Chapter 55: A Marine Supernova? Who's That?
As the 'City of Shipwrights' known for creating the Ancient Weapon 'Pluton', and the most famous shipbuilding hub in the Grand Line.
Water 7 was always bustling.
Beside the waterways where Yagara Bulls ferried people back and forth...
The sign of the 'Blue Station' bar swayed gently in the sea breeze.
Even in the daytime, the bar was packed with customers. The drinks here were cheap and good, attracting people from all walks of life.
But right now, many of the patrons weren't drinking.
They were holding newspapers, engrossed in the big news.
Judging by the fresh ink, it was the latest issue of the World Economic News Paper, released just today.
As the discussions buzzed...
Creak!
The wooden door of the bar was pushed open, and a figure walked in.
The uniform revealed his identity—a Marine.
This wasn't uncommon.
As mentioned, Water 7 often hosted Marine warships for repairs. Seeing a Marine wasn't an everyday occurrence, but it wasn't rare either.
But this time, something was different.
"..."
The entire bar went silent instantly.
"Hm?"
Roy was surprised. Are the patrons of Water 7 always this polite?
But he didn't have time to think too much.
He had spotted the person he was looking for.
He walked straight to the bar and sat down.
"A cola, please. Fill it with ice."
He said in a deep voice.
"This is a bar. We don't have cola. Is sparkling water okay?"
The bartender behind the counter replied.
"...I guess that'll do."
After Roy nodded, the bartender turned to the shelf.
Roy took the chance to get a good look at him.
Tall, wearing a yellow shirt, with a somewhat wooden expression but clearly defined muscles.
His most memorable feature was his hairstyle—it looked like he had two bull horns on his head.
Honest and simple—that was the first impression his appearance gave.
But Roy knew the truth.
[Devil Fruit User 'Blueno' discovered]
[Confirmed Devil Fruit: 'Paramecia-type, Door-Door Fruit'. Analyzing and saving to 'Fruit Encyclopedia']
[Fruit Ability: Can create doors on any surface leading to a pocket dimension, allowing anyone to pass through freely. The dimension allows observation of the outside world.]
[Note: While in the pocket dimension, due to being separated by space-time, the Fruit Encyclopedia cannot analyze external fruit abilities.]
[Effects by Level]
[LV1: Gain faint fruit effect. Can open doors in places with existing gaps.]
[LV2: Gain partial fruit effect. Can open doors on solid objects. Requires 400 Million Berries for Unlock.]
[LV3: Gain full fruit effect. Can open doors on anything except seawater and Seastone and enter the pocket dimension. Requires 2.5 Billion Berries for Unlock.]
[LV4: Fruit Deep-Dive Development. Doors naturally appear wherever any part of the body touches. Can freely change the size and shape of doors. Requires 5 Billion Berries for Unlock.]
[LV5: Fruit Awakening · Door Domain. Create a massive 'Door Domain' centered on the user, trapping everyone within range inside the domain. Requires 10 Billion Berries for Unlock.]
[Analysis Progress: 0%]
That's right.
Roy knew very well—the man named Blueno was actually an agent of the World Government's intelligence organization, CP9.
He was playing the role of a bartender in Water 7 solely for his mission.
And more importantly, his Devil Fruit.
The Door-Door Fruit. One of the rare space-type fruits in the One Piece world, and incredibly powerful.
The ability to create doors and pocket dimensions anywhere made the user practically invincible if they chose to be.
This was the main reason Roy chose to come to Water 7.
And he had to admit, acquiring this fruit was easy.
He just needed to sit here and enjoy a drink for a while.
"The only downside is the lack of cola... seriously, how can a bar not have cola?"
Looking at the sparkling water in front of him, Roy grumbled internally.
"..."
But soon, he saw Blueno return, staring at him with calm eyes.
Roy was instantly alert. What's going on?
But before Roy could react, Blueno spoke. "Are you... Roy Amos?"
"You know me?"
Roy nodded calmly, but his heart raced. Blueno knows my name? Did I expose a flaw? Is CP9 onto me?
But just as Roy was calculating escape routes...
"It's him!"
"It really is him!"
"Major Roy from Headquarters!"
Shouts erupted from every corner of the bar!
"The Marine Supernova who fought a Warlord to a draw! The future star of the Marines!"
"The disciple of former Admiral Zephyr, who kept a low profile in the Detention Unit, rumored to have come out of seclusion specifically for the Tri-Force Demonstration!"
"I can't believe I'm seeing him in person!"
Roy was utterly bewildered.
Fought a Warlord to a draw? Marine Supernova? Disciple of Zephyr coming out of seclusion?
Who are they talking about? Is there another Major Roy in the Marines?
"You look like you haven't heard?"
Blueno silently slid a newspaper across the bar.
Roy immediately saw the photo on the front page.
It was a frozen sea. A massive T-Rex faced off against a Marine.
The T-Rex looked ferocious and terrifying.
The Marine's white coat fluttered in the wind, the word 'Justice' on his back shining brilliantly against the reflection of the ice.
He had to admit, the World Economic News Paper knew how to take a photo.
The frozen sea, the giant beast, the Marine hero facing it... the composition screamed silent oppression.
And the photo seemed deliberately angled so that the wreckage of Hanafuda's 'Great Dinosaur Fleet' wasn't visible.
But what confused Roy was the headline.
[TRI-FORCE DEMONSTRATION APPROACHES: MARINE SUPERNOVA EMERGES!]
Under this heavy headline, the content matched what the bar patrons were saying.
According to the report, with the Tri-Force Demonstration just over a month away, young and powerful Supernovas within the Marines were gradually revealing themselves.
[Roy Amos is one of them. A disciple secretly trained by former Admiral Zephyr, possessing immense strength.]
[To participate in the Tri-Force Demonstration and uphold Justice, he has finally emerged. Ten days ago, he engaged in a warm-up skirmish with Warlord 'Hanafuda,' ending in a draw.]
[According to insiders, many high-ranking Marines believe Major Roy will be a key figure in suppressing the dark forces of the sea and ending the Great Pirate Era.]
Below that, the paper detailed the Tri-Force Demonstration and noted: [This paper will broadcast the entire event live via Visual Transponder Snails to all World Government member nations. Stay tuned!]
Roy: "..."
Honestly, he didn't understand what the hell was going on.
But looking at the crowd swarming toward him, he understood one thing.
He was famous.
...
At the same time. Wano Country.
On top of the massive skull dome of Onigashima.
Glug, glug, glug!
A giant man with horns, a shirtless torso, and a shimenawa rope around his waist chugged sake from a massive gourd.
CRACK-BOOM!
Lightning crashed down from the clouds above, striking right next to him. The thunderous roar made the pirates below scream in fear.
"Worororororo!"
He didn't flinch at the lightning. He tossed the gourd aside and laughed, a sound as loud as the thunder itself.
On this sea, there were many with monstrous bodies and terrifying appearances.
But...
There was only one man with this appearance and this aura.
One of the Four Emperors—'Kaido of the Beasts'.
"Zephyr's disciple... A Marine Supernova who will end the Great Pirate Era... Hic..."
Kaido, seemingly drunk, chuckled. "Sounds pretty good, that Marine brat?"
"...He is indeed strong."
In front of Kaido, a Transponder Snail shivered as it relayed the message.
From the snail's dinosaur-like appearance, it was obvious who was on the other end.
It was the 'Lizard King' Hanafuda, recently defeated by Roy.
"Wororororo! You've gotten rusty, Hanafuda! You haven't been training your strength!"
Kaido slapped his knee, laughing boisterously.
"..."
Hanafuda didn't reply.
He didn't deny Kaido's words.
In his youth, he was a great pirate who fought evenly with a young Kaido.
But after becoming sworn brothers and accepting the Warlord title, although he still worshipped strength, he couldn't dedicate himself to training like he used to.
Before he could respond, Kaido continued.
"But..."
The Emperor picked up his massive kanabo, 'Hassaikai'.
"A Marine brat using you to make a name for himself... I can't pretend I didn't see that!"
"Humiliating my brother like this... Are you ready for the consequences, Marines!?"
He cracked his neck. Krr-krak!
"Bring it on! Let's have a war! It's been a while since I fought the Marines. Zephyr's disciple... Heh, that old man isn't enough after losing his arm. Bring Garp or the other Admirals!"
"Big Brother Kaido!"
Hanafuda's voice was deep. "Sengoku already told me. If we retaliate over this, I will be stripped of my Warlord title..."
"Hah!?"
Hearing this, Kaido looked at the snail incredulously. "Stripped of the Warlord title?"
He roared. "WHO CARES ABOUT THAT!?"
BOOM!
Explosive Conqueror's Haki shattered a chunk of the ground.
"Start a war, strip a title... let them do whatever they want!"
"I just want the greatest war the world has ever seen!"
Kaido's voice trembled. His teeth ground together.
Was it anger? Excitement? Or just the booze?
Maybe all three.
"No, Big Brother Kaido."
Hanafuda spoke firmly.
"A loss is a loss. I lost to him. That is a fact... If the Marines want to use me to boost his fame, that is their freedom."
Through the snail, his gaze seemed to meet Kaido's.
"But the 'Beasts' plan... cannot be disrupted by my failure!"
He might be the only person who dared to speak to Kaido like this at a time like this.
Kaido's ambition was simply war—a grand, chaotic war that engulfed the world. Nobles, kings, civilians, Marines, pirates... everyone dying equally in the slaughter.
War itself was his goal.
Whether he won or lost, Kaido didn't care.
But Hanafuda was different.
He had acknowledged Kaido after their battles in their youth.
His lack of training over the years wasn't due to laziness.
It was because he knew—his talent was far inferior to Kaido's.
So he accepted the Warlord title to hunt pirates, gather resources, sell weapons, and collect Devil Fruits for Kaido.
His goal was to make Kaido the 'King'.
This was the difference between them. Kaido cared about the war.
Hanafuda cared about Kaido winning the war.
So until the plan was complete, until they had accumulated enough power, he didn't want Kaido to start a war with the Marines over him!
"..."
Hearing this, Kaido fell silent.
After a moment, he set down Hassaikai and sat back down.
"So you plan to just let it end here... Hanafuda? That's not the man I admired back then."
He snorted, his voice low.
But hearing this, Hanafuda laughed on the other end of the line.
"End here?"
He sneered. "Of course it won't end here."
He had promised the Marines he wouldn't personally retaliate against Roy.
He admitted his defeat.
But that didn't mean he was out of options.
After all...
"A beast's hunt... doesn't end until death."
☆☆☆
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