A TIME LATER
STEP
STEP
STEP
STEP
Rody and his group had left a few minutes earlier, leaving a handful of chopped-up corpses in the dark alley. Daddy Masterson, still reeling from Rody's terrifying aura, stood there motionless, stunned by recent events.
"Luck was on my side today," he thought.
Just then, as Daddy Masterson pondered, he heard a steady stream of hurried footsteps coming from the alley entrance. This sound brought him out of his daze. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Smoker, smoking a cigar, on his amphibious motorcycle, followed by a group of marines heading toward the alley.
Smoker took a quick look at the corpses and frowned slightly. Even the marines accompanying him couldn't help but shudder slightly at the bloody scene.
"What... what the hell happened here?!" Tashigi muttered, pale with fear.
"It was Rody the Killer. He's just like the newspapers say. He's extremely brutal and ruthless when it comes to dealing with his enemies." Daddy Masterson saw the girl's paleness and said, immediately after finishing speaking, he took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, taking a deep drag to relieve the tension.
Smoker frowned even more, took another look, and asked Daddy Masterson, "Masterson, where have the Toby the Boxer Pirates and Rody the Killer gone? Did you see it?"
Daddy Masterson took a deep drag on his cigarette and replied, "I saw it all!" He lowered his head and looked at Smoker solemnly. "The pile of minced meat you see at your feet is the former Boxer Pirates." Recalling that brutal scene, Daddy Masterson felt a deep sense of fear and added, "As for Murderer Rody, he's the culprit. I suppose he's already returned to his ship. You're not thinking of capturing him, are you?"
"..."
Smoker didn't reply. Instead, he looked at Tashigi. "Tashigi, you and the soldiers stay here and clean up the debris from the ground. When you do, be discreet and don't frighten the townspeople, do you understand?"
"But... Colonel Smo..."
"The enemy this time is Murderer Rody. As you can see, he's too brutal. It would be very dangerous if I led you to capture him. So I'll go capture him alone," Smoker said seriously, interrupting Tashigi.
"No, Colonel Smoker!"
"How could we have left you to take care of that guy alone?" Tashigi cried out in a worried tone.
Tashigi looked back at the mangled bodies on the ground, her voice a little more broken. Unconsciously, she couldn't help but mutter, "This... this, this was all done by Rody the Killer. That guy is too cruel."
As if a fuse had been lit, the marines, pale with fear, couldn't help but feel nauseous. After all, the smell of blood and feces was still present, which was extremely difficult to bear.
"This is too cruel!"
"Was all this done by that guy we want to arrest?"
"Sorry, I can't help it anymore, ugh..."
Although the marines following Smoker had witnessed many cruel scenes, this was the first time they had seen such a bloody scene. Many couldn't help but vomit at such a sight.
Smoker took a deep drag on his cigar, not caring that his subordinates had vomited. "You've seen it, this guy is more brutal than any pirate you've ever seen." If you go, this is likely your destination. That's why I want to go alone. I'm a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, so even if I can't catch him, I won't be in any danger. After all, it's impossible for him to hurt me in my elemental state. So if I take you there and he tries to kill you, I won't be able to stop him because I'll be fighting him. So I order you to clean up this mess, do you understand?
The room fell silent for a while. After a few seconds, Tashigi took off her glasses, polished them, and put them back on. She looked at Smoker, whose face was serious, and said slowly,
"Colonel Smoke, we don't have the powerful Devil Fruit ability that you possess, that much we know, but we're still not afraid. If we were afraid of death, we wouldn't become marines and fight against those powerful and brutal pirates."
Tashigi's previously naive face showed unwavering firmness, and she said in a firm tone, "Colonel, since we chose the marines, we are prepared to die at any time. We won't be a burden to you." "So please don't underestimate our strength. We will fight by your side no matter what!"
The marines, who had previously been pale with fear, gradually regained their composure and looked firmly at Smoker in unison.
Smoker exhaled smoke from his cigar and felt extremely powerless as he saw the steady gaze of his subordinates. He knew that any words that prevented them from joining the battle would be an insult to his Marine conscience. But even though he was powerless, as he looked at the determined group in front of him, a smile spread across his serious face.
"What a bunch of lunatics!" thought Daddy Masterson, seeing the determination of Tashigi and the other Marines. "I don't know if they're brave or stupid."
Although Daddy Masterson knew Smoker was a Logia-type Devil Fruit wielder, he doubted he could defeat that terrifying monster.
He took a deep drag on his cigarette and shook his head.
In the end, Smoker had no choice but to nod and agreed to let his men follow him into battle.
Smoker looked at Daddy Masterson, who was standing silently behind him, smoking a cigarette, and said, "Masterson, which way did Rody the Killer go?"
Daddy Masterson, hearing Smoker's words, pointed toward where Rody and his group had gone. Although he had no hope for Smoker, he was still his old fellow Marine, and he advised him, looking at him seriously. "The enemy should be heading for the port, but be careful. The threat I felt from him was unprecedented. I've never seen anyone like him. You shouldn't underestimate him. He's very strong..."
Daddy Masterson stopped talking suddenly and shook his head. "Strong is an understatement. I should say he's very, very strong, stronger than any pirate I've ever seen. You must be careful, Smoker."
"I see!" Smoker nodded. "Don't worry, I won't underestimate the enemy," Smoker replied seriously to Daddy Masterson. He then hopped on his motorcycle and shouted, "Let some of you clean up the corpses on the ground, and the rest of you follow me at full speed to capture Murderer Rody."
"YES!" The group of marines responded enthusiastically and immediately set off with Smoker.
Watching Smoker drive off with the entire Loguetown Naval Garrison, a smile unconsciously spread across Daddy Masterson's serious face. Then, as he thought of Rody's devilish figure, the smile faded, revealing a hint of worry and fear. "Be careful, that guy is a powerful monster I've never seen before. You mustn't die, Smoker!"
…
"Mr. Rody, the next stop is Upside Down Mountain. Once we pass it, we'll be in the first half of the Grand Line. But I've heard there's a huge whale at the end of the Upside Down Mountain trail. It's sometimes said to be there, and it strikes the Red Earth Continent, causing many pirates and merchant ships to shipwreck due to its presence," Sebas Tian said solemnly.
This was the information he gathered during his brief stay in Loguetown. Even he struggled to believe it at first; at first, he thought it was nonsense. After all, was it possible that such gigantic whales existed?
So at first, he dismissed this information as fantasy, but as he gathered more information, more and more people mentioned the same thing to him, so in the end, even though he doubted it, he had to believe that such a giant whale existed.
The host kills Toby the Boxer
Death Rate +5
Total Death Rate: 24
"Hmm!" Rody muttered as he looked at the system panel. "It's increased again!" he thought.
...
Mentally closing the system panel, Rody said nonchalantly as he stretched lazily, "That enormous whale you speak of. Fifty years ago, it was just a calf, not as big as it is now. It was too dangerous for it to enter the Grand Line back then, so the pirates who adopted it agreed to see it again after they circumnavigated the world. However, those guys were too weak, and they all died."
"Hmm, no, wait," Rody rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, pausing his anecdote. After a few seconds, seeing everyone's anxious faces, he continued, "Now that I think about it, that now-crew only has a skeleton left. Anyway, back to the topic, during the years of waiting, the giant whale has been banging its head against the red-earth continent. As for the reason, perhaps it's out of frustration."
"What a sad story!" Bublebee muttered, his headlights dimming. Obviously, Laboon's story saddened him too much.
"Wow, Captain, this whale is too miserable!" Carme burst into tears upon hearing Laboon's story.
Nami tugged on Rody's large hand and looked at him hopefully, blinking slightly.
Rody understood the message and smiled slightly.
Seeing Nami's hopeful face, Rody reached out his large hand and ruffled her orange hair, saying, "If you want to see this whale, you can see it after we cross Inverted Mountain. As for that skeleton, we still have a long way to go before we find it."
"Well, thanks, Rody!" Nami closed her eyes and let Rody stroke her hair like a kitten enjoying her touch.
On the other hand, Rody wasn't interested in the story of Laboon, the giant whale, nor did he want to prevent it from crashing into the Red Earth Continent; after all, he was too lazy to do that. Rody just wanted to see how shocking it would be to see this enormous colossus appear before him.
In addition, Rody is also interested in Crocus, the ship's doctor, who sailed and reached the Final Island with Pirate King Gol D. Roger. To be honest, he'd like to find Laugh Tale and see what's there. After all, when he arrived in this world, One Piece wasn't over yet, and where he left off, it was only mentioned that Roger named the island "Laugh Tale" because what he found there made him laugh so much that he decided to name it that way.
That's all that's known about the final island so far, although, based on the above, it's estimated that there's nothing interesting on Laugh Tale, except perhaps the story of the void century.
As for becoming the so-called Pirate King, in his opinion, this is pure bullshit. King? What kind of king are you? Rody thinks this is pure nonsense. After all, he doesn't understand what becoming the Pirate King would mean.
Rocks, the former Lord of the New World, had no interest in becoming the Pirate King or reaching Laugh Tale. He just wants to overthrow the rule of the Celestial Dragons, the World Government, learn all the taboo secrets of the World Government, and rule the world himself.
That's why he formed a huge group of monsters with the goal of becoming King of the World. It's a shame he didn't succeed and was besieged and killed by Garp and Roger in the Valley of the Gods.
After the disappearance of the Rocks Pirates, Golden Lion and Whitebeard, as famous as Roger, also have no interest in becoming Pirate King. One wants to rule the world like Rocks, while the other only wants to start a family and accumulate children everywhere.
Here comes the question: even if Roger were to become Pirate King, it seems nothing has changed. Will he be able to command all the pirates of the world?
Will Golden Lion and Whitebeard, two monsters, obey the orders of Roger, the so-called Pirate King?
This is obviously impossible, right? After all, these monsters who sailed alongside Rocks D Xebec have their own pride and arrogance; they don't obey anyone's orders. They would rather die than do something like that.
That's why Rody believes the so-called Pirate King is an empty title. After all, you're not the King of anything. Rody even suspects the World Government gave him that nickname as a mockery.
The World Government and the Five Elders reacted with even greater indifference to the so-called Pirate King Roger. They likely considered him a group of slightly stronger pirates who might cause trouble, but couldn't break the World Government's order.
After all, if Roger were truly the King of All Pirates, he could command all the pirates in the world under a single, unified banner. If that were the case, the Five Elders would likely try to deal with him, or even sending the God Knights or a massive siege by the navy wouldn't be enough to wipe out Roger and his crew.
After all, not even Rocks D Xebec, the King of the New World, forced them out of Pangaea Castle. Even the fact that he fought Jaygarcia Saturno in God Valley is purely coincidental.
Back on topic, Roger became the Pirate King, but was eventually executed. His wife forced herself to remain pregnant for 20 months for the sake of their unborn child and eventually died of exhaustion.
Their son had to be raised by Garp, a marine. Honestly, this is so sad. What's the point of being King if you can't protect your family? Rody doesn't understand Roger's brain circuitry. Is he an idealist or a fool?
On the other hand, perhaps what can truly threaten the World Government isn't who becomes the Pirate King, but who becomes Nika, the Sun God.