A sealed-off training field.
Dozens of children ran in circles around the edge of the grounds. Their ages varied, some were as young as three or four, while others looked to be thirteen or fourteen.
Among them was Ryuuzaki, a soul reincarnated from Earth, now tragically reduced to being just one more face in the crowd.
Ryuuzaki was six years old. He'd been born to an ordinary family in the world of pirates.
Unfortunately, both his parents had died of illness. Then pirates raided his village. He was passed through the hands of traffickers before finally being sold off to an intelligence division run by the World Government.
Ryuuzaki was absolutely certain he had been purchased by an intel agency, because he recognized some familiar faces.
Among the group of children, two stood out to him.
One was a young Kaku, easily identified by his iconic long nose.
The other was a little blonde girl, Kalifa. Ryuuzaki, being the shameless type, was confident he could never mistake her for anyone else.
These two... they would both grow up to be members of CP9.
"Another one down, huh?"
Nearby, a small boy collapsed from exhaustion.
A tall man in a black suit walked over and said coldly,
"You have five seconds. Get up."
But the boy had already passed out. He didn't respond.
"Shigan."
A finger pierced the boy's neck, leaving a bloody hole.
He twitched a few times, and then lay still, lifeless.
This... was the intelligence agency. Cold-blooded. Merciless.
Recruiting intelligence agents was nothing like recruiting soldiers. Soldiers who failed could simply leave.
But for spies, whose work was deeply classified, there was no such luxury. Entry was a one-way road.
In the world of pirates, there were no fancy aptitude stones or diagnostic tools.
For intel recruiters, the method of screening potential candidates was brutally simple:
Run.
Run without end.
Only those with immense stamina or unbreakable will would survive.
From day one, Ryuuzaki experienced firsthand what "ruthless" truly meant.
Those in charge of selection would kill the children who collapsed, right in front of everyone.
After three days, more than half of the hundred-plus kids had been eliminated.
The remaining children continued running in silence, as if they had already accepted this new rhythm of life.
Live… or die.
The rules were that simple.
Gone were the days of innocence and play. What remained now was only the brutal reality, and the raw instinct to survive.
Ryuuzaki didn't want to die. His breathing was growing shallow. Waves of dizziness crashed over him. But he clenched his teeth and pushed through.
He kept his gaze fixed on Kalifa, staying tightly on her heels.
He knew that mere will to survive wasn't enough to stay alive.
He needed something more to drive him. Something extra. And for Ryuuzaki, that "something"… was Kalifa's swaying little backside as she ran.
Hatred, greed, lust, fury,
Anything would do.
If he didn't have it, he'd create it.
But even so, he felt like he was reaching his limit.
His talent was truly garbage-tier.
Through the [Talent Reset System] that came with his transmigration, Ryuuzaki could see everyone's attribute stats and talents.
Among all the children, Kaku had the highest physical stats:
Talent: Basic Stamina (92)
Talent: Basic Strength (93)
Kalifa wasn't far behind:
Talent: Basic Stamina (76)
Talent: Basic Strength (64)
But Ryuuzaki's own stats?
Talent: Basic Strength (3)
Talent: Basic Stamina (5)
Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.
He was the weakest of the lot, with talent scores several times lower than the others.
While everyone else had double-digit stats, his were single digits.
Even if he used his system to reallocate his talent points, say, move all 3 points from strength to stamina, he'd only end up with 8. Still pathetic.
Thud!
Ryuuzaki collapsed to the ground.
"Another one down... hmm? Still squirming? I'll give you ten seconds. Get up."
The suited man approached without emotion.
"Damn it! My legs... won't move...!"
Ryuuzaki's mind was still clear, but his body refused to obey. He trembled all over, his limbs quivering from sheer exhaustion.
Desperately, he crawled across the ground.
He didn't want to die. He really didn't.
He'd reincarnated into the world of One Piece. He hadn't even flirted with a girl yet, how could he die now?
He clawed at the dirt with trembling fingers.
And then, something surfaced in his mind. A phrase he'd seen floating around the internet back on Earth:
"You can skip being Pirate King. You can ignore Boa Hancock. But Momo must die."
That's right!
Just thinking of that little bastard Momonosuke made Ryuuzaki's blood boil.
Momonosuke... must die!
Fueled by that single thought, he pushed himself back to his feet.
A flicker of murderous rage glinted in his eyes.
"Oh? That look in your eyes… Not bad."
The man in the black suit nodded in satisfaction. He always respected those who could get back up after falling.
He pulled out a clipboard, on it were the names and photos of the children in this selection batch.
Many were already crossed out in red ink, signifying elimination, execution.
Those not crossed out were the ones still alive.
"So… Ryuuzaki, huh?"
He folded the file behind his back and made a mental note to keep an eye on this one.
Especially because of that earlier glare. The way Ryuuzaki looked like he genuinely wanted to kill someone…
That was perfect.
What the World Government needed were cold-blooded tools. Unfeeling executioners.
By the time the sun began to set, the day's running had finally come to an end.
No one knew what tomorrow would bring. But for now, at least, they could rest.
The children collapsed to the ground, some gasping for air, others slipping quietly into sleep.
As for Ryuuzaki, he was still pissed off. He picked up a pebble and hurled it at a tree in the distance.
Thunk!
"Ow, !"
A scream rang out. Apparently, he'd hit some poor sucker.
[Congratulations, Host. Shooting Talent Unlocked.]
"Huh?"
A robotic female voice echoed in his mind. Ryuuzaki froze, then immediately pulled up his status panel.
Sure enough, two new talents had appeared.
Talent: Basic Marksmanship (8)
Talent: Throwing (4)
He blinked in confusion. Until now, he thought only strength and stamina were part of the talent system. Who knew there were others?
"Hey! Kid! Did you just throw that at me?!"
A tall boy, at least a head taller than Ryuuzaki, stormed over, glaring with rage.
"Uhh… sorry. I didn't mean to."
"Didn't mean to? So you're saying you meant to?!"
Before Ryuuzaki could react, the boy swung his fist.
Ryuuzaki blinked, and then he snapped.
You son of a bitch!
What kind of broken logic is that?! Are you stupid?!
Fine, you wanna fight? Let's fight. Bring it on!
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Support me by adding this fic into your library!
200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter