Chapter 196: JOY BOY
"Hahaha! Emeth—get it? This is how you tie a 'Knot'!"
"Even facing the vast sea, tsunamis, waves, and storms, it can remain stable for a long time... this is what a 'Knot' is."
In Roy's ears, a voice could be heard.
Speaking of it, it was special.
People usually describe voices with words like 'Bold', 'Cheerful', 'Gloomy', 'Deep'.
But this voice was strange.
The tone was high, the mood was bold, the words were passionate.
What word best describes this voice?
Roy thought instinctively.
"Don't get it."
At the same time, another voice came out.
"But—Joy Boy, putting it another way, doesn't a knot 'Bind' the rope?"
"Don't you hate binding the most? Even abandoned your original name to avoid being bound."
Only now did Roy finally see the scene before him clearly.
In the distance, sparkling sea surface.
Time was dusk; the sun was setting.
He seemed to be on an island.
Two figures, one large and one small.
The large one was a massive robot.
Roy saw it on Egghead not long ago—the ancient robot 'Emeth'.
In front of Emeth, there was a small hill.
On the hill, a figure sat cross-legged.
Facing Emeth's question, he answered with a smile.
"Yeah... I'm a pirate, hate being bound the most."
"However, I don't think a 'Knot' is necessarily binding—"
He extended his finger, threw the unfinished knot in his hand casually at Emeth, wrapping it around it.
Then, he grinned at Emeth.
"The so-called knot is a bond, Emeth!"
He wore a straw hat with a red band on his head.
Compared to his fame, his face wasn't extraordinary—ordinary looks, about thirty years old.
But the arc of his grin seemed to resonate with people.
In this instant, Roy found the answer to his previous doubt.
How to describe this person?
The answer is—Freedom.
Voice or smile.
He felt like the wind blowing over the island, the bird soaring in the sky, and the fish swimming in the ocean.
Nothing in this world seemed to bind him.
Even if knocked down, even if defeated, he wouldn't fall because of it—this was a man free as the sun.
He was...
"Joy Boy."
Roy knew his identity naturally, and understood his own situation—similar to entering Linlin's memory with the Memory-Memory Fruit.
The scene before him was a memory of the past.
"Conqueror's Haki is 'Spirit of the Soul'."
Roy murmured this phrase internally, feeling Shiki's wisdom rising.
If Conqueror's Haki is power generated by the soul.
Then the Haki left by Joy Boy in the knot is naturally part of his soul.
And what Roy saw now should be the memory when this knot was created.
"Bond?"
Emeth asked back.
"Yeah—I hate binding, but enjoy bonds with friends... like you and me."
Joy Boy grinned, taking back the knot to continue tying. "That's the best thing."
But hearing this, Emeth seemed a bit angry. "Clearly saying so, but you still won't leave with me, right?"
"Everyone is still waiting for you, we clearly still have strength to fight..."
It patted its battered machine body, saying so.
Yes.
Even if that great war ended.
Even if they lost due to betrayal.
Even if comrades scattered.
But it knew—as long as this man raised his arm and called.
Everyone would rush to the battlefield again.
But...
"Not this era, Emeth."
Joy Boy shook his head.
He looked far at the sea surface.
"This time, we lost."
He wouldn't deny this fact.
He even seemed to see the darkness rising at the end of the sea, eventually spreading to the whole world.
They lost.
He failed the promise, failed the trust.
But fortunately... they left a spark.
"We must part here, Emeth."
He looked at his best friend—even if it was a robot.
"The Abyss will chase my traces. I will live here for a while, marry and have children... hmm, maybe establish a small kingdom."
"Then I will leave, go to the 'Final Island' to store the spark, then personally bid final farewell to 'The Abyss'."
He said to Emeth.
"But..."
Emeth clearly didn't want to part with its best friend.
Because it knew—after this parting, it would be forever.
But now, greeting it was only Joy Boy's warm but firm gaze.
"It's okay, Emeth."
He grinned again.
"I know hiding in darkness is damp."
"I know parting is painful."
"I know waiting is tormenting."
"But... I will return!"
He laughed loudly.
"In the promised era, there will be a Joy Boy fighting with you—Partner!"
Speaking here, the knot in his hand was tied.
He held the knot high, facing the setting sun on the distant sea, as if to hang it up again.
"Even in the longest night, the sun will always rise."
"I won't die."
He looked at his best friend, tossing the knot gently.
"Because in this world, there are always people chasing freedom!"
That was why he abandoned his name.
Because everyone chasing freedom.
Can be JOY BOY.
"..."
Watching Emeth in memory pick up the knot, stand up with its massive body, and cross the ocean away.
Roy looked at Joy Boy sitting on the hill.
He sighed at this legendary pirate's spirit and breadth of mind.
But simultaneously, he didn't know how to proceed.
What about the promised Conqueror's Haki collision?
But just as he was puzzled.
"Hey, friend."
He heard a voice in his ear.
Roy looked up instinctively.
Then, he saw incredulously—that Joy Boy was smiling at him now.
"You've been standing there for a long time."
He greeted Roy.
Roy's surprise naturally needed no explanation.
He watched Linlin's memory before, but never expected this—in Linlin's memory, Rocks and Whitebeard wouldn't turn around to greet him suddenly.
"Don't be surprised."
But now, Joy Boy seemed to see his thoughts.
He adjusted the straw hat on his head, then pointed at himself grinning. "Heard just now, right? I don't like being bound."
"I am 'Free', so... memory can't trap me either."
Free? So memory can't trap you?
Roy found it absurd—what kind of logic was this?
But Joy Boy didn't explain further.
He just raised his hand, pointing to the ground beside him.
"So, wanna come over and chat?"
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