Chapter 2: First Meeting With Luffy, the Heroic Spirit System Appears
"Mr. Rozi, you're really ruthless. You used me and now you want me to leave?"
"I went through a lot of trouble to bring you from the North Blue to the East Blue, and I even dodged the Marines' pursuit."
"You should also understand that because of the woman behind you, the Marines' pursuit of you is extremely severe."
Reiju walked up to Rozi, hooked his arm into her chest, and let her gaze fall on the unconscious woman on the bed behind him.
Long slender legs, long black hair, a standard Marine cape—she was the Vice Admiral candidate Momousagi Gion.
"I had no choice."
"If I didn't seize that woman as a hostage, I'd have had no way to escape from those madwomen under Tsuru's command."
Rozi shrugged, speaking with a rather helpless tone.
On Tsuru's warship, aside from Tsuru and Gion—two powerful fighters—the other girls were no pushovers either.
Rozi could defeat Gion, but he did it by catching her off guard.
If he confronted Tsuru and the others head-on, Rozi didn't think he'd have any chance of escaping.
With Celestial Dragon blood on his hands, Rozi could imagine what kind of end he'd face if he fell into Marine hands.
"As for you, Ms. Reiju…"
"I would actually love for you to stay by my side."
"After all, your navigation skills are exactly what I need."
"But you have genes that force you to obey Judge's orders, so naturally I can't keep you."
"If one day I find a solution to your body's problem, and you want to sail with me, I'd welcome it."
Rozi said.
"If I could break free of my father's control, maybe I really could sail with you, Mr. Rozi."
Reiju sighed, and the smile on her face at this moment looked genuinely sincere.
"Alright, don't get hung up on it, Reiju."
"Getting this troublesome Ms. Gion off this island is my final request."
"Once you hand her to the Marines, they won't keep biting me like rabid dogs, right?"
Rozi pulled his hand from Reiju's embrace, held the named blade Kinpira he had taken from Gion, and turned to leave.
"Wait, Rozi."
"Before you go, can I ask why you killed a Celestial Dragon?"
"With your abilities, you should've done pretty well within the World Government."
Reiju asked curiously.
"That…"
"Maybe I've seen too much darkness, and I started longing for a world of light."
Rozi waved his hand and walked out of the cabin without looking back.
Only Reiju and Gion remained, with Gion having been injected with a powerful anesthetic.
"Longing for light… Did that man see something on the Celestial Dragon's ship that he couldn't tolerate?"
Reiju frowned slightly. From the days she had spent with Rozi, plus what she knew of Celestial Dragons' nature, she felt it was very possible he couldn't endure certain atrocities.
"Forget it. That's not something I should be asking about."
"I'll take this woman to a Marine base farther away from here."
"Then I'll head back to Germa 66."
Reiju shook her head and turned to look at Gion.
When her eyes landed on the crudely scribbled "justice" mark on Gion's long legs, the corner of her mouth couldn't help but lift.
"I wonder what expression this Vice Admiral Gion will make when she finds out about Rozi's little joke."
...
"Wow! That's amazing, what a huge snail!"
"Coby, look, this snail is incredible!"
On the shore of Shells Town, Luffy in his straw hat stared wide-eyed at the gigantic snail by the coastline.
"Yeah… it's incredible. I didn't know snails could pull ships."
Coby, the pink-haired boy with glasses, pushed up his slipping frames. Just like Luffy, he was also astonished.
"Coby, look, someone's coming out of the ship."
"He must be the owner of that ship."
"I've decided. I'm going to invite him to be my crewmate."
Luffy cheered and, without waiting for Coby to speak, dashed toward Rozi, who had just jumped down from Reiju's ship.
"I'm Luffy. I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King. Be my partner!"
"Hm?" Rozi blinked, looking at the straw-hatted boy in front of him with some surprise.
So I actually ran into Straw Hat Luffy.
And that short kid over there is Coby, huh.
So the story has only just begun.
Rozi raised an eyebrow. While thinking, he shook his head at Luffy.
If it had been right after he arrived in this world, Rozi might have been willing to join the Straw Hat Pirates and go on a main-story style adventure.
But now, after more than ten years in the pirate world, he had mastered the Six Powers and the three types of Haki.
In raw strength, he could even contend with a Marine Admiral candidate.
Under those circumstances, he had no reason to join the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Sorry, I—"
Ding! You have been invited by the current world's chosen one. Do you accept?
After accepting, you will awaken the Strongest Heroic Spirit Template System, allowing you to use heroic spirit templates to strengthen yourself and your partners.
Rozi "..."
...
PS: Please send flowers, review tickets, monthly tickets, and all kinds of support. I'm begging you.
Summer three-day discount event: recharge 100 and get 500 VIP coupons.
Event time: August 13 to August 15.