A Pirate at Seventy, Ready to Retire

Sea Circle Calendar, 1460.

A somewhat dilapidated large ship.

"Kid, why do you want to join my crew?"

An old man with graying hair and beard poured liquor from a wine gourd into his mouth as he looked at the boy before him with bleary eyes.

"Because I want to become the supreme ruler of these seas! I want to change this unfair world! I want everyone to have freedom! And for that, I need strength!"

The boy's messy black hair fluttered in the wind. His tone was fervent, his eyes bright, and his bearing unwavering.

"Pwahahahaha!!!"

Hearing the boy's naïve answer, the old man could not help bursting into laughter, tears nearly streaming from his eyes.

How similar.

Just like when he had first transmigrated into this world.

From being filled with ambition at the start.

To drifting along with the tide afterward.

And now, he was ready to retire.

What had this world been like when he arrived?

What would it be like when he left?

Exactly the same.

That was right.

Many people might have thought the boy before him was the protagonist of this story. Even Magnus himself no longer believed he was qualified to be one.

Because he was old.

Seventy years had passed since he transmigrated here.

There was no system, no cheat ability.

Relying only on a little knowledge of this world, Magnus had exhausted every effort just to leave the North Blue, enter the Grand Line, and reach the New World.

But he had arrived too early.

Just like how the future One Piece, Gol D. Roger, reached Laugh Tale only to discover he had arrived twenty years too soon.

Magnus had arrived a hundred years too early!

There were no Four Emperors on these seas yet, nor were there any Shichibukai.

There was only the Marines and the World Government.

Their reach extended everywhere, and their shadow covered the entire world.

There were pirates—many of them.

But there was not a single figure capable of subduing the rest, standing against the Marines, or opposing the World Government.

This was a stagnant world.

Even though Magnus was already a renowned Great Pirate and a thorn in the Marines' side, he was still insignificant compared to the entire world.

He was tired.

"Go."

Magnus waved a hand.

"I have no intention of putting to sea again. While I'm still in a good mood, get lost."

A week ago, he had dismissed his crew. He planned to find some place to sink the ship, then spend the rest of his life with what little money he had left.

Who would have thought that this boy had sneaked aboard when the ship docked last time?

Damn it.

Had even his Observation Haki become unreliable because of his age?

That only strengthened Magnus's resolve to retire.

He did not want to become too weak to fight in a few more years, get captured by some random Marine grunt, and become the laughingstock of the world.

"No!"

To his surprise, the wild-haired boy immediately became anxious at those words.

"You have to take me in!"

"Or what?"

Magnus raised an eyebrow and looked at the boy teasingly.

"Then I'll challenge you!"

The boy's eyes were resolute, but his words made Magnus burst into laughter.

"Pwahahahaha~"

Magnus felt that running into such amusing entertainment just before retirement was not so bad.

He might have been old.

But he was not yet as old as the future Whitebeard, unable to even use basic Haki.

Forget one kid who knew nothing.

Even a hundred or a thousand of them would be no trouble for Magnus.

Yet what Magnus had not expected was—

Just as he was about to mock the boy a little more, a ding suddenly rang in his mind.

A translucent panel appeared before his eyes.

At eighteen years old, having transmigrated into the One Piece world for eighteen years, you finally mastered one of the Marine Six Powers—Soru—through a series of training sessions!

Deeply aware that strength could only improve through battle, you ultimately decided to put to sea.

You became a pirate!

Cough, cough.

Magnus, who had been drinking, nearly choked when he saw the lines before him.

What eighteen years old?

In another ten years, he would be eighty!

A cheat ability!

The illusory panel before his eyes was undoubtedly the cheat ability he had yearned for.

But he was already seventy!

It had come neither early nor late, but only now.

Why not wait a few more years and show up after he was in the grave?

Yet the words before him continued to appear.

March 31st, Sea Circle Calendar 1480. This was your first day as a pirate.

Unfortunately, the moment you began your career as a pirate, you encountered the current overlord of the One Piece world's seas—Rocks D. Zebek.

What you needed to do now was find a way to survive in his hands!

Who?

Magnus was stunned.

It was currently Sea Circle Calendar 1460!

Had he transmigrated again?

Magnus, who had been drunkenly planning to enjoy the absurdity of this stupid system, instantly sobered up.

Do not be fooled by Magnus's current appearance as a washed-up drunkard.

Until a week ago, he had still been one of the most famous pirates on these seas.

White Wolf Magnus!

It was a name Magnus had built over a full fifty years.

Magnus narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?"

Rocks had originally thought Magnus was merely a washed-up drunkard. He had already decided to defeat Magnus and claim this large ship for himself.

Since Magnus did not want to sail the seas.

Then he would hand the ship over, and Rocks would sail instead!

But just as he was about to make his move, Rocks discovered that Magnus's aura had changed. In an instant, he had transformed from a decrepit old man into a vicious wolf.

And not an ordinary wolf, but a wolf king!

"Rocks!"

But even under Magnus's pressure, Rocks had no intention of conceding.

He gritted his teeth and declared loudly, "My name is Rocks D. Zebek! Unlike an old man like you who is waiting to die, I am destined to become the ruler of the seas!"

"Pwahahahaha—"

Hearing Rocks's words, Magnus laughed as though he had heard something hilarious.

Just when Rocks thought Magnus would attack.

The pressure around Magnus suddenly vanished.

"Good!"

Magnus slapped his thigh.

"Since you want to join my crew, then I'll grant your wish!"

"Come here."

"W-What are you doing?"

Magnus's drastic change in attitude left Rocks confused. He watched Magnus warily as his right hand involuntarily moved down toward the small knife behind him.

"Don't try anything. If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't even have a chance to draw your blade."

Magnus waved a hand. Right now, he only wanted to verify one thing.

Remembering Magnus's aura from before, Rocks reluctantly moved closer. The unwilling look on his face nearly made Magnus laugh.

"Come here, come here."

The instant Rocks approached, Magnus suddenly raised his hand.

Slap!

Rocks collapsed onto the deck, motionless.

At the same time.

Ding~ Congratulations, you have defeated the overlord of the seas, Rocks D. Zebek!

Seeing the string of words appear on the panel.

Magnus's body trembled.

So it really worked!?

The timeline was set sixty years before the start of the main story.

The bounty ratio was 1:8.

In other words, 100 million Beli was equivalent to 800 million Beli in the future.