When Did I Become a Man of Legend?

Twilight approached, and the sailing ship drifted slowly across the vast ocean.

Wude sat on the deck, counting his savings. Half a year out at sea, he had unexpectedly transformed into a wealthy man.

The Berries accumulated all the way from waylaying pirates and trading them in for bounties—if he chose to find some small place to live comfortably, they would definitely last him a very long time.

"Come over here, all of you! I'm handing out some cash!" Wude called toward the fellows who handled the ingredients.

Though there would be a banquet on the sea tonight and he was still the one cooking, these guys could at least help out by washing vegetables and slicing meat.

"Sir, you've been doing all the work dealing with the pirates along the way; we won't take any money," one man waved his hands in haste.

"Yeah, sir's archery was truly divine today; if it were up to us, we really wouldn't know how long it would have dragged on," another praised.

Jia looked at the stack of Berries he had just received in his hand, then glanced at the companion who had backstabbed him, torn over whether or not to return them to the adult.

"Take it, all of you. I call this letting you experience being wealthy in advance, so that later, when you embark on your own paths, you won't be tempted by money and stray from your original intentions." Wude handed the stacks of Berries over to the utility men.

Looking at the high-denomination banknotes in their hands, the utility men couldn't help but feel intensely excited, their hands trembling.

Wude wasn't just distributing the money from this current haul; he also took a portion of the earnings these people had accumulated since boarding the ship over the past half-year and handed it out to his subordinates.

"So much money, such an unreal feeling." A man sat on the deck supporting his forehead, patting his cheeks.

Jia let out an oafish howl of agony as Yi pinched his leg.

"What are you doing!?"

"I'm checking if this is a dream. So much money."

"Get lost!"

"Okay!"

Yi scurried away despicably, counting the money and giggling foolishly.

Jia looked warily at the others sneaking up on him, thinking that treating him like the ship's village idiot was one thing, but now they were even bullying him. Wuwuwu...

"When we get back to the East Blue, I'm definitely giving some money to my mom and dad," a young man said, covering his face as he cried.

He hadn't expected that the first time in his life he would have money to show filial piety to his parents wouldn't be when he became a pirate, but rather as a subordinate of the adult.

The pirate faction was too black-hearted; from now on, whoever said the adult's Marine faction was no good would have him to answer to!

One by one, the utility men instantly transformed from ordinary fans of Wude into rabid fanatics.

"Sir, if our strength grows in the future, will we also be able to easily capture pirates just like you?" a man raised his head to ask.

"Of course you can, provided you can keep up." Wude nodded, encouraging everyone.

"I don't really have any grand ambitions; I plan to give all this money to my wife and children, hoping to wash away my stains before I die," at that moment, a man spoke up heavily.

The others fell silent one after another.

They could change their names, change places, and then start over from scratch.

No one was going to go out of their way to cross regions just to hunt down a few nameless, small-fry pirate cannon fodder.

Yet the people in the village would forever remember those bastards.

"Sir, please help me send the money back to my hometown. I want to stay in the Grand Line and start over, and I won't go home until I've made a name for myself and washed away my stains." Yi dropped to his knees with a thud, pleading.

"Why?" The simple-minded Jia didn't understand. His family had all died when he was young, and, left completely alone, he couldn't understand Yi's state of mind.

"I'm afraid of running into my family and being cursed at." Yi wiped his tears, then Jia hugged him.

"Even though I still don't get it, I'm your brother too. Stop crying; watching you cry makes me feel all stuffed up inside."

"Aah aaah—!"

Yi wept even harder, leaving Jia looking utterly exasperated.

Tonight's banquet was exceptionally gloomy. No matter how much the idiot Jia clowned around, he couldn't get everyone to be as happy as they usually were.

The people present couldn't follow in the adult's footsteps forever; they were well aware of that fact.

Starting over from scratch—how could it possibly be that easy? They weren't exceptionally talented people like the adult.

Someday in the future, when the people present here were able to stand proudly in the sunlight, perhaps one of them by their side would have already fallen along the way.

On the sandy ground of Alabasta.

Not far from here was the Sandora River.

The turbulent river surged onward, and the sailing ship was docked at the shore.

The current of the river flowed just like the moods of these fellows. Standing before the adult, they once again ungratefully dropped to their knees, grown men shedding tears.

"Sir, the information about our families is all right here. We part ways here. If we're still alive in the future, we will definitely come to serve under your command." Yi said to Wude along with a few others, then turned, hoisted his pack onto his back, and headed toward the distant oasis.

Not a single one of them wanted to return to the East Blue to join the Marines. Instead, they chose to disperse across various islands of the Grand Line, choosing to live and train locally for several years to assimilate into the place, and only then go to the local Marine branch to enlist.

As for the few people Yi brought with him, they chose to live in Alabasta and assimilate into it.

Not far from Alabasta was a Marine branch.

Jia followed alone and desolately behind Wude. He had been without kin or companions since childhood, and in the East Blue there wasn't even a single person who cursed at him.

Such a poignant person, yet he could start over right where he was.

Hard to tell if it was joy or sorrow.

"Sir, wuwuwu..." Jia suddenly burst into tears.

"What's wrong, protozoa?" Wude turned around to tease him.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to see them anymore." Jia covered his face and sobbed.

"Don't worry, you'll see them." Wude smiled and patted Jia's head.

From now on, the navigation would be left to him, Jia, and Kuroh.

As for the others, according to Shyarly's prophecy:

[They started over in the East Blue and joined the Marines. Years later, several among them awakened Observation Haki under Wude's methods.]

These people came to Marine Headquarters one after another, becoming Wude's subordinates and fighting for him.

They redeemed the impression in their families' hearts; everything was very happy.

However, one day, an old acquaintance of one of the men—a fellow Marine stationed in the East Blue—had degenerated to the point of cooperating with nobles and pirates, even turning a blind eye to the pirate Arlong's oppression of the common people.

He grew jealous of these guys' bright futures and reported them to his superiors for their past identities as pirates.

One by one, they were all arrested and escorted to Enies Lobby for trial.

And Wude was also implicated, leading to accusations from the upper echelons...]

Having little Shyarly as a little fan-girl had tremendous benefits; it was practically like cheating.

"This fellow, heh heh..." Wude recalled the name of the person Shyarly had prophesied and laughed wickedly.

Send him off to rebirth.

"Let's go." Wude beckoned to Jia.

"Yes, sir!" Jia hurried to keep up, returning to the ship.

One month later.

An island in the East Blue.

The sounds of battle and roaring, intermingled with the clash of swords and blades, echoed amid buildings consumed by blazing fire.

Pirates excitedly slaughtered the townspeople. The master of the town's kendo dojo led his disciples in a desperate resistance, ultimately cornered into a tiny nook with only two disciples left by his side.

"None of you will die a good death!" Dojo Master Augustus pointed his sword forward and roared.

"Hahaha, you can't blame me for this! It was that very creepy young man in your town who sold you out!" Pirate David laughed craftily.

"Who?" Augustus flushed red with exasperation, his blood vessels bulging.

"Just that young man whose expression looks very punchable, with a pair of whiskers just like a rat's. But he was too smart; he didn't tell me his name, and he left as soon as he took the money." Pirate David shook his head with a look of regret.

He was terribly fond of such cold-blooded scoundrels.

"It's that bastard! I'm going to kill him!" Augustus roared hoarsely in a rage.

"This is bad, Captain! That rumored terrifying man is back!"

"Who cares who he is? What the hell does him returning to the East Blue have to do with me?!"

The pirate captain looked at the underling who had run back anxiously, following it up with a torrent of face-to-face scolding.

"Stop talking, Captain! He's come to this town!"

"!" Pirate David wore a look of terror, staring in disbelief at his subordinate, only to receive a hurried nod of confirmation in return.

"Run!"

The pirate captain had been utterly arrogant just a moment ago, but upon hearing that the man had truly come, he shook with terror all over.

It was said that half a year ago, a massive pirate crew that had risen in the East Blue was suddenly and utterly exterminated by a single person.

And that man had been known to numerous factions in the East Blue ever since.

"How is that possible? Didn't he go to the Grand Line!?" David roared at his subordinates as he ran.

"But I really saw him!" The pirate underling got only halfway through his sentence when, looking at one of the two figures blocking their path ahead, he dropped to a squat on the ground in a fright, his crotch soaked.

"We're dead for sure!"