At noon, beneath clear skies and a gentle breeze, golden light shimmered across the calm sea.
On the shore, a fisherman hauled a dark gray net out of the water. Fish and shrimp with glittering scales wriggled free, only for him to pick them up and toss them into a bucket.
Taking a break from his work, the fisherman straightened his back and spotted a handsome, silver-haired young man standing on a small boat nearby, gazing out to sea.
"Norton, are you setting sail today?" the fisherman asked with a smile.
The handsome, silver-haired young man nodded. "That's right, Uncle Sam. I'm heading out to sea!"
"So the day's finally come..." the fisherman said wistfully. "Thanks to you, our town has been safe from pirates all these years. You're our hero!"
As far as the fisherman remembered, the town had never suffered another pirate attack since Norton appeared in this port town five years ago.
Never mind attacks-in recent years, there hadn't even been a trace of pirates in the surrounding waters, allowing everyone to venture farther afield.
About two years ago, the fisherman had even witnessed Norton fighting pirates...
With just one punch, he had sunk a pirate ship over a dozen meters long!
"It's just justice as a hobby. I'm more interested in becoming a king than a hero." Norton smiled, raised the sail, and untied the rope mooring his boat.
Before long, the wind and currents carried the boat out into the open sea.
Today was the day Norton set sail.
It also marked his seventeenth year since transmigrating into this world.
This was the world of One Piece!
The Celestial Dragons sat high atop the Red Line, commoners struggled to survive, pirates ran rampant, and the Marines did the tyrants' dirty work...
Dreams, willpower, treasure, adventure... these were the things people devoted their lives to pursuing.
The Shichibukai, Marine Admirals, Four Emperors...
Those who stood at the pinnacle of this world could even alter the weather and reshape the land.
The true King of the World lurked behind the scenes, unchallenged for eight hundred years.
Even someone as powerful as Rocks had fallen to his Black Turn Domination!
This was the worst of times!
But for Norton, it was also the best of times!
Norton had a dream!
Ever since childhood, Norton had felt that he ought to be a great king.
Naming conquered cities after himself, standing beneath a lighthouse nearing completion as merchant ships from around the world sailed into his harbor, riding a chariot like a god through cheering crowds with an endless procession of spoils behind him...
Pleasure was essential, too.
Waking each day in a bed as soft as a cloud, throwing feasts that lasted from morning until night, sampling every kind of delicacy, enjoying the company of all kinds of beautiful women...
Simply put, he wanted to possess the entire world.
In his previous life, living in a socialist society, Norton had never had the chance to fulfill that ambition. In fact, because he spent all day immersed in his own world, people had called him a hopeless victim of adolescent delusions.
But now, he was living in this chaotic world!
Although he lacked an illustrious background like Monkey D. Luffy's, Norton had been born with a cheat of his own.
The same power Saitama possessed in the world of One-Punch Man-the ability to break the human limiter!
Because of differences in strength between species and individuals, living beings had limits that no amount of effort could overcome.
Those limits existed to let creatures grow without losing their species' survival instincts or rationality. This restriction on growth was called a limiter.
Stronger people were born with tremendous talent-in other words, a limiter with a wider range. Yet even they had limits to their growth.
But through his years of grueling training, Norton had broken his body's limiter, just like Saitama.
In theory, Norton could grow infinitely strong!
This was a power far more terrifying than any devil fruit.
Given enough time, becoming the One-Punch Man of the pirate world would be no problem.
Although this body's natural talent was merely average, Norton had started training at seven and had kept at it for ten years.
Even Norton himself had no idea how strong those ten years had made him. For the past two years, he hadn't found anything that could withstand a single punch.
Not sea kings, mountain bandits, or pirates.
That was another reason Norton had chosen to set sail.
This was the East Blue, where the average pirate bounty was only three million. He simply couldn't find a worthy opponent.
Nor could Norton easily realize his dream in the East Blue.
In this world, the four seas and the first half of the Grand Line all fell under the watch of the Marines and the World Government.
Only the chaotic New World lay beyond even the Marines' ability to control.
If Norton wanted to establish a country of his own, the New World was the best choice.
But before that, Norton decided to find some like-minded companions!
Well, he also needed a large ship sturdy enough for the journey.
His boat sailed farther out to sea, and the island's outline gradually vanished behind him.
Just as Norton was mapping out his grand plans, the sky overhead suddenly darkened.
The sea ahead abruptly rose into an enormous slope like a mountain!
"A tsunami?"
Norton tilted his head back as a cloud of spray struck his face.
"Oops. Forgot to check the weather forecast before leaving..."
As the towering wave threatened to swallow the boat beneath his feet like a leaf, Norton's lips curled upward, and he clenched his hand into a fist.
He threw a fierce punch at the tsunami!
Before the immense tsunami, Norton looked so tiny, like an ant trying to topple a tree.
And yet!
The instant Norton's punch shot forward-
The air exploded!
An invisible blast of force fired like a siege cannon, blasting a massive hole more than ten meters wide straight through the center of the wave!
Norton's punch pierced the surging seawater.
Norton and his boat passed through the enormous wave, crossing to the other side of the tsunami.
"O sea! Witness your king setting sail!"
Meanwhile, in Cocoyasi Village.
Arlong Park.
"Hey, Nami! Off to steal again?" the Fish-Men teased, surrounding the girl with short orange hair.
"Mind your own business! I'll save enough money sooner or later! Then I'll buy the village from Arlong!" the orange-haired girl said stubbornly.
"Hahaha! Better work hard, then, Nami!" the Fish-Men jeered, not taking her seriously.
But Nami was completely serious and ignored their mockery.
She left Arlong Park on her own and set out to sea as usual.
The weather at sea was calm today.
Nami had heard that the Grand Line's weather was unpredictable. Unlike the stable climate of the East Blue, it often saw extreme weather conditions.
For humans sailing the ocean, their greatest enemy was the sea itself.
Nami had been curious about navigation since childhood. She loved it and dreamed of becoming the finest navigator in the world.
She had thought about setting sail to pursue her dream once she saved up a hundred million Beli and bought the village from Arlong.
And that goal of a hundred million Beli was no longer impossibly distant.
She just needed to steal more!
Beli! Beli! Beli!
Nami cheered herself on inwardly as she sailed across the sea, feeling the ocean breeze strike her face.
A few weeks ago, she had stolen from a wealthy merchant and made a fortune. She wondered how her luck would hold up on this trip.
Drawing on experience, Nami decided to check the nearby islands first.
A banquet hosted by nobles, for instance, would be an excellent opportunity to strike. There would be easy marks everywhere.
"Just wait! Bellemere, Nojiko, Uncle Genzo, everyone..."
"I'll take the village back from Arlong, no matter what!"
On his third day at sea, Norton realized that he seemed to be lost.
The ocean stretched endlessly around him. In a world of blue on every side, he couldn't make out any direction at all.
Even with a nautical chart and compass in hand, Norton had no idea where his boat had ended up. He couldn't even be sure he was still on the right course.
Having all this strength and nowhere to use it made Norton resolve that the first companion he found had to be a navigator!
Even more worrying, he had finished all the food aboard on the very first day.
If he couldn't find supplies today, he would have to keep going hungry!
Just then, Norton suddenly spotted the silhouette of a large sailing ship in the distance.
His spirits lifted, and he hurriedly rowed toward it.
A little over ten minutes later, Norton brought his boat alongside the large sailing ship.
The deck was crowded with people.
"Hey! Look!"
"There's a silver-haired guy climbing up the side!"
"He's so handsome!" That came from a noblewoman.
"Could he be a pirate?"
"Probably not. What pirate sails alone?"
The crowd suddenly parted as Norton climbed onto the deck amid their chatter.
He glanced around and noticed a girl with short orange hair quietly retreating behind the others.
But something else soon caught Norton's attention.
"Oh! Cake!"
This was clearly a passenger ship carrying nobles. The deck was lavishly decorated, and chefs in white uniforms bustled back and forth, serving pastries and drinks.
The sweet aroma of cake made Norton ignore the nobles' questions. He headed straight for the table and began devouring the food.
"Delicious! Delicious! Delicious!"
The nobles and their wives gathered around, pointing at Norton and talking about him.
"Hey! Silver-haired fellow!"
A potbellied noble approached and tried to hold Norton down.
But when he pressed down hard, he discovered to his horror that he couldn't budge Norton an inch.
The potbellied noble was both shocked and furious.
Just then, the ladies began casting puzzled looks his way.
His face flushed red. Frustrated and humiliated, he strained with all his might, veins bulging on his face and beads of sweat forming on his skin.
Yet Norton remained as immovable as a mountain, continuing to enjoy his food as though nothing were happening.
"So good!"
The potbellied noble collapsed to the floor in exhaustion, panting like a dog.
The stares around him left him mortified.
He glared at the people around him and snapped in humiliation, "What are you looking at? Get over here and help! Throw this rude fellow into the sea!"
The ladies seemed hesitant.
"Isn't that a bit much...?"
"Exactly. This gentleman is clearly a poor shipwreck survivor."
"He's just hungry!"
The nobles couldn't stand listening any longer. "You women just like his pretty face, don't you!"
Flustered, the ladies hurried to protest. "Of course not! Do we look like such shallow women?"
The nobles scoffed inwardly, not believing a word. Still, they didn't expose them, leaving the ladies a little dignity.
"Guards, throw this fellow into the sea!"
In the end, the duke, the highest-ranking noble present, gave the order. Several guards immediately gathered and approached Norton.
But just then...
Boom!
An enormous plume of water erupted from the sea. The deck rocked violently, and the sudden jolt sent the nobles and ladies tumbling to the floor. Even the guards took hard falls.
"Pirates! Pirates are coming!"
In this era, pirates struck terror into people's hearts. They were synonymous with horror.
From ordinary commoners to nobles and wealthy magnates, no one wanted to encounter pirates.
Although they all set sail under the banner of dreams, most pirates were, at heart, devils in human skin who had completely unleashed their desires.
They had no morals, no limits, and no principles.
Whatever they wanted, they stole. Satisfying their desires was their first rule of conduct.
At least, that was what pirates were in most people's eyes.
Encountering pirates at sea was the worst possible situation, because there was nowhere to run.
"Get inside the cabins! Guards! Guards! Stop them!"
It was already too late. The pirate ship was closing in at tremendous speed.
"Board them!"
At their captain Redbeard's command, the pirates crossed the boarding gangways onto the passenger ship's deck.
"Round up all these easy marks!" Redbeard ordered.
The pirates split up. Several burly fighters charged at the guards with cutlasses, while the rest rushed into the cabins with sinister grins.
Redbeard stood at the bow, watching everyone struggle with a vicious smile. But as his gaze swept across the passenger ship, he spotted a silver-haired young man amid the chaos, utterly ignoring the turmoil around him and calmly savoring pastries.
"Who's that brat?!" Redbeard's expression darkened. Having his authority treated with such contempt displeased him.
Everyone should have feared him! He was Redbeard, with a bounty of eight million Beli!
"Sanosuke! Go grab that silver-haired brat!" Redbeard said, pointing at Norton's back.
"Yes, Captain." A pirate dressed as a ninja answered. He wore a silver forehead protector and a mask that covered his entire face, leaving only his eyes exposed.
Redbeard folded his arms and sneered. Sanosuke was his strongest subordinate. This would be a good show.
Sanosuke slipped silently behind Norton and gave him a cursory glance.
Seeing that Norton showed no reaction and continued leisurely enjoying his dessert, he let his guard down.
Another weakling who can't even sense me approaching. How pathetic... Sanosuke thought.
So what if he can stay calm in the face of danger?
That doesn't change the fact that he's weak.
The weak... can never escape being controlled.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Sanosuke thrust his kunai at Norton's lower back.
Clang!
The sharp kunai struck Norton's lower back, only to produce the sound of metal clashing against metal!
Sanosuke's pupils suddenly constricted. He flipped backward to put some distance between them, his forehead drenched in sweat in an instant.
Danger!