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Five days later.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"Hey! Fal, have you heard?"
Fal didn't look up. He stayed focused on his rhythm, the heavy clank of his dumbbells echoing against the stone floor. He only paused when Hans stumbled into the training yard, a slopping cup of coffee in one hand and a frantic look in his eyes.
"Keep it down," Fal hissed, gesturing toward the nearby barracks. "The Captain just got back from that Master Port detail yesterday. He's catching up on sleep, and you know what happens to people who wake him up early..."
Hans snorted as he spoke. "So what? Roy's just a flashy prick who thinks his rank lets him do whatever he wants. He took that extra assignment and didn't even bring us along for the payout. If you ask me, we should band together and kick him out of that seat sooner or later."
Despite what he said, his voice honestly dropped all the same.
"…"
Fal shot him a flat, unimpressed look. He remembered quite vividly how Hans had blubbered like a child on the deck when Roy first volunteered for that suicide mission at Master Port. He also remembered who had been the first one sprinting to the docks to cheer when Roy's ship finally appeared on the horizon last night.
"What is it? Just say it already," Fal said impatiently, without exposing him.
Hans noticed the stare and cleared his throat. "Anyway, look, about that disaster in the Nismail Kingdom. I did some digging."
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I heard the guy who snatched the Heavenly Tribute and left Rear Admiral Lanli for dead was wearing a 'Sea Beast Mask.' Those are only made in the South Blue."
There was unmistakable excitement in his voice as he continued to speak. "That means there's a good chance that guy is from the South Blue."
"…That's not exactly something to be excited about," Fal said, his expression turning serious.
That's right.
If one were to talk about the event that had shocked the entire world recently, then the incident on Alashit Island naturally took first place.
The Nismail Kingdom's Heavenly Tribute… a staggering five billion Berries had vanished into thin air.
The attacker hadn't just stolen the gold; they had leveled four Marine bases and a watchtower as if they were made of toothpicks. Even Rear Admiral Lanli, the man the newspapers were calling a 'Marine Supernova,' had been crushed in a head-on fight.
There were countless mysteries surrounding the incident.
For example, the attacker's identity was still unknown and no one knew how they had moved five billion Berries' worth of treasure off the island without a single ship being spotted by the coastal patrols.
But one thing was certain…
This incident had an impact far beyond imagination.
After all, stealing the Heavenly Tribute was equivalent to directly robbing the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.
"And watch your tongue," Fal warned. "Orders came down from the top this morning. High-level censorship. We aren't even supposed to mention the Sea Kings or the Alashit incident."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Hans said dismissively. "What's the point of a censorship when the World Economy News has already spread the news everywhere?"
Fal could only shake his head helplessly.
Still, he knew Hans wasn't wrong about this.
Although the upper echelons of the government were said to be furious over the matter, and rumor had it that even Fleet Admiral Sengoku had been reprimanded, it was clearly impossible to suppress the news any longer.
"I heard the headquarters' top brass are already discussing that guy's bounty," Hans said with a sigh. "There's a good chance his first bounty will exceed one hundred million. A dangerous guy like that… thank goodness we missed him back at Master Port."
Hearing this, Fal felt a lingering sense of fear as well.
That's right.
For those members of the Marine Detention Unit who had just returned from Master Port, this incident felt even more terrifying.
Because it wasn't hard to guess that the person who hit Alashit Island was likely the same shadow that had decimated the G-51 branch. If their unit had crossed paths with a man like that, they wouldn't be standing here drinking coffee. They'd be body bags.
"Hey," Hans said, a new thought sparking. "You think the Captain knows something? He was investigating the area for days."
"…What are you even thinking? Don't start," Fal groaned.
"No, think about it! With Roy's ego, even if he ran into the guy, he'd probably manage to escape, even if he had to crawl back in a sorry state."
"Cough, cough!"
In the middle of their animated discussion, a light cough from behind interrupted them.
The two Marines froze. Their spines turned to ice as they slowly turned to see Roy leaning against the frame. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair a mess, and his expression was nothing short of murderous.
"B-Boss!?" Hans tensed up instantly. "You're awake."
"Yeah. My source of life is gone," Roy said gloomily. "I'm heading into town to restock."
"Th-then please take care!" Hans felt as if he'd been granted a pardon and hurriedly bowed with a forced smile.
"Mhm."
Roy waved his hand and started walking away. But before Hans could even let out a sigh of relief, Roy's voice reached his ears again:
"By the way… 'escaping in a sorry state' isn't a good choice of words. I don't like it. Come to the training field tonight. I want to see if you've been training hard enough and exactly how you plan to take my seat."
Hans's face instantly twisted in misery.
On the other side, Roy walked away, already mentally preparing a grueling training regimen for his favorite "punching bag," he stepped into the bustling streets of the town known as Peace City in the Marineford, the heavy weight of the world's secrets tucked away behind a tired, bored stare.
This was where the families of Marine personnel lived.
Roy was clearly familiar with the place and soon arrived at a shop called Fresh Fresh Department Store.
"Grandma Kara, I'm here to restock!" Roy called out loudly into the shop.
"Coming." A moment later, a kind-looking elderly woman walked out from inside.
"It's Roy. Three crates of cola again?" She looked at him and asked with a cheerful smile on her face.
"That's right." Roy replied with a serious expression. "And open me a bottle of ice-cold cola right now, please."
Not long after, Roy was leaning against the counter, holding a bottle of cola and gulping it down.
"Ha!" After chugging a third of the bottle in one go, Roy let out a satisfied breath of carbon dioxide. "Much better."
"You're as reckless as ever, Roy. Hina is... disappointed."
The voice from behind nearly made Roy spray out his cola. That distinctive way of speaking, Roy didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
"Hina?!"
He immediately turned his head and, sure enough, saw Lieutenant Colonel Hina with her pink hair walking into the shop.
"Why are you here… don't tell me!?"
Roy's expression instantly became wary as he started scanning the surroundings for a certain suspicious cigar-smoking man.
Seeing his reaction, Hina rolled her eyes and spoke while crossing her arms. "Stop looking. Smoker is still in solitary confinement for that stunt in the harbor. Or did you forget?"
"…"
Hearing that, Roy finally remembered that it did seem to be the case.
Even so, he still said cautiously,
"I don't know what you're talking about. The incident where the headquarters' public grounds were damaged has nothing to do with me. Cough, cough… I mean, it's news to me. I just heard about it myself. Terrible tragedy."
Hina stared at his blatantly guilty face for a long beat before shaking her head. "Hina is speechless."
As she spoke, she walked up to the counter. "Grandma Kara, give me some source of life."
"Got it, got it… Phil-brand ladies' cigarettes. I'll go get them right away," Grandma Kara replied with a cheerful smile.
After Grandma Kara stepped away, Hina and Roy finally started talking.
"Don't worry. Smoker has already given up on making you his subordinate," Hina said.
"He's chosen the girl you recommended, the one named Tashigi."
"Oh?" Hearing this, Roy's expression brightened. "That's great. That stubborn guy finally came around? I told you, blockheads only start thinking straight after being put in confinement."
Hina gave him a strange look. "Hina is surprised. It seems you still don't know?"
"…Know what?" Roy looked completely confused.
"Nothing. It's just something I heard," Hina shook her head. "But if it's true then Vice Admiral Biros should be informing you very soon."
She didn't dwell on the matter further.
Instead, she leaned against the counter, her gaze turning serious as she spoke. "But about you... Hina thinks Smoker was right. A man with your abilities shouldn't be wasting away in the Detention Unit."
Roy didn't look surprised at all. He simply took another sip of cola and belched lightly.
"And why is that?"
"The seas are becoming more and more chaotic. They need the power of justice,"
Hina said calmly. "What happened on Alashit Island is proof of that."
Roy gave his standard, practiced answer. "The Detention Unit is Justice, too. We keep the cages locked."
"Hina believes that with your strength, you should want to change more than just a few prison cells," she whispered. "For example... five years ago. If you hadn't transferred to Detention, if you had stayed with the Thirty-Fifth Operations Unit like we planned, Vince might still be here."
Roy fell silent.
Vince Sita, he had been a Marine of the same generation as Roy and Hina, and also the son of Grandma Kara, the owner of this very shop. After graduating from the training camp, both he and Roy were originally assigned to the Thirty-Fifth Operations Unit. But Roy had voluntarily joined the Marine Detention Unit instead.
And Vince had died during a mission five years ago.
Naturally, no one blamed Roy for this… Hina included.
Roy understood that Hina was simply expressing her thoughts.
"Hina believes," She continued, "that those with the power and the heart should climb as high as they can. That's the only way to change the system."
As she said this, Grandma Kara happened to come out holding the cigarettes.
"Let's get together sometime."
ina said no more. She simply waved to Roy, paid for the cigarettes, and then left the shop.
Roy watched Hina's departing figure and silently took another sip of cola.
But at this moment, there was no wavering in his heart.
Change the world? Change everything?
At least for now, he didn't have such grand ambitions or desires.
He just wanted strength and freedom, to live the life he wanted, freely and at ease. He wanted to see all the strange and wondrous sights of the world he had once longed for, unrestrained.
But without a doubt…
Whether it was the former or the latter, the right path for him to achieve it would not be the kind Hina had described.
"Join the Marines, sincerely capture criminals, and give everything for your own justice?"
"Even if you smoothly rise through the ranks to the limit, becoming a Marine Admiral or even Fleet Admiral, you're still just a dog of the World Government."
Promotion and higher pay were naturally nice; he didn't dislike them. But they would never be the foundation of his path because that path would bring neither freedom nor real change.
Murmuring to himself, Roy drained the last of his cola in one gulp.
"I have my own path. And I'm already on it."
(End of Chapter)