After two days of steady sailing, the merchant ship finally arrived at Sabaody Archipelago.
The voyage had been unusually calm no pirates, no raids, no interruptions of any kind.
As Roy stepped onto the deck and looked out over the island formed by 79 colossal Yarukiman Mangrove trees, even he couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
This was the Grand Line at its most absurd and magnificent.
After the cargo handover was completed, he politely declined the Captain’s offer to remain aboard.
Watching the ship prepare to depart, Roy raised a hand and waved casually.
“Goodbye, everyone!”
The sailors waved back as the vessel slowly drifted away.
Roy turned, then walked deeper into the island.
Island 36.
Using the Berries the Captain had given him, Roy first visited a clothing store and bought a well-fitted suit.
After that, he stopped by a barbershop run by a stylist known locally as “Tony” for a clean, fashionable haircut.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, even he paused for a moment.
Not bad.
He smirked slightly, clearly satisfied, then left the shop.
Now dressed properly, Roy strolled through the bustling streets while eating takoyaki.
His presence alone was enough to make pedestrians instinctively step aside.
Sabaody Archipelago was no ordinary place.
Being so close to Marineford, anyone acting that freely was either a Celestial Dragon, a noble… or a pirate confident enough not to care.
Roy didn’t look like any of them.
But something about him made people avoid eye contact anyway.
As he walked, his eyes narrowed slightly.
A faint interest surfaced on his face.
He casually finished the last bite of takoyaki and turned into a nearby alley.
Inside the alley, three thugs were kicking a green-haired boy who had already collapsed on the ground.
They struck him repeatedly with clubs, fists, and boots while simultaneously searching his pockets.
“Tesoro, hand over the money.”
The boy curled tightly around himself, clutching the money against his chest, refusing to let go.
“Yo!!”
“Hello, everyone!!!”
The sudden voice made all three thugs freeze.
They turned around.
A boy stood at the alley entrance, smiling casually.
Seeing that it was just a kid, their confidence returned immediately.
They raised their wooden clubs again.
“Get lost, brat.
This isn’t your business.”
“Don’t go looking for trouble.”
Roy tilted his head slightly.
“No, no, no.”
He raised a finger and wagged it slowly, an arrogant expression forming on his youthful face.
“Bullying people… is actually my favorite thing to do.”
For a moment, the alley went silent.
“THIS KID IS ASKING FOR IT!!”
The three thugs rushed him at once.
*WHOOSH!*
Roy shifted sideways effortlessly, letting the first club swing past him.
At the same time, he rotated his body and delivered a clean horizontal punch.
*BAM!*
One thug flew into the wall.
Without pause, he followed with a sharp side kick.
*CRACK!*
The second thug collapsed instantly.
The third froze mid-step.
He looked at his two companions one unconscious, the other coughing violently on the ground.
Cold sweat poured down his face.
His hand trembled as he pointed his club at Roy.
“K-kid… we’re under Wild Wolf Dockley…!
If you touch us, Boss Dockley won’t forgive you!”
Roy blinked.
“Dockley?”
He smiled faintly.
“Never heard of him.”
He stepped forward slowly.
The thug stiffened.
Roy leaned in close, lowering his voice near the man’s ear.
“But if I erase you all here… how would your boss even know it was me?”
Silence.
The thug dropped his club.
Then, without hesitation, he turned and ran.
“AAAAAAAHHH!!”
Roy watched him disappear into the distance.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
He suddenly burst into laughter, clutching his stomach like he had just heard the funniest thing in the world.
After calming down, he turned toward the boy on the ground.
Tesoro.
The green-haired boy stared at him in shock, still unable to process what had just happened.
Roy squatted beside him, grinning playfully.
“Yo~~”
“Isn’t this the future Golden cough…Are you alright?”
Tesoro’s life had always been miserable.
Born into poverty, with a gambling father and an alcoholic mother, he had been treated as a burden from the moment he could walk.
After his father died, he ran away from home, only to be met with more rejection and cruelty.
He learned early that money meant everything.
Friends abandoned him the moment he had none.
The only light in his life was a girl he met in a slave auction house.
To save her, he began doing anything and everything to earn money.
Until today when even that fragile hope was threatened.
Roy’s sudden appearance shattered that moment of despair.
Tesoro slowly sat up, still staring at him.
“…Why did you help me?”
Roy tilted his head.
“What?”
“I said… why did you help me?”
There was bitterness in Tesoro’s voice.
Weakness.
Frustration.
Self-hatred.
Roy blinked, then suddenly laughed.
“Hahahaha!
Why?
There’s no why.
It’s just… fate.”
Tesoro froze.
“Fate…?”
His eyes sharpened.
“Then… is this fate that brought us together?”
He clenched his fists.
“Take me with you!”
Roy studied him for a moment.
The future Golden Emperor someone who would one day control unimaginable wealth and awaken a Devil Fruit capable of dominating the world economy.
Interesting.
He smiled faintly, slipping his hands into his pockets.
“Have you thought this through?
Once you step onto my ship… getting off won’t be easy.”
Tesoro’s eyes widened.
Then he smiled.
“I don’t care.”
He stood up and followed him.
On the street.
Tesoro walked beside Roy, slightly behind.
“Boss… you said ‘ship’ earlier.
Are you a pirate?”
“Not yet.”
“Then where are we going now?”
“Area 13.
There should be something useful there.”
Roy stroked his chin as he spoke.
Tesoro opened his mouth again
Roy glanced at him sharply.
Tesoro immediately shut it.
“…Yes, Boss.”
Roy sighed internally.
So talkative.
A moment later.
“…Um, Boss?”
“What.”
“If we’re going to Area 13… I think we’re going the wrong way.”
Roy stopped walking.
A beat of silence.
Then he clicked his tongue.
“…Then why didn’t you say that earlier?”
“Because you looked confident… Boss.”
“…Just lead the way.”
Area 13 Lawless Zone
Shakky’s Rip-off Bar.
Inside, a woman with short hair, a cigarette hanging from her lips, and a calm but dangerous aura leaned against the counter.
She had just finished dealing with a pirate who couldn’t pay his bill knocking him out cold, robbing him, and tossing him out the door without hesitation.
She exhaled smoke lazily.
“Another useless customer…”
Outside.
The defeated pirate landed at the feet of two arriving figures.
Roy.
Tesoro.
Both paused.
“…So this is Area 13,” Roy muttered.
Tesoro swallowed nervously.
Inside the bar, Shakky looked down at them from the steps, studying them through cigarette smoke.
Roy suddenly smiled and raised a hand.
“Yo”
“Hello, Ms.
Shakky.”
“The treasure of the former Rocks Pirates… and the former Empress of Amazon Lily.”