Paper Paper Fruit In One Piece

"But he's with the princess and Jinbe, and he just saved the king and the three princes... He's one of us!"

"Go! Luffy, right? Take them down!!"

After the new Fishman Pirates had humiliated the king and the three princes, and Hody Jones' insane actions, the ordinary fishmen and mermaids had already lost their sense of reason. Now...

"Thank you...!"

"Straw Hat, take them down!!"

Some shouted with red faces, others clapped desperately, or cheered with words of heroism. Thousands, even tens of thousands of fishmen and mermaids created a roar like a tsunami, echoing through the square and even reaching the coral buildings and the waves, creating a lasting echo.

But in contrast, the Straw Hat crew remained mostly indifferent.

After all, in terms of feelings, what connection did they have with Fishman Island? The only familiar face was Camie, and Jinbe had only interacted with Luffy and Roman before. There was no foundation of common race or culture.

As for the spectacle, the sandstorms of Alabasta, the thunder god's end of the world on Skypiea—compared to those, this scene felt like child's play.

Hmm, should I do something with those giant sea kings?

The cheers and hostility around him were just background noise to Roman. He was pondering how to get 'intel' from those giant sea kings—he remembered there was a 'Whispering Fruit'? 

That fruit's ability was like a flawed version of "Hear All Things," but restricted to animals. It allowed the user to send their thoughts into the animals' minds, but the user couldn't read their thoughts; the animal had to choose to communicate. Too bad Roman hadn't encountered the user of this fruit yet...

Boom!

"Vander Decken is such a failure!"

Hody Jones, rising from the ruins, shot a vicious glare at the Straw Hat Pirates standing calmly on the plaza. Since Shirahoshi appeared here unharmed, it meant that the other key person in the plan—Vander Decken IX—had failed.

"Jinbe, you were tricked!"

"I should have figured it out when you just surrendered!"

After all, Jinbe used to be a Warlord of the Sea. How could he be caught by a bunch of small fry... If everything hadn't gone so smoothly today, Hody Jones wouldn't have missed this detail.

"It seems like you're getting along well with humans?"

Looking at Jinbe standing with the Straw Hat Pirates, Hody Jones became more and more disgusted.

"Your former captain, 'Hero' Tiger, died because humans refused to give him a blood transfusion..."

"Your comrade Arlong and his gang also died at the hands of humans, and now you're standing on the side of those evil humans—"

"Tsk, I really hate people like you who generalize."

With a sigh, Roman stepped forward."People are different from one another. The same goes for fishmen. Among fishmen, there are thieves, criminals, ordinary people, and—heroes."

"Judging others based on their profession, race, or country without even knowing them," 

Roman took a few steps forward, and his eyes swept across the crowd. Instantly, the tens of thousands of fishmen fell silent.

His voice wasn't loud, but thanks to his 'Gura Gura no Mi' abilities, it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

"Anyone with a little bit of sense knows this kind of subjective thinking is wrong. A great person once said, 'No investigation, no right to speak.' So,"

Roman looked at Hody Jones. His calm gaze, however, held an undeniable authority."Have you personally gone to the surface to investigate or visit any country?"

"Th... That is..."

"Have you observed and understood the life of ordinary people on land?"

"I... I..."

"Have you even bothered to talk with any pirates passing through here?"

"No..."

"So,"

Roman shrugged.

"Your hatred toward humans is just 'information' that's been fed to you. You haven't even tried to discern whether it's true or not, and you've rushed to make it your life's creed. And then, you'll stop at nothing!"

"Because your hatred lacks 'determination' and 'belief,' you'll do anything—including casually killing and insulting your own kind."

"Admit it, you're just a group of 'false beings'!"

Roman's words struck deep.

"Whether it's faith or power."

!!!

These words weren't just directed at Hody Jones, but to everyone on Fish-Man Island.

In fact, Roman didn't care about someone like Hody Jones, who had self-deluded himself to the point of madness. But since Fish-Man Island would eventually become the 'Straw Hat Pirates' territory, it was better to say some things now:

"Who is the enemy and who is the ally, you should judge with your own eyes and ears."

"Roman... thank you."

Although Roman's words weren't pleasant, they were truly 'respectful.'

Roman waved his hand in response to Jinbe's thanks.

"I'm just speaking the truth. After all, I never lie."

?!

'The pirates you once betrayed have something to say...'

Roman calmly met Nami's gaze, signaling her to understand.

'I didn't deceive them. Their greed blinded them.'"Bullshit!!!"

A roar interrupted Roman and Nami's 'chat,' and Hody Jones, completely silenced by Roman's verbal attack, lost all patience.

"Utter nonsense! When I tear you apart, you'll know what the superior race really is!"

Heh,Roman casually glanced at Hody Jones, whose flustered appearance looked strangely familiar. Since you chose "battle" instead of "debate," I'll just have to reluctantly accept the challenge.

"Brothers! Come in!!"

With Hody Jones' order, large groups of fishmen armed with weapons flooded the square, truly creating a sea of people.

"Heh heh heh, almost got fooled by you guys!"

"It's just a pirate crew of ten people. Even if we add Jinbe... Oh, and the noble 'mermaid princess' and a shark."

Hody Jones spread his arms, "Can't beat you in logic? No problem, we'll just defeat you, and that's victory!"

"I have a hundred thousand men here! With just a breath, I could wipe you out!!"

"I am the true Pirate King!"

...

Very confident! 

I like it.

"Luffy, what do you think?"

Roman turned to Luffy, who had already taken a few steps forward, staring at Hody Jones.

"You say... you want to be what king?!"

Uh, wait... Luffy, did you just steal someone else's line?

Glaring—One look!

As Luffy raised his head and swept his gaze, a unique aura spread from him!

It was fearless generosity, burning anger, unwavering heroism, and cold murderous intent... All of Luffy's distinct personal marks were triggered, turning into invisible waves that reverberated across the square, piercing everything in their path! The fishmen's bodies and souls had no resistance in the face of this overwhelming pressure.

Conqueror's Haki shock!!

Silence—In an instant, the square, which had just been filled with shouts and cries, suddenly fell silent! It was as if someone pressed the pause button—everything seemed absurd. Then:

*Crack,*

*Crack, crack, crack,*

*Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack!!!*

Like a row of falling dominoes, the fishmen all collapsed to the ground with their eyes rolling back, leaving a large empty space in the middle of the square.

"Wha... What kind of sorcery is this?!!!"

In front of the wide-eyed Hody Jones, Luffy simply calmly adjusted his straw hat.

"Hey! Whatever your name is, I'll definitely knock you out! Whether you want to be any kind of king doesn't matter to me. But—"

Luffy looked up, and the Haki in his eyes made Hody Jones tremble.

"In the pirates' world, there can only be one 'king.'"

"Heh, no doubt, that's our captain."

Roman nodded with his arms crossed. Luffy's unwavering belief was his charm. And unlike before when it was just a "dream," Luffy was now seriously chasing the "throne." So:

"Hey, you guys, get it together!!"

"No... Don't panic, we still have fifty thousand..."

Step, step, step.

"Earlier I spoke about the importance of communication, but now I'll say that strength is what truly matters."

Roman walked up next to Luffy, his gaze turning serious. Instantly, the same terrifying aura spread from him, just like before!

Roman's Conqueror's Haki was very different from Luffy's:

It was a cold, proud indifference, a calm superiority, icy anger, and quiet murderous intent... While Luffy's Haki was like a brutal fist smashing through the fishmen's bodies and souls, Roman's was like a cold wave sweeping through:

*Crack, crack, crack, crack—*Once again, the sound of fishmen collapsing filled the air, accompanied by Roman's calm voice.

"You no longer have anyone left."

Why did the mermaids and fishmen become slaves to humans?

Simply because they lacked strength, though they were good-looking or rare. — A poor man with treasure is often seen as a target.

...Gulp.Hody Jones was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of him swallowing. He suddenly realized that several of his officers had their mouths wide open, their faces turning purple, as if they were suffocating underwater.

That was because, after two waves of Conqueror's Haki, they had lost the ability to even breathe!

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

A powerful slap knocked a few of the officers off balance, causing them to bleed from the mouth. However, it also allowed them to break free from their extreme fear.

With a crash, Hody Jones grabbed a deadly pill and threw it into his mouth!

Then:

Pffft!

"Ah~~~!!"

A knife pierced into the leg of a nearby fishman pirate, forcing him to wake up with a spray of blood.

"Wake these fools up!"

Hody Jones, with his grayish-white hair, blood-red eyes full of murderous intent, looked at the other officers. "Each of you, give them a pill!"

"If they still don't gain the 'courage' to fight, then cut their throats!!"

——!!

"He's crazy..."

"This guy... he's a devil!!"

"He doesn't even treat his own comrades as comrades..."

"No, no way! I won't accept someone like him as king... Right, right, and what about the Straw Hat Pirates..."

"Straw Hat Luffy!! Help us—"

"Save Fish-Man Island!!"

Tch, I have to admit.

This Hody Jones really is a proper 'villain'..."Luffy, Roman."

Zoro, with his three swords at his waist, walked forward and stood side by side with the two, giving the bloody battlefield a quick glance.

"You've taken care of all the enemies, aren't we just going to be bored now?"

Hearing Zoro's complaint, Luffy casually replied.

"Who cares? The enemies are so weak, there's no fun in fighting like this."

"Don't worry, look over there~~"

Compared to Luffy's straightforwardness, Roman pointed towards Hody Jones and his group, who were taking pills.

"We've already cleared out the weaklings and left a few strong ones for you. Consider it—"

"A warm-up match before the real fight?"

"Sounds good."

The rest of the Straw Hat Pirates cracked their knuckles and moved forward. Since Luffy and Roman had already 'shown off,' they, as future members of the 'pirate crew,' should show their worth too~~ 

—————— ----You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu