[POV – Third Person]
In East Blue, Loguetown.
"Noah, 'The Killer Magician', 15 years old, 1.99 m, green eyes, light brown hair. Accused of leading a massacre on a sparsely populated island, killing hundreds of innocents alongside two accomplices. Extremely dangerous. Bounty: 39 million Belly."
Sitting in a chair facing a dimly lit table, with a cigar in his mouth, a white-haired man murmured.
Diverting his gaze from the poster, he turned to a woman not far away: "Tashigi, what do you think?"
"I don't believe they did this!" She strongly denied.
"Mm, me neither. However, never say that outside this room, understood?"
"Smoker. I don't get it. Aren't we supposed to be justice? Why is this happening?" She placed her hands on her head, fidgeting, seeming truly confused.
Taking a drag from his cigar, Smoker spun in his chair. Raising his head to the ceiling, he exhaled the smoke.
He answered slowly: "Tashigi. Understand this, not everything is black and white—most of the time, it ends up being gray."
Pressing her lips together, it took a few seconds before Tashigi replied: "I get what you mean."
"Mm, now, we won't talk about this outside, okay?"
"I know."
--
--
[POV – Noah]
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|Name: Noah Amano
|Race: Human
|Level: 2
|Title: The Killer Magician
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Gacha: 0
Special Gacha Coins: 0
GP: 15
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Assimilation in Progress [3/3]: [Hercules (Hercules) - ★★★★★ (69.1%)] - [Elastigirl (The Incredibles) - ★★★★☆ (98.9%)] - [Jack-Jack, the Chaos Incarnate (The Incredibles) - ★★★★★☆ (15.9%)]
Assimilated [2/3]: [Li Shang (Mulan) - ★★★★] - [Frozone (The Incredibles) - ★★★★]
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Summons [3/3]: [Cri-Kee (Mulan) - ★★★ (Loyalty: 95.2%)] - [Trinity - ★★★★☆☆ (Loyalty: 99.9%)] - [Merida (Brave) - ★★★★ (Loyalty: 88.1%)]
════════ ××× ════════
'Just a little more until I fully assimilate Elastigirl and...' I thought: 'Trinity's loyalty is almost at 100%.'
In this one and a half years... I haven't received a single mission.
I know I spent most of the time training on the island, mainly Haki, using the knowledge I pulled straight from the One Piece manga and anime, but even without missions, I'm not particularly upset.
My gains without them still aren't few.
Another thing...
'Why the hell did my title become the nickname the government gave me, huh?' I thought: 'Damn, until now, it was blank, then I saw the poster and bang this title popped up...'
The worst part is I think Jack-Jack's title is cooler than mine. I mean, "The Chaos Incarnate" is way cooler than "The Killer Magician," right?
That title just makes me imagine some kind of clown with a deck of cards who goes around killing whoever gets in his way...
'Should I try to change it to that?' I thought randomly: 'Did I turn into Hisoka or something?'
"Noah."
Snapping out of my daze, I stopped leaning on the ship's railing, turning to Nami. "Yes?"
"I'm hungry," she replied.
"... Miranda, make something." I looked at the redhead.
"You do it." She crossed her arms.
"Nojiko-nee..."
"I'm busy!"
"Tsk, 3 against 1 isn't fair!" I grumbled, heading toward the kitchen cabin.
--
--
I could still hear their laughter behind me.
'Damn it, they'll see...'
Suddenly, a pair of large eyes appeared on the kitchen wall.
"What is it, Mater?"
"Hey, Noay, there's a pirate ship right ahead." He asked, "Should I keep going straight or swerve?"
"Whatever, let Nami decide." I replied.
"Man, you're losing your identity more and more." Mater sighed, leaving.
"Wait." I stopped him.
"Yes?"
"I've decided, head toward those pirates, I'll deal with them." I said.
"Iahaha, now that's what I'm talking about, buddy!"
Mater's eyes disappeared as I felt the slight movement of the ship.
I knew Mater must have taken control of the ship and used the power of the Sube Sube no Mi to glide over the water, increasing the speed.
"We're getting close, folks, buckle up – Ihaaa!!"
Mater's voice echoed loudly.
The cabin door opened.
"Noah, what did you tell Mater?" Nami asked as soon as she appeared.
"To head toward the pirates up ahead." I replied. "If they're some wicked pirates, I'll deal with them, if not... I'll deal with them."
"Oh right... Wait. Why are you going to deal with them either way?" She asked.
"Nami-nee, have you ever seen a pirate crew that wasn't wicked?" I asked.
"No..." She answered really softly.
"Then there's my answer."
"Okay, do what you want." She shrugged and walked away.
I finished putting the rice on to cook and the meat to roast, and soon left the kitchen.
'They asked me to make something to eat, but I never promised to make anything fancy, did I?'
Laughing, I opened the door and stepped out.
When I walked out, I felt the strong wind hitting my face.
The ship was moving at an incredible speed, approximately 150 KM/H.
When Mater uses the Sube Sube no Mi, not only does the water become easier to navigate, but the wind resistance itself becomes easier to overcome, making the Black Pearl—which was already fast—even faster, even with not-so-strong winds.
"Did I hear, Great Hawk?"
"Noah."
Grabbing my Hook, I raised it and shouted: "Nihuuuu!"
Soon, I transformed into a 2-meter-tall Hawk, flying toward the pirate ship.
"There he goes..."
"Well, it's Noah."
"Yes, it's Noah."
In the sky, I canceled my transformation and asked while the magic carpet that had been wrapped around my waist now served as support: "Guys, catching a fish is easy, but have you ever seen someone fish a pirate ship before?"
3x "Yes, you."
The response came instantly with eye-rolls from them. I laughed without caring. Soon, I spun my Hook and looked carefully at the pirate ship and saw the symbol of a skull with a half-moon on the left side. I recognized it. It was the ship that belonged to Gally.
Gally is the captain of the Gally Pirates with a bounty of 3,450,000 Belly.
'Barely pays for a meal, but, Smoker, he... Forget it, he has his issues too.'
My intention to go to him and collect the bounty for that pirate was gone.
'It's not like I'm short on money anyway.'
Throwing my Hook, my arm stretched along with it.
The sonic sound of the Hook being launched sent the Gally Pirates into a panic.
"CRACK!"
"BOOM!"
The Hook hit the ship's mast, piercing through everything in its path, going all the way into the sea.
Once it hit the water, I stopped stretching my arm.
It was laughable to see those pirates shoot their pistols and strike with their swords toward my hand, only for it all to bounce off.
Hooking the metal part of the ship's bottom, I began to pull.
"DOOOM!"
"SPLASH!"
The sound of the ship—although not as big as the Black Pearl, still large—rising from the sea was heard.
What followed was me giving a strong tug, making the few centimeters above the water rise directly to hundreds of meters above the sea.
"Damn it, why are you doing this to us!?"
'Why do I feel like I've heard that same line before? And not just once...'
I just laughed without answering. Not worth it.
Now over 100 meters high and still rising, I unhooked my Hook and pulled my hand back.
When my arm returned to normal, I sat down, giving a pat to the magic carpet, which flew back to the Black Pearl.
Meanwhile, in the sky, the Gally Pirates' ship was still going up.
When it nearly reached the height of the clouds, it began to fall.
As I landed on the deck of the ship, I said: "We can go now."
"Mm." Nami got serious as she commanded: "Mater, change course to Southwest at full speed!"
"Right away. By the way, Namin, Pegalus wants to take over and fly the Black Pearl." Mater asked, "Should I let him take control?"
"Tell him not yet." Nami replied. "But it won't be long before we'll need to fly."
"Eh lasqueira. Pegalus agreed to be patient." Mater said.
I stopped listening to their conversation and went into the cabin.
As for the Mally Pirates?
Well, even that high up, they'll still land in the water—with luck, they won't die, but the same can't be said for their ship...
Wait... Wasn't it Gally Pirates?
'Well, it doesn't really matter if it was Mally or Gally~'
My mood improved quite a bit.
It's amazing how making some pirates miserable makes me happy.
I even started humming a song while cooking.