In the end, I decided to follow the Red Line to the West Blue.
My knowledge of the One Piece world is pretty hazy by now, but Luffy and the others shouldn't have been born yet.
After all, Gold Roger was executed just a little before I became a wanted man.
Ever since I realized this was the One Piece world, I'd been training various things, knowing that at the very least I couldn't avoid rough situations.
I naturally tried haki, which could now be called my trademark, but I couldn't figure it out well. As for the Six Powers, I only managed something resembling Soru.
...Managed?
Anyway, having that kind of confidence in my legs, I sprinted through the Red Line in one go... well, it took a year... but man, the East Blue really was a peaceful sea.
"There he is, it's 'Silent Step Kuro'!"
"A 35 million Berries head! Don't let him escape!"
You guys really know about an East Blue wanted man well.
Being enthusiastic as bounty hunters or serious about your work is fine, but please give me a break.
Wait, my bounty went up again?! Why?!
When I ran through the Red Line, I did beat up some wanted criminals and mountain bandits, but I shouldn't have done anything bad enough to raise my bounty!
"Even if you're a wanted man, if you're going to target my life, you're prepared to lose yours, right?"
Though I should get myself ready before asking others about their resolve.
As expected, the level of bounty hunters in the West Blue is high, and I don't have the luxury of holding back like in the East Blue.
Silent Step...!
"Th-the bastard disappeared aga—"
"Gwaaaaah!!"
"Ah, damn it! The newbie got taken out?!"
For now, I punch away the guy with obviously low skill level as hard as I can to reduce their numbers.
After I beat these guys up and strip them, I'll buy a gun or blade when I resupply in the next town. These aren't enemies I can handle barehanded anymore.
When you think of Captain Kuro, it's the gloves with blades attached to each finger part—the "Cat Claws."
Since I've ended up living as Kuro, I'd like to try using them if possible, but anyway, I need weapons.
Having Kuro's body helped, so I was confident in my legs. I thought I might be able to go with leg techniques like Zeff or Sanji, but no way, no way.
This is impossible without considerable training.
Sanji and Zeff managed it well even while doing cooking training simultaneously.
"Die, bounty hunter."
I can't get good at it like Sanji with that... "WHAM!" feeling.
So as much as possible, I crush their heads against walls or ground, or slam them down to incapacitate them.
This is the most efficient way to neutralize an opponent with minimal effort.
If it goes well, their faces get messed up nicely and I can intimidate the other guys.
"You bastard! What a brutal thing to do!"
"This demon!"
"Devil!"
"Wanted man!"
"Bobby, hang in there! Your nose and face are just a bit crushed, your teeth are broken, and you're covered in blood!"
"Hey you, move your foot off him, he's already unconscious, right?! ...I didn't tell you to trample him more!! The ground's turning bright red!!"
Shit, failure.
In the East Blue, there were quite a few guys who would get scared just from this.
Or maybe this convulsing guy at my feet wasn't the right character to intimidate them.
Tch, these guys are useless even though they came to attack me.
"Hey, that guy just clicked his tongue."
"He's one of the top wanted criminals in that peaceful East Blue for a reason."
"He even spat on Bobby after beating him bloody like that."
Shut up! These past few years, even my eyes have completely become like Kuro's—that's how rough things have gotten!
Beautiful women or cute girls attacking me (in a life-threatening sense) can still somehow be a positive motivation, but being attacked by rough guys like you has nothing enjoyable about it!
"Anyway, you and you there, the young guys."
"O-oh."
"What, kid, begging for your life now?"
"You look like the type who'd hit women. I'm going to thoroughly crush your faces."
""We don't want to hear that from you!!""
"Damn it, even though they're bounty hunters, when I stripped them all they only had stuff worth about 80,000 berries combined."
What a letdown.
Breaking their weapons was definitely a mistake.
They're the most valuable things, but to safely go "crack" and "snap" on faces and legs, destroying weapons quickly is the easiest and safest method.
If the pawn shop owner was ripping me off, I'd kick his jaw to pieces and steal all his money and valuable things from the warehouse, but since he actually bought things at slightly higher than market price, I can't exactly rob him.
...
Tch, you lucked out, shopkeeper.
"Shopkeeper, are there any stores that deal in weapons around here?"
"What's this, boy, traveling at your age? There are no weapon shops in this town. If you want something like kitchen knives or saws, you can buy them at the hardware store a little ways away."
"Ah, I see."
Fighting with kitchen knives or saws is a bit much.
Saws are a bit gruesome, and kitchen knives are, you know... they're for cooking, so if I used them like that, I might get kicked to death by the future Pirate King's cook later.
Don't know if I'll meet him though.
I don't even know what period of the original story this is.
Two years since Gold Roger's execution.
And since my body, supposedly Captain Kuro's, is about 12 or 13...
At least I can only figure out that Luffy probably hasn't been born yet.
"In the first place, weapon sales are regulated by the Five Families—that is, the Mafia. There might be shops dealing with them on some islands, but you shouldn't go near them. You never know what kind of trouble they might cause you."
"Mafia?"
"Ah... boy, where did you come from?"
"From the East Blue by land route."
"Hey now... you're saying you ran through the Red Line? Even if that's true, there would have been tons of mountain bandits."
"Thanks to them, I made good money."
"...Are you a bounty hunter at that age, boy? I see, that's why you want weapons—"
"No, I broke all their legs and collarbones and stripped them bare."
"You're more of a mountain bandit than they are!"
The shopkeeper is surprised with a "gah!", but I never thought I'd end up living this kind of life at this age either!
Especially hunting mountain bandits in the One Piece world.
I've barely used any of the navigation skills and knowledge I studied so hard after realizing I was Kuro...
"But I see, that's why you're strong. Recently I've been hearing stories of strong children like you... along with the Pirate King story, maybe it's a turning point in the era."
"Strong children?"
Even if they don't appear in the story, there are probably lots of strong people, and if they're someone I can reason with, I'd like them as companions.
I don't know how the One Piece story will ultimately turn out, but incidents will probably happen everywhere besides where Luffy goes.
In that case, with a bounty on my head, I can't avoid those waves.
Those damn bastards, I'll remember this.
If I get a chance, I'll assassinate them.
"Yeah, there's a child who single-handedly fought back against a gang of thugs who picked a fight with him... about your age, they say."
Even I have to say, someone about my age really is just a child.
And thugs picking fights...
I knew it, but the public safety in this world is really terrible.
It really shows how much the Straw Hat crew and their surroundings' morals are the cream of the crop.
"Do you have any information about that child?"
"Well, I only heard it was somewhere on an island to the west of here."
West, huh.
I originally came here looking for companions anyway, so that's convenient.
I hope there's someone strong.
"So you're 'Silent Step.'"
I hope there's someone strong.
"In addition to your 37 million berry bounty, there's also a 5 million berry reward for crushing the bounty hunters under the Family's umbrella."
I hope there's someone strong who's open to discussion.
"So you're the rumored kid who fought back against thugs."
"...I don't know about rumors, but probably, yes."
"Your name?"
"Daz Bones."
I hope there's someone strong who's unrelated to the original story and open to discussion.
"The reason my bounty went up slightly is..."
"You crushed a group of 50 bounty hunters under the Family's umbrella. In this West Blue, it's natural for it to go up."
Ooff.
"After eating something strange I found at the site of a recent fight, I've been able to do various... things."
You've become able to do various slice-slice things. I don't want to understand.
"I request a match."
Help me, help me please.