"AAAAAAAH!!!"
On the streets of Jaya, everyone except Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had collapsed to the ground.
"W-was all of this caused by Roy?" Nami's legs felt weak, and she sat on the ground with her legs together, staring blankly.
"He is the Vice-Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, even if we've never heard of him. His strength speaks for itself," Zoro said seriously.
"Haha! As expected of Ace's Vice-Captain! He's so strong! If the Vice-Captain is this powerful, how strong must the Captain be?" Luffy grinned excitedly.
"That guy's the one Ace has been looking for, Teach. I could tell earlier he wasn't ordinary. Devil Fruit user, too, right?" Zoro muttered.
"Aren't you guys scared? That was terrifying just now," Nami said, trembling.
"Eh, not really," Zoro shrugged.
"Nope! That guy wasn't targeting us," Luffy said cheerfully.
"Big bro, don't kill me! I'm begging you, please let me go. I won't do it again. I'll go back and apologize to Pops. It was my fault, I'll admit everything and beg him on my knees. Please, just let me go," Teach pleaded repeatedly.
"Too late now. If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? I've always known your intentions and your ambitions. But Newgate didn't allow me to kill you… So now I'll have to do it here." Roy raised his hand, fingers together, and stabbed toward Teach's head.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Faced with the threat of death, Teach showed he wasn't just anyone. His strength was no weaker than that of the division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Did people really think he was powerless without the Dark-Dark Fruit?
His huge body alone held monstrous strength, and especially under the pressure of death, his will to survive erupted with full force.
With a roar, he shoved Roy off and drew his weapon—clawed gauntlets, the same ones that had once left scars on Red-Hair Shanks' face.
Think about it. That was an Emperor of the Sea.
A man who could wound even a young Shanks was no ordinary pirate.
SHIIING!
The air split as Teach slashed. Roy leaped back, but the building behind him was sliced cleanly in half, the slash flying hundreds of meters.
Zoro's eyes widened in shock. 'Flying slash techniques?!'
"Hah… hah…" Teach panted, wiping blood from his forehead as he glared at Roy.
"Black Hole!"
Darkness erupted from his body, forming a swirling vortex.
"Release!"
The debris and buildings he had absorbed earlier were now hurled at Roy like projectiles.
Roy dodged effortlessly, weaving through the barrage. Even an entire house thrown his way was sidestepped without effort.
"Is this all you've got?" Roy taunted.
"I never imagined… Big Bro, you were this strong. Stronger than Shanks. The only person I've seen with Haki like this was Roger—no, even his Haki might not surpass yours. He was the Pirate King! How do you have this kind of power?!" Teach's voice trembled with fear.
Roy's eyes were calm, too calm. No trace of emotion. While others might show fluctuations in expression, Roy looked like he had everything under control, like nothing in the world could shake him.
If Roger was the King of Pirates, Roy gave off the aura of a King of the World, one who looked down on everything with indifference.
"I don't know. It's just natural to me," Roy shrugged. How could he explain the system? He'd only gained all this after signing in for 30 years. Who knows what rewards would come next?
"I'm jealous. With power like yours, I wouldn't have even chased after the Dark-Dark Fruit," Teach said.
"You missed your chance. You could have reached this level, but you're lazy. You never seriously worked to improve yourself and instead chased after Devil Fruit powers. In short, you didn't have confidence in yourself—or maybe, you had too much confidence in that Fruit," Roy replied.
"Yeah, well—it is a legendary Fruit. The guy who had it before fooled a bunch of people into becoming his subordinates using it." Teach chuckled.
Roy understood who he meant. Whitebeard had told him, the former owner of that Fruit had tricked them all with it.
Then there was the God Valley Incident—where the Rocks Pirates sought something. Maybe Rocks D. Xebec, like Teach now, had been after a fruit that hadn't yet appeared.
It's been 36 years since the God Valley Incident, and Teach is only 38 now, 7 years younger than Roy.
The timeline adds up. It's very possible there's a connection.
After all, with Luffy's family background revealed, Sanji's lineage exposed, and even Franky's possible father being Queen, it makes you wonder. Aside from Chopper, there's still the mysterious origins of Nami.
What if, in the end, the whole world is just the travel journal of a bunch of second-generation elites?
"You know about that incident, huh? Seems you know a lot about that pirate crew," Roy said, smiling.
"Even though they were gone by the time I grew up, legends about them still linger. Big Bro, join me. Pops is old. If we work together, the world will be ours! With my powers and cunning, and your wealth and wisdom, we'll dominate everything!"
"What are the Celestial Dragons? What is the World Government? The whole world could be ours! You'd have anything you wanted—wouldn't that be perfect?" Teach said loudly.
Roy couldn't help but laugh, he didn't expect Teach to say something so ridiculous in front of him. He's not like those idiots who follow Buggy around.
And besides, Buggy at least has the luck of a Conqueror. Everything just happens to work out for him.
But Teach? Trying to con him with empty promises?
"You think one speech can make me your subordinate? Teach, I've lived for more than 3 decades and read for over thirty years. I may not know everything about this world, but even if I do nothing, I earn a gold coin every day. Do you really think there's anything I lack?"
"Don't waste your breath. I'm not some starving fool begging for scraps. Right now, you're just prey. Be a good boy and come back with me—or I'll kill you here."
"Zehahaha! As expected of Big Bro. I knew you wouldn't agree," Teach grinned, darkness enveloping his body.
Roy's eyes narrowed. In an instant, he drew a pistol from his waist.
Let's not forget—twenty-six years ago, when he awakened Observation Haki, he was already a sniper.
BANG!
A bullet infused with Conqueror's Haki shot straight into the darkness.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed from within the abyss.