Pirates: A Family Slaughtered, Every Celestial Dragon Must Die!

After wandering the island all day, Rono returned home to check what he had gained.

He opened the system panel again and immediately saw that his strength had taken a tremendous leap!

Celestial Dragons, Here I Come

[Host: Rono]

[Age: 17]

[Strength: 245 (lieutenant commander level)]

[Speed: 185 (lieutenant commander level)]

[Stamina: 223 (lieutenant commander level)]

[Haki: Conqueror's Haki (intermediate)]

"Not bad. I should be stronger than an ordinary lieutenant commander now, especially since I have Conqueror's Haki."

As Rono studied the panel, he could feel how different his body was from before.

Besides that, he had picked up quite a few interesting abilities.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have acquired cooking skills (beginner)!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have acquired shipbuilding skills (intermediate)!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have acquired navigation skills (intermediate)!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have acquired medical skills (beginner)!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have acquired brewing skills (master)!]

It was a welcome surprise, and a huge help to Rono as he prepared to set sail.

He had picked up these abilities from the islanders. Most were only beginner or intermediate skills, but for someone about to head out to sea, they didn't have to be good. He just had to have them.

Navigation was especially important. Without it, reaching the Grand Line might take years.

Rono didn't have that kind of time.

While his parents were alive, Rono hadn't cared much about the timeline of this pirate world. Now he had to.

It was Sea Circle Calendar year 1483, thirty-seven years before Luffy would set sail in the original story.

Thirty-seven years was far too long. He couldn't wait that long to avenge his parents!

So Rono set his sights on a moment one year away: the battle at God Valley!

That was when the legendary pirate Rocks would launch his assault to slaughter the Celestial Dragons!

The fighting would be devastating. Though the original story didn't explain exactly what happened, one thing was certain: the battle would wipe God Valley off the map.

If Garp and the future Pirate King Roger hadn't joined forces, the Celestial Dragons might already have become history.

That battle was Rono's best chance for revenge.

After all, the Rocks Pirates were packed with talent.

Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, Ochoku, Silver Axe, and John—all pirates who would become infamous later—were members of Rocks's crew at the time.

If Rono joined the Rocks Pirates, he was sure to grow stronger fast!

He could also pick up terrifying abilities from those monsters!

For now, his goal was to join the Rocks Pirates, then fight alongside them at God Valley a year later!

But Rocks had high standards for his crew: they had to be strong!

Before heading to the Rocks Pirates' base on Hachinosu, Rono had to train until he was strong enough to impress Rocks.

Late that night, Rono went alone to a deserted spot to test how much he had grown in a single day.

He stopped before a block of granite about as tall as he was, clenched his fist, and drove it into the stone!

CRASH!

The granite couldn't withstand the blow. It shattered.

The force of the impact sent pain through his knuckles.

But that no longer mattered. When Rono remembered how his parents had died, all he felt was rage!

In that moment, he had imagined the granite was a Celestial Dragon.

Good. Very good!

He was worlds stronger than before!

If he'd had this strength back then, he might have avenged his parents on the spot and killed that Celestial Dragon who was worse than an animal!

Of course, the World Government and the Marines would then have hunted him without end.

Next, Rono tested his speed.

He covered a hundred meters in about six seconds—blindingly fast, nearly approaching Soru of the Six Powers!

Soru could cover a hundred meters in roughly four seconds. He was sure he'd grasp it soon.

The next day, Rono made another circuit of the island. This time, he gained noticeably less than he had on the first day.

Perhaps now that his strength had reached lieutenant commander level, gaining attributes from ordinary people was no longer so easy.

A week soon passed.

He opened the system panel again.

To his delight, his strength, speed, and stamina had each reached captain level.

Rono could no longer pick up any attributes from the islanders, and he had naturally learned Soru as well.

Even an ordinary captain would likely fall at once against Rono's Conqueror's Haki and Soru.

Since he could grow no stronger here, Rono began preparing to set sail.

First and foremost, he needed a seaworthy sailboat.

Fortunately, he'd picked up intermediate shipbuilding skills. A boat he built certainly wouldn't match the work of a professional shipwright like Franky, but building a sailboat fit for the open sea was no problem.

He spent three days gathering materials: wood, screws, canvas, thick rope, and more.

He also found hammers, screwdrivers, and other tools.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Working through the night, Rono finished the sailboat in a day.

As he looked at the sailboat, roughly the size of the Going Merry, a wave of emotion stirred in the exhausted Rono's chest.

Celestial Dragons, here I come!

An Encounter with the Future Pirate King Roger

After building the boat, Rono spent another day gathering his parents' belongings.

He made a necklace from a family photo of the three of them and hung it around his neck. He also took every Beli in the house.

After saying goodbye at his parents' graves, he went to the harbor.

There, Rono boarded the sailboat, which was about the size of the Going Merry.

He had named the ship Revenge.

The sun was setting.

The distant mountains rose like waves, and the dying sun stained the sea blood-red. It was beautiful and sad.

Standing on Revenge's deck, Rono turned to look at the island where he had lived for ten years.

Happy days with his parents, games with his friends, time spent with the islanders...

The memories came flooding back, leaving him with tangled feelings.

For a moment, Rono remembered Sasuke's farewell to Sakura when the Sound Four came to take him away.

Sasuke hadn't said goodbye to Naruto or Kakashi. He'd slipped away while no one was watching.

Had Sasuke felt something like this then?

But hatred and anger soon swept those feelings away!

Without saying goodbye to anyone, Rono left the village where he had lived for ten years and set out to sea without looking back!

His goal was clear: grow stronger, then do everything he could to kill the Celestial Dragons!

No. Kill every last one of them!

He would make those beasts feel the terror of being killed!

As long as he found strong people, he could pick up valuable abilities.

The strongest pirate crew at sea right now was undoubtedly the Rocks Pirates.

Rono remembered that Rocks also had his sights set on the Celestial Dragons, and that his crew included many powerful monsters.

Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, John, Ochoku, and Silver Axe would all become renowned powerhouses.

At their side, Rono was bound to grow stronger quickly!

With that in mind, Rono worked the oars and headed for the Grand Line.

This wasn't yet the Great Pirate Era that would follow Roger's death, when pirates were everywhere.

The East Blue was fairly peaceful now. Even the pirates here were little more than small-time thugs.

They weren't much stronger than ordinary people.

Those pirates weren't even worth putting bounties on.

Rono encountered two pirate crews in a row, but couldn't pick up a single attribute or useful ability from either.

He let out a little Conqueror's Haki and knocked both crews unconscious.

After stripping their ships of every Beli, Rono left satisfied.

"I'm running low on fresh water. Better stock up."

Back aboard his ship, Rono realized he'd been at sea for almost a week.

His food and fresh water were nearly gone.

He decided to stop at the nearest island and replenish his water supply.

Fortunately, he'd robbed two pirate crews over the past few days and built up some funds.

He docked Revenge at the harbor of a nearby inhabited island and went ashore to find fresh water.

This time, Rono filled every room except his bedroom with fresh water.

He was the only one aboard, so he didn't need the other rooms. This would save him time.

Time was money, and Rono didn't want to keep stopping for fresh water. It would slow him down too much.

"Hey, is this your ship? She's a fine vessel!"

Just as Rono finished filling the last room, an unfamiliar voice came from the deck. He went on alert at once.

His Conqueror's Haki stirred within him.

Could those pirates have come for revenge?

With that thought, Rono prepared to strike first the instant he opened the door and unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.

But then he froze!

He had seen who was there!

Wait... was that...?

That familiar straw hat, that dazzling grin—the man was dressed in shabby clothes and carried a patched bundle on his back, but the sight of him still took Rono by surprise!