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Chapter 3: The Pirate Crew
🕑 Added 2025-08-19 08:26:24 +0000 UTCKyle held his breath, melding his body into the shadows at the cliff's edge, only his golden pupils visible as he calmly observed the ship gradually approaching below.
The vessel wasn't large—it could hold maybe twenty people at most. The hull looked weathered, and the sails were patched in several places, clearly not belonging to some wealthy pirate crew.
The flag at the bow was pretty standard, though—a menacing skull with two crossed cutlasses below it. Classic design, just lacking any creativity.
"Finally..." Kyle muttered to himself. Three years—a whole three years! He'd been playing Robinson Crusoe on this island for way too long, and finally, his ticket out had arrived!
Excited as he was, he didn't immediately charge out and pull some "the king returns" dramatic entrance.
Caution was rule number one for staying alive as someone who'd been transported to another world, especially in this chaotic and dangerous place.
The pirate ship dropped anchor not far from shore, and several figures jumped down, wading through knee-deep water toward the beach.
Twelve men total, each one a real piece of work—scruffy clothes, curved sabers or flintlocks at their waists, obviously hardened criminals who lived by the sword.
Leading them was a relatively burly man with a full beard, a crimson sash around his waist, and a spiked club bigger than his head slung over his shoulder, barking orders at his crew with a string of curses:
"You lazy dogs better get moving! Find some fresh water and food, and see if there's anything valuable on this godforsaken rock!"
"Yes, Captain!" Several pirates responded with crude laughter as they spread out.
Kyle suppressed his presence completely while silently activating his Wave-Wave Fruit ability. An invisible vibration sense spread out from him like radar, scanning these unwelcome visitors.
"Hmm... pretty mediocre. Compared to those monsters from the first half of the Grand Line with bounties in the tens of millions or hundreds of millions, these guys are just small fry." Kyle assessed quietly.
Though these men looked fierce, they didn't carry that suffocating aura of true powerhouses, and he sensed no trace of Haki. Dealing with them shouldn't be a problem.
His hiding spot was on higher ground with a clear view—he could see everything the pirates were doing below.
A few pirates searched around the beach area, grumbling and cursing about how barren this island was.
"What good stuff could there be in this middle-of-nowhere dump!" A tall, skinny pirate kicked a rock in frustration.
"Hey, finding fresh water's good enough. Boss, remember that last place... what was it called... that village where we scored big!" Another pirate with a scar across his face grinned lewdly, showing yellow teeth.
The bearded captain laughed boisterously at this: "Damn right! Those villagers thought they could fight back? One swing of my club and I splattered their brains all over! And those girls, man, they were so smooth!"
"Too bad, Captain—you were too rough. You killed two of them before the rest of us got our turn!" A rat-faced pirate chimed in, his voice dripping with sleazy disappointment.
"What's to worry about! Once we're restocked, we'll hit up some nearby islands and make sure you all get your fun! The ones who don't cooperate—kill the men and feed them to the fish, and the women..." The bearded captain let out a disgusting laugh, and the surrounding pirates joined in with raucous laughter and crude comments.
They casually discussed their recent raid and massacre of some village, talking about it as casually as discussing the weather.
The last trace of amusement vanished from Kyle's face, replaced by a dark expression. He'd originally held onto a sliver of hope that maybe he could "negotiate friendly terms" with these pirates, use some "special techniques" to get them to give him a ride. But now it was clear these guys were complete scum who deserved whatever was coming to them.
The world of One Piece wasn't all sunshine and adventure and hot-blooded friendship. The cruelty and darkness hidden in cover stories or glossed over in the manga was now laid bare before him. Violence, evil, bloodshed—this was one of the more honest colors of these seas.
He wasn't some bleeding heart, but he definitely wasn't the type to stand by while this kind of evil went unpunished. Besides, these scumbags showing up gave him the perfect "legitimate" opportunity to acquire a ship.
"Looks like you pieces of trash get to be my first real combat experience." Kyle slowly stood up, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes.
He took a deep breath, but instead of jumping straight down from the cliff for some dramatic "justice from above" moment while shouting "Freeze, scumbags—you're surrounded!", he silently circled around to the edge of the jungle where the pirates had spread out to search.
One isolated pirate was cursing as he hacked through blocking vines with his cutlass, completely unaware that death was approaching. Kyle appeared behind him like a ghost, his right hand forming a loose grip as an invisible shockwave quietly gathered.
The pirate's movements suddenly froze. He tried to call for help but couldn't make a sound.
The next second, his cutlass clattered to the ground, and his whole body went limp like the bones had been pulled out of him, collapsing as subtle cracking sounds came from inside his body and dark red blood slowly seeped from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
One hit, one kill—and barely any noise.
Kyle looked at the scene before him, his stomach churning.
Even though he'd mentally prepared himself, the feeling of actually ending a life was far more disturbing than he'd imagined.
He forced down the nausea and turned his attention to another target nearby.
"Who's there?!" Another pirate seemed to hear something and turned around warily.
What greeted him was a shockwave nearly impossible for the naked eye to track.
"Ugh!"
The pirate was hit head-on by what felt like an invisible sledgehammer. His chest caved in instantly, and he flew backward, smashing through a small tree before stopping, blood gushing from his mouth—clearly not going to make it.
"We're under attack!!"
Finally, one of the pirates discovered his fallen comrades and screamed in terror.
The bearded captain on the beach changed expression and roared: "Who is it? Show yourself!"
Kyle didn't respond—he simply walked out of the forest, his figure bathed in sunlight, black hair and golden eyes, expression ice-cold.
"A... kid?" The bearded captain stared at Kyle's appearance, first stunned, then breaking into a savage grin. "Little punk doesn't know when he's beat! You dare touch my men? Boys, cut him down!"
The remaining seven or eight pirates immediately charged at Kyle with bloodthirsty yells, their blades glinting coldly.
Kyle didn't retreat—he advanced toward the charging pirates, pushing both hands forward.
"Whooom—whooom—whooom—"
Three solid shockwaves spread out in a fan pattern, precisely covering all enemies ahead. The pirates in front didn't even have time to scream before the devastating force sent them flying, bones broken and tendons snapped, their fate unknown.
The pirates behind were so terrified by this horrifying display of power that they stopped dead in their tracks, staring at Kyle in terror.
"What... what kind of monster are you?!" one pirate asked, trembling.
Kyle didn't answer—his figure flickered and he instantly appeared in front of the man.
The pirate only saw a blur, then felt a strange vibration travel up his sword arm. He watched in horror as his sturdy steel blade shattered like glass, crumbling into metal shards.
"My sword!"
Before he could react, Kyle delivered a knife-hand strike to his neck, the vibrating force directly destroying his cervical vertebrae.
In the blink of an eye, only the bearded captain remained standing. Watching Kyle cut through his crew like they were vegetables, the savage grin had long vanished from his face, replaced by deep fear.
He finally realized he'd messed with someone he absolutely should not have messed with.
"Who... who the hell are you?" the bearded captain snarled, trying to sound tough while his hands shook with fear as he gripped his spiked club.
Kyle walked toward him step by step, each footfall like a hammer blow to the man's heart.
"Just a passing wild man of justice."
Before he finished speaking, Kyle's figure suddenly accelerated into a blur.
The bearded captain roared and swung his club down hard, bringing a gust of foul wind.
But the club hit nothing. Kyle's body became somewhat transparent the moment it made contact, like shimmering air, and the weapon passed right through him without resistance.
Elemental transformation!
The bearded captain's pupils contracted—what kind of ability was this?!
The next moment, Kyle's body solidified again, one hand already pressed against the man's chest.
"Let me send you on your way. Go repent in hell."
"Shock Wave... Disintegration!"
"Ugh—"
The bearded captain's body shuddered violently, his expression frozen in ultimate terror and agony. He looked down at his chest, where his clothes and flesh seemed to be torn apart and pulverized from the inside out by some invisible force.
He opened his mouth to say something, but only spewed a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments, then toppled over, stiff as a board, completely still.
The battle was over.
Kyle stood on the blood-soaked beach as the sea breeze carried the heavy scent of blood.
He looked at the bodies scattered everywhere, his face pale, his stomach churning. Finally, he couldn't hold it in—"Blech!"—and threw up his breakfast of grilled fish.
First time killing, and killing so many people at once—even though they were heinous pirates, the intense physical and psychological shock was still overwhelming. This was completely different from training by smashing rocks and snapping trees.
It took a while before he managed to recover, rinsing his mouth with seawater and wiping away the mess.
"Hah... so this is the world of One Piece." He muttered quietly, his tone complex. No epic background music, no passionate declarations of justice—just cold corpses and nauseating blood.
But he didn't regret it.
He walked over to the pirate ship, sizing up what was about to become his "ride." Sure, it was beat up, but at least it could sail.
"Finally got my starter package," Kyle's lips curved in a somewhat pale smile. "Though... the delivery guys had terrible customer service."
He jumped aboard and began inspecting the ship's condition. There was some fresh water and food, but not much.
Surprisingly, in one of the cabins, he found a small wooden chest containing some berries and several pieces of jewelry that looked fairly valuable.
"Better than nothing," Kyle stored the chest away.
Now he had a ship.
"So then..." Kyle stood at the bow, gazing out at the endless sea, his eyes lighting up again. "Grand Line, here I come!"
