Genji Chōno

Beneath the azure sky, a flock of seagulls flew past, their cries echoing across the sea.

Yet at the edge of the sea, upon the beach, there was an entirely different scene.

The golden sand stretched endlessly along the coastline, while the forest behind it was lush and verdant, as though it could grow all the way to the heavens.

Beneath a beach umbrella lay a child who looked only five or six years old, leisurely sunbathing. His upper body was bare, and he wore nothing more than a pair of short beach trunks.

Behind him stood five or six burly men, along with two or three maids attending to him.

The little boy appeared exceptionally relaxed and content, as though worldly matters could not disturb him in the slightest.

"Your Highness, isn't the sun a little too harsh? Should we move somewhere shaded?"

While the little boy rested with his eyes closed and continuously ate fruit, a maid standing nearby asked in a quiet, cautious voice.

The little boy opened his eyes slightly. Without any expression, he merely glanced at her before closing them again. Then he said slowly, "Then go stand in the back and shade yourselves under the trees. I'll stay here and enjoy the sun a little longer."

The three maids exchanged glances, each seeing helplessness in the others' eyes. Behind them, sweat streamed endlessly down the foreheads of the burly men.

But after hearing the little boy's words, none of them dared leave. They could only remain where they were and continue attending to him carefully.

However, although the little boy lay there, his thoughts had long wandered far away. Only his body remained on the beach.

Though he looked as if he were enjoying himself, inwardly he was utterly speechless. He had arrived in this world several years ago, yet he still had no idea what was going on. Why had he suddenly seemed to transmigrate?

He still remembered eating at a restaurant. Yet in the blink of an eye, when he woke again, he had become a child being held in someone else's arms.

Several years had already passed, and he had long adapted to his current surroundings. Still, he had to admit that the air and environment here were indescribably pleasant.

The little boy was named Genji Chōno. He was a prince of a country called the Tru Kingdom, and also the Tru Kingdom's only prince.

The old king had not had a son until he was seventy, so he spoiled him beyond measure. Wherever he went, several bodyguards always followed him.

Just like now, he barely needed to worry about anything. Every day, all he had to do was play happily.

But Nova did not seem very satisfied with any of this. Though he had been here for years, he still had not figured out exactly what sort of world this was, much less why he had come here.

Living this monotonous life every day had long grown tiresome for him. Yet for someone who had once been a miserable office worker, this sort of life was actually the very thing he had dreamed of.

The Tru Kingdom was not particularly large. It was surrounded by the sea on all sides, and its people were only moderately well-off. But Nova had never paid attention to such matters. Leaving aside his age, the old king would never hand such exhausting responsibilities over to him anyway.

Lying on a beach beneath the blazing sun could practically be called the definition of enjoyment. His days were monotonous and boring, but he was too young to be expected to do many things anyway.

The only thing he could do now was enjoy delicious food and drink every day. In any case, he did not need to worry about the future.

"Lord Genji, there seems to be someone in the sea!"

While Nova was still immersed in thoughts about life, the maid beside him called out toward the sea in a somewhat louder voice.

His boring life was instantly disrupted by that shout. Nova immediately sat up and curiously looked out over the water.

In the distance, there really did seem to be someone floating near the shore. A floating board was beneath them, slowly drifting in this direction.

After watching for a while, Nova turned to look at the burly men behind him. They were still standing there rigidly, their expressions utterly unmoved.

Nova looked at them speechlessly and shouted helplessly, "Can't you move? Hurry up and save him!"

Only after receiving the order did they hurriedly remove their clothes and rush into the sea, each trying to get there first.

After a while, once they had rescued the man, the burly men dressed themselves again as quickly as possible and returned to stand behind Nova. From beginning to end, not one of them said a word.

Nova walked over and looked at the person they had pulled from the sea. Though he looked barely alive, his chest was still rising and falling. He was definitely not dead yet.

In this place in the middle of nowhere, some guy had drifted in from the sea. Nova was rather curious, so he instructed the maid, "Bring some food!"

"My lord, this man seems to be a pirate! Shouldn't we leave him alone?"

Noticing the man's appearance, especially his clothing, the maid quickly spoke to Nova.

"A pirate?"

Nova froze. During his time in the kingdom, he had heard the term pirate rather often. It sounded familiar, but he had never paid much attention to it.

But now, a living pirate had actually drifted right in front of him. He could not help feeling a little expectant.

The little fellow did not care about that. He smiled and continued, "Hurry up and bring something. What are you wasting so many words for? There are so many of us here. Are we supposed to be afraid of one man?"

The alluring maid beside him thought about it and realized that was true. She stopped worrying and brought over two pieces of fruit.

The man lying on the ground was merely extremely weak. Though he had been in the sea for a long time, he had not drowned. He had only fallen into a light coma.

Nova crouched beside the pirate with a smile on his lips and patted his cheek. He did not use much force, but it was enough to make the man slowly open his eyes.

When the pirate opened his eyes and saw a child crouching beside him, he slowly closed them again. Then he said weakly, "Is... is there... any food?"

Nova immediately smiled at those words and held the two fruits the maid had brought to the man's mouth.

Like a wild beast, the man suddenly sprang up. He had looked barely alive moments earlier, but the instant he saw food, he sat up, snatched the apple, and began devouring it ravenously.

Everyone else either crouched or stood nearby, quietly watching. The pirate's appearance was shocking; he had no regard whatsoever for his image. Who knew how long he had been starving?

After quite a while, the man finally seemed to regain a little strength. Yet he lay back down, stared up at the blue sky, and said to Nova with a faintly sinister smile, "Little fellow, I really have to thank you for saving me. Otherwise, I might have died in that sea. What luck! But how should I thank you all?"

"How do you intend to thank us?" Nova asked with a smile.

"What an interesting little fellow! In that case, how about I eat you? What do you think?"

The pirate lying on the ground suddenly turned his head, revealing a twisted expression as he said those words directly to Nova.

The expression on his face could no longer be called a smile. It had become something terrifying.

Nova was genuinely startled when he saw it, but what followed was a sigh.

Nova stood up, looked at the pirate who had sat up from the ground, sighed, and said to the burly men behind him, "This guy is beyond saving."

"Ahahaha... Do you know who I am? I'm a pirate..."

The pirate had recovered a little strength and slowly rose to his feet, though he was still weak. Nova could not help wondering where this guy got the nerve to face so many people and still say something like that.

But at that moment, the maid behind him hurriedly stepped forward, picked him up in her arms, and retreated several steps. The burly men also quickly blocked the pirate's path and shouted to Nova, "Lord Genji, please move back quickly! Pirates have no humanity at all."

"Instead of chatting, can you go deal with him first?" Nova said speechlessly.

He was not nervous in the slightest. Not only did they have the numbers, but the other side was alone and looked terribly weak. No one knew where he got the confidence to say such things.

After receiving the order, the burly men immediately rushed forward, preparing to gang up on the weakened pirate. But what happened next shocked everyone.

The pirate moved both hands, and blue light began shining from his body. The surrounding flowers, grass, and trees seemed to respond to his command and began attacking them.

"Lord Genji, be careful! He's a Devil Fruit user..."

One of the burly men shouted to Nova, his voice filled with tension.

"Devil Fruit?"

A thousand curses raced through Nova's mind. What was going on? Had he come to a world from an anime?

When it came to Devil Fruits, the only world he could think of where such things existed was the world of pirates.

But the burly men in front of him were clearly beginning to lose to the opponent. Though that guy was extremely weak, he was still a Devil Fruit user. Trying to kill him now truly felt like a fantasy!

The maid held Nova in her arms and ran quickly toward the rear. Although Nova enjoyed being held like this, he still said speechlessly, "Put me down. Why are you running?"

The maid thought she had misheard him. She let out a confused "Huh?" before saying nervously, "Lord Genji, that's a pirate behind us, and one of those people who ate the legendary Devil Fruit. We need to get back quickly, otherwise..."

"There is no otherwise. Put me down already. He may be a Devil Fruit user, but he's so weak that it's questionable whether he can even stand properly," Nova finally said in annoyance.

Ever since coming to this world, everything had passed like a dream. Now that something exciting had finally happened, and the other side was so weak, why should he run?

Sensing Nova's anger, the maid stopped and put him down.

In Nova's eyes, the enemy was extremely weak right now. If they did not take care of him while they had the chance, then once he recovered his strength, not one of them would likely leave alive!

Moreover, Nova understood the side effects of Devil Fruits better than anyone. Judging from the man's unfamiliar movements, he had clearly eaten it only recently and perhaps could not even use it properly yet.

He had already struggled greatly against a few ordinary burly men without killing a single one. He had only trapped one, while two or three others were still circling around him.

Seeing this, Nova shouted, "What are you all standing around for? That guy is afraid of seawater! Hurry and throw him into the sea, or you'll all die soon!"

After hearing that, the remaining three burly men instantly charged forward. Though they knew they could not defeat him, Nova was right: the enemy was very weak right now. If they attacked together, they truly had a chance to kill him.

Faced with enemies suddenly rushing him, the pirate still wore a smile, clearly not taking them seriously. But when one of them grabbed him, just as he was about to use his Devil Fruit ability again, the other two began pushing him toward the shore.

They had only just dragged him ashore, and the sea was right beside them. With a little effort, they could settle the matter directly.

For ordinary people, witnessing three people gang up on a weakened Devil Fruit user was practically a miracle.

Yet, by sheer coincidence, they actually succeeded!

The pirate immediately controlled wood to bind all three men. But because he was so weak, he lost his footing and stepped into the seawater. In an instant, all strength seemed to drain from his body, and he collapsed. The wood restraining everyone vanished at the same moment.