The blue sky was pristine and cloudless, and golden sunlight spilled over the sparkling sea, as though draping the water in a fine veil of silver.
The early morning sunlight carried a slight chill, and the salty, damp sea breeze added a touch of desolation. Yet the bustling crowd on the shore seemed to feel none of the cold, their eyes fixed on the sea with burning anticipation.
The crowd was an unusual mix: sniffling children of four or five stood alongside sixteen- and seventeen-year-old youths brandishing iron swords. Such a gathering should have been noisy and quarrelsome, but they were utterly silent. Only their trembling bodies and uneven breathing betrayed how far their hearts were from the calm they showed.
Suddenly, blood stained the sea red. Waves surged and churned, as though some monster from hell were climbing out of the depths. But rather than frightening these "Young Cadets," the sight delighted them, and deafening cheers filled the shore.
A moment later, a bare-chested, handsome boy emerged from the sea, carrying an enormous Sea King several dozen meters long in one hand. Every step he took shook the ground and sent the seawater surging.
"Wow! He beat a Sea King underwater with his bare hands! Big Brother Longinus is incredible!"
"Idiot, this isn't his first time! What's so surprising about that? What you should be paying attention to is that Big Brother Longinus broke his record again. He caught a Sea King in just three minutes!"
"I wonder when I'll be as strong as Big Brother Longinus?"
"When you can dive into the deep sea every single day to train your body like Big Brother Longinus does, then you can start talking about that dream!"
Not only the seven- and eight-year-old children, but even the sixteen- and seventeen-year-old youths wholeheartedly respected Longinus, who was only twelve. Every one of them called him Big Brother without the slightest embarrassment.
The boy named Longinus wore a warm smile that made him seem trustworthy at first glance.
"Baki, take this Sea King meat over and share it with everyone!" Longinus leaped high into the air, then plunged like a meteor. His fist slammed into the Sea King's body, instantly "cutting" it into two even halves.
The youth whose name he had called stepped forward as though pumped full of adrenaline, his head high and chest thrust out. Being assigned a task by Longinus seemed to be an immense honor, and the surrounding "Young Cadets" watched him with envy.
"Big Brother Longinus, I promise I'll get it done!" Baki approached one half of the Sea King, deftly pulled out an iron hook, and anchored it in the creature's flesh. Then he joined the other "Young Cadets" in grabbing the rope, ready to haul it back.
"Oh, right, Big Brother Longinus, here's today's newspaper. I almost forgot to give it to you." Baki sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, took a carefully preserved newspaper from inside his shirt, and handed it to Longinus.
"Sorry for the trouble," Longinus said with a grateful smile.
"N-no trouble! No trouble at all!" Baki stammered, his face flushing red, before running back to help his friends haul the Sea King away.
Cooking smoke curled along the shore, and the enticing aroma stirred the appetite. Longinus remained unmoved. Only after finishing his last physical exercise did he drag his leaden body over to sit on a reef rock, holding a mountain-sized portion of roasted meat for breakfast in one hand while turning the pages of today's newspaper with the other, gathering information.
Longinus's expression was impassive now. Had Baki and the others seen him, they would have found it utterly unbelievable. Could their Big Brother Longinus, who always wore a warm smile, really have such a hidden side?
Longinus gently closed the newspaper in his hands, and at last, a faint smile appeared on his indifferent face. "Three years after coming to this world, I've finally learned what era I'm living in!"
Following Longinus's gaze, one could see two enormous headlines occupying the newspaper's entire front page.
"Pirate King Roger executed! The age of pirates comes to a definitive end!"
"World Military Draft"
"All that talk about the age of pirates being over is nothing but the Navy and the government's last fig leaf. They know better than anyone that a Great Pirate Era running wild is about to begin. Otherwise, they wouldn't be launching a world military draft when 'everything is going so well'!"
Longinus calmly continued devouring his roasted meat while thinking to himself, If my guess is right, this island should be near the beginning of the first half of the Grand Line. I don't know which of the seven routes it's on, but with the tide ushering in the Great Pirate Era, this place will soon become the eye of the storm. The pirates who appear next won't be like those small-timers with ten- or twenty-million bounties who occasionally came to squeeze a little out of us over the past two years!
If I stay here, I could run into a Great Pirate I can't defeat at any moment. Besides, there are hardly any Sea Kings left in the surrounding waters. Looks like it's time to leave!
Should I drift with the tide and become a pirate, or tackle the rot at its source and join the Navy? For me, that isn't a particularly difficult choice.
With this body's talent and the strength my soul brings, all I lack is systematic guidance and instruction. After all, not everyone can be like Luffy, with Garp laying his foundations in childhood and Dark King Rayleigh teaching him Haki after he sets out to sea. Joining the Navy will let me make the most of my talent. That's the first reason.
If I want to claim a place on these seas, there's no way I can give up the help that thing provides. Since I can't avoid killing, I might as well choose the Navy, where I can openly kill pirates and have something to fall back on. That's the second reason.
To resolve the previous owner's lingering anguish, I'll also need access to the Navy and the government's intelligence networks. That's the third reason.
Besides, choosing a side is nothing more than pursuing my own interests. If it really becomes necessary, slipping into the darkness and creating an alternate identity would be a good option too. Longinus's gaze drifted. After all:
When you roam the world, blades are bound to find you. If you want to get ahead, keep a few aliases handy. —Lu Xun
"Big Brother Longinus! Big Brother Longinus! Something terrible... something terrible's happened!" A blue-haired boy came rushing over, gasping for breath.
The cold lines of Longinus's face quickly softened as he switched personas in an instant. "Fitz, what happened? Calm down and tell me clearly."
As though he had found someone to rely on, Fitz's anxious expression settled, but his trembling legs proved that the fear in his heart had yet to fade. "It's the Giant Rhinoceros Pirates! It's Giant Rhinoceros Alex, the Great Pirate with a bounty of thirty-seven million Beli!"
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