A dozen plates of barbecued meat had instantly stretched Charlotte's stomach to its limits, but in no time, it was all digested like it had never been there. Steam rose from his body in shimmering waves of white heat.
Ivan, who had been dutifully reporting on the latest gang matters, froze mid-sentence. His voice trailed off unconsciously, stunned by the sheer absurdity of what he was witnessing. The truth was, Charlotte hadn't been listening at all. He couldn't have cared less about the Wild Wolf Gang—an organization that, to him, wasn't even worth mentioning. Ivan's only value was in serving Charlotte's personal needs more efficiently.
The maids came and went, refilling dishes until Charlotte finally felt full—satiated and surging with strength. He leapt off his chair in a casual motion, but the jump sent him soaring more than ten meters into the air. Landing with speed, he delivered a full-force punch to a massive tree, its trunk thick enough for six men to surround it.
Boom!
With a thunderous crack, the tree—easily over ten meters tall—split cleanly in half.
"Ahhh!" gasped the maids nearby, their faces going pale as they realized the direction the tree was falling in. Just as panic began to rise, Charlotte stepped in again. With a well-placed kick, he launched the collapsing tree sideways, sending it hurtling over ten meters away before it crashed down in a burst of dirt and leaves.
Dust hung in the air.
Charlotte stared at the tree's remains, uncertain just how to gauge his current level of power in the One Piece world. After all, the series didn't include a formal power ranking system. Back in his previous life, netizens on the old Water Forum had proposed a fan-made tier list:
Miscellaneous Grunts (basic strength) → Colonel (some techniques) → Brigadier General (proficient in two or more of the Rokushiki techniques) → Major General (mastery of four or more Rokushiki and one type of Haki) → Vice Admiral (mastery of full-body Armament Haki and at least two types) → Quasi-Admiral ≈ Shichibukai < Emperor's Deputies → Admirals → Four Emperors.
It was a fun reference, but not reliable. After all, Vice Admiral Garp was a monstrous outlier, while Shichibukai like Gecko Moria felt laughably weak compared to the likes of Dracule Mihawk, who could stand toe-to-toe with a Yonko.
Still, it gave Charlotte a rough framework to estimate his growth.
Two more years passed.
Charlotte had long since moved beyond the mountains. He now trained by the sea.
After learning to swim, he began practicing swordsmanship in the water. He'd read in many novels that training underwater increased resistance and focus. Though he wasn't a swordsmanship expert, he had watched how Roronoa Zoro trained—especially his belief that a sword could one day cut through anything.
With that same belief rooted in his heart, Charlotte practiced tirelessly every day, slashing at the sea, the coast, and even underwater. He repeated the same motion day after day, hoping to reach the state of absolute cut.
"Hahhh…"
Climbing ashore after one such session, Charlotte winced from the soreness and pressure building within his body. It left him tense, irritable, and restless. He couldn't calm down no matter how hard he tried.
It had been four years since he arrived in this world. Now fourteen, his body had reached the peak of what seemed possible for his age, and progress was slowing. This frustrated Charlotte. With the slowing of physical growth, he focused more on his sword. After a full year of practice, he believed he had reached the strength Zoro had when first setting out to sea—but still, he hadn't achieved the feeling of cutting through anything.
When his sword struck stone, all it left was a shallow gouge.
No matter how much he trained, the feeling of overwhelming power remained elusive.
"Boss! This is the batch of swords you requested!" Ivan called out, rushing to meet Charlotte with a towel and a crate full of weapons.
Charlotte took the towel and wiped the sweat off his face before inspecting the swords.
He needed dozens of blades at a time. His relentless training snapped them within days. Ivan's job now included sourcing and delivering these weapons, along with providing updates about the town and copies of the latest newspapers.
"Anything noteworthy happening lately?" Charlotte asked as he took a newspaper from Ivan's hands.
He hadn't even fully opened the paper when his eyes froze.
The Rocks Pirates had destroyed a kingdom.
The bounty list below shook Charlotte:
Rocks D. Xebec – Captain of the Rocks Pirates. Bounty: 13 billion Berries. Crimes: Mass murder, global terrorism, threat to world order.
Edward Newgate (Whitebeard) – First Division Commander. Bounty: 4 billion Berries. Possesses the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Shiki the Golden Lion – Second Division Commander. Bounty: 3.9 billion Berries. Possesses the Float-Float Fruit.
Charlotte Linlin – Third Division Commander. Bounty: 3.8 billion Berries. Possesses the Soul-Soul Fruit.
Captain John – Fourth Division. Bounty: 3 billion Berries.
Wang Zhi – Fifth Division. Bounty: 2.5 billion Berries.
Silver Axe – Sixth Division. Bounty: 2 billion Berries.
Kurosu Musha – Seventh Division. Possesses the Copy-Copy Fruit. Bounty: 1.5 billion Berries.
Vice-Captain Kurosu Tanmaru – Shield-Barrier Fruit. Bounty: 1 billion Berries.
Kaido (intern) – 300 million Berries. Capture Alive Only.
All names that had once belonged to mere anime legends were now terrifyingly real.
"Boss… pirates have exploded in number over the past year, and it's all because of the Rocks Pirates," Ivan said, his voice tight with concern. "They're tearing through the second half of the Grand Line—burning, pillaging, destroying kingdoms, attacking World Government allies and even Navy bases. They're centered around Hachinosu Island. Even the Navy can't stop them. It won't be long before they reach us."
Charlotte knew Ivan wasn't wrong. Their island sat smack in the middle of the New World. While the G-8 Naval Branch was nearby, there was no guarantee of safety.
"Don't worry too much," Charlotte said casually, returning the paper. "There's a Navy base nearby. No pirate's dumb enough to cause trouble here. If anything changes, come find me."
He waved Ivan off and turned away.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Sudden explosions echoed through the air.
"What was that?!"
Charlotte whipped his head toward the direction of the blast. Thick smoke was rising from the direction of the port.
His gut twisted.
Both Charlotte and Ivan came to the same realization at the same time.
"Let's go—now!" Charlotte shouted.
He dashed toward the source of the explosion. As he ran, he activated his Observation Haki. Instantly, a mental 3D map of the surrounding area formed in his mind.
His heart sank.
"Damn it—it's pirates!"
Through his Observation Haki, Charlotte clearly saw three pirate ships docked in the harbor.
Trouble had finally arrived.