Chapter 121: Roy's Idol
"Whatever..."
Hancock kept her gaze fixed on Roy, too lazy to bother with Vivi.
If it were not for Roy, she would have kicked this little brat away out of habit already.
Her behavior in the anime, kicking pets, kicking people, acting arrogant and untouchable, had scared off plenty of viewers.
When Roy watched in his previous life, he had always felt she was a wicked, domineering young lady.
Arrogant and narcissistic, sure. But most of the cruelty was just a mask.
Because of that slave brand on her back, she had to scare people away before they could hurt her.
"I knew it, you were lying."
Vivi stuck out her tongue, darted around Hancock, and ran up to Roy, tilting her head back to look up at him.
"..."
Hancock had been willing to let a little girl talk nonsense.
But when she saw Vivi stealing her place at Roy's side, she could not bear it anymore.
Of course, with Roy here, she could not just kick the child.
"Who lied to you? The Calm Belt, the Amazon Kingdom, have you heard of them?" Hancock strode over to Roy's other side and planted one hand on Vivi's head.
Heh.
Hancock was not a gentle, soft spoken woman like Toki. She was domineering and proud.
"You are lying again. Use your head. The Amazon Kingdom is full of women. How could there possibly be any men there?" Vivi glared at her.
Why was this woman even arguing with a little girl?
Hancock's eye twitched.
Then why are you arguing with me?
"This, this..."
For all her bluster about hating the throne, Hancock still cared about Amazon Lily.
She could not exactly admit she had smuggled a man out of the Calm Belt and brought him back herself.
That would be terrible for the island's reputation. If outsiders learned about it, the consequences would be even worse.
She needed to smooth this over.
"I only met her after she left the Calm Belt," Roy cut in calmly, helping her patch the story.
Hancock let out a tiny breath of relief.
What a considerate man.
"Oh. Then, big brother, can you teach me how to fight again?" Vivi nodded, then slipped around Hancock and looked up at Roy with shining eyes.
Hancock ground her teeth and wanted to hit someone.
She had to be careful. She knew exactly how dangerous this age was.
She herself had fallen for Roy when she was twelve.
So she knew very well that some harmless looking, not yet threatening little girls would grow into real rivals later.
You annoying brat.
"Sure, that is no problem." Roy nodded.
He was a responsible man, after all.
Since he had wrecked Vivi's original friendship route with Koza, she would run into danger later without that bond.
So, while he was teaching her how to fight, he could also watch her back once.
Otherwise, if Koza had originally risked his life to save Vivi, then with that gone, Roy would have indirectly harmed her.
Yes. This was just him making up for it.
He was the type who could not ignore a girl who needed help.
There were no other thoughts in his mind at all.
"Then I will teach her." Hancock smiled coldly at the little princess.
As the saying went, beware of fire, thieves, and disciples.
She absolutely was not going to let some potential future rival get too close without supervision.
...
In the desert capital of Alabasta, whenever a man with fiery red hair appeared in the streets, there were always two girls beside him.
He would sit on the roadside, casually eating watermelon and roasted meat.
The older girl and the younger one sat with him, eating watermelon and meat too.
Roy said it was to replenish their energy.
If you wanted to grow stronger, you could not just train mindlessly. You had to eat as well.
"A powerful swordsman might not have the best talent," Roy said, chewing between sentences, "but he definitely knows how to eat. With enough nutrition, he will have the drive to train and get better."
What kind of appetite did the giants of Elbaf have?
What kind of appetite did a monster like Roy have?
Forget Vivi, even Hancock could not keep up with him.
Vivi was stuffed after half a watermelon and a big skewer of meat.
Hancock tried hard to match Roy, but in the end she had to lean against a wall, rubbing her round stomach and resting.
Then, in some nearby alley, Cobra and Igaram, who were secretly tailing them, would watch the scene with burning eyes.
They were so envious.
The royal family's funds were being channeled to relieve the drought and help the people.
Watermelon. Tender roasted meat.
King Cobra had not eaten like that in a long time.
In a country like Alabasta, this was luxury.
Alas, it was not easy being a wise king.
And then there was Crocodile, always stirring up trouble from the shadows. At this point in the desert's history, any disaster could be casually blamed on Crocodile.
Even years later, when drought and unrest wracked the kingdom and the people suffered, that man would still have a gigantic underground casino and a whole nest of banana gators.
It was clear who should carry the blame.
...
Not long after, Roy was doing push ups with a massive boulder on his back.
Hancock's eyes suddenly lit up.
She had thought of a brilliant idea.
...
The boulder rose and fell rhythmically.
"Five hundred one, five hundred two, five hundred three..." Roy muttered under his breath.
Above him, on top of the giant rock resting across his back, Hancock and Vivi were engaged in a wooden sword duel.
Yes, it was exactly what it looked like.
Roy was planning to teach Vivi swordsmanship. Hancock was not especially good with the blade, but she had trained with the warriors of Amazon Lily, so she was more than qualified to tease a beginner and act as a sparring partner.
Besides, the two of them, one taller and one shorter, had very different weights.
When they shifted, even a little, it became like the last straw on a camel's back.
The balance changed, the angle changed, and the weight on Roy's muscles increased in strange ways.
Simple heavy training was one thing.
This, though, was creative.
"Wow, that is amazing!"
In the distance, Koza was running around with his Sand Gang when he suddenly noticed the boulder moving up and down.
The sight stunned him, and he stared without blinking.
The rock was enormous, bigger than a room, and Roy was underneath it.
Hancock and Vivi were standing on top. Koza, who was still very short, could not see the man beneath them at all from his angle.
All he could see was a huge boulder rising and falling, and he could only guess that someone was underneath, training with it.
Whoever it was, that person had terrifying strength.
But who?
Kohza did not care.
He sprinted over, eyes shining.
"Coach, no, Master, I want to learn this!"
"Five hundred twenty, five hundred twenty one, five hundred twenty two..."
Roy kept pumping out push ups. Sweat beaded slowly on his forehead, but this still was not his limit.
Strictly speaking, this did not even count as a real burden to him.
In the world of One Piece, there were many people with outstanding potential.
Roy liked many of the Straw Hats, but only a few of them counted as his idols.
Roronoa Zoro was one of the people he truly admired.
When Luffy chased after Ace and Sabo in the past,
Zoro had stayed on the island, training relentlessly, lifting rocks and swinging his swords.
While Usopp had lied to the whole village with good intentions,
Zoro had been off in a corner, training.
While Luffy and the Straw Hats fooled around on the sea,
Zoro had still been training.
Roy was a hard core Zoro fan.
"Double the training, then double it again, and then double it one more time."
That line from Zoro was carved deep into his bones.
He knew his own talent was not the best.
The answer was a single word.
Practice.
Learn from Zoro.
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