One Piece (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

In the boundless darkness, a sphere of light radiating countless beams stood out starkly. Zhong Hao's figure flashed through the darkness and vanished into the sphere.

Sky, sea, azure blue—the sea and sky met at the horizon, reflecting the same color.

This was the East Blue, the weakest sea among the Four Blues.

More than two thousand meters above the sea, rings of transparent ripples suddenly appeared, and a figure fell from within them.

"I... fuck, I really am this high up."

After falling for who knew how many meters, he finally broke through the clouds. The fierce wind pressed dents into Zhong Hao's facial muscles, making them ripple like waves. He forced his eyes open and looked around.

The boundless sea possessed a magical ability to broaden one's mind, and the gloom of being hunted by the Uchiha had lifted considerably.

When he was seven hundred meters above the sea, Zhong Hao took a bundled parachute out of his space. Both hands clenched the pull rings, and the parachute opened. His speed dropped sharply. After drifting through the air for several minutes, he landed in the sea.

"Pah! So salty. Knockoff goods really are unreliable. If I'd landed on solid ground, I definitely would've been killed by the fall." Zhong Hao stuck his head out of the water, spat out a mouthful of seawater, and complained.

"That's because the blueprint you drew was substandard. What does that have to do with the manufacturer? And the materials were wrong too, weren't they? Making a parachute out of flexible, breathable ninja cloth... I can't believe you even thought of that." Zhong Yunxi's mocking voice rang out in his mind.

Zhong Hao's delicate face reddened slightly. Dissatisfied, he said, "I was just an ordinary person in my previous life. How was I supposed to know so much? You didn't remind me either, you little brat."

After that, ignoring the endless ridicule and mockery in his mind, he took out a boat and rowed in one direction. While in the air, he had seen a ship in that direction. It had been too far away to make out its flag, and he could not tell from its appearance whether it was a pirate ship or a merchant vessel.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhong Hao saw that there was no pirate flag on the ship's mast and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. At that moment, the other side noticed him as well and adjusted course to meet him.

When the two boats drew alongside each other, the sailors on the larger ship looked down and saw that he was only a child. They lowered their guard and threw down a rope ladder. Zhong Hao climbed aboard.

As soon as he boarded, a man in his thirties who looked like a merchant approached and sized Zhong Hao up. "You ran into a shipwreck, didn't you?"

Zhong Hao nodded and gratefully said, "Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I might have starved to death at sea."

He said that because he did not want to arouse suspicion.

A shipwreck survivor had to look like a shipwreck survivor. His food and fresh water were stored in his space; the boat only contained a few dry loaves of bread and an almost empty bucket of water. Half his hair had been singed, and his clothes had happened to be damaged during the Uchiha's pursuit. He truly looked like a survivor of a shipwreck.

Zhong Hao had no identity in this world. If an unknown child became Garp's disciple, Garp might not care due to his carefree nature, but the Marines would definitely investigate him.

The Marines had built up Garp's reputation and honored him as a Marine Hero, partly as propaganda. Roger had played the World Government for fools and ushered in the Great Pirate Era. To deal with the growing number of pirates, the Marines had promoted Garp—who had forced Roger into desperate situations more than ten times—as a Marine Hero in order to attract more people to join the Marines.

Every piece of news about him affected the public's perception of the Marines. He was a hero and could not be tainted in the slightest, just as Dragon's defection had been concealed by the World Government and the Marines. If Zhong Hao wanted to learn from Garp, lacking an identity would definitely be troublesome.

And his identity would begin with this ship.

The merchant seemed delighted to have saved someone. After laughing heartily twice, he said, "Go change into some clean clothes first. Wearing wet clothes all the time will make you sick."

Zhong Hao nodded and followed a sailor to change clothes.

Before long, Zhong Hao, now dressed in coarse linen clothes, appeared before the merchant again. The merchant grinned. "You look much more lively like this. My name is Qiao Si, and I'm the captain of this merchant ship. Just call me Uncle Qiao Si."

Zhong Hao naturally went along with it. "Uncle Qiao Si."

Qiao Si nodded in satisfaction. "Where is your home? Do you have any family? I'll have someone take you home."

Zhong Hao shook his head and remained silent.

Qiao Si frowned and thought for a moment. Assuming that Zhong Hao's family had all died in the shipwreck, he gently said, "We'll be passing through Garuchi Island, Mairon Island, Foosha Village, and finally sailing around the island to the central town of Goa Kingdom. If you don't want to go to any of those places, you can stay on my ship as an apprentice sailor."

When Zhong Hao heard him mention Foosha Village, his spirits lifted. Pretending to be confused, he asked, "Foosha Village?"

Qiao Si laughed loudly. "Foosha Village is my hometown. Every time I come back, I bring specialties from other islands for the villagers. Everyone there gets along well. So, want to take a look? Maybe you'll end up liking it."

What a coincidence. My luck really isn't bad. Zhong Hao secretly rejoiced, then lightly nodded and said nothing.

Seeing Zhong Hao like this, Qiao Si assumed he was still grieving for his lost relatives. He patted his shoulder and said, "Things will get better."

Six days later, the merchant ship docked at Foosha Village.

Qiao Si brought Zhong Hao into Foosha Village and found the village chief, who was wearing a floral shirt, then explained the situation.

Leaning on his cane, the village chief looked at Zhong Hao, who had kept his head lowered the entire time. "If that's the case, then stay in Foosha Village. I'll ask around and see whose family is willing to take you in."

Zhong Hao suddenly raised his head. "Village Chief, do you know where there are powerful people? I want to learn how to become stronger."

The village chief frowned. His thoughts took a strange turn as he remembered that child who shouted all day about becoming a pirate. Thinking Zhong Hao was the same, he scolded, "No, no! Kids these days never learn properly. Pirates this, pirates that all day long. What's so good about being a pirate?"

"Huh?" Zhong Hao stared blankly. What kind of logic was that? What did one thing have to do with the other? Then he helplessly said, "Village Chief, I'm not—"

"What do you mean, you're not? As the village chief, I have to correct your misguided thinking."

"Uh... Village Chief, I think I'd better build myself a wooden hut by the shore."

Qiao Si watched Zhong Hao's quickly retreating figure and scratched his head in confusion. "Village Chief, he only said he wanted to learn how to become stronger. Maybe he wants to join the Marines? How did you end up talking about pirates?"

"Huh?" The village chief opened his mouth wide, looking somewhat dazed. He muttered, "Is... is that so? Well... if he wants to be a Marine, then when Garp comes back, we can introduce him to Garp. That's right, that's what I meant."

After saying that, he even solemnly clenched his fist and struck his palm.

Qiao Si's mouth twitched slightly. The village chief truly is the village chief. He's just different...

Meanwhile, Zhong Hao returned to the shore. As he chopped down trees, he recalled his conversation with the village chief. He could not figure out where things had gone wrong, so in the end, he could only blame it on the man's strange thought process.

Come to think of it, he had felt in his previous life that the people in One Piece were not quite right in the head. Now that he had experienced it firsthand, it really was true.

Fortunately, everything was proceeding according to plan. He had crossed over, found a foothold, and arrived at Foosha Village. Meeting Qiao Si had been an unexpected stroke of luck. Now, all he had to do was wait for Garp to arrive. His goal was simple: by the time he returned to Naruto, he had to at least possess the strength to deal with Uchiha assassinations.

Zhong Hao built a wooden hut by the sea. Every day, he went into the water to catch fish or entered the forest to hunt. The rest of his time was spent training his taijutsu and swordsmanship.

The village chief came by several times and watched from afar. Once he confirmed that Zhong Hao could take care of himself, he left.

Three months later...

With a blade in one hand, Zhong Hao emerged from the sea while dragging a fish the size of a car with the other. He swam toward the shore. This was his lunch for the day.

After coming to One Piece, his diet had improved significantly. Large animals were everywhere, and with his daily intake of energy, the deficits in his body had somewhat improved. Coupled with his relentless training day and night, his strength had far surpassed what it had been three months ago, reaching a level close to that of a Chunin.

Splash—

At that moment, the sound of ships cutting through waves came from the sea. In the distance, a dog-headed warship slowly approached the shore.

Zhong Hao's pupils contracted when he saw it. He's finally here.

At the bow, Garp, wearing a dog-headed cap and a Marine coat, looked in Zhong Hao's direction. He flashed a wide grin, and booming laughter rang from his mouth. "Ahahaha! I haven't come back in two years, and I didn't expect such an outstanding youngster to appear in the village."

His voice was loud and carried far. Zhong Hao heard it as well and secretly rejoiced. Looks like there's hope.

By the time he reached the dock, the village chief had already led the villagers in welcoming Garp, chatting with him happily. When Zhong Hao arrived, his one-meter-fifteen frame carrying a fish the size of a car made him exceptionally conspicuous. The instant he appeared, he drew everyone's attention.

Makino, the tavern owner, opened her mouth wide. "Isn't that little Zhong Hao? What incredible strength!"

Garp pushed through the crowd and walked up to Zhong Hao. He squatted down, tilted his head, and stared at him intently. Even while squatting, his over-two-meter height still put him two heads taller. "I don't think I've seen this kid before. Is he from the village?"

Zhong Hao tossed the fish to the ground, making the ground tremble slightly. "You look really strong."

"I am Monkey D. Garp, a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters." In an instant, his face lit up with pride.

"My name is Zhong Hao. Can I learn how to become stronger from you?" With someone like Garp, being straightforward was far more effective than beating around the bush.

After seeing that the person beneath the huge fish was Zhong Hao, the village chief recalled the awkward scene from three months ago. He coughed twice and walked over. "He's a shipwreck victim Qiao Si rescued three months ago. He's been living alone by the shore ever since."

After saying that, he stood on tiptoe, leaned close to Garp's ear, and whispered, "It seems he has no other relatives. It isn't safe for him to stay by the shore alone. Why not take him into the Marines?"

Garp showed no reaction after hearing this. He remained squatting there, staring wide-eyed at Zhong Hao without blinking. Ten minutes passed, and neither of them yielded.

"What are they doing?"

"No idea, but it's already been ten minutes, right? Neither of them has blinked. Amazing."

Suddenly, a mischievous glint flashed in Zhong Hao's eyes. He raised his fist and punched Garp in the eye.

"Ow! You little brat, you cheated!"

Garp covered his eye, so angry that his beard bristled and his eyes glared. Rolling up his sleeves, he prepared to punch back.

Meanwhile, all the Marines around them, officers and soldiers alike, threw themselves to the ground and pounded the deck with booming thumps. "The Vice Admiral lost! The Vice Admiral actually lost! Haha! Nice one, kid!"

Their laughter infected Garp. Being a simple-minded man, he burst into laughter too. But as he laughed, he suddenly stood up. His more-than-two-meter height was immensely oppressive as he looked down at Zhong Hao, and even the air seemed to grow heavy.

He solemnly asked, "Kid, can you uphold justice?"

The moment those words left his mouth, every Marine stopped laughing and straightened up, looking at Zhong Hao with the same solemn expressions. The entire dock became grave. The villagers all fell silent and watched quietly.

Zhong Hao shook his head, meeting Garp's gaze without retreating. "I don't know. But at the very least, I don't want to be a bad person." He did not simply say what Garp wanted to hear. He did not want to deceive the man who was about to become his teacher.

Garp grinned, revealing two rows of neat teeth. "From now on, you are this old man's disciple. Always remember what you said, and carry it through to the end."

"Master." Zhong Hao bowed deeply. The way he looked at Garp grew closer, and Garp's place in his heart rose sharply. An invisible bond tightly connected the two of them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The surrounding Marines collectively raised their guns and fired celebratory shots into the air.