"Scatter the beast bones! The spire, the red crystal, the wheels of steel. The wind is that which moves; the heavens are that which is still. Let the clash of spears echo through the empty city!"
"Hadō #63..."
"Raikōhō!"
'Zzzzt!'
'BOOM!!'
Spirit Power was rapidly drained from his body. Terrifying bolts of lightning converged in the palm of his hand, compressing tighter and tighter. In the next instant, a pillar of thunderous light erupted, blasting forward with an unstoppable force. Everything in its path was reduced to dust.
A moment later, as the lightning dissipated, the view ahead cleared completely; the dense forest that had once stood there was gone. From an aerial view, the small island looked as if someone had combed a precise part right down the middle. Residual sparks of lightning continued to flicker along the path, silent witnesses to the devastation.
The man responsible for the carnage, however, wore a look of dissatisfaction.
"I can use Hadō over sixty now, and the power is certainly impressive, but if I can't ditch the incantation, it's practically useless in a real fight."
"I mean, who's going to stand there and listen to you chant for ten seconds?"
"Besides, among the sixty-series Hadō, nothing else is really that great except for Raikōhō."
"Sigh, my Kidō level is still too low!"
"Then again, the sixty-series Bakudō spells are quite decent—especially Number Sixty-One, Rikujōkōrō."
"Whatever, I'll stop overthinking it. It's getting late; time to head back."
"System, multiply today's gains for Kidō training experience!"
[Ding! Multiplication now, please wait...]
[Ding! Settlement complete. Today's multiplier is 28. Host has gained 56 Kidō experience points.]
"Open my status panel."
[Ding! Personal attribute panel opened.]
[Sean Campbell]
[Zanjutsu: Lv.7 (1228/30000)]
[Hakuda: Lv.6 (0/10000)]
[Hohō: Lv.6 (0/10000)]
[Kidō: Lv.6 (116/10000)]
[Spirit Power: 19550]
[Physique: 3715]
[Zanpakutō: Hekireki (Shikai achieved)]
In terms of raw physique, Sean was actually still inferior to Lucci. According to the system's calculations, "Physique" was equal to one's base Doriki. Lucci's Doriki was already sprinting toward 5,000. This was due to his Zoan-type Devil Fruit, which provided a massive boost to his physical body even when not actively transformed.
However, physique didn't represent total combat strength; it was merely the foundation. Devil Fruits, martial arts, swordsmanship, and Haki all served as multipliers to that base value.
Of course, that was the system of One Piece. For Sean, Spirit Power, Reiatsu, and the four basic skills of a Shinigami provided similar—and far more potent—amplifications.
Therefore, while Sean's base Doriki seemed low, his actual combat effectiveness when utilizing all his abilities was significantly higher than Lucci's. If he had to be ranked, he was already very close to the level of Admiral candidates—specifically the level of Tokikake and Gion.
Well, he meant the Tokikake and Gion from the original story. As for the current Gion, she was likely already much stronger than Tokikake; otherwise, those two swords of hers would be a waste.
Speaking of which, he wondered how Gion's recent mission was going. It had been over half a year, and he'd heard she still hadn't returned to Headquarters.
'''
Under the cover of night, Sean used his Spirit Power to walk through the air, traveling over thirty nautical miles before returning to the 16th Branch.
The destructive power of his techniques was too great to train within the base. Even if secrecy wasn't an issue, the collateral damage would be unacceptable. Consequently, whenever Sean wanted to practice Kidō, he would seek out a deserted island.
"Rear Admiral!" the guard at his office door immediately saluted.
"Good work," Sean replied.
"Thank you, sir! While you were away, Head Chef Makino stopped by several times. The most recent visit was ten minutes ago."
"Did something happen?"
"I'm not sure, sir. She didn't say, but she seemed very anxious!"
"I see. I'll go check the Marine cafeteria."
Sean nodded and departed.
At this hour, the cafeteria was still open. The branch was manned twenty-four hours a day, and the cafeteria had to provide late-night meals for the night watch. While the assistant cooks worked in shifts, Makino, as the head chef, wasn't required to do the heavy lifting.
But if the guard said Makino was anxious and had come looking for him repeatedly, she was most likely still there.
Minutes later, Sean entered the cafeteria and saw two assistant cooks busy preparing midnight snacks. When Lucci had rescued five women from that village, Sophia had entered the training camp, while the other four were assigned to the cafeteria as cooks. These two were among them.
There, sitting at a table with a worried expression, was Makino.
"Makino."
"Ah, Sean! You're back?"
"Yeah. What's wrong?"
"It's just..."
Three minutes later, Sean let out a soft sigh.
He finally understood where Makino's anxiety was coming from.
'Luffy, oh Luffy... can't you just be a little easier on people?'
For the sake of his foolish dream, he made everyone around him live in fear. Was his so-called "freedom" merely freedom built upon the distress of others?
According to Makino, Mayor Slap of Foosha Village had called today. He said that Luffy had secretly built a small wooden raft and set sail to become a pirate, claiming he couldn't wait until he was seventeen.
Slap had described the "raft" to Makino... and it sounded like the kind of thing that would flip over if a single wave hit it.
The fact that Luffy even thought this was a viable way to set sail was staggering. If the boy didn't have the luck of a protagonist, he wouldn't have survived a single episode.
That was one reason for Makino's worry.
The other reason was that after spending half a year at the 16th Branch and accompanying Sean to sea a few times, Makino was no longer the simple village girl she once was.
She knew very well that even the raw recruits who had just graduated from the academy weren't significantly weaker than Luffy. After all, Luffy was only fifteen, whereas every graduate of the branch had a Doriki of over 300 and could use at least one Rokushiki technique.
That wasn't something the current Luffy could easily overcome.
Furthermore, with Sean and a group of powerful field-grade officers stationed in the East Blue, Luffy setting sail as a pirate was practically a suicide mission.
Luffy was, after all, a boy she had helped raise; it would be a miracle if she weren't worried about him.
"Tell you what, I'll send Ace tomorrow. Before Luffy does something irreversible, we'll get him captured first."
"Then we'll send him to Headquarters and leave him for old man Garp to handle."
Looking at the pleading expression on Makino's face, Sean's heart softened slightly. However, as for taking the boy under his own wing for discipline, Sean had no interest in that.
After all, the kid was naturally too selfish. Aside from his so-called freedom and the companions he wanted to sail with, he didn't care about anything else. He never stopped to consider whether his actions would bring trouble to his friends and family or drag others down with him.
Since that was the case, he would leave the boy's fate to Garp. If the old man still remembered the advice Sean had given him, things would be fine. But if he had forgotten, or if he remembered but simply couldn't bring himself to be harsh...
Then there was nothing more to be done. Sean had already done everything he could.
"Thank you, Sean!" Makino said gratefully.
She knew full well that Sean was utterly ruthless toward pirates. The only reason he had given Ace and Luffy a chance in the past was that the two of them hadn't become pirates yet.
But the situation was different now. Luffy had already become a pirate.
The fact that Sean was willing to let Ace go capture Luffy meant that he wouldn't order a lethal strike. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Ace; he would have sent other field-grade officers. As for sending him to Headquarters for Garp to decide, regardless of the final outcome, Luffy's life likely wouldn't be in danger.
Of course, Makino understood that this was the absolute limit of what Sean was willing to do. She wouldn't ask for anything more.
'''
The next day.
Sean allocated a medium-sized warship to Ace and arranged for two squads to accompany him. This marked Ace's first true military expedition since arriving at the 16th Branch.
He had fantasized about such a scene countless times and had long looked forward to it. But now, he couldn't bring himself to smile.
Because the mission Sean had given him was... to capture Monkey D. Luffy!
'My foolish little brother...'
On the forward deck of the warship, Ace closed his eyes and whispered to himself.
"Captain, preparations for departure are complete!"
"Set sail!"
"Yes, sir!"
'''
East Blue, Syrup Village.
"Captain, look! There's a barrel floating over there!"
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and fish it out! There might be treasure inside!"
"Wait, really?"
"Anything can happen on the high seas! Usopp Pirates, move out!"
"Right!!"
On the shore, three children under the age of ten followed a youth of about fifteen or sixteen, sprinting toward the barrel. By then, the barrel had already washed up onto the beach.
"Captain, we don't have any tools!"
"Don't worry, leave it to me!"
As if by magic, Usopp suddenly produced a hammer from somewhere. He raised it high above his head, preparing to smash the barrel open!
But at that exact moment, the barrel exploded. Another youth suddenly stood up from within, raising his fists and stretching. As luck would have it, one of his fists slammed directly into Usopp's jaw, sending him flying backward.
"Shi-shi-shi-shi! I'm finally saved!"
"Come to think of it, did my left hand touch something just now?"
Stopping his laughter, Luffy tilted his head in serious thought. Failing to reach a conclusion, he looked up at the three young children beside him.
By then, the three of them were shaking with fear, huddled together in a tight group. After a long moment, the boy with the onion-shaped hair extended a trembling small hand and pointed in a certain direction.
Only then did Luffy notice that about seven or eight meters away, a boy around his own age was lying on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Who did this? Dammit, to hurt someone this badly!"
The onion-haired boy and the other two were completely stunned.
'That person... wasn't it you?'
'''
Three days later.
Although Usopp still had bandages wrapped around his face, he was now arm-in-arm with Luffy, grilling fish on the beach with the three children.
"So, Usopp, do you want to go to sea with me and be a pirate?"
"It should be you joining my Usopp Pirates! Don't worry, I'll give you the position of vice-captain!"
They had had this conversation countless times over the last three days; the three children were sick of hearing it. Ignoring the renewed argument, the children continued eating their grilled fish.
"Usopp, there's something I've been wanting to ask. Your father is Yasopp, right?"
"Wait, wait! You know my father?"
"I knew it! I told you your nose looked familiar!"
"You jerk, do you identify people by their noses?"
"Alright, alright. I met Yasopp many years ago. He's with Shanks now. They came to Foosha Village together back then; we're friends!"
"What?! One of the Four Emperor Shanks?!" Usopp's eyes widened!
While Usopp was a bit of a goof, he had far more common sense than Luffy and occasionally read the newspapers. He knew exactly who Shanks was.
"The Four Emperors, huh? I think so. That guy Sean mentioned before that Shanks is one of the Four Emperors of the New World."
"What? Sean? The one from the Marine 16th Branch?"
"Yeah!"
Recently, the newspapers had been dominated by reports on Sean and the 16th Branch. Although Usopp couldn't afford his own papers, he had read plenty of news from copies he got from others.
But what was the deal with this Luffy guy? He was friends with Shanks, and he had connections to Sean?
"I say, Luffy... are you bragging too much? One minute you're friends with Four Emperor Shanks, and the next you say you know Sean?"
"I'm not bragging! My grandpa wanted me to be a Marine, so he had Sean come to Foosha Village to drag me and Ace back to the 16th Branch, and then..."
"And then?"
"Anyway, in the end, I stayed firm in my dream of becoming the Pirate King, so Sean let me go."
Luffy thought about it for a moment and ultimately decided not to mention the dark days he had spent at the 16th Branch.
Meanwhile, Usopp began to scoff internally.
'The more I hear, the more ridiculous this gets.'
'Sean made a special trip to Foosha Village just to bring you back to the 16th Branch? Who do you think your grandpa is?'
'And even if you told Sean to his face that you wanted to be the Pirate King, he would just let you go? Sean is famously bloody when dealing with pirates!!'
'Wait...'
'Grandpa?'
"Luffy, you said your name was... Monkey D. Luffy, right?"
"That's right!"
"Then your grandpa is..."
"My grandpa is Garp. I think he's a Marine Vice Admiral!"
'...Damn.'
Suddenly, Usopp felt like his world had shifted.
Grandpa Garp? And friends with Four Emperor Shanks?
This network of connections was just too much...
However... with Garp's influence, it made sense why Sean would let him go even if he screamed about becoming the Pirate King.
So that was how it was.
Usopp had been worried about how he would get past Sean when the time finally came to set sail.
And now... a perfect solution was right in front of him!
"Captain!"
"Please, you must take me in! I want to be a member of the Straw Hat Pirates!"
This was a golden opportunity—if he didn't latch onto this powerhouse now, when would he?
'''
The next day.
Thanks to Usopp's master-level artistry, the Straw Hat Pirates' flag was finally complete. Luffy was beyond satisfied.
However, they still had one major problem...
A ship!!!
Luffy's original boat had been ruined by the second day of his voyage. After that, he had spent several days drifting in a barrel before finally arriving here.
As for Usopp, he was flat broke.
And the three kids...
Forget it!
Besides, Usopp had no intention of letting the three of them come along. They were way too young. Playing "pirates" was one thing, but actually heading out to sea? That was a joke.
So, the two of them sat despondently on the shore. A single boat was proving to be the biggest obstacle for the future Pirate King!
"Right, Luffy, you mentioned you were captured by Sean and taken to the 16th Branch with someone named Ace. Is he your friend?"
"No, he's my brother!"
"Sigh, so he's Vice Admiral Garp's grandson too?"
"No, we're sworn brothers. My grandpa is Garp, but his father is Roger."
"Sworn brothers, not biological... wait, wait, wait. Roger? Don't tell me you mean the Pirate King, Roger?!"
"Yeah!"
'Thud.'
Usopp, who had just stood up at the mention of Roger, collapsed back to the ground in shock.
This was ridiculous—absolutely absurd. The Four Emperors, the Pirate King, and the Marine Hero were all intertwined. How was that even possible?
At this moment, Usopp didn't know that it went even further: Luffy's father was the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon... Had he known, he probably would have been even more shocked.
Then again, considering he was Roger's son and wanted to be a pirate—and without Garp's protection—could the reason Sean only sent Luffy back to Foosha Village be... that Ace was gone?
"Luffy, I'm sorry for your loss regarding Ace!"
"Ace isn't dead, why would you be sorry?"
"What? Wasn't he captured by Sean and taken to the 16th Branch? Only you were released!"
"Yeah, because Ace gave up on his dream of being a pirate and joined the Marine, so I was the only one who came back to Foosha Village."
"WHAT!!!"
Usopp was shocked all over again.
The son of the Pirate King, Roger, had become a Marine?
Suddenly, Usopp felt like his brain was hitting its limit.
"Speaking of which, before he left, Ace told me his new dream. He said he wanted to completely end the Great Pirate Era that his father started. He said if we meet on the sea in the future, we'll be enemies!"
"Although I never won a fight against him in Foosha Village, I've been training like crazy these past six months. Next time we meet, he definitely won't be a match for me, shishishi!"
Luffy stood with his hands on his hips, laughing happily.
However...
"Who did you say... won't be a match for you?"
'BOOM!!!'
A voice suddenly echoed from behind them, and Luffy vanished from Usopp's sight.
Or rather, he had been blasted away. He flew over a hundred meters before crashing violently onto the beach.
Usopp's head turned in jagged, robotic increments. With great effort, he finally saw the person behind him.
It was a Marine wearing a uniform with the rank of Lieutenant.
Usopp had seen how strong Luffy was over the last few days. To send him flying over a hundred meters with one punch... just how powerful was this guy?
"Are you Luffy's friend?"
"Yes—ah, no!"
"Are you or aren't you?"
"Well, we've only known each other for a few days, we're not that close! At most, I've just bought him a few meals!"
Usopp was panicking. Instinctively, he tried to distance himself from Luffy. This guy was way too terrifying!
But in the next moment, the man's actions left Usopp completely bewildered.
He bowed deeply.
"I see. Thank you for taking such good care of my foolish little brother these past few days. I'm truly grateful!"
It was Ace's voice, sounding incredibly sincere.
This... what was going on?
Usopp was completely lost.