he spoke, Hawk-Eye raised his blade slightly. His gaze instantly became sharp, gathering his full spirit, energy, and focus into one point as he locked onto Roy.
Then, from above to below, he swung the black blade down in an instant!
A slash worthy of being called one of the world's very finest quickly tore toward Roy!
"Excellent eyes. An excellent slash."
Roy praised it with a comment, then raised his hand and extended a single finger.
"Slash."
Roy softly spoke one word, then let his finger fall.
A flying slash even stronger than the one Mihawk had unleashed appeared instantly and rushed toward that attack!
Bang!
The slash dissolved, while the remaining force of Roy's flying slash continued to fly toward Mihawk.
"Good!"
Mihawk's pupils first contracted, then he quickly took his stance and once again swung his black blade.
However, at that moment, Roy gave him no chance at all. His fingertip fell again.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two more boundless flying slashes rushed toward Mihawk!
(End of Chapter)
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