{I have decided to rewrite and re-upload this novel, so this chapter including this entire fanfic has been rewritten and is under a new name; Title- One Piece: Shadows(ft Revolutionary Army) }
In a state of complete and utter exhaustion, a young soldier, covered head to toe in blood, was running across a crazed battlefield.
He ran, yet any momentum, he once had going for him, was long lost; his legs pushed against the ground with sheer willpower alone.
Yet despite everything, his eyes were fixed forward.
Earlier this morning, enemy troops had launched a surprise attack. Because the war had stagnated into a stalemate, hardly anyone saw it coming.
The higher-ups had ordered a retreat, but how could it be so simple for him?.. In that dire situation, his squad had been tasked with covering the withdrawing soldiers while slowly pulling back themselves.
But under heavy gunfire, he was separated from his squad, leading to his current predicament.
Then..
"It hurts."
I grumble in pain as my eyes are tormented by an intense burning sensation, an obvious outcome of blood mixed with sweat seeping into them, yet the damn fluids won't stop dripping down my brows.
I feel dizzy, and my strength is nearly drained.
[Tremble! -The ground shook]
"Huff!! Huff!!" my ragged breath is completely drowned amidst the thunderous noise of faraway explosions and the constant echoes of gunfire.
Still, what is fueling me even against these odds? What drives my every step? What are these complex emotions raging in my heart?
They say people always die suddenly. Death doesn't knock before entering. It's an inevitable consequence of life... I have always known this fact.
—Everyone knows it, but nobody wants to be reminded of it. Only when death peers into their unsuspecting lives with its indifferent eyes are they reminded.
Same goes for me. Until my parents died in this war, I had never once seriously considered such a possibility.
For those involved in the fighting, their deaths are irrelevant, foreign civilians caught in a crossfire, adding to an already long list of casualties.
See, it is not me, the world is crazy, I am perfectly sane.
With these thoughts occupying my head, I keep running with resolve. 'No one forced me, I chose this for myself... I need to see this through!!'
But suddenly!!... Swushhh! I flinch as time seems to freeze while a tiny object screams past one of my ears.
"What was it? A bullet?" Totally stunned, I look around to find the source.
When nothing comes up, my rapidly racing heart calms somewhat.
"Phew! Just a stray, huh!!?" I exclaim under my breath and press on.
Eventually, catching sight of something further ahead: 'Enemies?' I ponder.
Nothing is clear with all the dust and fog coupled with my hazy mind. Though, despite the chaos, I am able to confirm more than three figures wearing the enemy uniform. They are behind a small mound, with a third of their bodies poking above it.
Retreat isn't an option, as the risk would be greater. Recklessly trying to retreat now, I will surely be noticed. Being exposed with no cover, the only outcome would be an immediate trip to hell.
Thankfully, the enemy soldiers are yet unaware of my presence, seemingly distracted by other matters, which for now gives me the advantage—but with the situation at hand, I all the same have to risk it to make it through.
Resolving myself, I tightly grip the AK-74, preparing to act.
Moving closer, my position is soon exposed, but now it is far too late for the enemies. Having the element of surprise, I resolutely open fire at the front.
Three unsuspecting soldiers; miserable men sharing a similar destiny as me, fall one after another in a frenzy.
Meanwhile, I feel my mind has drifted elsewhere, entangled in a mess.
'My presence here won't affect the outcome of this war. It is far too complex for a single soldier to make a difference. Even though my parents were killed by a rocket released from the other side, that doesn't make the side I am fighting for the good guys.'
'Then why???!!!! Even knowing this... Why did I end up here??!!!'
'...Why do I fight?.. For a cause I don't believe in! For people I don't care about, for pointless revenge I'll never get!'
Thoughts flash through my mind as I continue to pull the trigger with unwavering intensity.
Then...
Coming back to my senses and dropping the gun, I hurl a grenade into the enemies' ranks.
Boom!!
A move necessary to ensure none survive to retaliate when my guard inevitably drops.
At the same time, unknowingly, words begin to slip from my lips:
"Maybe it's obligation, a lingering shred of duty for my parents... or is it because..."
My voice has become a mix of self-mockery and sorrow.
"I have nowhere to go! No friends to speak of! No family! Heh! I have nothing to look forward to in this life."
Boom!!... The grenade detonates. A thunderous roar briefly fills the air as blood is soaked into the soil.
The damp humidity smothers any flames.
"Yes! I have no path to follow except this war!" At last, in my turmoil, I have a reason to keep struggling.
His conviction echoed through the battlefield...
—Whether this soldier truly believed his own reasoning or not, no one yet knew.
Shortly after neutralizing the enemies, as he was thinking of no longer lingering at the same spot—
Bang!
A shot cracked from behind. A bullet whistled through the air—Shooo!!—straight at him.
Did some other enemy locate him?
Pierce!
Guess it would never be known.
The bullet had precisely hit the back of his head. An instantaneous numbness surged through his body.
Reminded of the earlier stray bullet, he tried to look back toward his left. Like the stray bullet last time, this one had also come from the left, but alas, it was futile.
Thud! In just a split moment, the puppet lost its strings. Blood from his collapsed body created a puddle beneath his head.
Adding yet another number to the list of casualties, it was a meaningless death, but at last, a necessary closure that had long been overdue.
***
Elsewhere, across time and space...
"One hundred and ninety.. Seven, huff!!"
"One hundred and ninety.. Eight, huff!!"
Only the sound of counting echoed in a small—almost empty room, as sweat dripped down a boy's brow while he strained through yet another push-up.
He was exhausted!
"One hundred and ninety...9, aaaghhh!"
"Two hundred," he mumbled while collapsing flat onto the floor and panting heavily like a beast. His white hair and clothes were completely drenched in sweat.
'Phew! Finally! Finally! I can do 200 push-ups...' the boy exclaimed before getting up, exposing his milky face.
Normally, his outward appearance wouldn't have been considered remarkable. Sporting black half-pants with a matching white T-shirt, he looked typical for his age.
—that is, if one were to ignore the ghostly white hair and the conspicuous white horns sprouting from either side of his forehead.
Though maybe even pointy horns were considered relatively normal-looking in this world where there's a saying; [anything a man can imagine is a possibility in reality.]
Picking up an apple lying on the table, Crunch!
He took a bite while contemplating his new lease on life.
'It's been more than three years since I started having those strange memories—memories of my previous life. But why can't I remember it whole?'
Oddly enough, despite the flashes of a lost bygone past resurfacing around the time he was just two years old, only a portion had actually returned. This had made his younger self, confused and anxious; forcing him to question his own identity.
Being trapped inside the body of a child with hazy recollections of your previous life and a loss of identity would have horrified just about anyone.
But evidently, as it turned out, he wasn't just anyone.
Even with the loss of a major part of his identity, his past life's arduous trials and experiences had made his mentality very strong. His instinct had told him to wait, which he did.
That patience had been fruitful. Over the past three years, he had gradually remembered more and more.
It was far from a complete recovery, but he had instinctively come to realize that the memories and knowledge he had managed to recall were among the most impactful from his previous life.
Every single one had shaped him as a person.
Among those things that had a impact on his psyche was a manga series called One Piece, being an avid fan, he remembered the series in minute detail.
Call it a strange twist of fate or a stroke of luck; Considering this world, he was in, was that same unbelievable world of One Piece.
While there remained many things he was still unclear about, he felt that those remaining things weren't so important.
The question that lingered in his heart soon resurfaced.
'If what I believe is correct, then why? Even after all this time, why can't I remember their faces? Weren't my parents important to me as well?'
In these few years, he had come to know many things, his understanding seemingly better than even many of the adults he met daily. However, regarding his parents, he was lost.
Thinking about this conundrum made his expression drop, though, being completely honest, he was not completely clueless, for he had arrived at a possibility long ago.
He grit his teeth.
A possibility he hadn't wished to consider.
His gaze fell outside the window, to a dense canopy of trees.
Then, unable to suppress the thought any longer, he voiced it aloud.
"Could it really be because I don't want to remember!!"
His lips shook as he blurted out the words.
Indeed, it seemed his mind was unconsciously suppressing the memories of his parents, likely to protect his own sanity.
He felt dejected at the thought, but the reality of the matter did not change. As much as he wished otherwise, such a thing could very well be plausible.
Nevertheless, moments later, he clenched his small fists, unwittingly squishing the half-eaten apple he was holding.
Although the ache in his heart couldn't go away, he had the determination to move forward.
His thoughts once more became his own.
'Previously, I couldn't live as I wanted. I foolishly died in vain! But not this time... This time will be different. I promise this to you, Dad, Mom.'
With his gaze still fixed outside the window, he made a solemn promise to the parents from his past life.
Thereafter, gradually easing his clenched fist, his emotions became somewhat calm.
. . .
..Creak...*
Just when the boy took a final bite from the apple, the door opened wide and a giant white-haired man, nearly seven feet tall, walked into the room.
"Father."
This was the boy's father; his only family in this life, possessing nearly the same features as his son, though unlike his son, he didn't have any horns. The horns seemed to come from his mother's side.
The man walked up to the boy and patted his head.
"Why are you so formal, Sear? Didn't I tell you to call me dad!"
Initially, Sear seemed a little hesitant. However, despite his reserved personality, particularly lacking in the social interaction department, he still complied with his father.
"Umm... s-sorry, dad."
Although he felt connected to his previous parents, the person in front of him was also his real father. Furthermore, he identified himself more deeply with his present self as Arka Sear, the son of Arka Jacob, than his past self.
"Well, it's nothing to apologize for... So, did you finish your morning workout?"
"Yes! I have. Today was 200 push-ups."
"Great!!" Jacob truly felt proud of his son. After all, not every five-year-old had this level of dedication. "I've caught a big fish from the river. Let's go to the kitchen and cook this."
"Oohh!"
Sear seemed overjoyed upon hearing this, and why wouldn't he be? In this world, the bigger the fish, the more delicious it was when cooked.
Jacob looked at his son and sighed internally.
'This kid, he's always reserved and depressed. He tries to hide it, but how can he hide it from me?... Still, at least he does seem to like the taste of fish.'
With this, the father-son duo proceeded to the kitchen.
[Note- The name "Sear" is a mispronunciation of "Seer"-meaning; a person who can see the future... and "Arka" means -lighting the path]