Setting Out to Sea

On a Nameless uninhabited island near the Calm Belt in the South Blue.

A black-haired boy in white stood with a sword in hand and a blindfold over his eyes. In front of him stood a huge boulder over two meters tall.

Though his eyes were covered with cloth, the boy's movements were completely unaffected, adding to his bearing.

The boy gripped his sword with both hands and brought it down on the boulder. A breath later, the only sound was a clang as the boulder split in two and collapsed.

The surface of the stone where the sword had cut through it was unbelievably smooth and even, without a single fragment breaking loose. It looked almost like a carefully polished work of art.

"Now I can already sense the breathing of all things and find their weak points, killing them with a single strike. From here on, I'll have to explore the path myself."

The boy was Ryan, who had trained under Rayleigh for two whole years. At eleven years old, Ryan was already nearly 170 centimeters tall.

His hair, which had gone untrimmed for two years, almost reached his waist. Ryan now had the bearing of a master.

Over the past two years, Ryan had followed Rayleigh to this island in the Calm Belt to train. The sky was his blanket, the earth his bed, and he lived exposed to the elements. His main focus had been learning the Breathing Technique from Rayleigh.

Of course, Rayleigh had taught him swordsmanship and Haki as well, but for Ryan, the greatest gain of these two years had been his cultivation of the Breathing Technique.

The Breathing Technique used Observation Haki as its foundation to sense the breathing of all things in heaven and earth. At its highest level, one could even hear the Voice of All Things. At present, only a few people in One Piece could accomplish either of these feats.

One was The Lone Red, Patrick Redfield, who could hear the voices deep within people's hearts. Another was Otohime, the queen of Fish-Man Island. A little girl on Sky Island was also born with Observation Haki. The last was Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, who could hear the Voice of All Things.

The former was a matter of talent, while the latter could only be achieved through cultivating the Breathing Technique. After Rayleigh passed the technique on to Ryan, Ryan treated it like a priceless treasure.

After two years of cultivation, he had finally succeeded. He could now simply sense the breathing of all things and find their flaws through that breathing. This greatly enhanced his swordsmanship. When facing an enemy, he could find their weak points and kill them with one strike.

Rayleigh was delighted to see that Ryan had completed his training. After all, he was the one who had taught him.

"Ryan, you've already learned everything I had to teach you. There's nothing more I can teach you now. You can go back."

Upon hearing that he could return, even Ryan, usually as calm as an ancient well, could not stop his eyes from filling with tears.

Two years!

Did anyone know how Ryan had survived these two years?

As a model young man from the twenty-first century, Ryan had not seen a single living person besides Rayleigh during those two years. Every day, he either trained or fought the Ferocious Beasts on the island.

Looking at Rayleigh's smiling face, Ryan asked, "How do I get back?"

Rayleigh pointed toward the sea.

Three days later, South Blue—Bateilla Island, outside Life Tavern in Yunlai Town.

A boy who looked like a refugee walked through the doors of Life Tavern. Seeing this, someone immediately laughed loudly. "What? Anyone can come in for a drink now? Wahahaha!"

The boy said nothing. An indescribable aura rolled off him, and the person who had mocked him suddenly felt as if he were being watched by a wild beast, as though his head might be severed at any moment. Cold sweat broke out over his body, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Many people nearby continued laughing wildly.

The boy found a Kong seat in the tavern and sat down. The people beside him immediately moved away, apparently unwilling to associate with such a beggar.

"Uncle Life, bring me two bottles of Sherry and a few plates of beef."

The tavern owner, Life, froze when he heard the boy's voice, then asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"

The boy brushed the hair hanging over his face to either side and said to the tavern owner, "It's me, Uncle Life." He then revealed a pure smile.

"Ryan?"

"You're Ryan?"

"That's right. It's me," Ryan replied.

When Life saw that it really was Ryan, he burst out laughing. "You've changed so much that I couldn't recognize you. It's only been two years—how did you end up like this?"

"It's a long story."

The group that had just mocked Ryan held their breath when they heard his conversation with the tavern owner, Life.

They had heard the name Ryan before. Two years ago, the Belis Pirates had been massacred here by a boy named Ryan.

The atmosphere in the tavern became extremely strange. The only sound was Ryan sitting there, drinking and eating meat.

After finishing his meal, Ryan walked out of the tavern.

Once Ryan had left, everyone immediately began talking animatedly. The man who had mocked Ryan earlier said, "No wonder I felt like I was being watched by a wild beast just now. I thought I was imagining it."

"What?"

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"It only lasted an instant. I thought I was mistaken. He was only nine when he wiped out the Belis Pirates by himself. He must be even more terrifying now."

Ryan walked home. By now, he considered Gaban's place his second home.

Thinking about what had happened on the way back, Ryan felt a headache coming on. Rayleigh had made Ryan swim back, and there had been nothing he could do about it. Apart from Marine ships, there were no other vessels capable of navigating the Calm Belt.

The most important thing was that Ryan did not know the way. Rayleigh had simply pointed south toward the South Blue, then jumped into the sea and swum away. Ryan had not reacted at first, but only realized after Rayleigh was gone that he did not actually know the route.

What should have been a one-day journey had taken Ryan three days to reach Yunlai Town.

Fortunately, on the third day, Ryan encountered a group of pirates. After a friendly exchange, the pirates hit it off with him and sent him back to Yunlai Town.

That was why Ryan had ended up looking like this.

Seeing the familiar houses and buildings, Ryan could not help exclaiming, "I, Hu Hansan, have finally returned!"

Ryan pushed open the door and walked inside.

In the courtyard, a sturdy young man was flourishing two axes in his hands, while someone nearby lounged in a rocking chair, basking in the sun and sipping wine.

Seeing the two people he had not met in so long, Ryan happily said, "I'm back."

Beli and Gaban looked Ryan up and down curiously. Beli was the first to speak. "Who are you?"

The excitement in Ryan's heart vanished instantly when he heard Beli's question.

"Who am I? Just wait—I'll show you whether I can beat you up!"

Ryan accelerated toward Beli, drew the sword at his waist—Ace—and slashed at him. Beli raised both axes to block.

In an instant, Ryan appeared behind Beli and sheathed his sword.

At the same time, he muttered, "One-Sword Style: Iaido—Instant Tiger."

Beli had not had time to imbue his axes with Armament Haki. As soon as Ryan finished speaking, the axes in Beli's hands split in two and fell to the ground.

Gaban, who had been drinking, opened his mouth wide in shock. Ryan secretly chuckled when he saw this. If I weren't trying to look cool, why would I have used my full strength and even called out the name of the technique?

This was exactly the effect he wanted. Seeing Gaban's expression and Beli's stunned face made Ryan feel great. Perhaps this was why everyone enjoyed showing off in front of others.

"Beli, you still need to work harder."

"Looks like Teacher Gaban's Sun-Shattering Axe Technique isn't much after all."

Ryan spoke calmly to the two of them.

Sun-Shattering Axe Technique was the name Ryan had given Gaban's technique. Gaban had initially refused, but after Ryan explained it, he happily accepted the name Sun-Shattering Axe.

Ryan had explained it to Gaban like this: the name Sun-Shattering Axe had two meanings. First, the technique was so fierce that it could stand equal to the sun and the heavens. Second, he hoped that those who cultivated it would train every day until they could ultimately shatter the heavens.

Hearing Ryan's evaluation, Beli and Gaban both turned away, choosing not to argue with him. There was no point arguing with him anyway. They still remembered how, when Ryan sparred with the Red Hair Pirates, he had never won a fight but had never lost an argument.

Ryan was not proud of it at all. The people of the pirate world were relatively simple. Put simply, anyone who did not know how to trash-talk could never compare with Ryan, a former Canyon piano master.

That was the youth Ryan had once lost...

After washing up, Ryan wore white robes and carried the Pirate King's sword at his waist. His long hair was tied back with a ribbon. Looking at himself in the mirror, Ryan could not help admiring himself. What a graceful young master.

Gaban and Beli were already used to seeing Ryan dressed like this. Although the outfit was somewhat strange, he did look rather handsome.

"Ahem, where exactly did you have that outfit made? Make one for me too. I want it in black," Gaban said to Ryan.

Ryan agreed without hesitation. In his previous life, he had been a fan of traditional Han clothing, and he had brought Han culture to the world of pirates. Based on his memories of traditional Han clothing, he had found the best tailor in town to make the clothes.

There were seven spare white robes like the one Ryan wore at home.

Ryan was probably the first person in history to bring Han culture to the pirate world.

Seeing Ryan agree, Beli hurriedly said, "I—I want one too. I want it in green."

"Come on, let me see what you've accomplished in these two years," Gaban said to Ryan.

Ryan drew the sword at his waist and said to Gaban, "Come on, Teacher Gaban. I want to see how far I am from you now."

Armament Haki covered Gaban's entire body. He vanished and appeared in front of Ryan, kicking toward his face.

Ryan raised his sword to block. Unexpectedly, Gaban followed with a punch to his chest. At the critical moment, Ryan also covered his entire body with Armament Haki and blocked the blow, but Gaban's punch still sent him more than ten steps backward, nearly making him lose his footing.

Ryan inwardly cried out that something was wrong. Sure enough, Gaban's attacks came like a violent storm. Ryan could only defend, with no Kong room to counterattack.

With a bang, Gaban knocked Ryan into the wall behind him. Ryan's mouth filled with blood, and the wall collapsed with a crash.

"The Kong here is too small. Let's fight by the sea." With that, Gaban headed straight for the shore.

Ryan followed close behind, leaving only Beli behind.

"Wait for me!"

Three minutes later, the two began fighting again by the sea, but Ryan remained suppressed.

If this continues, I'm going to lose. Ryan steeled his heart and immediately assigned the remaining 20,000 Attribute Points to his Observation Haki.

If he could not predict Gaban's next attack, Ryan would never escape his current predicament. No matter how powerful a technique was, it still required the user to hit the opponent.

But Ryan was currently being beaten into passive defense by Gaban. Attacking recklessly would only make things more dangerous. Ryan's talent for Observation Haki was already outstanding, and among the three types of Haki, his Observation Haki cultivated the fastest.

Basically, every excellent swordsman possessed strong Observation Haki. Ryan, with the system's assistance, was even more exceptional. While at a disadvantage, he could only enhance his Observation Haki to fight for a chance at victory.

Ryan suddenly felt as if Gaban's entire attack process had slowed down slightly. But that tiny difference was enough to let Ryan catch his breath.

Gaban, who was fighting Ryan, was surprised to find that Ryan's attacks were becoming faster and faster. This kid is actually improving in the middle of a fight.

With a roar from Ryan, Gaban was finally knocked back.

"Now's my chance!" Ryan used One-Sword Style: Iaido—Instant, and attacked Gaban. With the initiative now in his hands, Ryan displayed the results of his two years of training: the Breathing Technique, iaido swordsmanship, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and combat experience.

Every one of them proved that Ryan had transformed compared with two years ago. In Gaban's eyes, the Ryan of two years earlier had merely been a child with Kong strength he could not properly wield.

After two years of training, Ryan had completely mastered his power and improved in every aspect. Ryan felt that if he fought Shanks as he had been a year ago, the victor would be difficult to predict.

Ryan began suppressing Gaban from every direction. Sometimes he slashed, sometimes he stabbed, and at times he even used a low blow with his sword. Gaban was forced backward again and again.

"Kamusari!"

Seeing that he could not injure Gaban, Ryan used his strongest technique. He had timed this strike perfectly, leaving Gaban no way to evade.

Gaban knew the power of Kamusari and used all his strength to block it.

Seeing Gaban defend with everything he had, Ryan finally used the technique that only he in this world could perform.

Ryan shouted, "Hundred-Step Flying Sword!"

With a deafening roar, sand and dust billowed into the air. A three-meter-deep fissure split the coastal beach, left in the wake of Kamusari.

When the dust cleared, the sword was no longer in Ryan's hand. At that moment, a sword was embedded in Gaban's arm. It was Ace.

Beli, who had been watching from the side, wore a classic dumbfounded expression. He had never imagined that Ryan could now defeat Gaban.

It turned out that Ryan had taken advantage of the Kong opening when Gaban was knocked back by Kamusari to use the secret technique Hundred-Step Flying Sword. Hundred-Step Flying Sword came from Gnie's ultimate technique in the anime Qin's Moon, which Ryan had watched in his previous life.

Ryan had made a slight modification to it. He used the strength of his wrist to throw the sword toward the target, then struck the hilt with his palm while the sword was in flight.

This allowed the sword to reach its maximum theoretical flying speed. Imbued with Armament Haki, the supreme-grade great sword Ace could pierce through the defenses of most people.

Especially when used by surprise, it could take an opponent's head from a hundred steps away. Ryan's self-created Hundred-Step Flying Sword relied on catching the enemy off guard.

No swordsman in this world would throw away their sword while fighting an enemy the way Ryan did. That was why the technique was a hidden trump card against an enemy who did not know about it.

"I've lost!" Gaban's voice slowly drifted over.

Ding, host has defeated Scopper Gaban and received 40,000 Attribute Points.

Hearing this, Ryan shook his head. "If Teacher Gaban had used his axes, I would have been the one to lose."

Ryan knew that without a weapon, Gaban could only display around eighty percent of his full strength.

Still, Ryan was delighted to have defeated 0.8 Gaban. He had earned recognition and gained Attribute Points.

Gaban said seriously, "A loss is a loss. If you had wanted to take my life just now, I would already be dead."

"But your Hundred-Step Flying Sword is too extreme. If you fail to seriously injure or kill your enemy, you'll be the one who dies next."

Gaban was right. A swordsman's combat power dropped by thirty percent without a sword. This technique could only be used at a life-or-death moment.

Ryan humbly accepted Gaban's advice. "Don't worry, Teacher Gaban. I won't use this technique lightly."

"With your current strength, you can set out to sea."

Earlier, after seeing Ryan's yearning to go out to sea, Gaban had made an agreement with him. Ryan could set out to sea once he defeated Gaban.

Ryan looked at Beli. "How is your money coming along?"

Before Ryan had followed Rayleigh away to train, he had told Beli to kill pirates with bounties whenever he had time. That way, he could gain combat experience while earning money.

Beli fidgeted and said, "I only have 10 million Beli. I sent the rest to the orphanage."

Seeing Ryan remain silent, Beli hurriedly explained, "There have been more and more pirates over the past two years, and Uncle Carter has taken in many more children. I saw them..."

"Enough, you don't need to explain. I support your decision. You did the right thing, Beli." Ryan smiled at Beli's helpless expression.

"Ten million Beli is enough."

"We'll spend the next two days preparing what we need for the voyage. Then we'll buy a ship, and we can set out to sea."

With Ryan's support, Beli was delighted. He said to Ryan, "Great! I can finally set out to sea with you, Ryan."

Ryan gazed at the boundless ocean. Three years had passed since he came to the world of pirates, and he could finally set out to see the world for himself.

Although he had learned some things from watching the One Piece anime in his previous life, those had all been Luffy's experiences. Ryan wanted to see the ocean's wonders and thrilling adventures for himself.

Ryan struck a chuunibyou pose and shouted at the calm sea, "Ocean, I, Portgas D. Ryan, am coming for you! Prepare to welcome my arrival!"

The sea, which had been calm moments earlier, suddenly became turbulent, as though responding to Ryan's words.