A/N: Throw away your brain, throw away your worries~
A brand-new book from the author of two completed One Piece fanfics~
You can safely chase updates~
By the way, I'm begging for everything, thanks~
...
Sea Circle Calendar Year 1519.
East Blue, waters outside the Navy's 16th Branch.
"Do you want to live?"
The one asking spoke calmly, as if he were just asking what's for dinner.
The sea around them was eerily silent.
Just moments ago, an entire pirate crew—nearly a hundred men—had been swaggering around, loud and arrogant.
Now, all of them were feeding the fish beneath the waves.
Only their captain—Scimitar—remained.
Soaked to the bone, beaten and battered, he knelt on the deck of the Navy warship, trembling like a leaf.
"Y-Yes! I want to live!"
Scimitar practically screamed it, his voice hoarse and breaking into sobs.
He kept his head low, not daring to even glance at the young Marine standing before him.
It had been too fast.
Everything had happened far too fast.
That Marine Commander—barely in his early twenties—had fought them single-handedly, unarmed...
And wiped out the entire Scimitar Pirates—nearly a hundred people—without leaving a single survivor!
Marine Commander of the 16th Branch, "Blood Hawk"—Rayne Hawke.
Rumor had it that whenever he struck, there was always blood.
Against pirates, he hunted like a hawk diving for prey.
Thus, the nickname: Blood Hawk.
But right now, Scimitar's mind was blank, clinging to only one thought—
I have to live!
"Good."
Hawke spoke softly, the sea breeze tousling the black bangs over his forehead.
"Because I'm… a merciful man, after all."
He tilted his chin slightly toward the officer beside him.
The 16th Branch Lieutenant Commander—Dane—immediately stepped forward and pulled out a document from his pocket.
"According to Article One of the Marine 16th Branch Pirate Management Regulations:
'If pirates voluntarily surrender all ill-gotten wealth accumulated during their crimes,and said wealth is verified, they may be exempt from punishment.'"
"What?"
Scimitar's head shot up.
"Voluntarily surrender it… and I'll be forgiven?!"
"Mm. Exempt from punishment."
Hawke reached out, patted Scimitar's shoulder gently, even brushed a few droplets of seawater off his sleeve.
"Relax. We're Marines."
"Of course we value 'justice' and the rules."
"Go on—speak freely."
"O-Okay, I'll talk! I'll talk!"
"The treasure is hidden in—"
Like a drowning man gasping for air, Scimitar no longer hesitated.
He spilled everything in one breath, terrified of leaving out even a single Belly:
"The total amount is—!"
Treasure could always be stolen again.
Life, however… once lost, was gone forever.
Before long, the Den Den Mushi gave a few buru-buru sounds, and Dane hung up the receiver, turning to salute Hawke.
"Report, Commander!
The hidden treasure has been located."
"All items counted and confirmed. The total matches our intelligence perfectly."
"Commander Hawke…!"
Scimitar's eyes burned with desperate hope.
He stared at Hawke, waiting for the words of pardon to fall from his lips.
"Hah—"
Hawke chuckled faintly.
He took the document from Dane and tapped a finger lightly at the very bottom of the page.
There, in tiny letters barely larger than an ant, was a single line:
"All rights of final interpretation belong to Rayne Hawke."
Hawke looked up, meeting Scimitar's gradually stiffening expression.
His smile remained perfectly "gentle."
"You see, the rules are written quite clearly."
He paused for effect.
"As for how much of your punishment is exempt… and how it's exempted…"
"—That's up to me."
"…"
"You were willing to hand over your wealth. That makes me very happy."
"So I've decided… to spare you from the punishment of living and grant you the quickest death."
Before the words even finished leaving his lips, Hawke raised his fist.
A jet-black sheen of Armament Haki instantly coated it!
"You… you lied to me?!"
Scimitar screamed, his face drained of all color, leaving only raw, naked terror.
"Lied? Pirates who plunder and kill on the seas…you still consider yourselves human?"
"What about Marine 'justice'?! What about the rules?!"
"I believe in one thing the justice of slaughter!"
"Rules? Sorry—my rules… are the rules."
BOOM—!
The blackened fist crashed down.
The air itself seemed to roar under the impact.
Scimitar's body was flung like a ragdoll, slamming into the deck with a sickening thud.He didn't move again.
[Ding! Eliminated all members of the 'Scimitar Pirates.' Justice Points +500.]
"Huuuh—"
Hawke lit a cigarette and took a long drag.
"Dane. Same old procedure."
"Seventy percent of the loot goes back to the people, twenty percent gets split among the navy, and the last ten percent… put it on my tab."
"Yes, Commander!"
Lieutenant Commander Dane saluted sharply, posture textbook-perfect.
Behind him, the Marines instinctively straightened their backs as well, their gazes on Hawke filled with unreserved trust and admiration.
This distribution method… the soldiers of the 16th Branch had long grown accustomed to it.
It was also one of the key reasons why, despite corruption festering in the higher ranks, the branch's frontline combat strength remained so formidable.
As for their highest-ranking officer—the notorious Captain Nezumi?
Marine 16th Branch Base Commander—Captain Nezumi.
That greedy rat cared for nothing but Belly.
Not only did he clutch the headquarters' allocated funds with a death grip, he exploited his position to line his own pockets endlessly.
He couldn't care less about the branch's growth or affairs, content to leave command to the one who clawed his way up from the very bottom—
Commander Rayne Hawke.
But the soldiers weren't fools.
They knew exactly who treated them as cannon fodder… and who fought alongside them, leading the charge against pirates.
Captain Nezumi always hid behind them, yelling, "Forward, damn it!"
Commander Hawke was the one always shouting,
"Follow me!"
By regulation, this entire haul was supposed to be handed to the branch for redistribution.
But everyone knew once money entered Nezumi's pockets, not a single Belly would ever come back out.
However…
If the Commander didn't take a share, how could any of them dare to take theirs?
So Hawke claimed ten percent, and the rest split the remaining twenty without guilt.
...
Ignoring the admiring gazes around him, Hawke stood silently on the deck, his eyes drifting over the endless horizon.
His thoughts wandered back—six months ago.
Six months since he transmigrated into the world of One Piece.
When he woke, he was already wearing a Marine uniform, just a lowly third-class seaman of the 16th Branch.
And along with his awakening came—[Justice System].
[Host may obtain Justice Points by eliminating evil and enforcing justice.]
[If the host fails to execute justice, the system will initiate 'Justice Enforcement' on the host.]
[Remaining lifespan: 1 day.]
???
What the hell?
Justice enforcement… on me?
In this world of chaos and lawlessness, either evil dies… or I do?
Heh…
Well then, I guess there was no other choice.
I never wanted to turn into a killing machine.
But if you don't die…
Then I will?!
It didn't take long for him to fully understand the system's rules.
Justice Points were tied directly to the target's bounty and their crimes.
For example, Scimitar—the pirate he just killed had a bounty of 5 million Belly.
Eliminating him granted exactly 500 Justice Points.
Justice Points served two main purposes:
First, they directly enhanced his own strength— Observation Haki, Armament Haki, physique, martial skills, and Conqueror's Haki.
Each stat was divided into five tiers:
Basic (Marine Headquarters Captain),
Intermediate (Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral),
Advanced (Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral),
Top-Tier (Marine Headquarters Admiral), and Peak (World-Class).
The first four stats required the following points for advancement:
Basic: 100,
Intermediate: 1,000,
Advanced: 10,000,
Top-Tier: 100,000,
Peak: 1,000,000.
Conqueror's Haki, however, required ten times more points than any other stat.
Even the first tier demanded 1,000 points, and so on.
Second, Justice Points could be used to purchase additional lifespan delaying the system's "Justice Enforcement" countdown.
For up to ten years,
1 Justice Point = 1 day of life.
Beyond ten years, 10 Justice Points = 1 day.
With that thought, Hawke glanced at his system panel.
[Current remaining Justice Points: 1025 points.]
[Remaining survival days: 3649 days.]
Hmm?
I forgot to increase my survival days today.
Hawke silently muttered in his heart: "Redeem one day."
[Ding, 1 Justice Point deducted, 1 survival day added.]
[Remaining Justice Points: 1024 points.]
[Remaining survival days: 3650 days.]
Exactly ten years. Perfect!
A slight smirk curved Hawke's lips.
Why not keep adding more?
Because once it exceeds ten years, adding even a single day costs 10 Justice Points!
But… Justice Points can be stockpiled infinitely.
So...
All I need to do is keep accumulating Justice Points like crazy, stay capped right at the ten-year mark, and add them little by little.
What's that?
System, are you accusing me of being dishonorable? Exploiting a bug?
You can enforce justice and raise the price…
But I'm just using my brains, maximizing the rules to their limit. Perfectly reasonable~
Besides, even if I add over a thousand days, it'd still only be a little over 4000 days.
A lot?
Not at all!
That's barely just over ten years!
Not safe enough.
Far from safe enough!!!
Not until the number behind my Justice Points turns into 9999999999...
Until then, I, Rayne Hawke, and crime… are sworn enemies!
"Hah—"
The sea breeze brushed against Hawke's face, carrying the salty tang of the ocean.
Out there, everyone calls him "Blood Hawk," "Marine Butcher," "Pirate Exterminator"...
But who would know, deep down, he's just desperately trying to live…
Do you all really think… I enjoy killing?
"Commander."
At that moment, Dane's voice rang out, laced with obvious excitement.
"The location where Nezumi's been hiding his treasure—our brothers have found it."
He hurried forward, handing over a hastily scribbled but astonishingly massive list.
"We just did a preliminary count. The amount is enormous…"
"Almost certain it's everything he's hoarded since taking office, extorted through every possible means!"
"Oh…?"
Hawke took the list, a cold curve forming at the corner of his lips.
"Good."
Within the entire Marine 16th Branch, aside from Nezumi's few die-hard loyalists, nearly everyone else—whether openly or secretly—was already under his control.
The only reason he hadn't moved against Nezumi until now… was because of this massive stash of dirty money.
This was blood and sweat squeezed from countless civilians across the East Blue. He couldn't allow Nezumi the chance to destroy it.
Now that the money had been found—and was safely under their control—
Then...
"That dead Nezumi. Where is he?"
"He's at Cocoyasi Village, making a deal with Arlong."
"Move out. It's time to sweep up all this garbage in one clean strike."
"Yes, sir!"