Who Are You?

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Late 1506 on the Marineford Calendar.

Punk Hazard.

Located in the latter half of the Grand Line, it belonged to the World Government and was used to imprison criminals.

At the same time, it was one of the research facilities of the World's Greatest Scientist, Vegapunk.

But Vegapunk wasn't on the island now. The one left in charge was another scientist, Caesar Clown, known as the "Supreme Authority of Weapons of Mass Destruction."

Besides him, there were dozens of researchers and a small security force.

The defenses seemed weak, but they were more than enough.

After all, few dared to launch a surprise attack on an island belonging to the World Government. And Caesar Clown himself was a Logia Type Devil Fruit user with no small amount of combat strength.

But...

In this vast sea, there were always ambitious people adept at seizing the tiniest "opportunities."

A small grain of sand slipped through a ventilation duct and infiltrated the Laboratory.

Then came more grains of sand...

"Crocodile?!"

Inside the Laboratory, Caesar stared fixedly at the man before him.

Slicked-back hair, a long scar across his face, an earring in his right ear, and a cigar between his lips.

He wore a fur coat. His left hand was gone, replaced by a golden hook.

The man was Crocodile, the Sand Crocodile. Just a few years after setting sail, he had become one of the Shichibukai thanks to his formidable strength!

Caesar couldn't understand why he had appeared here.

The Shichibukai were "Legal Pirates" enlisted by the World Government. Their status was extremely special, and several positions were still vacant.

They had a degree of legal authority to plunder. There was no reason for one of them to attack a World Government research facility!

"Heh heh heh. How should I put it?"

Crocodile chuckled, taking his time to choose his words.

Just then, two more members of the security force noticed something was wrong and rushed into the Laboratory, swinging their swords at Crocodile.

Swish! Swish!

Both strikes landed, but only cut through a body that had already turned to sand.

That was the power of a Logia Type—the Sand-Sand Fruit!

Crocodile seized one of them by the neck. In the blink of an eye, he drained all the moisture from the man's body, leaving behind a desiccated corpse.

The other man didn't fare any better. Sand rose from the ground and easily swallowed him.

Caesar had witnessed it all. Though he was also a Logia Type Devil Fruit user, as a scientist, he was no match for this battle-hardened fighter.

With no other choice, he invoked the mighty name of the World Government to intimidate him.

"Sand Crocodile, do you want the World Government to hunt you down again?!"

"No."

"I was only trying to secretly dig up some hidden secrets, but I didn't expect to find something much more interesting."

Crocodile's gaze darkened. He looked up at Caesar and chuckled.

"Caesar... right? If word gets out that I went on a rampage here, you'll be the first one they hunt down, won't you?"

"..."

At those words, Caesar's expression stiffened.

"Y-you... what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb!"

Crocodile said darkly, "It seems you've been secretly transporting something to this island behind the World Government's and Vegapunk's backs."

"I-I don't know..."

Caesar's confidence was crumbling.

Crocodile pressed on. "You found something beneath the ruins of old Ohara in the West Blue and brought it back here to study in secret, didn't you?"

The moment he heard that, Caesar broke into a cold sweat. He immediately locked down the Laboratory, then made an announcement over the intercom.

"The alarm was a false alarm. There are no intruders. Get back to your posts!"

"Yes, sir!"

The security team stopped heading for the Laboratory and returned to their posts.

Only Caesar remained, panting heavily, his face stricken as if disaster had just befallen him.

Because Crocodile was absolutely right!

What was Ohara?

It was once a famed center of archaeology in the West Blue. But after the scholars on the island secretly studied the true history, the World Government launched a Buster Call and wiped it off the map.

In other words, the name "Ohara" had become a taboo across the seas!

Anyone or anything connected to Ohara would be erased by the World Government.

And Caesar Clown was no good man to begin with. He often conducted illegal research, including experiments on human subjects.

Recently, his private exploration team had discovered some strange things beneath the sea near old Ohara.

They weren't boring history books. They were something far more unusual...

Caesar had wanted to uncover their secrets, so he had them secretly transported to Punk Hazard to study them.

But the research had only just begun when Crocodile broke into the Laboratory!

And Crocodile was right about one thing.

Caesar didn't dare report Crocodile's illegal activities to the World Government, because what he was doing was even more "illegal"!

"Heh heh heh heh. I thought this trip would turn up nothing, but this is pretty interesting after all."

Crocodile took a drag on his cigar and blew smoke at Caesar.

"Why don't you show me your secret? If it doesn't interest me, I'll leave."

What was he interested in?

Naturally, Pluton, one of the three Ancient Weapons.

Crocodile had once found traces of information about Pluton. Ohara had been an archaeological center, so its relics might have something to do with an Ancient Weapon!

Caesar stared at Crocodile, realizing he was in a difficult spot.

He couldn't fight him, and he couldn't run.

All he could do was cooperate.

So he immediately put on a smile and laughed. "Shurorororo! I never thought the famous Sand Crocodile would be interested in scientific research!"

"Cut the crap!"

Sand swirled around Crocodile, ready to strike at any moment.

Caesar hurriedly shook his head. "All right, all right! I'll show you now!"

"..."

He walked over to a wall and pressed a button beside it. The wall slowly rose, revealing what had been sealed inside.

Caesar grinned, his expression slightly stiff.

"But honestly, when I first saw this thing, I was shaking a little..."

"Hm?"

Crocodile didn't understand what he meant.

Caesar Clown was a well-known figure in the underworld, a war profiteer who had developed numerous weapons of mass destruction.

What could make a man like that "shake"?

Rumble...

The wall slowly rose, revealing the "thing" concealed behind it.

Crocodile's pupils contracted.

Was that... a Poneglyph?

A Poneglyph was a special kind of massive stone block. It couldn't be destroyed, and it was inscribed with the Ancient Script.

But Crocodile quickly dismissed the thought.

The object before him was a large, square stone, and its material did resemble a Poneglyph. But it bore no Ancient Script.

Instead, it had been carved into an exquisite "human sculpture"!

"A stone like a Poneglyph, without any Ancient Script, but carved into... a person?"

Crocodile looked at the figure.

It was a young man, nearly three meters tall, with his arms spread wide and his legs held straight, then crossed at the ankles.

Crocodile knew quite a bit about art, so he could say with certainty that even the finest sculptors in the world would find it extremely difficult to replicate this statue!

It was too perfect.

His expression, posture, movements, and even the contours of his muscles—all perfect!

It embodied humanity's most primal strength and dynamism, without a single unnecessary detail!

"Shurorororo! This is an incredible discovery!"

Caesar couldn't help getting excited too.

He was a scoundrel, a war profiteer, and an arms dealer—but he was also a scientist.

A person had been carved into stone made from the same material as a Poneglyph!

How had they done it? And why had the people of the ancient past carved him?

More importantly—

Who was he?

"..."

Even Crocodile couldn't help but stand there, stunned.

He had only wanted to use Caesar's secret to pressure him and expand his own influence. He hadn't expected to discover something even more astonishing.

Was he afraid?

Of course not.

For an ambitious man, more "secrets" meant more "opportunities"!

"So..."

Crocodile narrowed his eyes and looked at the sculpted young man's face. "Who was he, to be carved into a Poneglyph by the people of the ancient past?"

"There are some characters beneath the sculpture. They seem to be his name."

Seeing that Crocodile was interested, Caesar relaxed and started treating him like a new underworld business partner, making friendly conversation.

"But I can't tell you exactly what they say. I can't read the Ancient Script, after all."

"..."

Crocodile furrowed his brows and slowly approached, examining the line of writing beneath the sculpture.

He murmured, "Who are you?"

"..."

"I am Aiven Lindsey."

A third voice spoke. For a moment, neither of the other two men reacted.

But in the next instant, both Crocodile and Caesar widened their eyes, breaking into cold sweat.

Who?! Who was speaking?!

They turned toward the voice and saw that the "perfect" statue had opened its eyes. Its lips moved, and a few thin chips of stone fell away.

Its pupils shifted, surveying the two men before it.

"I am Aiven Lindsey."

The statue spoke. Its voice was slightly stiff, with a trace of confusion.

"What era is this now?"

My new novel is out! It's another familiar pirate story!

After writing urban supernatural fiction for so long, I really needed a change of pace. Otherwise, my thinking gets stale and I can't write anything. It's painful.

I always feel that having to explain my books is embarrassing, but I'll say this in advance for the readers' convenience.

As the blurb says, the protagonist's cheat borrows the powers of the Eight Demons, but characters from the original Jackie Chan Adventures won't appear. The focus will be on making the story feel at home in the world of One Piece.

Plot-driven, somewhat overpowered, with the familiar 60/40 balance.

The focus is on the characters and the story.

If you want the protagonist to kill everyone he sees, or to casually kill people all the time, I'm sorry, but I can't write that.

I've written a few One Piece novels before: One Piece: The Hero Descends and One Piece: Your Emperor Has Returned!. The style continues, and the plot quality is guaranteed.

As for what the protagonist looks like and who he should remind you of, those who know, know...

Ah yi ya yi ya yi~~~

Cue the music!

New chapters every day at 12 noon and 6 p.m., with a guaranteed 4,000 words.

I'll post today's second chapter after the contract is signed. Those who see this early can invest with confidence~