The Conscription Order Arrives

Time flew by like a galloping horse flashing past.

In the blink of an eye, six full years had passed since that inexplicable transmigration incident that even a truck couldn't explain.

Locke Village, atop a seaside cliff behind the village.

"Breathe... in... breathe... out..."

Heavy, rhythmic breathing echoed across the empty cliffside alongside the roar of waves crashing against the reefs.

A six-year-old boy with short black hair stood bare-chested, his legs rooted firmly in the hard rock.

Though he was still small, anyone who looked closely would be shocked to discover that his tiny body already bore the faint outlines of well-defined muscles, as though they had been forged from steel!

The boy was Rochi.

"Crack—!"

A teeth-gritting snap rang out.

Rochi's hands, far larger than those of children his age, suddenly exerted force.

A branch as thick as his forearm was forcibly bent in half by his bare hands, twisted into an extreme fold!

Wood splinters pierced his palms, drawing thin streams of blood, yet he did not even furrow his brow.

"At six years old, without relying on any system abilities, I've already pushed this body's ordinary human potential to its current limit."

Rochi casually tossed the broken ironwood branch off the cliff. Watching it plunge into the churning sea, his childish face revealed a calmness and coldness utterly at odds with his age.

"System."

He murmured inwardly.

[Host: Rochi]

[Current Level: Level 0 (A child whose physical abilities far surpass those of his peers, but still an ordinary person)]

[Experience: 0/10]

[Current Combat Assessment: You can probably beat three wild dogs to death with your bare hands, but that's all. On the Grand Line, you are still cannon fodder.]

[Supreme Beginner Gift Pack: Locked (Time remaining until unlock: 9 years)]

Looking at the unchanged status panel, Rochi grabbed the burlap clothes hanging on the rocks and wiped away his sweat.

Ever since he had learned to walk, Rochi had never stopped putting his body through brutal training.

Because he possessed an adult soul, he understood better than anyone what kind of cruel world this was.

This was the One Piece World!

Without strength, in an era where human lives were worth less than grass, even breathing was a luxury!

That damned anti-addiction safety lock in the system insisted on making him wait until he turned fifteen before he could open the gift pack.

But Rochi had no intention of entrusting his fate to some vague, intangible wait.

For the past six years, he had subjected himself to hellish physical training every day.

Squats, push-ups, long-distance runs with weights, barehanded rock climbing... Without a renowned teacher to guide him, he used the most primitive and brutal methods from his memories of his past life to temper his muscles and bones.

These past six years had not been peaceful for Locke Village.

Fortunately, his father Ron, the village chief, was a burly man who could barely hold his own among the surrounding villages, so they had not encountered any pirates who slaughtered entire villages.

As for leveling up by killing enemies?

A bitter smile tugged at Rochi's lips.

There was not even a particularly ferocious beast in this village.

Given his current physical development, even if he reached Level 1, he still could not withstand real muskets, swords, or blades.

"Endure."

"Before I turn fifteen, I only need to be an inconspicuous little brat and protect my Household."

Just as Rochi put on his clothes and prepared to head down the mountain for breakfast, a terrified cry tinged with sobs suddenly came from afar.

"Rochi! Rochi! Where are you?!"

Rochi's gaze sharpened as he instantly turned around.

On the winding dirt road behind the cliff, his thirteen-year-old sister Roski was stumbling toward him.

"Roski! What happened?"

Rochi dashed forward like a cheetah and caught Roski just as she was about to fall.

"A ship... a World Government ship has arrived!"

Roski clutched Rochi's arm desperately, her nails nearly digging into his flesh. Her voice trembled with despair. "They... they've come to take people again! They've already dragged Dad to the square!"

"What?!"

Rochi's pupils abruptly contracted, and a terrible premonition surged within him.

A World Government ship?

If it were the Marines on patrol, Roski would never have been frightened into this state.

There was only one explanation—conscription!

"Go!"

Rochi said nothing more. Dragging Roski along, he sprinted madly toward the village square.

Locke Village, central square.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the square was oppressive to the extreme, as though even the air had frozen solid.

More than two hundred villagers had been driven and herded tightly into the center of the square.

Suppressed sobs from women and terrified cries from children rose from the crowd.

At the very front of the crowd stood two rows of fully armed soldiers holding flintlock rifles.

They wore the uniforms of the World Government Army, their eyes as cold as if they were looking at livestock awaiting slaughter.

Standing directly before the soldiers was a man dressed in a crisp officer's uniform and draped in a black cloak.

The man was lean and gaunt, with high cheekbones and polished knee-high leather boots.

He had an expensive cigar clenched between his teeth and idly toyed with an exquisite flintlock pistol. His sinister triangular eyes were filled with lofty arrogance and contempt.

"Quiet—!"

The gaunt officer suddenly drew his pistol and fired into the sky with a bang.

The deafening gunshot instantly suppressed every cry and wail. The villagers crouched down with their heads covered, trembling in terror.

"Listen well, you lowly civilians! The great and sacred World Government now issues you a conscription order!"

The officer exhaled a thick cloud of cigar smoke and proclaimed in an extremely haughty tone:

"To preserve world peace, Locke Village must, within one day, unconditionally provide the World Government Army with at least twenty strong young men!"

The words struck the hearts of every villager like a bolt from the blue.

Twenty young men?!

"My lord! Officer, sir!"

At that moment.

At the front of the crowd, a burly man built like a black bear shoved his way out. With a thud, he dropped heavily to his knees before the officer's boots.

His massive knees slammed against the stone pavement with a dull impact.

It was the chief of Locke Village, Rochi's father, Ron!

Six years ago, he had held the newborn Rochi with great hope and laughed as he declared that he would send his son to become a Marine and make a name for himself at sea.

Now, his weathered face was filled with humility and despair. His huge body was hunched over like a dog whose spine had been broken.

"Officer, sir! Please show mercy!"

Ron knelt on the ground, pressing his forehead tightly against the cold stone slabs as he pleaded hoarsely:

"This is already the third consecutive year of conscription! Over the past two years, the village has already had fifty men taken away—every man between fifteen and forty!"