Cruel World
The protagonist's name will change. It will no longer be Almos D Angus but Almos de Thomas. I had forgotten that I had changed their names in the middle of the story, and I was too lazy to change it now that I've posted it, so just ignore it.
Chapter 2 - Cruel World
Thomas woke up early and began his training in the backyard as usual. However, this time, he swung a steel bar in his hands. After waking up, he decided to train in the use of swords, as it would be a waste not to use Murasame.
Looking at the sun rising on the horizon, he turned and prepared breakfast before heading to work. He made scrambled eggs and some milk and juice for his mother. However, before he could say anything, an explosion echoed from the pier.
- What was that?
- I don't know, it came from the pier.
- Quickly, grab your things and get ready; it might be an attack.
Listening to the voices outside, Thomas frowned, and before he could think further, his mother called him.
- Thomas.
- Mom, stay here. I'll see what's happening.
- No, you won't. You...
- Mom, it's okay. Just stay here.
Thomas passed by her and went to get Murasame from his room before leaving. However, even before approaching the port, he heard the sound of gunfire and war cries.
- Pirates! Quickly, evacuate women and children to the central village. The rest, use everything you can to stop these bastards.
- Yes.
The battle was fierce. On one side, there were almost 300 men armed with agricultural tools; some had weapons like swords, but these were few, and the number of firearms was even smaller.
On the other side, the pirates, though fewer in number, had better weapons, and they had cannons supporting them from the port. Moreover, unlike the residents of a small village, they lived facing death constantly, so they were physically stronger and knew better how to seize opportunities in combat.
- Draw.
- "Congratulations on obtaining - Kenshin Himura's Skill."
- As I thought, that entity controls this system. Whenever I need it, it sends something necessary.
Thomas didn't think much about it. He had suspected this since gaining immunity to diseases. Although it was a good skill, it was too early to get something like that, considering he had the system for just over six months and often gained only small amounts and useless items.
Joining the battle with Himura's instinct now with him and using Murasame, Thomas wreaked havoc on the pirates. However, before he could start feeling encouraged, he was hit by a gunshot in the shoulder from behind. He wasn't prepared and ended up injured. Quickly, he hid inside a house, and when he looked back, he saw an even larger group of pirates coming from the road leading to the central village, indicating that they must have attacked it still last night.
Thomas looked at the wound and saw that, luckily, it was only a graze. He tore a piece of cloth from his shirt to stop the bleeding and returned home, planning to massacre as many pirates as he could. When he arrived, he saw his mother being dragged outside by two strong men with wicked laughs.
- MOM!
- Hm?
One of the men heard Thomas's cry, turned only to be wounded in the leg. His companion, holding Ana, had his arm cut by him.
- What? You brat, you...
Before he could continue, however, he was covered by a strange black mark and fell dead to the ground, just like his friend.
- Mom, let's go. We have to get out of here.
- Thomas...
- It's okay, Mom.
Thomas carried his mother into the middle of the forest, heading east. Along the way, he killed a few more pirates before finally escaping all the confusion.
- Tomas...
- It's okay, Mom, just a little longer.
- Listen to me, Thomas... I can't take it anymore.
- What?
Thomas stopped and looked at his mother. She had no external injuries, but upon closer inspection, he saw that she had probably been assaulted by those two. Moreover, her health was already quite deteriorated, so it was a miracle that she had held on until now.
- Mom...
- It's okay, Tomas, it's okay. You're already a grown boy. You'll be okay.
- Mom...
- It's okay.
Thomas leaned her against a tree, hugged her, and she continued saying that everything would be fine while stroking his head until she finally stopped. Thomas felt it; he also felt that she had stopped breathing. Looking at her face, her eyes were closed, but she had a gentle smile.
Thomas wanted to cry, scream for her to wake up, but he stayed silent. He left her where she was and returned to the village. He approached and saw that the battle had already ended, and the pirates were taking advantage of the spoils. He saw good men dead, women who had seen him grow being dishonored, and for the first time, he saw the cruelty of this world.
Not that Thomas was naive. His father had already told him about the cruelty of pirates. However, as someone who knew the world of One Piece from the perspective of an outsider and had only seen the protagonist's side, he wanted to deny this and be like them.
Now, seeing all of this, that little desire was gone. What remained was only hatred for pirates. Thomas watched his small and peaceful village being consumed by flames before returning to his mother's side.
The next day, the pirates left. Thomas carried his mother's body to his house, cleaned her and then prepared a pyre for her. Her body was cremated, and her ashes thrown into the sea, just as it had been done with his father.
The bodies of the residents were taken to the center of the village by the pirates and burned in a large pile. Thomas couldn't even give them a dignified burial. He prepared a large boulder, dragged it to the center of the village, and began to carve the names of each deceased resident. This lasted for a week.
Finally, he took the little money he had hidden at home, some changes of clothes, food, water, and fruits, and went to the port. He took Old Gus's small fishing boat and left the village towards a nearby island to inform the Marines about what had happened.