The Savage Bear Pirates

Nojiko led Nami around the house, the two of them hopping from place to place in curiosity. Noil found Bellemere in the backyard.

"I still need to plant some orange trees! I wonder if there are any seeds left in the storeroom."

Bellemere stood looking over her spacious backyard, wondering what to plant.

Her words reminded Noil of the system reward. He took out the seeds.

Dragging the sack behind him, he pretended he had just arrived and called out, "Bellemere! Is this what you're looking for?"

Bellemere turned to him in surprise. She took a handful of seeds from the sack, examined them, and lit up.

"That's exactly what I need! You're so clever, Noil!"

At dinnertime, the family shared a lively meal.

The days when he had searched corpses for food just to stay alive felt like a dream.

Noil took a bite of rice and looked up at Bellemere and her two daughters, laughing and chatting together.

Their warmth drew a smile from him too.

From then on, Noil settled in.

His physique developed rapidly. With the help of his Sole Focus talent, he also began learning swordsmanship.

To his surprise, he had a knack for it. He might have been nowhere near Zoro's level, but his progress didn't disappoint him.

The system also began tracking his swordsmanship.

He practiced swordsmanship, honed his Village Police Fighting Style, and grew stronger as he got older. Time flew by.

Year after year passed. In the blink of an eye, Noil was ten.

At ten, he had lived up to Bellemere's hopes and grown into a genuinely handsome young man.

His growth in height had begun to slow, but he was already over six feet tall.

Even Bellemere couldn't help wondering:

What do you do when the kid you've raised for seven years is almost taller than you?

Over the years, Noil had honed his abilities while sparring with the strongest men in the village.

Before long, ten-year-old Noil had beaten every last one of them.

The villagers could hardly believe it. Everyone said Bellemere had raised a fighting prodigy.

Seeing how strong he was, Bellemere loosened the reins and let him roam wherever he liked.

Nojiko and Nami weren't so lucky. They had to stay where Bellemere could keep an eye on them.

Nami hadn't given up. She begged Noil several times to take her along, but he refused with an air of stern righteousness.

Take you out with me? Are you kidding?

Bellemere's punches hurt like hell!

When the fishermen of Cocoyasi Village headed out to sea, Noil tagged along.

Sitting on the deck, he checked his stats.

Host: Kielros D. Noir

Ability stats:

Charm: 87 (maximum 100)

Physique: 213 (maximum 999)

Swordsmanship: 150 (maximum 999)

Items: Gold Talent Copy Card ×1, Purple Talent Copy Card ×1, Blue Talent Copy Card ×1, White Talent Copy Card ×1

Talents: Otherworldly Guest, Energy Boost, Climate Super-Sense, Sole Focus, Village Police Fighting Style...

Noil was quite pleased with the progress he had made over the past seven years.

Both his physique and swordsmanship had passed a hundred. His charm had also risen by seven points thanks to Otherworldly Guest.

By his rough estimate, if he became a pirate now, he could probably earn a bounty of around ten million berries.

But that wasn't enough. Arlong would arrive in two years, and Noil needed at least one stat above three hundred to stand a chance.

Over the years, though, he had discovered a drawback to the system.

He needed powerful people.

If Noil wanted to copy better, stronger talents, he first had to find someone strong enough to possess them.

But here in Cocoyasi Village, there were no such people. He could probably sweep through the whole village by himself with a single blade.

"Noil! We've got a big one! Give us a hand!"

The fishermen had spotted a huge fish and called excitedly to Noil, who was still sighing to himself.

"Coming!" Noil answered.

Before he could make a move, the huge fish surged up out of the water.

Its massive body was several meters long. It had a vicious-looking head, red eyes, and fangs dripping with saliva.

That was no fish. It was a small Sea King.

In the past, the fishermen would have turned and run. But things were different now...

"Dinner's here! Dinner's here!"

"Look at all that meat. It'd be delicious steamed!"

"What are you talking about? Nothing beats grilled fish!"

The Sea King glared at them.

What do you take me for? I came to eat you, and you want to cook me?

You're dead!

The Sea King whipped its steel-hard tail toward the fishermen with crushing force.

Not one of them panicked.

Just as the enormous tail was about to smash into the boat, a brilliant silver flash cut through the air!

The Sea King stared at the human leaping overhead, then at its own body, now separated from its head and drifting farther away...

Actually... steamed sounds pretty good...

That was one Sea King's final thought.

Savage Bear Pirates ### Noil landed back on the boat and slowly slid his gleaming Skillful Blade into its sheath.

Behind him, the severed Sea King fell into the sea and landed in the great net the fishermen had already laid out.

One slash had done it!

The fishermen got to work. By now, they seemed used to seeing kills like that.

After all, this ten-year-old was the strongest person in Cocoyasi Village.

Noil lay at the bow, grinning as everyone bustled around.

Whoosh—

A long, piercing whistle suddenly rang out over the sea. Noil's eyes narrowed.

Could it be?

Boom!

A violent blast erupted beside the fishing boat. A column of water shot high into the air and drenched everyone aboard.

Cannon fire?!

Noil steadied himself against the deck and stood. Out on the water, an enormous black ship was slowly approaching.

White smoke still curled from a cannon on its side.

The black flag flying above it was impossible to miss.

A stark white skull against a black background. A pirate flag.

"Pirates?" Noil straightened, hand resting on his sword. His face darkened.

Someone had fired a cannon at them for no reason. Of course he was angry.

The good news was that these pirates clearly weren't the Arlong Pirates.

I'm the one who fires cannons at other people. Nobody fires one at me!

His anger flaring, Noil shouted to the panicked fishermen aboard the boat:

"You head back to the village!"

"I'll show them what cruelty looks like!"

A shifty-eyed man with a scar across his face smiled obsequiously at the man beside him aboard the pirate ship.

"Captain, look how scared they are. One sight of the Savage Bear Pirates' flag and they're already panicking."

The man he called captain had a fleshy face, thick arms, and a beer belly.

"I'm 'Savage Bear' Kenbula. Everyone gets out of my way."

Captain Kenbula laughed wildly, pointed a stubby finger at the fishing boat, and shouted, "Board them! Then storm the village and take everything worth stealing!"

"Yeah!" The ragged crew let out a chorus of savage cries and sprang into action.

Strong sailors hurled several grappling hooks onto the fishing boat, creating lines between the vessels.

"Get over there, boys!" Kenbula roared, baring his foul-smelling yellow teeth.

The pirates swarmed across the ropes like locusts. Noil frowned and told the fishermen:

"I'll cut the ropes. Get back to the village and warn everyone!"

"I'll handle them!"

With that, Noil leaped onto a rope, ducked low, and charged toward the pirates!

"Noil!" the fishermen cried, but he didn't listen.

He had wanted a real fight with live blades for a long time!

The fishermen stared at one another aboard the boat. At last, one of them gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go back to the village for help!"

Noil raced toward the pirate ship, holding his scabbard with his left hand. His right arm swept out, and a flash of steel severed the other ropes.

Pirates screamed as they plunged into the sea. Noil never broke stride. He ran along the one remaining rope straight at his enemies.

Seeing a kid charge toward him after taking out so many of his men, Kenbula flew into a rage. "What are you idiots doing? Chop him to pieces and throw him into the sea!"

The pirates rushed at Noil, hacking at him with several steel blades. He showed no fear.

His sword moved like a snake, striking their blades and turning aside every attack in an instant.

In that brief moment, before the startled pirates could react, Noil's blade struck them.

Red wounds opened across their bodies. His flashing blade sent blood spraying into the air, and the pirates dropped unconscious into the sea one after another.

Noil had been born among corpses. A little bloodshed didn't faze him.

"What?!"

Kenbula stared in shock at Noil, who stood alone against his crew. The scar-faced man beside him was too frightened to speak.

When Kenbula saw his men crowding backward in fear, he bellowed, "You useless fools! What are you afraid of? Get him!"

"Let me help you with that."

The voice was young, but it sent a shiver through every pirate there.

Noil sprang over the heads of the attacking pirates and landed aboard their ship.

With one hand braced against the deck and the other gripping his bloodstained sword, he looked up at Kenbula and gave him a smile that held no warmth. "Hello, Captain."