That afternoon, the sunlight was warm, and the sea breeze carried a lazy calm.
Renzo was in the middle of the most sacred part of his daily ritual, his afternoon nap.
He lay on his bed of straw, posture relaxed, breathing slow and steady, only a few breaths away from achieving the perfect state of "sleep until the end of time."
Unfortunately, peace is fragile.
It began with faint noise drifting in from the harbor, scattered fragments of shouting, carried by the wind.
Renzo frowned in his sleep, mumbling, "...Noisy..."
The noise seemed to fade a little, but not completely.
Then, it exploded.
Cries, screams, glass shattering, mocking laughter, and violent threats filled the air.
The clash of swords and the crack of gunfire pierced through the peaceful seaside afternoon and through the thin wall of Renzo's fragile sleep.
"...Tch."
With clear irritation, Renzo turned over, stuffing hay into his ears, hoping to shut out the "trouble."
His passive ability seemed to activate as the chaotic noise reached his hut; it became muffled and warped, as though it passed through thick water.
But the noise itself didn't vanish.
"Won't stop... so annoying..." His frustration started to build.
Soon, hurried footsteps approached his secluded corner of town.
A few pirates, their faces twisted with the thrill and cruelty of plunder, kicked open the door of an empty shack next door, rummaged through it, then turned toward Renzo's place, an even shabbier hut.
"Boss! There's another one over here!"
"Search it! See if there's anything worth taking, or something to eat! Damn, this poor-ass place!"
One short, stocky pirate swaggered forward and raised his foot to kick the door.
But the instant his boot was about to hit the wood, his foot suddenly slipped, as if on a magically conjured banana peel, despite there being no bananas for miles.
"Whoa-shit!" he yelped as he flailed backward, slamming straight into another crewmate holding a torch.
The two tumbled into a heap, the torch flew out of their grasp, barely missing them before landing in a patch of dry grass, which immediately caught fire.
"Damn it! Watch where you're going!"
"I-It was too slippery!"
Inside, Renzo frowned deeper.
"Now they're noisy at the door too... can't they just shut up..."
His thought radiated pure annoyance.
The two pirates who had just stood up suddenly felt a wave of overwhelming drowsiness crash into their minds.
Their eyelids turned to lead; their weapons suddenly felt impossibly heavy.
"Ugh... what the hell... why am I... so sleepy..." the short pirate mumbled, eyes tearing up from a massive yawn.
"M-me too..." the other slurred, leaning weakly against the wall, and within seconds, soft snores began to fill the air.
The short one struggled for a moment, but resistance was futile; his head slumped, and he joined his partner in dreamland.
Peace, at last, began to return.
Renzo smacked his lips contentedly and adjusted his position, ready to drift back into his nap.
But the raid of the Black Shark Pirates only grew worse.
Their captain, Black Shark Trundle, a scar-faced, broad-shouldered man with a 10 million Beli bounty, was a notorious figure in the West Blue.
He barked orders as his men hauled away loot and supplies, laughing boisterously all the while.
The townsfolk's cries only fueled his excitement.
Somewhere amid the chaos, a stray torch or misfired shot ignited a stack of goods. Flames flared up, spreading toward Renzo's hut.
The sea breeze fanned the blaze, thick smoke curling upward.
The crackling fire, frantic shouting, and manic laughter merged into one roaring storm of noise, battering against Renzo's hut like waves against rock.
Then came disaster.
A burning plank, blasted by an explosion, was flung through the air and crashed straight into Renzo's flimsy roof.
The impact shattered his fragile peace entirely.
The roof split open, scattering embers and debris. His power deflected everything away from his body, but the thick smoke and orange glare were impossible to ignore.
The house was breaking.
It was on fire.
And most unforgivably, it was too loud to sleep.
These thoughts snapped something deep inside him.
Not rage, not the fiery kind, but a crushing, soul-deep irritation.
The kind of mind-breaking frustration that comes when your sacred nap is invaded again and again by endless noise and trouble.
Repairing the house? Too much work.
Putting out the fire? Too much work.
Getting choked by smoke? Too much work.
Not being able to sleep? The ultimate, unforgivable sin!
All the trouble, every last bit of it, came from those noisy, violent idiots outside!
It had to stop. Now.
Renzo sat up, abruptly and with great effort.
It was, by far, the most energy he had used since crossing worlds.
His hair stood messily from static and sleep. His half-lidded eyes showed no killing intent, only a bone-deep resentment for having his nap disturbed.
He didn't even bother putting on shoes. Barefoot, he stepped onto the dusty floor.
He opened his creaky wooden door and stepped out.
The sun was hidden behind smoke. The air was hot and choking.
Two pirates lay sleeping by the wall. Fire licked at the edge of his hut. In the distance, screams, gunfire, and laughter still raged.
Renzo's gaze swept over the chaos and fixed on the loudest source of it all: Trundle, the roaring pirate captain.
When he spoke, his tone was soft but strangely heavy, a lazy, unshakable authority that cut through the battlefield.
"...So noisy."
"Can you all... be quiet?"
"Or better yet... just take a nap."
"Don't bother me... sleeping is... important..."
It wasn't a command.
It was a complaint, a heartfelt plea born from pure, divine laziness, asking the world to just cooperate for once.
[Sloth's Declaration, Wide Area Hypnosis]: Activate.
An invisible wave spread out from him, rippling across the battlefield like a silent tide.
Black Shark Trundle, mid-laugh with a chest of treasure in hand, suddenly froze.
A crushing drowsiness hit him out of nowhere.
The chest in his hands felt impossibly heavy, as if filled with lead. The sounds of chaos blurred and faded, like echoes underwater.
He tried to shake it off, but his mind slowed, thoughts grinding like rusted gears.
"W-what... is this...?" he muttered, glancing around.
His men were slowing down, too.
Pirates froze mid-swing, arms hanging uselessly.
Those firing muskets went limp at the trigger.
Looters stopped mid-motion, yawning uncontrollably.
"Boss... I'm... so tired..."
"Can't... keep my eyes open..."
"Fighting's... too much work... why are we even fighting..."
"I wanna... go home... and sleep..."
Thud. Thud.
Like a field of wheat being cut down, pirates collapsed one after another, snoring as weapons clattered to the ground.
Even Trundle only managed a few more seconds of resistance.
His legs turned to lead, eyelids sinking like anchors. His strength, his pride, all meaningless before this unstoppable wave of lethargy.
"W-What... did you... do..." he stammered, staring in horror at the sleepy-eyed boy standing in the doorway of a half-broken hut.
Renzo met his gaze with one final, annoyed glance.
"...You too... sleep."
Thud.
The 10-million-Beli Black Shark Trundle crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, snoring softly among his men.
The entire battlefield fell eerily silent.
Only the crackle of fire and the townsfolk's trembling breaths remained.
Renzo looked at the heap of "problems" now snoring peacefully and let out a long, satisfied yawn.
"Finally... quiet..."
He rubbed his eyes, utterly ignoring the stunned, fearful, and grateful looks of the surviving townsfolk.
He had only one thought left.
Go back.
Finish his nap.
As for putting out the fire, cleaning up, or explaining anything?
Too much work.
He turned, walked slowly back into his hut, avoided the hole in the roof, and collapsed onto his straw bed.
The moment his head hit the pillow, steady breathing filled the room once again.
Outside, pirates lay scattered across the ground, soon to be tied up by townsfolk and the approaching guards.
Out at sea, a Marine patrol ship, its seagull flag fluttering, had spotted the smoke and was sailing closer.
None of it mattered to Renzo.
He just wanted to sleep.
Whatever came next... could wait until after his nap...if he still remembered by then.