Location: Orange Town, East Blue Year: 1520 (The Night After the Raid)
The stew Mayor Boodle served was simple—root vegetables, chunks of salted pork, and a heavy dose of black pepper. To Hiroki, who had been subsisting on dry rations and fish he caught himself for weeks, it tasted like a Michelin-star meal.
"You have a strange way of fighting, son," Boodle said, pouring tea into a chipped ceramic cup. The Mayor's hands shook slightly, a lingering aftershock of the day's violence. "You don't fight like a pirate. You fight like... a surgeon."
Hiroki blew on his tea. "Pirates fight with anger. I fight with calculus."
Boodle adjusted his glasses, peering at the young man. "Calculus, eh? Well, whatever you call it, you saved this town. Doran would have bled us dry."
Hiroki didn't respond. He checked his interface.
[Restoring Stamina...][Nutritional Intake: High Quality. Recovery Speed +10%]
"I'm leaving at first light," Hiroki said.
"So soon?" Boodle frowned. "The Marines won't be here to pick up Doran for another two days. You could claim the bounty here."
"I'll drag him to the Shells Town branch on my way out. I don't like waiting."
He didn't mention that waiting made him restless. The Acceleration Boost demanded activity. Sitting still felt like wasting a superpower.
After dinner, Hiroki stepped out into the cool night air. Orange Town was quiet, the earlier panic settled into a wary calm. He walked down the cobblestone streets, his geta sandals clicking rhythmically.
He stopped in front of a small pet food shop.
Sitting there, alert and watching the street, was a white dog. A shushu.
"You're up late," Hiroki murmured.
The dog didn't bark. It just stared at him with intelligent, unwavering eyes.
Inside the shop, an old man—Hocker—was coughing. It was a wet, heavy cough. The dog's ears twitched, turning back toward the door, then returned to scanning the street.
Hiroki felt a strange tug in his gut.
[Observation Haki: 0.6%][Sensing Intent: Unwavering Loyalty]
The interface didn't usually give descriptors like "Loyalty." It dealt in numbers, vectors, and threats. But for a split second, the blue text shimmered with something almost... poetic.
The dog knows, Hiroki realized. He knows his master is dying. And he's guarding the time they have left.
Hiroki crouched down, meeting the dog's eyes. "Protect him well."
The dog gave a single, sharp bark. An acknowledgement.
Hiroki stood up, a heavy feeling settling in his chest. In two years, Buggy the Clown would level half this town. This shop would burn. This dog would lose everything.
He gripped the hilt of Umitsubame. He couldn't stop the future. Not all of it. He wasn't a god; he was just a guy with a status window and a sword. But he could make sure he was strong enough to stop the things in front of him.
Location: Open Sea, East Blue Year: 1520 (Two Days Later)
The sea was angry.
Hiroki's small skiff pitched violently as waves the size of houses rolled underneath it. The sky was a bruised purple, lightning forking down in jagged lances.
Most sailors would be bailing water. Hiroki was standing on the prow, feet wide apart, riding the motion.
[Balance Training Active][Endurance Check: Critical]
"A storm in the East Blue shouldn't be this bad," he shouted over the wind, squinting against the rain.
A massive shadow rose from the depths ahead. It wasn't a wave.
It was a Sea King.
It looked like a cross between an eel and a tiger, scales glistening like wet obsidian, eyes glowing yellow in the gloom. It roared, a sound that vibrated in Hiroki's teeth.
[Tactical Insight Active]
Target: Coastal Sea King (Juvenile).Threat Level: High.Vital Point: Gills, Eyes.
"Juvenile?" Hiroki scoffed. The thing was fifty feet long.
The Sea King lunged, its maw wide enough to swallow the skiff whole.
Hiroki didn't retreat. There was nowhere to go.
Acceleration Boost: Maximum Output.
He drew Umitsubame.
The world slowed down. The rain droplets hung suspended in the air like diamonds. The roaring maw of the beast crept forward inch by inch.
Hiroki felt the drain on his stamina. The Boost burned energy like a furnace.
Focus.
He needed more than just a cut. He needed force.
He channeled every ounce of strength into his forearms, the muscles corded and tight. He visualized the blade extending, not just as steel, but as a shockwave.
Ittoryu (One Sword Style): Breaking Wave.
He slashed.
A crescent of compressed air—a Flying Slash, though weak and unrefined—tore from his blade.
It slammed into the Sea King's nose.
BOOM.
It didn't cut the beast in half. Hiroki wasn't Mihawk. But the impact was like a cannonball. The Sea King's head snapped back, a spray of blue blood mixing with the rain. The creature shrieked, thrashing in the water, creating a wave that nearly capsized the boat.
Hiroki fell to one knee, panting.
[Stamina: 15/100][Skill Unlocked: Flying Slash (Rudimentary)]
The Sea King, stunned and in pain, decided the meal wasn't worth the headache. It dove back into the black depths, its tail slapping the water one last time before vanishing.
Hiroki lay on the wet deck, rain lashing his face. He was laughing. A dry, breathless laugh.
He had thrown a slash of air. It was messy, it was weak, but he had done it.
[Status Window Update - Hiroki Rintarō]
Strength: 13.8 → 14.5 / 100Swordsmanship: 20.8 → 22.0 / 100Technique Acquired: Flying Slash (Range: 5 meters)
"Five meters," he wheezed, staring at the storm clouds. "Mihawk can cut icebergs from miles away."
He sat up, wiping water from his eyes.
"Long way to go."
He grabbed the rudder. The storm was still raging, but the monster was gone. He steered the boat north.
According to the charts he bought, the next major island was the Conomi Islands. Home of Kokoyasi Village.
Hiroki's hand froze on the tiller.
Nami.
Arlong Park.
If the timeline was right, Arlong had been ruling there for years already. The tyranny was in full swing.
Hiroki looked at his stats. Strength 14.5. Swordsmanship 22.
Arlong was a Fishman. Ten times the strength of a human by default. Even a "Juvenile" Sea King had nearly exhausted him. Arlong would be a wall of iron muscle and teeth.
"I'm not ready," Hiroki admitted to the empty ocean.
If he went there now, he would die. And he wouldn't save anyone.
He adjusted his course. East. Toward the Shimotsuki Village.
"I need a teacher," he decided. "And I need to know if this sword can cut a Fishman's skin."
[Chapter 5 End]