"My stamina is incredible—I'm fast and never get tired. Plus, why does it feel like I've got a split personality now…?"
Reid muttered to himself. He finally understood why, in the world of One Piece, everyone from high-ranking government and Marine officials to the Four Emperors, down to ordinary people, low-level pirates, bandits, and soldiers, often grinned like madmen with exaggerated expressions.
"This must be the culture and rules of the pirate world. Even my body is adapting to it."
Reid didn't realize that even as he spoke to himself internally, his mouth was still stretched into a wide grin.
"Brother Reid, where are you from?"
"Me? Let me think…"
"This guy's really weird. He has to think about where he's from?"
Roger's expression turned slightly odd.
"I'm from the Eastern Tang… no, I mean, I'm from a small village in the East Blue. I don't remember exactly where it was—maybe it was destroyed by pirates… no, wait, bandits. Hahaha. Ouch—!"
While scratching his head and laughing awkwardly, Reid accidentally bumped into a wall.
"Hahaha! Brother Reid, you're from the East Blue too? What an interesting guy. Alright, I'm heading off first!"
Roger's legs spun like wheels as he dashed away.
"Brother Roger, don't leave me behind!"
"Heh." Roger grinned wildly, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the sky ahead.
"Freedom! This feeling of freedom… The Celestial Dragons' government—this time, I will overthrow you!"
Filled with passion, Roger laughed with his eyes closed yet effortlessly dodged every obstacle in his path.
"I need to adapt to this pirate world as soon as possible. Otherwise, even my allies might screw me over. Ugh, so unreliable."
Reid sighed internally.
"Stop right there! Don't even think about escaping!"
Just then, the pursuing Marines caught up again.
Reid glanced back and saw their numbers had doubled. Judging by their uniforms, these were clearly higher-ranked officers.
[Marine Officer – Weapon: Broadsword. Rank: Ensign]
[Marine Officer – Weapon: Broadsword. Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade]
[Marine Officer – Weapon: Longsword. Rank: Lieutenant]
[Marine Officer – Weapon: Broadsword. Rank: Lieutenant Commander]
Reid raised an eyebrow.
"Where did these guys come from? We've been running for so long… Whatever. Just drop already."
With a smirk, Reid unleashed his Haki again, instantly knocking out the chasing Marines.
Now that the pursuers were dealt with, a sudden wave of fear hit him.
"Earlier, I rushed in to save Roger without even testing if the system worked… That was way too risky. Good thing it didn't screw me over."
Reid shouted after Roger, "Brother Roger, where's your ship?"
"Ship? Hahaha! I wasn't planning on living, so why would I have a ship?"
"Then where are we going now?"
Whoosh! Without answering, Roger leaped high into the air.
"Is he heading for that ship by the coast? Why's he jumping so early? Good thing I've got the system now, or I'd be dead in minutes in this world."
Shaking his head, Reid quickly followed.
"What's going on…? Where am I?"
Shanks rubbed his eyes, then paled in shock.
"Why am I in midair?! I'm gonna fall—wait…"
He turned his head and saw Roger's grinning face right next to him.
"Cap… Captain Roger?!"
"Hey~ Shanks, you gotta train harder. If you can't even handle Haki, how are you gonna sail the seas?"
"Oh, got it. Wait—Captain! You're alive?!"
Shanks snapped back to reality, realizing Roger was holding him midair—with Buggy dangling nearby too.
"HAHAHAHA! My luck today is insane. Gotta rub this in Crocus' face when we get back."
As he spoke, Roger landed on a ship.
"Shanks, take the helm. We're heading back to the old spot."
"Captain Roger, you still haven't told me what's going on!"
"Save it for later. Just steer—an Admiral's probably on the way."
"Got it."
Roger pulled out his vivre card, a glint of emotion flashing in his eyes.
"Heh. Hid it well—no one found it."
Just then, Reid landed on the deck.
"Red-Hair, you're awake?"
Reid studied Shanks, who was still just a kid with a somewhat adorable face.
"Even when he grows up, Red-Hair keeps that baby face unless he's pissed."
Shanks, about to take the wheel, paused when he saw Reid.
"Who are you? You called me 'Red-Hair'? Huh, not bad. Maybe my epithet should be 'Red-Hair' Shanks—the great pirate of the seas!"
"HAHAHAHA! Brother Reid, that's a fun nickname for Shanks."
"From the way Reid talks, it's like he knows Shanks too. Weird."
Roger's suspicion flickered briefly before he patted Reid's shoulder, also finding the name "Red-Hair" amusing.
"It suits Shanks well."
"You're called Reid?" Shanks turned to Roger again. "Captain Roger, do you know him?"
"Heh~ Just met this good brother."
Roger pulled Shanks aside and whispered a few words into his ear.
"Ah—"
Shanks shuddered, turning back to look at Reid in disbelief.
Reid watched as the Pirate King, Roger, acted all sneaky and shady, with his other hand still clutching Buggy, and couldn't help but feel exasperated.
"Sneaking around like this… really unreliable."
Reid muttered under his breath.
"HAHAHA!"
Whether or not Roger heard what Reid said, he burst into hearty laughter.
Roger casually tossed Buggy aside—thud—Buggy hit the deck but still didn't wake up.
"Tch, Buggy's really useless."
Shanks smirked, his face full of disdain.
After muttering that, Shanks headed to the helm to steer the ship. As he passed Reid, his eyes shone with hope.
"With Reid joining us, we'll be unstoppable."
Shanks' heart swelled with fighting spirit and confidence.
Roger grinned widely as he approached Reid, slinging an arm over his shoulder.
"Come on, let's head into the cabin."