Renzo didn't sleep well that night.
His dreams were filled with the crackling of fire, ear-splitting laughter, and a voice endlessly muttering beside his ear, "So troublesome… so troublesome…", which, now that he thought about it, sounded suspiciously like his own.
When he was finally awakened by the glaring sunlight from the window and a series of… well, highly rhythmic snores, it took him a full ten minutes to boot up his brain.
'Who am I?'
'Where am I?''
'Why is it so noisy outside… Oh, right. That might've been my fault.'
Memories slowly returned, the "earth-shattering" at least for him confrontation from yesterday, and how just a few words from him had silenced the entire world.
"Troublesome…" he muttered, turning over and trying to block his ears with hay to shut out the symphony of snoring coming from outside.
Those pirates hadn't woken up yet?'
Whatever. Not his problem.
Right now, he was just hungry, the kind of hungry where your stomach kicks you.
He lazily opened his hand and thought, "Fruit… the sweetest one, please…"
Outside, the poor fruit tree shook slightly, and a plump fruit detached from its branch. It rolled along the ground, gracefully weaving between the unconscious pirates, and came to a perfect stop at his fingertips.
Renzo munched on the fruit, listening to the growing murmurs outside, all whispered but still unbearably loud to his sensitive ears.
'Why hasn't anyone moved those 'noise sources' yet…' he thought irritably. 'Seriously affecting sleep quality…'
At that moment, the steady clank of metal boots approached from the distance, firm, synchronized, and completely out of place in the usually sleepy atmosphere of the town.
"The Marines are here!" someone whispered outside, their voice a mix of relief and awe.
Renzo: "…"
Even noisier now. Couldn't people let him lie down in peace?
He heard a young, serious-sounding voice outside announce, "I am Ensign Keba of the 73rd Marine Branch! What happened here? Who subdued these pirates?"
Old John, the mayor, spoke excitedly, his voice trembling from both relief and lingering fear.
"It's the Black Shark Pirates! Led by Trundle, the one with a 10 million bounty! They attacked us out of nowhere yesterday… and then, as you can see, they all just… fell asleep! It was Renzo! The young man living by the shore!"
"Renzo?" The marine's tone was full of confusion.
"Who is he? A town guard? What method did he use? Sleeping gas?"
"N–No…" Old John's voice turned strange.
"He just… said a sentence… and then they all… collapsed."
A long silence fell outside.
Renzo could imagine the looks on their faces, those you've got to be kidding me expressions.
"He said a sentence?"
Keba's voice shot up an octave, disbelieving. "Old John, covering for pirates is a serious crime! Tell me the truth!"
"I am telling the truth! Every word of it!"
Old John was desperate. "He's in that hut right there! You can ask him yourself!"
Renzo froze.
'Ask?
'Explain?'
'Social interaction?'
The unholy trinity of hassle!
A wave of sheer annoyance exploded in him, his overwhelming desire to avoid dealing with anyone radiating out like a physical force.
Outside, Ensign Keba frowned.
He was a by-the-book officer who believed in discipline and reason. Fairy tales like this didn't sit well with him.
He decided to meet this so-called "hero" himself.
Adjusting his cap, he marched toward the shabby wooden hut.
But just three steps from the door, his foot suddenly slipped!
"Sir, careful!" a soldier shouted.
Keba stumbled, barely catching himself in time to avoid face-planting in front of his men.
He glanced down, nothing. The ground was spotless, not a single pebble.
"…Weird," he muttered, taking another step forward.
This time, as he raised his hand to knock, a crushing wave of fatigue slammed into him.
It was as if he'd just finished a three-day forced march, his eyelids so heavy he'd need toothpicks to hold them up.
"Ha, ahhh…" He couldn't stop a huge yawn, eyes tearing up.
"Sir? Are you alright?" one soldier asked, worried.
"I'm… fine…" Keba shook his head, forcing himself awake, but confusion clouded his mind.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.
"Excuse me, Mr. Renzo? I'm Ensign Keba of the Marines. I'd like to ask you about yesterday's incident."
Silence.
He waited, then knocked again. "Mr. Renzo?"
Still nothing.
Keba began to lose patience. He motioned for his men to be on alert and gently pushed the door open.
Creaaak.
At that very instant, his thoughts sank into something thick and warm, like being swallowed by cotton candy.
All his prepared questions, his doubts, his procedures, blurred, melted, and drifted away.
Only one thought remained, growing louder and louder:
'Investigating… is so much work…'
'Asking questions… is tiring…'
'Maybe… just forget it. The pirates are already caught anyway…'
He froze mid-motion, hand still on the door, eyes vacant.
Outside, his men stared at him, bewildered.
A sergeant stepped forward cautiously. "Sir? Should we-"
He never finished.
That same "laziness" spread like a contagious fog. The soldiers nearest the door began yawning one by one, their eyes glazing over. Some leaned against each other, nearly dozing off standing up.
"Wh–what the hell…" the soldiers in the back whispered, refusing to move any closer. They stared at the cracked door as if a sleep demon lurked within.
Old John muttered quietly from the side, "Told you… that boy's got something weird about him…"
In the end, the marines practically fled Maple Leaf Town, dragging the bound pirates and their half-asleep commanding officer with them.
They didn't even manage to conduct a proper investigation or take official statements.
Before leaving, a barely-conscious Keba, running purely on military instinct, mumbled to Old John.
"Report… I'll file it… mysterious individual… assisted capture… recommend… observation…"
It was the best explanation his foggy mind could come up with.
Peace returned to the town once more, and silence returned to Renzo's world.
Satisfied, he turned over and continued munching on his fruit.
However, he had greatly underestimated both the Marine bureaucracy and certain officers' persistence.
That vague, contradictory report from Ensign Keba, mentioning a "mysterious individual," pirates falling asleep after "a sentence," and a "strange lethargy affecting investigators", eventually landed on the desk of Vice Admiral Tsuru, who happened to be inspecting the West Blue at the time.
And Vice Admiral Tsuru was no ordinary officer, she was one of the Navy's greatest minds, a master of insight and intuition.
As soon as she read the report, her sharp eyes gleamed with intrigue.
"A fascinating ability…" she murmured, tapping her finger thoughtfully against the desk.
"It seems related to willpower… or perhaps mental states. The power to sap motivation, to induce lethargy."
She immediately recognized its potential outside of combat, peacefully resolving hostage crises, breaking enemy morale, even aiding in interrogation.
A few days later, a Marine warship bearing Headquarters insignia quietly docked at Maple Leaf Town's small port.
Vice Admiral Tsuru didn't make a grand entrance. She brought only a few trusted subordinates.
Under Old John's nervous guidance, she headed straight for the little seaside hut.