I Really Have Nothing to Do with Golden Lion!

"Name!"

"Randall."

"Age!"

"Sixteen."

"Occupation?"

Randall answered without hesitation, "Martial Artist."

At that, the man across from Randall widened his eyes and demanded in a gruff voice:

"A Martial Artist? So you're a civilian? But what civilian falls out of the sky?!"

And lands right in Marine Headquarters, no less?!"

Randall sighed inwardly.

He knew his story sounded a little unbelievable, but it really was the truth!

The frightening-looking man in front of him, however, didn't seem to believe him.

When Randall said nothing and simply remained silent, the Marine across from him grew even more intimidating.

"Golden Lion attacked Marine Headquarters just yesterday, and today you fell out of the sky?!

Talk! What's your connection to Golden Lion?!"

Hearing Golden Lion's name stirred something in Randall.

He had already had his suspicions.

After all, the man in front of him looked somewhat familiar, and he didn't look like a normal human.

Now that he had heard Golden Lion's name, he was fairly certain.

He was no longer in his original world.

Instead, he had arrived in the world of a very famous manga from back home—One Piece.

And judging by what this Marine had said, his timing really couldn't have been more coincidental.

He had appeared right when Golden Lion had attacked the Marines...

Still, this era was pretty good for him.

The Four Emperors had yet to establish themselves, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea system probably only had Crocodile.

After all, the balance of power on the seas had yet to take shape, which made this a very convenient time for him to enter the picture.

But to the Marine across from him, Randall's wandering attention looked like a guilty conscience.

That proved he had guessed right!

And the mention of Golden Lion inevitably reminded him of yesterday, when Golden Lion had attacked the Marine Base alone.

That overwhelming presence and onslaught, as though the entire sky were crashing down, still sent chills through him.

It made the young man in front of him look even more objectionable.

"Since you're Golden Lion's accomplice, you can follow your boss straight to Impel Down!"

That prison beneath the sea that was supposedly on par with hell, with not a single escape in its entire history?

If I really end up there, I'm done for!

What a fucking hellish start!

Panic surged through Randall, and he hurried to explain, "You've got it wrong, man! I have nothing to do with Golden Lion! And I'm not a pirate!"

"Still denying it?" the Marine said. "If you have nothing to do with Golden Lion, why did you appear here?"

Randall felt miserable, but he patiently explained anyway:

"I don't know either. I was just an innocent Martial Artist. After mastering my skills, I traveled around the world, visiting renowned masters and sparring with them.

After I defeated the last opponent on my list, who was also the World's Strongest Martial Artist, everything went black before I could even catch my breath.

When I came to, I was already here."

He was telling the honest truth.

His original world had its own system of training, too.

Its practitioners were called Martial Artists, and what they trained was the qi within their bodies.

Once they developed their qi sufficiently, they could gain extraordinary abilities.

Their hands could break steel, and their strength could split mountains.

Of course, that was the sales pitch...

Still, now that Randall had arrived in the world of One Piece, perhaps he really had a chance to make those claims a reality.

The Marine merely gave him a mocking smile. "Heh. Such a pathetic lie. What a deceitful, treacherous pirate!"

The World's Strongest Martial Artist?

Who could you possibly beat with those scrawny arms and legs?

Randall's expression soured, and his tone began to harden.

"I already told you, I really don't know anything! Stop making things up on your own!"

He might have been at a disadvantage, but that didn't mean he had to accept humiliation for no reason.

Yet the Marine continued to sneer. "Hmph. Pirate!"

Then he turned to the soldiers waiting nearby. "Lock him up. He'll be sent to Impel Down later!"

Faced with the man's appalling attitude, Randall finally lost his patience.

"Hey, you're going too far! Now I'm angry!"

Anger was part of it.

But he also knew that if he didn't fight this now, it would be too late once everything was settled.

With that, he suddenly stood up.

Randall's abrupt movement startled several of them.

But after his initial surprise, the Marine regained his composure.

He glanced at the handcuffs on Randall's wrists and sneered.

"What, you want to fight? Go on, try it."

His anger bottled up inside him, Randall flexed the muscles in his arms.

But even with all his strength, he only managed to make the handcuffs creak.

Unsurprised, the Marine sneered at the sight. "Heh. Keep going!"

Randall grew even angrier, but there was nothing he could do. The situation was stacked against him.

He realized he had been a little arrogant and still hadn't fully accepted reality.

He was still caught up in the false confidence of having defeated every opponent in his original world.

But this was the world of One Piece now, a world crawling with monsters.

To a truly powerful fighter, the steel shackles on his wrists were probably something they could casually crush and mold in their hands.

Once he understood that, Randall softened his tone. "Sir, I'm really innocent! Even the Marines need evidence!"

Randall really was unlucky, though.

Had he appeared at any other time, he wouldn't have faced such a hellish start.

But Golden Lion had attacked Marine Headquarters the day before he appeared.

And he just had to appear from the sky.

And right inside Marine Headquarters, too.

Worse still, the grim-faced Marine in front of him was the notorious hardliner, Onigumo!

Yes, Randall might well have been telling the truth.

But Onigumo believed in presuming guilt whenever there was doubt!

In other words, if anything looked suspicious, he would arrest the suspect first and worry about the rest later.

So Onigumo simply ignored Randall's feeble explanation and told the soldiers, "Take him aboard the warship!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Wait! I'm innocent!"

Randall twisted and struggled, but with several soldiers restraining him, he was still shoved forward.

"I'm really innocent! Help! Is this what the Marines call justice? Can the Marines just attack civilians whenever they want?"

All along the way, Randall struggled and shouted desperately.

Eventually, Onigumo couldn't stand it anymore and had him gagged.

Now Randall truly began to despair.

But there was always a way out, because Randall's shouting had reached the ears of someone important.

"Onigumo~ What's going on here? Why do I hear someone bad-mouthing the Marines?"

A languid voice suddenly rang out.

Onigumo and the others stopped what they were doing.

Seeing the newcomer, Onigumo hurried to salute. "Vice Admiral Borsalino!"

This was Borsalino, one of Headquarters' monstrous Vice Admirals and a candidate for Admiral!

Randall's eyes flickered at the name.

He knew this might be an opportunity.

Things couldn't possibly get any worse anyway, so he might as well take a gamble.

He put all his strength into throwing off the six soldiers restraining him, then deftly tore away his gag and spoke at lightning speed.

"Sir, this man is your subordinate, right? He's trying to send a civilian to prison! Do something about him!"

Onigumo's expression changed, and he moved to rebuke Randall.

But Borsalino suddenly raised a hand to stop him, then ambled over to Randall and looked him up and down.

Borsalino hadn't originally wanted to bother coming over, but just as he was about to ignore it, a sudden impulse had struck him.

Now it seemed he had made the right choice.

When Randall had broken free just now, Borsalino had noticed something interesting about him.