(T/N: Please consider voting for this Fanfic. Thanks and appreciate all who support me.
(T/N: Enjoy!)
<><><><><><>
East Blue, Orange Town.
This town was located on the outskirts of the local Marine branch's jurisdiction and was famous for its excellent orange groves.
However, due to frequent pirate raids, the town's residents were not very wealthy and could barely make ends meet.
"Mayor! Bad news, another pirate ship has appeared at the port!"
Mayor Boodle, who had been busy all morning, was just about to take a break.
But the news brought by the breathless young man at the door made him forget his physical fatigue.
He grabbed the coat he had just taken off and rushed toward the town entrance.
"Wait, you go on ahead," Boodle said, stopping as if he had remembered something. "I'll go ask the Marines for help first!"
"But..." the young man hesitated.
"No buts. Reporting to the Marines at a time like this gives us another chance," Boodle replied.
He knew in his heart that even if the Marines responded promptly, they likely wouldn't arrive until after the pirates had already plundered the entire town.
Orange Town's location was simply too remote, and the Marine branch responsible for it was always unable to provide timely support.
"Alright, then please hurry, Mayor..." The young man gritted his teeth and obeyed.
The town did have its own security personnel—the young man was one of them—but while they could handle maintaining order and dealing with local troublemakers, they wouldn't stand a chance against real pirates.
The town wasn't very large, and the entrance was near the port to facilitate the export of oranges, which was a major source of income for the residents.
At this moment, a large number of townspeople, mostly able-bodied young men, had gathered at the port, led by a calm and dignified elderly man.
Confronting them was a group of armed pirates, laughing, joking, and spewing profanities.
They were old hands at plundering small towns like this that lacked their own armed forces.
Even if they met a little resistance, it would only cost them a bit more time. Thus, they didn't take the townspeople seriously at all.
The town hadn't been established for very long, and the old man was one of its original founders. He had seen his share of storms.
Understanding the hot-blooded nature of the young men, he naturally had to step forward to maintain control.
Otherwise, if these pirates were provoked, the town might be wiped off the map of the East Blue today.
"Captain, sir, you look somewhat familiar," the old man said.
Though he was terrified—not for his own life, but because he bore the lives of the entire town on his shoulders—he spoke.
To put it bluntly, at his age, he had lived long enough, but he couldn't bear to watch the town he helped build be destroyed before his very eyes.
"Hahaha, you've got a good memory, old man. I was just here last month!" a tall, obese man replied.
Years at sea had left his skin cracked and sallow, giving him a vicious and sinister appearance.
"Since you've visited our humble town before, Captain, you should know our situation. We truly have no extra money to offer you gentlemen!" the old man pleaded with a bitter smile, even though he knew it was futile.
As expected.
"Hahaha! I'm a pirate! How dare you try to bargain with me? I'm giving you too much face!" The fat pirate didn't care.
The reason he hadn't just slaughtered everyone last time was so he could keep farming them like sheep.
He hadn't expected the money to run out so quickly. If they couldn't satisfy him this time, then...
"Let's go! We'll fight them..."
"Damn it, the worst that can happen is death! What's there to be afraid of!"
"Yeah, these bastard pirates, do they really think we're fools?!"
Hearing the pirates' insults, the young men's faces flushed red with anger, and they wished they could rush forward and cut the pirates down.
"Heheh..." The fat pirate wasn't angered.
If they couldn't produce a satisfactory amount of money, he wouldn't mind slaughtering the whole town.
He was sure he could scrape something up if he turned the place upside down.
"Silence!" Boodle arrived, drenched in sweat.
He had heard the young men's curses from afar and had become even more anxious, afraid he would be too late to prevent a larger conflict.
"What do you think you're doing?! Do you not value your own lives? What about your families' lives?!"
"Mayor, you..."
Ignoring the others' protests, Boodle turned and put on a fawning smile, speaking obsequiously to the fat pirate.
"Could you grant us a little more time? After your last visit, sir, we've been too poor even to cook..."
"Hah? Are you saying it's my fault you can't eat?!"
"Not at all, not at all..." Boodle quickly denied.
His goal now was to stall for time, to delay as long as possible until the Marines could arrive. But the fat pirate's following words sent him into a state of absolute horror.
"I bet you've notified the Marines, haven't you! Trying to stall for time..."
"Absolutely not..." A flash of panic crossed Boodle's face as his plan was exposed, and he was about to argue. But pirates would never listen to such nonsense.
For those who lived by licking blood from the blade's edge, even the slightest suspicion was enough to warrant action.
A moment's hesitation could cost them their heads.
SWISH!
He raised his machete!
Just as everyone thought Boodle was about to die a gruesome death, a light voice entered their ears.
"My apologies. I guess today is just your unlucky day..."
Before the fat pirate could react, his entire body was instantly incinerated into ash, scattering in the wind.
"Gulp~"
The previously boisterous pirates fell silent, their relaxed expressions gone, clearly terrified by the bizarre scene before them.
Without another word, a wave of Conqueror's Haki washed over them. These were all low-level pirates; only the fat one had a pitiful bounty to his name.
Under the pressure of Atlas's Haki, they all started bleeding from their seven orifices and collapsed to the ground.
"A Marine? Did they get here that fast?" Boodle, having survived the ordeal, looked in confusion at Atlas, who had appeared before him.
The pure white suit was familiar, but the epaulettes on his shoulders were not.
"My sincerest apologies. Justice cannot be absent, much less late. This was our failure as Marines," Atlas said.
He knew that although the Four Blues were under Marine control, manpower and funds were limited.
With the recent surge in the number of pirates, Marine reinforcements were often delayed.
"Ah? No need to apologise! It's thanks to you, sir, that we were saved this time," Boodle said, waving his hands quickly.
It would be a lie to say he didn't resent the Marines' tardiness, but he also understood the situation.
In this day and age, life for civilians was becoming increasingly complex. Without the protection of the Marines, there would be no hope at all.
...
The journey back was sombre. Even the usually hyperactive Luffy wasn't shouting in excitement as he had been at the beginning.
Orange Town was the fifth place they had visited. Atlas had shown them the ugliest side of humanity. The vile faces of the pirates were laid bare before their eyes.
The profession of a pirate, which had once symbolised freedom and adventure, was now completely overturned in their hearts.
"Well? Any thoughts?" Atlas broke the heavy silence. He hadn't gone to all this trouble just to take these three kids on a tour.
"...By the way, can you put us down before you ask?" Ace said awkwardly.
Their current situation was a bit strange. Leaving a long white wake on the churning waves, Atlas was running across the surface of the sea.
He held Ace and Sabo by the collars of their shirts in each hand, while Luffy clung tightly to his shoulders. He hadn't used a ship.
On a whim, he had wanted to let the three of them see this ugly world, to let them know how much damage pirates had brought upon it.
"Do you still want to be pirates now? To slaughter the innocent? To burn, kill, and plunder?" Atlas ignored Ace's embarrassment.
This was the best time for a lesson. Once the moment passed, they might not listen.
"The... the kind of pirate I want to be is different from that! Freedom and adventure are my reasons for being a pirate!" Ace retorted stubbornly, his neck stiff.
"Then where will your food, clothes, and living expenses come from? Of course, you could also trade the treasure you find on your adventures."
Ace was about to nod, but Atlas's expression suddenly turned severe. "When you raise a pirate flag and your name spreads across the seas, countless people will be moved by your fame."
"They might abandon their wives and children, just like your father, Roger, did, though their influence won't be as great!"
"Don't you ever talk to me about Roger! He's not my father!" Ace's face suddenly contorted with rage.
"I'm just a sinful bloodline, the son of the Pirate King who shouldn't exist in this world! My birth killed my mother, but that bastard Roger is also the one who killed her!"
Sabo and Luffy were stunned by Ace's sudden outburst.
Although Ace was usually hostile to the name Roger, and Sabo never dared to mention it to him, it was clearly a thorn in Ace's heart.
"Do you hate Roger? Do you hate this era he created?"
"I hate Roger. He doesn't deserve to be my father."
"Then why have you chosen to walk the same path as Roger?"
"I will surpass Roger and prove that everything he did was wrong! I don't want to live my whole life in his shadow!" Ace was in agony.
After learning he was Roger's son, he had once asked others what they would think if Roger had left behind a child, only to be met with vicious curses and insults, making him doubt whether his existence had any meaning.
"As a pirate, the most you can achieve is to become another Pirate King. That's hardly surpassing Roger!"
"However..." A meaningful smile appeared on Atlas's lips. "How about ending the Great Pirate Era that Roger created with his life?"
"Roger's final words drove the entire world into a frenzy. The era ran wild, and pirates emerged in droves!"
"And you, as the son of the Pirate King, have a mission to pull this chaotic era back onto the right track. Isn't that why you were brought into this world?"
"..." Ace was silent.
"Or perhaps... you're actually desperate for a father's love," Atlas said, glancing down at the serious-faced Ace with a smile. "How about... You become my son!"
Ace was stunned for a moment, then reacted. "What nonsense are you talking about, you bastard!"
"Hahahaha! How about it? Become a Marine, Ace!"
"But how could the Marines accept the son of the Pirate King?" Ace was tempted but still hesitant.
Since childhood, he had heard too many curses directed at Roger.
His mother had been forced to delay his birth due to pressure from the Marines and the World Government, which led to her death.
"The Marines accept all who hold justice in their hearts, regardless of their origin! And as for the World Government... heh!"
Sengoku definitely knew that Garp had adopted Roger's son, but he turned a blind eye for the sake of his old friend.
He might have even actively helped him hide it from the World Government, just like how he didn't pursue Aokiji for letting Robin go, pretending not to know.
"Yeah, yeah! Then when I become the Fleet Admiral, you can be an Admiral, Ace!" Luffy chimed in happily.
"Idiot! With your level of strength, I'll be the one who becomes Fleet Admiral!" Ace rolled his eyes.
Although the fight with the King of Mt. Colubo had improved his opinion of Luffy, it didn't change the fact that he looked down on his strength.
"But..." Sabo, held in Atlas's left hand, saw that Ace had been successfully sidetracked and looked conflicted.
Weren't we supposed to go out to sea as pirates together? We've been saving up for three years, and now you're saying you're going to be a Marine?
"You hate your noble parents, don't you?" Atlas had naturally noticed Sabo's expression.
To prevent his victory from being undermined, he decided to seize the initiative and strike while the iron was hot, to trick Sabo into joining as well and complete the 'ASL' trio.
"Huh? How do you know, Mr. Atlas?" Countless thoughts raced through Sabo's mind. He didn't remember ever mentioning his background; even Ace didn't know he was a noble.
"You're a noble, Sabo?!" Ace exclaimed in surprise.
"I wasn't trying to hide it from you. I've long been tired of the hypocritical and filthy lives of those nobles, so I ran away from home a long time ago. I've always been deeply ashamed of my noble birth!"
"What's a noble? Is it tasty?" Luffy the foodie was back online.
"Idiot! It's not something you eat!"
"Oh, okay."
Atlas remained calm and delivered a pre-prepared line.
"I mentioned Haki to you before. There's a special type of Observation Haki that can see into people's hearts..."
"See into people's hearts?!" Ace and Sabo gasped. They never imagined such a terrifying ability could exist in the world!
"You're not wrong, Sabo. This world is sick. If the world were a tree, the common people would be the roots, and all the nobles, including the Celestial Dragons, would be the pests gnawing away at those roots."
"There are only two ways to change the world..."
(T/N: Please give your vote~)
If you want to support me, join my patr**on. Have 20 advanced Chapters for you guys.
patr**n.com/saitamablast > OP:SJ NOVEL TIER