Tiger shouted first, and the other slaves were just as excited.
"Benefactor!"
"Mr. Roy!"
"Roy-aniki!"
All kinds of different forms of address rose and fell across the ship, but every single one of them was filled with worship and gratitude.
Roy smiled as he looked at the freed slaves on the ship, then waved his hand.
The voices on the ship vanished instantly. Everyone looked toward Roy with excited eyes.
"Ahem."
Roy lightly cleared his throat, then swept his gaze around. There were not too many slaves aboard, but not too few either—several dozen in total.
Most of them were Fish-Men. Only a small number were humans or members of other races.
There were members of the Longleg Tribe, the Longarm Tribe, and so on.
"As you can see, I've also been placed on the wanted list. I've become a wanted criminal. In that case, the only path left for me is piracy. What do all of you think?"
Roy spread his hands and spoke.
"We'll follow Roy-aniki!"
"No matter what path you take, we'll follow you, Roy-aniki!"
"That's right! Even becoming pirates is countless times better than being slaves!"
The slaves echoed him one after another, but Roy still noticed something off.
"Very good. Then from now on, we are all companions!"
Roy pressed his hand down, stopping the cheers.
"Although we've decided to become pirates, I don't intend to raise a pirate flag right now. We're still too weak. Once we find more like-minded companions, then we can officially raise our banner!"
Roy set the tone.
With just these people, they truly could not amount to anything great. If not for the World Government later promoting a policy of racial peace and allowing Jinbe to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the name of the Sun Pirates would have long since become history.
Among these freed slaves, aside from Koala, Boa Hancock and her sisters, and Gild Tesoro, who continued to be active in the world, the others were either captured by the Marines again or simply lived low-profile lives.
Among the people on the ship, aside from the Fish-Men who agreed with the suggestion of becoming pirates, the others only agreed because Roy was the one who had made the suggestion.
In truth, after enduring so much torture, their hearts still longed deeply for a peaceful and quiet life.
After taking in all of their reactions, Roy said, "I know some of you want a stable life. Tiger, if we come across any towns or islands along the way, stop there and let everyone off. Those willing to continue going out to sea with us can return to the ship before nightfall."
Roy raised his hand to stop Tiger, who was about to speak, then revealed a warm smile.
"The reason I rescued you was purely because of the ideal of freedom. If I used the favor I did you as leverage and forced you to stay on this ship and go out to sea with me, then how would I be any different from those Celestial Dragons?"
At that moment, Roy's figure became incomparably noble and towering in the eyes of everyone aboard.
"Roy-aniki!"
The Fish-Men, who were overflowing with emotion, could not help but collapse to the floor and bawl after hearing Roy's words.
The people of the other races were also weeping bitterly.
"What are you crying for? Everyone is free now. You should be happy. Tiger, you're a grown man, so stop crying too. Hurry up and steer the ship. Head for the nearest island city in this area!"
"Yes!! Roy-aniki!!!"
...
Half an hour later, the ship arrived at a spring island.
During that half hour, Roy used his healing technique to erase every last Hoof of the Soaring Dragon brand from everyone's bodies.
After arriving at the spring island, Roy did exactly as he had said. He drove everyone off the ship and into the city. Those who wanted to continue following him out to sea as pirates could return to the ship after nightfall.
Most of them obeyed Roy's words and got off the ship, except—
"Tiger, what are you still doing here? Hurry up and get off the ship."
Roy looked toward Fisher Tiger, who sat cross-legged with his arms folded across his chest. At that moment, Tiger wore an expression of firm resolve.
There were quite a few people who shared Tiger's thoughts. They all sat behind him without moving an inch.
Seeing this, Roy's face darkened, and he shouted, "Tiger, do you really think of me as your big brother?!"
"Of course!"
"Then do you listen to what your big brother says?!"
"Of course I do… uh…"
Looking at Fisher Tiger, who kept turning back every few steps, and the group of people beside him, Roy could not help shaking his head. Then he turned and looked in a certain direction.
"You've been watching for so long. It's about time you showed yourself, isn't it? Following us from neither too far nor too close must have been pretty hard on you."
The moment Roy's voice fell, a tall figure instantly appeared on the ship's deck.
He was nearly seven meters tall. His lower body had short legs, but his upper body was a completely disproportionate, massive frame. He held a book with "Bible" written on its cover, wore gloves, and also wore an adorable spotted bear-eared hat that did not match his body at all.
"If you were to travel, where would you like to go?"
Those were the first words he said after appearing.
"Is that your catchphrase, or is it a warning before you launch an attack? Former king of the Sorbet Kingdom, Bartholomew Kuma."
After Roy used Instant Transmission to arrive on this ship, he had discovered that someone had been following it the entire time. With a slight sense of the other party's body shape, then combining it with his ability, Roy knew who it was.
"I am no longer the king of the Sorbet Kingdom."
Kuma, who wore glasses with black frames and white lenses, spoke calmly.
"That's true. Now you're the extremely vicious and brutal pirate, Tyrant Kuma. So, Mr. Tyrant Kuma, what did you come to me for? Are you after my head, worth six hundred million berries, or do you want to kill me and make your name known throughout the world?"
"Neither."
Kuma did not stand on ceremony. He directly sat down cross-legged.
"I only want to talk with you. I have wanted to meet you for a very long time, Hero of Freedom, Roy."
"Is that so? Shouldn't it be 'heinous criminal'?"
Roy also sat down and took out his wine gourd.
"How about it? Want a cup?"
"Ever since I went out to sea as a pirate, I quit drinking."
"Is that so? Then you've really missed out on something delicious."
Roy put the wine gourd away and looked at Kuma.
"Then what question do you want to ask?"
Kuma's upper body leaned slightly forward, as if he were bowing.
"I want to ask you one question. Please, you must answer me."
(End of Chapter)
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