"My goodness, it got unhooked!"
"Ah, ah, ah, what a shame!"
"Such a huge commotion, it must have been a giant creature of four or five hundred catties!"
"No, no, no, I think it was over a thousand catties. Not catching it will probably be remembered for a lifetime!"
"Eh, let's disperse, let's disperse! The excitement's over!"
"Tch, what a waste of emotion. I thought I was going to witness history!"
"And this is the result? I might as well have done it; if it had been played a little longer, maybe it would have come up!"
At Loguetown Port, the onlookers chattered away, some lamenting, some mocking.
Roland naturally paid no mind to the people's discussions.
At this moment, the curve of his lips was harder to suppress than an AK, and his heart surged with excitement.
Overlord Haki!!!
The king's qualification that only one in a million people in the One Piece World can awaken.
As a powerhouse traversing the seas, you might not use it, but you can't be without it.
Overlord Haki, in a sense, represents a certain level of prestige.
After all, being cool is a lifelong endeavor!!!
The Marines' top combat forces, the Three Admirals, are impressive enough, right?
But they don't possess Overlord Haki.
Granted.
Basic Overlord Haki is only useful for clearing out minor enemies.
However...
What Roland awakened at this moment was not ordinary Overlord Haki.
But the same top-tier Overlord Haki as Pirate King Gol D. Roger!!!
Haki of the Supreme King at this level is no longer limited to clearing out soldiers.
It can also produce substantial attack effects on the surrounding environment.
Once... oh no, three years in the future, in Wano Country, Red Hair Shanks's Overlord Haki, released from eight hundred miles away, instantly caused the Marine's top combat force, Admiral Ryokugyu, to burst into tears and snot, raising his hands in a pathetic surrender, unable to even maintain his Logia transformation.
This shows the powerful suppressive force of top-tier Overlord Haki on the battlefield of powerhouses.
As Red Hair's superior and teacher, Pirate King Roger's Haki of the Supreme King attainment would definitely not be weaker than Red Hair's.
Feeling the mysterious power dormant within him, Roland had a premonition that once fully unleashed, it would be earth-shattering.
After the excitement died down, the onlookers gathered at the port dispersed in twos and threes.
Thud, thud, thud!
Neat, uniform footsteps suddenly sounded.
A squad of over ten Marine soldiers jogged over, sealing off a corner of the port.
Before long, the White Hunter Smoker appeared, cigar in mouth, smoke billowing.
"Care for a chat?"
Smoker spoke.
"Sure!"
Roland, in a great mood, smiled and agreed.
"The Cocoyasi Village incident was your doing, wasn't it?"
Smoker said.
"Yes!"
Roland nodded indifferently.
"The other party was a vicious pirate; if you encounter such a situation next time, you can report it to us Marines. Don't try to be a lone hero!"
Smoker kindly reminded him.
"Report to the Marines? Is it useful?"
Roland spread his hands and sneered.
Smoker's expression froze.
For a moment, he was speechless.
Because the tragedy in Cocoyasi Village this time was caused by the collusion of Marine Mouse and the Arlong Pirates.
However...
Smoker thought for a moment.
Roland saying this must mean he also knows the inside story.
Then, that possibility becomes even greater.
Thinking of this, Smoker weighed his words and spoke again.
"A month ago, the East Blue 16th Branch Colonel and his One line went missing after leaving Cocoyasi Village. Do you have any clues?"
"No need to search, they're already dead. I killed them!"
Roland spoke indifferently, as if he were merely stating a most ordinary trivial matter.
"What!!!"
"The missing Colonel Mouse and them..."
"This man is actually the culprit behind that incident!"
"And he actually admitted it so directly, this, this, this..."
Smoker's personal Marine guards were all stunned, feeling as if their brains were about to crash.
"Do you know what you're saying?"
Smoker's expression suddenly darkened.
He had already decided that if Roland could be a bit more subtle...
Even if Roland himself didn't admit it, he wouldn't do anything.
After all, Mouse's actions deserved death.
But Smoker never expected Roland to be so bold.
Admitting everything directly in front of him was trampling on the Marines' dignity.
"That bastard Mouse certainly deserves to die, but he must be tried by a military court before he can be convicted. No one else has that right!"
Smoker said in a deep voice.
"Heh."
Roland scoffed.
"You don't fly a pirate flag. I could have turned a blind eye, but... doing something like this, openly challenging the Marines' authority, do you know what this means?"
Smoker spoke again.
"I'm just a traveler, but if you Marines insist on labeling me a pirate, then there's nothing I can do!"
Roland spread his hands helplessly.
Watching Roland's defiant attitude.
Smoker's remaining patience also ran out.
"In that case, let me experience your methods!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Large amounts of white smoke surged from Smoker's body, covering the port.
Smoker gripped the Sea-Stone Jitte in his hand, about to transform and attack.
Just then, Smoker noticed Roland on the ship take a step forward.
This step caused the heavens and earth to change color.
The clear sky was shrouded by heavy dark clouds.
The howling winds stirred up waves in the calm sea.
Crack!
Black and red lightning erupted from around Roland, raging across the sky and earth.
Accompanying it was an unparalleled, supreme Haki of the Supreme King pressure.
"Ah—"
Smoker couldn't help but cry out.
His elemental smoke body was forced to disperse.
Thud~
Smoker, forced back to his original form, uncontrollably half-knelt on the ground.
...