(I'm a Brain-Brain Person who ate the Brain-Brain Fruit, with the ability to store brains.)
Marineford Era 1492,
Dullamos Island, an ordinary little island located in the first half of the New World.
"Hey, Jesse, you wouldn't want everyone to find out that you still wet the bed at eight, would you?"
In a messy alley, a bare-chested boy with Black Long Hair wore a wicked grin as he looked at the snot-nosed brat in front of him.
Several other little brats in the distance glared at the long-haired boy as well, furious but too afraid to speak.
"Huh? But I clearly washed it before dawn. How did you know, Austin..." Halfway through, Jesse hurriedly covered his mouth, as if terrified his friends in the distance would hear him.
"I told you long ago. Nothing in this world can escape my eyes."
He snatched the few hundred Beli of pocket money from the brat's hand, stuffed it into his pocket beneath Jesse's furious glare, then strode off with a loud laugh.
Only after he had left did the other children dare to approach and comfort the robbed Jesse, cursing angrily.
"Damn it! I'll definitely get revenge when I grow up!"
"Yeah! Austin steals our pocket money every day. If I get the chance, I'll beat him senseless!"
But some children were more rational. They merely watched the retreating long-haired figure with bitter expressions.
"No matter how you think about it, that's impossible, right? Even the mayor said Austin beat a wild boar to death when he was six. He's..."
As he spoke, a trace of fear appeared in the child's eyes, as though he recalled his parents' warnings.
"A born monster!"
"Alright, another five hundred Beli in the bank. That's two more newspapers I can buy."
Austin happily pushed open the door to his home.
This was his ninth year in the One Piece World. Abandoned from birth and raised by the old mayor, Austin had long since grown accustomed to this strange new world.
Still, he had yet to witness the truly vast side of this world, so he had always actively bought newspapers from the News Coo to learn about the major events taking place across the seas.
As usual, he had returned home for lunch today, but for some reason, old Mayor Grandpa was not home.
He looked around and saw no one. Frowning, he turned toward the neighboring house and seemed to sense something carefully. After a moment, he shook his head.
"That's not right. He isn't at the widow next door's house either."
He was probably off drinking Flower Wine. Austin did not think much of it. He went straight to the kitchen, found some bread and ham, then sat down in a chair to eat.
As he ate, he read the newspaper he had bought that day.
"Rocks' remnants are developing their own forces, among them Golden Lion, Whitebeard, and others..."
Nothing worth paying too much attention to. Still, young Charlotte Linlin really was beautiful.
Looking at the curvaceous figure in the newspaper, Austin quietly marveled while chewing, then continued reading.
"The Roger Pirates are suspected to have appeared on Sandrila Island."
The living Pirate King. Austin sighed as he chewed, then continued reading.
The next piece of news was...
Wait!
Austin's chewing abruptly stopped, as if he had sensed something wrong. He suddenly looked back at the report about the Roger Pirates. Even when the bread fell from his mouth to the floor, he failed to notice. His entire body froze in shock!
Sandrila Island?
Wasn't that the island a few dozen nautical miles away?
Holy shit!
At this point in time, Roger had not yet reached Laugh Tale, nor was he the Pirate King!
That was insane!
Austin's eyes widened. Within mere seconds, an incredibly bold decision formed in his mind!
I spent nearly thirty years in my previous life and still never figured out what One Piece was. Don't I now have a ready-made chance to see it?
If he could join the Roger Pirates...
What would that be called?
Starting at the peak?
The Great Treasure that ordinary pirates searched for their entire lives—he could find it directly less than two years after setting sail?
The thought made Austin tremble with excitement.
Not to mention the Roger Pirates were packed with world-class experts. Learning even a couple of moves from them would be enough to make him the final boss of a movie.
A lesser benefit was the status boost. Hadn't Buggy, even in the future, been looked upon highly wherever he went just because he had been a member of the Roger Pirates?
No sooner thought than done.
"Old man, I'm going to join the Roger Pirates! I'll repay your kindness in raising me once I return in glory!"
He wrote a farewell note.
With a stick over his shoulder and a bundle of luggage tied to one end, Austin resolved to return and repay the fellow villagers who had raised him once he became an important figure.
"By then, I'll drag every Wild Dog in the village into those Great Kingdoms to serve as police dogs. They'll even get paid by the government. That's generous enough, right?"
Austin immediately packed up the few belongings in the old mayor's home and sprinted toward the docks, moving as swiftly as the wind.
At the same time,
A magnificent red-and-gold pointed ship, its bow carved with statues of two mermaids, officially docked at Dullamos' largest harbor.
At the bow stood a man who looked like a captain.
He wore a red coat and a Captain's Hat. Beneath his signature handlebar mustache was the bold smile unique to the strong, while the aura of a natural king spread outward.
"Imposing bearing, overflowing dominance. He truly is one of the sea's top powerhouses."
Austin could sense the abyss-like gap between their strength from perception alone.
This was the Pirate King—Gol D. Roger!
At present, he and his companions had already gone through the battle at God Valley. They were now sailing everywhere, searching for the lost Four Poneglyphs and preparing for their final adventure.
He had not yet contracted his incurable illness, and was freely enjoying the sea and his travels.
By the docks, members of the Roger Pirates disembarked one after another. They had merely stopped here to replenish supplies.
Yet amid that group of burly men, two little brats moved through the crowd, utterly out of place among the others.
They were two somewhat red little brats.
One had red hair, and the other had a red nose.
"Who are you calling Red Nose, huh? Say it again if you've got the guts!" Young Buggy flew into a rage, his face turning bright red with anger.
"No one called you Red Nose, Buggy." Shanks jumped down from the gangplank and pressed down the straw hat that the wind had nearly blown away. He said helplessly, "You can sense it even without hearing anything. Is your Observation Haki a red nose...?"
"No, someone definitely said it! This feeling can't be wrong!"
Buggy clenched his fists and shouted. He looked around, then suddenly spotted a figure sprinting toward them in the distance. "Hey, was it you, brat?!"
"Hahahaha... It's been a while, Buggy, Shanks!" Austin called out with a laugh as he rushed over.
Before you continue