The sun hovered high above the Calm Belt, casting glittering diamonds across the surface of the tranquil sea. No wind stirred, no waves rolled. It was a place of deceptive peace, where sea kings slumbered beneath the glassy surface, and death was a breath away for most who dared enter. But this day, something new stirred in those ancient waters.
A lone ship, small but sturdy, floated confidently in this dead sea. At its helm stood a boy — no, a myth in the making. Adam D. Vane, age 12, eyes glinting with the aftershocks of divine rage and lingering adrenaline. Behind him, the shattered remains of the slave ship still burned, crackling with blue flames that danced like ghosts bidding farewell.
Hancock, her sisters beside her, leaned over the ship's railing, eyes wide and lost in awe. Not just at the sea or the fact they were free, but at him.
Adam.
The boy who shattered their chains.
The boy who held a sword kissed by gods.
The boy who dared say he'd kill the Celestial Dragons.
Hancock wasn't sure what to feel. Hope? Awe? Maybe even... something stranger. She touched her collar, now snapped and thrown into the sea.
"Who... are you?" she finally asked.
Adam blinked and scratched his cheek. "Just a guy who hates slavers."
"Slavers?" murmured Sandersonia, confused. "You talk so strange."
"I get that a lot," Adam chuckled.
---
Meanwhile, deep within the Grand Line...
Two figures sat atop a cloud-like mountaintop far away, disguised in ordinary cloaks, yet they were anything but ordinary.
Karlos D. Vane — a living legend of the seas, and his wife Meredith, the one whose smile could break kings and calm the fiercest storm — watched from a distance, their Den Den Mushi tapping into the news reports flying from the Calm Belt.
"Well," Meredith said with a smile, "he made the papers again."
"Page one, even," Karlos muttered, reading the headline: "Child Devil Burns Slave Ship—Declares War on Celestial Dragons?"
Meredith raised an elegant brow. "That's our boy."
Karlos grinned. "Twelve years old and already causing political earthquakes. Think we should ground him?"
She smirked. "Try catching him first."
They clinked cups of hot sake, proud eyes glowing.
---
Back aboard Adam's ship...
A new set of clothes had been found for the girls. The slave rags were gone, burned like the filth that had stained their lives.
Hancock sat quietly, eating rice balls with a delicacy that made Adam pause. He sat a few feet away, watching the three girls devour food like starving wolves, then gradually slow as warmth returned to their expressions.
In his head, his otaku brain was screaming.
Bro. That's Boa Hancock. BOA HANCOCK.
You're in the Calm Belt. With her. When she's twelve. You saved her. You absolute Sigma W-male, you righteous menace.
He fought the urge to laugh.
"She's gonna grow up into that Boa Hancock. The empress. The queen. The girl who kicks Marines and blushes for Luffy. And she's sitting like a tiny tsundere right now."
He glanced at her and realized she was watching him too.
She looked away immediately. "Thank you. For saving us."
Adam smiled. "That's what pirates are for."
"Pirates?" Marigold echoed.
"Yeah. Real pirates. Not those monsters you were chained to. Real ones fight for freedom."
Hancock's lips twitched. "You're strange... but I like that."
---
Marine Headquarters
Vice Admiral Tsuru's sharp fingers tapped against the table in the strategy room. Her silver hair was pulled into a neat bun, and those eyes, aged like fine wine but sharp like cut glass, narrowed at the parchment report handed to her by a trembling marine.
"A single boy destroyed the Black Hydra Pirates... and freed all their captives," she murmured. "A boy? In the Calm Belt?"
"Vice Admiral Tsuru," another officer began nervously, "his name is Adam D. Vane. He left a message at the site. Said... 'Tell the Celestial Dragons if they want their slaves back, they can come themselves.'"
Crack.
The wooden cup in Garp's hand split from the pressure of his grip and he started laughing like crazy. Sengoku adjusted his glasses with a grim expression.
"That fruit he has... No Zoan-type we've recorded matches that aura. We might be looking at another Mythical Zoan."
"This D. name again..." Kong muttered. "First Roger. Then Dragon. Now this kid."
But Tsuru—oh, Tsuru was smiling.
"He's got fire. And he's handsome. Dangerous mix."
Sengoku choked on his tea.
---
Back on the ship
That night, as the stars above painted streaks across the sky, Adam sat cross-legged on the deck.
His mind drifted again.
This is it. The beginning.
You died in another world. A broken soul, unloved and discarded. Now? You're writing your legacy in the ink of fire.
He looked at the girls sleeping peacefully in the cabin. For the first time since arriving in this world, something inside him bloomed.
Hope.
Maybe... he could live the dream.
Not just adventure.
Not just strength.
But bonds.
He smirked.
Every otaku dreams of a harem. But maybe... I'll build one that's not just beauty, but loyalty. Pain shared. Wars fought. Love earned.
"I'll protect them," he whispered. "From everything."
And far beneath the waves, something ancient stirred. Something watching.
[Few Days Later – Calm Belt Waters]
The sky stretched endless and blue. Seagulls flew in lazy circles. The sea, calm as glass… until a dark silhouette split the horizon.
A massive Marine warship glided across the water, sails crisp, and the bold navy flag flapping proudly under the sun.
Adam stood barefoot on the shore, shirt open, hair tousled from sea wind. His sharp golden eyes tracked the ship's arrival.
"A Marine vessel," he muttered. "Hah… So even they couldn't stay quiet."
As it docked, footsteps rang out on the gangplank. Two figures descended with grace and purpose.
First came Vice Admiral Tsuru — silver-haired, elegant, and radiating unshakable calm. Her Marine coat fluttered behind her like wings, every step carrying decades of experience.
Right behind her was Gion, young, confident, sword strapped to her back, eyes sharp and amused.
And in that moment—
Adam's gaze locked on Tsuru.
His smirk twitched, just a little.
> "Daaamn… I didn't know she was this hot. She didn't hit this hard in the anime… She got that 'strict principal about to punish you in her office' energy. Silver hair, sharp eyes, that Marine drip? Milf status confirmed."
> "If I wasn't standing here half-shirtless and crusty from slaver blood, I'd flirt. Deadass."
Tsuru's eyes, unreadable, swept over Adam from head to toe.
> So this is him… Adam D. Vane. Calm sea under a storm. Stronger than his age should allow. Haki restrained. Breathing measured. But those eyes… unafraid. Bold. Lustful, too. He's not hiding a damn thing.
Not to mention that aura. He stands like someone who's already fought gods and came back with their heads.
"Adam D. Vane," Tsuru said coolly. "The Marines would like to extend an official invitation. Join us."
Adam tilted his head lazily.
"You offering tea and cookies too, or just a leash?"
Gion let out a soft laugh, watching this like a favorite drama. "He talks like a pirate, but he moves like something else entirely."
Adam's eyes flicked from Gion to Tsuru again. Still smirking.
> "She's not even trying to be sexy, and it's working. This world's got some dangerous women, and I'm living for it."
He crossed his arms. "I'm not joining," he said simply. "But I'll hear you out. Just don't expect me to kneel."
Tsuru didn't flinch. Didn't even blink.
> He's either foolish… or already too powerful to fear us. Either way, this one won't be tamed. Not by orders, not by gold. Maybe… not even by justice.
She nodded once.
"Then let's talk."
---
Tsuru Images in the comments
Made by yours truly🥵
End of Chapter 4