I Want to Become a Pirate Instead

Sea Circle Calendar, 1498.

Ohara's Tree of Knowledge was still as lush and green as ever.

Yet the winds that would stir the world had already, unnoticed, blown into the West Blue.

On the golden beach, waves washed the sand from seashells before quickly receding. Several crabs blew bubbles as they hurried past.

In the coconut grove nearby, Jogo stood upside down with one arm braced against the ground, bare-chested except for a pair of dark blue trousers. Keeping time with the sound of the waves, he steadily pushed himself up and down, fully focused on one-armed handstand push-ups.

"...678...679..." A faint counting voice drifted through the wind.

Under the sunlight, glistening beads of sweat continually rolled down the clean, sculpted lines of his muscles and struck the ground.

His breathing remained steady, without the slightest disorder.

His balanced, restrained body seemed as though it had been hammered over and over upon an anvil, locking down every shred of strength.

A movement as difficult as reaching the heavens for ordinary people seemed like something he could continue forever.

If no one interrupted him...

From behind a coconut tree, a corner of clothing that had not been properly hidden peeked out.

It fluttered twice in the sea breeze.

A petite figure suddenly darted out and pounced toward the young man with lightning speed.

"Jogo!!!!"

Jogo had expected it. With one hand, he caught the little girl in the purple-brown dress and held her suspended in midair, his handstand completely unaffected.

"699...700... Robin, didn't you have class today?" Jogo casually set the little girl aside and asked.

"Hehehe~ Grandpa Clow is busy today. He said I should go over with you tonight~" a sweet, childish voice replied.

Apparently knowing long ago that her sneak attack had no chance of succeeding, Robin stood on tiptoe and cheerfully climbed onto a nearby rock. Resting her chin in her hands, she quietly waited for Jogo to finish training.

Her slender, fair little legs, as delicate as lotus roots, swung back and forth in the air. She was as happy as always.

"Me?"

Jogo found it a little strange.

"What's the old man calling me for?"

Hadn't he already graduated?

"Grandpa Clow said that ever since you passed the exam and became an archaeologist, you've barely gone to the Tree of Knowledge. He wants to take back your certificate!"

"Heh~ 709... In his dreams!" Jogo did not care in the slightest.

His soul had crossed over into this world... though perhaps reincarnation was a more fitting word.

He had been born here and raised here, with no clue who his parents were.

According to Dr. Clow,

not long after Nico Olvia's archaeological ship had set sail, they discovered him tied to a wooden board, only a few months old and wailing loudly.

Judging from the traces left at the scene, a merchant ship had likely been attacked by the infamous Chest Hair Pirates nearby.

The ship had been destroyed, and everyone aboard had died.

Other than him, no one had escaped.

The archaeologists pitied him and brought him back with them.

And so, eighteen years had passed.

He had grown up eating the food provided by Ohara's scholars.

For the first fifteen years, he had been muddleheaded, a native Ohara brat through and through.

His intelligence had not yet awakened.

Until three years ago, when three-year-old Robin fell into the sea and was targeted by a shark. In that critical moment, Jogo awakened Conqueror's Haki and saved her.

What followed was the return of his transmigration memories, which had slept for fifteen years, along with... his cheat ability, the [Haki Panel]!

As his thoughts shifted, strings of data surfaced in Jogo's mind.

[

Name: Jogo

Physique Level: Two (73%)

Observation Haki (Unawakened)

Armament Haki (Unawakened)

Conqueror's Haki (Awakened)

Equipped Traits: "Flower-Flower Fruit (Gold)" "Otherworldly Soul (Silver)"

Reserve Trait Pool: "Fishing Master (Silver)" "Historian (Blue)" "Fishmonger (Blue)" "Antique Enthusiast (White)" "Strong (White)" "Blood Scent (White)" "Helpful (White)" "Hooligan (White)" "King of the Kids (White)"

]

Yes, the [Haki Panel] allowed Jogo to obtain traits of varying grades and equip them onto Haki he had awakened.

For example, the "Flower-Flower Fruit" was what he had obtained after saving little Robin.

Originally, his Conqueror's Haki could only be released with himself as its center.

But with the "Flower-Flower Fruit" trait's boost, he could release his Conqueror's Haki from any point within his line of sight... or even from multiple points at once.

That included, but was not limited to, other people's bodies!

His melee attacks had become ranged attacks, and he even had auto-aim!

Of course, it had drawbacks too.

The farther away it was used, and the more points it was released from, the more his physical and mental energy consumption increased geometrically.

But that was no problem for Jogo.

As a transmigrator, he had been born with the noble exclusive trait, "Otherworldly Soul."

It could increase the power of Conqueror's Haki, greatly improve his control over it, and reduce the burden that using Conqueror's Haki placed upon his body and mind.

It greatly boosted his endurance!

As for the other traits in the reserve pool...

It was not that Jogo did not want to equip them. Rather, with his current physique, each type of Haki could only support two equipped traits.

That was one of the reasons he trained so desperately.

"Jogo~ Shall we go catch fish later?" Little Robin leaned forward with her hands braced on the rock, asking eagerly as her silky black hair gently brushed against her face in the wind.

Jogo was incredibly good at catching fish!

All he had to do was find a place with plenty of fish and dive into the sea. Once his Conqueror's Haki swept through, the surface would soon be covered with all kinds of marine creatures floating belly-up.

Thanks to this shocking fish-blasting technique, he had not only gained the "Fishing Master" trait, but was also close to monopolizing Ohara's fishing market by himself and becoming the legendary Fish King.

"I should bring some fish to the old man, so he stops nagging all day. 723...724..."

Jogo suddenly remembered something and asked Robin,

"Was there any big news today?"

"Yes!"

Robin excitedly repeated a conversation she had overheard from Dr. Clow. "Pirate King Roger was executed in Loguetown in the East Blue!"

"Grandpa Clow and the others kept talking about something called 'One Piece' and the 'Great Pirate Era.' Um... Robin didn't understand."

727...

The training that not even wind or rain could stop came to a halt.

"Roger is dead..."

"Has it already reached this point?"

Jogo murmured softly. He suddenly lost all interest in training and lightly flipped down onto the ground.

Roger was dead, and the Great Pirate Era had begun.

That meant Ohara's Buster Call was not far away either.

He looked at the [Haki Panel], which had not changed in half a year, then raised his head to look at the sky he had seen for eighteen years. He slowly let out a heavy breath.

It seemed it was time to set sail.

"Come on, Robin. Let's go catch fish!"

"Okay!"

Amid bell-like laughter, one tall and one short figure headed toward the shore.

Evening.

The room built within the Tree of Knowledge's massive bean-pod-like structure was brightly lit.

"No matter how many times I eat it, honey elephant-nose bluefin tuna is always so moving!" Clow, with his clover-shaped hairstyle, lavished praise upon that night's dinner, his face full of bliss as he ate.

He had completely forgotten that he was supposed to lecture Jogo.

Jogo quietly gave little Robin an OK gesture.

The little old man was easily handled!

Using her Flower-Flower Fruit, Robin passed plates out from the kitchen one after another.

Unlike its usual quietness, the Tree of Knowledge had many visitors today.

Nearly all the archaeologists who had yet to set out to sea had gathered here.

They sampled the dinner Jogo had brought, drank a little alcohol for once, and excitedly discussed what had happened during today's broadcast.

"Good riddance! Another pirate is dead!!"

"That's hard to say. Other pirates are one thing, but when a pirate like Roger dies, who knows whether that's good or bad for this world?"

"Shouldn't the important thing be the 'One Piece'?"

"I'd bet it has something to do with that blank hundred years!"

"Damn it, why hide it away? I want to get the 'One Piece' right now!"

"Hey, cheer up. The world is about to become chaotic! We're witnessing history!!"

The historians were unusually fired up, arguing fiercely without end.

In the end, they brought the dispute to Jogo and demanded that he say who was right.

As a child everyone had raised together, Jogo had served as a mediator for disputes since he was young.

Of course, more often than not, the dispute would remain unresolved, and little Jogo would burst into tears because he was caught in the middle.

But everyone loved playing that game with him.

Jogo put down his chopsticks.

"I think all of you have a point... but I have another piece of news to tell you."

"What news?" Everyone turned to look at him.

Amid countless puzzled gazes, Jogo said leisurely, "I'm planning to go to sea and become a pirate!"

The room fell silent for two seconds.

"Eh!!!!!" In the quiet night, the archaeologists' collective cry exploded through the Tree of Knowledge.

Disaster! The archaeological prodigy they had raised since childhood wanted to switch careers and become a pirate!!