A few days after my sparring match with Sakazuki, I found myself in a state of deep reflection. Specifically, reflecting on how much I wanted to punch Vice Admiral Garp in the face.
As soon as we entered the East Blue, the old man decided I needed "special training."
"You've got a 'crucial mission,' brat! You're terrible with blades, and your Observation Haki is pathetic, so go fix it! If you're still alive in a week, you pass! Bwahaha!"
With those words, he punched me off the ship and sent me flying into the heart of a dense, prehistoric-looking jungle island. He tossed a couple of mass-produced katanas after me like an afterthought.
"Are you freaking kidding me?!" I roared at the retreating ship.
The jungle didn't give me time to sulk. Within minutes, I was being swarmed. I swung my mace, swatting aside a lion the size of a carriage, then looked up as a giant raptor dove at me.
"Shigan: Iron Bolt!" I thrust the tip of the mace like a finger pistol, punching a hole through the bird's wing. An oversized serpent lunged for my ankles, but I crushed it into the dirt with a "Cannon Leg"—the kick version of my shockwave punch.
After the initial chaos, I retreated to the coast to set up a base. I know the basics of survival, but the real problem was the katanas.
I'm garbage with blades. Not because I'm scared of them, but because I have zero finesse. I tend to use "maximum output" for everything, which causes the blades to chip, bend, or snap in half within ten minutes.
Since I can't exactly sharpen a broken sword back into existence, I've stuck to blunt force.
"Wait... I don't actually have to cut things with the physical metal, do I?"
If a kick can create a flying slash (Rankyaku), a sword swing should do the same. Even Zoro used to brag about "flying slashes." And if I can do it with a sword, I should be able to do it with my arms, too.
"Alright. New goals: Flying slashes with the sword, Arm-Rankyaku, and boosting my Observation Haki."
My Observation Haki is my weak point; I can only sense things within a 200-meter radius. It's pathetic compared to the monsters at HQ.
"Step one: Secure water and a base!" I slammed my mace into the ground, clearing a massive crater to serve as a makeshift camp. "Actually... this might be kind of fun."
A Certain Pirate's Perspective
BOOM!!!
"What the hell was that noise?"
On the opposite side of the island, a pirate ship was anchored. They had just finished "working" over a nearby town and stopped here to rest.
"Captain! I see a massive dust cloud rising over there, Nazon!" reported a lanky man clad in spiked armor.
"Oh? How intriguing. Shall we investigate?" purred a woman with long black hair and a dangerously seductive aura.
"Hmph. I don't care what it is, I'll blow it away," grunted a massive, bear-like young man. He smashed his fists together—CLANG!—the sound of solid metal meeting solid metal.
As they reached the source of the dust, they saw a lone Marine, shirtless and sweating, swinging a katana into the empty air.
"Captain... a Marine, Nazon."
"But I don't see a warship anywhere?" the woman mused.
"Who cares? It's just one guy with a toothpick. My power makes his blade useless! Hey, you! Marine!"
The Encounter
"Hey, you! Marine!"
I stopped my practice swing and turned. I had just finished gathering some fruit and was trying to master the "Flying Slash" when three colorful characters stepped out of the brush.
"Well, hello there, young Marine boy," said the woman in the long coat.
"Are you all alone, Nazon? Are you shipwrecked, Nazon?" asked the lanky guy in spiked armor.
"Gue-hahahaha! I don't know why you're here, but prepare to die!" the leader roared, lunging at me with a raised fist.
I reacted instinctively, drawing my katana and slashing at his incoming arm.
CLANG!!
The sound was hideous—the screech of metal on metal. The blade didn't bite into flesh; it bounced off as if I'd hit an anvil.
"Gue-hahahaha! I've eaten the Kachi Kachi Fruit! My body is as hard as steel! Your sword is useless!"
"What the—?! Who the hell are you people? Attacking a Marine officer is a capital offense!" I shouted, jumping back to create distance.
"Us?" the woman purred. "I am Beauty Queen, an executive of the Trump Pirates."
"And I am Honey Queen... wait, no, I am Borodo... no, I am Pin-Jack of the Trump Pirates, Nazon!" the spiked guy yelled.
"And I am the Captain of the Trump Pirates! The man with the title of King... BEAR KING! Gue-hahahaha!"
Trump Pirates... Kachi Kachi Fruit...
"Oh! You're the guys from the second movie!" I blurted out.
So it wasn't the "Gachi Gachi" fruit, it was "Kachi Kachi." I remembered Bear King, but the other two were a bit blurry. Still, movie villains? In the East Blue? This was perfect.
"If you're pirates, I'm placing you under arrest. Don't complain if you get hurt!" I sheathed the katana—no point in breaking it—and grabbed my five-ton mace.
"How adorable," Beauty Queen laughed. "Boys... take care of him!"
She snapped a whip, and suddenly, thirty goons charged out of the woods with swords and spears.
"Are you serious? Thirty against one?"
I sighed and started swinging. I didn't even use Haki. I just used the five-ton weight of the mace and the centrifugal force of my "Bear-like" build. Within two minutes, the sand was littered with unconscious mooks. I stood there, leaning on my mace, facing the three executives.
"Not bad," Beauty Queen admitted. "You cleared the trash."
"Then it's my turn, Nazon!" Pin-Jack shouted.
"Hold it," I pointed my mace at Bear King. "I'll take all three of you, or just the big guy. Your choice."
"Gue-hahahaha! Bold words! Bow before my might!"
Bear King charged, his heavy footsteps shaking the sand. He looked like a juggernaut, but I just grinned. I'd spent the last month being a punching bag for Sakazuki and Zephyr.
This guy was about to find out what a real heavy hitter looked like.