Many years later, when Luffy reached Laugh Tale and became the Pirate King, he would recall that distant afternoon in the Windmill Village tavern—when Higuma placed the straw hat on his head.
That afternoon, the legendary Mountain Bandit King Higuma placed his old friend Roger's straw hat on Luffy's head.
That one gesture changed the course of a boy's life.
This was where the dream began.
The starting point of a Pirate King, where a dream set sail.
...
"No—hold on. What the hell is this?!"
Higuma forcefully shoved the image out of his head.
Damn it. He must've drunk too much and gotten way too into character.
He'd only meant to keep Luffy from going down the wrong path… so what was this?
Was he about to replace Shanks in Luffy's memories?
Higuma gave a couple dry laughs, awkward as hell.
"Sorry, Shanks. That's your hat. I got carried away."
But when the words left his mouth, the sound came out low and powerful—pure KING "vibe."
It didn't come off like an embarrassed apology at all.
It came off like a grave declaration.
"N—No… so Mr. Higuma believes in Luffy too…"
Shanks smiled and tossed out a compliment, dissolving the heaviness in an instant.
"Of course."
Higuma nodded, a little guilty.
"He's Garp's grandson. Who knows—maybe one day he'll shake this era upside down, just like Roger."
Higuma said Garp's name again.
At this point, Beckman and the others weren't even surprised.
He knew Shanks, knew the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and could talk with perfect confidence about the even earlier Rocks era.
A senior like that knowing Marine hero Garp wasn't hard to imagine.
Still… the image of Higuma placing the straw hat on Luffy's head wouldn't leave Beckman's mind.
"This Senpai… he really can't be underestimated. He has a kind of presence you almost never see."
As Beckman reflected, those words Higuma had said seemed to echo in his ears.
A person's dream never ends.
Every man with a dream should run toward the sea.
Someone who could say things like that—how could he be a mere mountain bandit?
Beckman narrowed his eyes.
He'd assumed earlier that Higuma's talk—taking down fifty-six Sea Emperors—was just drunken bullshit.
But now…
"Maybe he exaggerated some of it, but Mr. Higuma… he's probably truly defeated plenty of major pirates with his own hands."
Beckman was very familiar with how the World Government operated.
A famous pirate gets beaten in battle, the Marines swoop in afterward, claim credit—that kind of thing happened all the time.
"Red The Aloof, Devil's Heir… those notorious pirates were probably defeated by Mr. Higuma, then the World Government took the credit and sent them to Impel Down."
"Mr. Higuma's a retired senior. His bounty's only eight million, so he doesn't care about hollow fame. That's why he never bragged about those achievements… until now, when he ran into old friend Roger's crewmate—our captain."
The more Beckman thought about it, the more something tightened in his chest.
He held his drink and stared blankly at Higuma, who was drinking with Shanks at the bar.
Higuma was tall, but a little lean.
And yet it was those lean shoulders that had carried the world.
In the old days, he'd quietly maintained order from the shadows, silently eliminating infamous pirates one after another.
If Gol D. Roger had opened the Great Age of Pirates…
Then the man in front of him—Higuma—had guarded the order of that age.
"A man like that… and he stayed unknown all this time!"
Looking at Higuma's slender back, they could almost see a solitary wanderer—someone aloof and alone, carrying the weight of the entire world as he walked forward.
He had no companions.
He maintained the world's order from behind the curtain, yet no one knew.
He was the world's watchman.
…
Several hours later, night had fallen, and the bandits' and pirates' drinking finally ended.
In the darkness, Higuma walked out of the tavern alone and stood facing the sea breeze.
He'd transmigrated only hours ago and already ran into Shanks—plus those "excellent" bandit subordinates who kept throwing him assists.
The last few hours had been insanely intense.
"Finally… I bluffed my way through it…"
Only now did Higuma truly let out a breath.
With a thought, a translucent panel unfolded in front of him.
Character Card: KING
Compatibility: 31%
Rarity: S-Class
Source: One-Punch Man
Ability: Emperor Engine — a powerful heartbeat sound known as the Emperor Engine, which strongly triggers other people's wild imagination.
Compared to the earlier panel, there was now an extra line: compatibility.
"Thirty-one percent already? That was fast. Of course it was."
Higuma felt a spark of happiness.
"Looks like how I performed in front of the Red Hair Pirates matched KING pretty well."
According to the system, there were two ways to raise compatibility.
First: keep playing KING—mimic his speech, posture, and mannerisms.
Second: practice the card's special ability—namely, the Emperor Engine.
Either route would increase his compatibility with KING.
"The Emperor Engine is basically… a heartbeat sound."
"So if I want to raise compatibility fast, I need to do things that… make my heart race?"
"Wait. I have a bold idea."
The moment the thought formed, a warning popped up on the system panel.
Clearly, the system banned that.
"So that's not allowed either…"
"Then what—am I supposed to go find big shots in the pirate world and act my ass off in front of them to practice the Emperor Engine?"
"No. That's way too dangerous."
Higuma rejected it instantly.
He was just an ordinary person.
And even the original Higuma—the bandit with an eight-million bounty—was only a bit stronger than a normal guy.
Even in the weakest sea, the East Blue, Higuma's strength would probably rank third- or fourth-rate at best.
"In this dangerous pirate world, if I want to get stronger fast, I still have to rely on the system."
"After all, once compatibility hits 100%, I'll gain a powerhouse's full combat strength."
Thinking about that, Higuma started smiling to himself.
Then he remembered the only card he had was KING, and his smile slowly died.
KING's full combat strength?
Emperor Engine at full output?
What the hell was that even going to do?
(End of Chapter)
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