Did I Come a Little Too Early?

"Coming, Grandpa. Honestly, all you ever do is order people around."

A little girl of about five or six pushed aside the curtain to the back kitchen and walked out with a pout. Her big, blinking eyes stared at the old man as if asking what else he wanted from her.

The old man smiled and pointed at Mo Xingchen.

"Here, take this young man who's fallen on hard times to the back to wash up. Give him something to eat too. Starting tomorrow, he can work with you."

"Really? That's great! Then I'll have time to play!"

Makino danced with joy.

Only then did Mo Xingchen react. Makino! Wasn't that the name of the beautiful tavern owner in Windmill Village? The legendary little wife of Red-Haired Shanks!

Then he looked at the little five- or six-year-old pudding in front of him. What the hell era have I landed in?! Still, with an optimistic mindset, he silently comforted himself. Maybe she just happens to have the same name!

But seriously, old man, weren't you exploiting child labor? Complaining inwardly, Mo Xingchen crouched down and smiled.

"Hello, Makino. My name is Mo Xingchen. Please take care of me from now on!"

"Mm-hm, Big Brother, come with me. I'll take you to eat something in the back."

Looking like a tiny adult, Makino waved at Mo Xingchen before turning toward the kitchen.

Mo Xingchen stood and gave the old man a slight bow.

"Sir, thank you so much. I'll be imposing on you, then."

The old man said nothing, merely smiling and nodding. Then he called after Makino's retreating figure.

"Oh, Makino, get this young man a set of Grandpa's clothes to change into."

"Got it~"

And so, after Mo Xingchen had bathed and eaten dinner, he came out to find that most of the customers had already left. He consciously cleaned up the tavern, pushed several chairs together to make a bed, and lay down on them to think.

I somehow transmigrated here. What about my brother? Did only my soul come over, or did my body come too? Will I ever be able to go back? There's no point dwelling on these questions before Six wakes up. I should sort out my current situation first.

From his conversation with Makino in the kitchen, he had learned that this was Windmill Village. It was now Sea Calendar 1498, and the Pirate King had been captured and imprisoned last month.

But it didn't really matter. He wasn't planning to suck up to Luffy, so the timeline made no difference. Nor was he going to attack the Four Emperors or overthrow the World Government.

At least this was the East Blue. Compared to the first half of the Grand Line and the New World, he could be sure that he was relatively safe here.

Second, he needed to determine how Qi Refining Early Stage on the System Panel compared to this world's combat strength.

Third, while the system was charging up, he needed to figure out what path to take in the future.

A pirate? Forget it. Honestly, the ideological education and moral conscience instilled in him by his homeland did not support the idea that simply changing locations meant he could slaughter people without guilt and commit every evil imaginable. His humanity had not twisted that far.

More importantly, he would be wanted all day long. Pirates would come after him, Bounty Hunters would come after him, and even the Marines would fucking come after him. Just thinking about it sounded troublesome.

Hmm... the Revolutionary Army? He understood some red ideology. After all, from middle school through university, they had constantly taught them dragon-slaying arts. But once he thought about starting a revolution, he realized what an incredibly complicated undertaking it would be. If he did it, he would have to do it properly. He couldn't just quit halfway, could he?

And after succeeding, what would he do? Lead by example and become a good leader? How boring would that be? After fighting himself to death for an entire lifetime, wouldn't he even get to enjoy himself? But if he wanted to enjoy himself, why would he start a revolution in the first place? Contradictory. This path was out.

Tsk... then the Marines? The Marines did fit his sense of justice, and they counted as a government job. Nine-to-five work would be suitable for retirement. But the downside was the lack of freedom. Most importantly, he couldn't touch the Celestial Dragons. Anyone who saw those things would want to beat the crap out of them a few times, but if he actually did, he might get kicked out and then be wanted. Sigh... what a pain.

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Thinking and thinking, Mo Xingchen gradually drifted off to sleep.

It was another bright morning. The sun slowly rose from the horizon, while Mo Xingchen stood before the tavern with little pudding Makino, holding a cup of water in one hand and resting the other on his hip.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—pfft!"

"All right, Makino, washing up is done. It's a new day! Let Big Brother see how well you've practiced the Vajra Invincible Universe Subduing Demon Arhat Fist I taught you these past few days!"

At those words, Makino's sleepy eyes instantly lit up. She immediately tossed aside her cup and toothbrush, clenched both hands into fists, and shouted, "Ha!" as she launched a headbutt at Mo Xingchen.

In the blink of an eye, Mo Xingchen used Flying Dragon Exits the Sea and stopped the incoming little head with one hand. Seeing that her headbutt had been blocked, Makino cried, "Yah!" Her tiny hands began flying so fast that they left afterimages.

Unfortunately, with her head held in place and her small stature limiting her, her two short arms failed to hit him even once.

Just as Mo Xingchen was bullying an innocent young girl, a bird resembling an albatross, wearing a cap and carrying a small satchel, landed before the pair. Mo Xingchen took a newspaper from it, then flicked out a coin and accurately tossed it into the News Bird's little bag.

When he opened the newspaper, the headline immediately caught his eye: "One Month From Now, Loguetown: The Execution of the Pirate King!"

Mo Xingchen looked up at the News Bird soaring into the sky and sighed inwardly. This age of upheaval is about to begin. Perhaps it's time for me to go out, take a walk, and truly see this world.

"Big Brother, what's wrong? Why are you spacing out?"

Makino tilted her head and asked as she watched Mo Xingchen gaze at the sky, no longer playing with her.

Before Mo Xingchen could answer, the old man inside pushed open the tavern doors, walked over to him, and glanced at the news on the paper.

"Kid, are you getting ready to leave?"

"Yeah. I'm going to take a good look at this world."

"Then go. A man should charge toward the sea and ride the wind and waves."

"Big Brother, are you leaving?"

Makino looked at Mo Xingchen with a trace of reluctance, pouting as she asked.

"Hahaha, a brief parting is for a better reunion. When I come back next time, I'll tell you all about Big Brother's adventures. How about it?"

"Pinky promise! No lying."

So, after staying in Windmill Village for another half month, Mo Xingchen boarded a passenger ship with some provisions and headed for Loguetown, arriving at last on the day before the execution.

He did not run into any pirates along the way. After all, the Pirate King was about to be executed. Marine Headquarters surely had high-ranking officers stationed in Loguetown, and practically every branch in the East Blue had sent ships out on patrol. With the bigwigs here, they had to put on a good performance. If anything went wrong, wouldn't they be disciplined?

Early that morning, Mo Xingchen arrived at the Execution Plaza. "Whoa, there are so many people! No wonder this is such an iconic scene." Like a country bumpkin visiting a grand estate for the first time, Mo Xingchen looked around everywhere, carefully searching for the young Four Emperors, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and the Shichibukai. At that moment, his inner troublemaker had taken over.

"Oh, the one wearing a hood should be Dragon, right? Looks like he hasn't defected from the Marines yet. Garp hasn't even slapped a sandal print onto his face."

"Heh, was young Shanks such a crybaby? The execution hasn't even started, and his eyes are already brimming with tears. Hahaha, Buggy was pretty cute as a kid, but his crying is way too hilarious."

"Tsk, was Little Turkey already this arrogant back then? Huh, Hawk Eyes looked even more handsome when he still had a beard."

"Whoa, Crocodile got here even earlier than I did. I can only see the back of his head, but he already liked styling his hair to look like an adult when he was young."

Ah, I really want a camera to take pictures of them. Once they all become Big Shots in the future, I can use the photos to blackmail them. Wahahaha!

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