'True Justice'

As I observe the island going further and further away, my thoughts drift back to the conversation I had with the captain.

"Consider it done, sir."

"Haha, I know you won't disappoint me. Let me tell you something, the higher-ups decided that if you pass this test and with your potential, once you reach Lieutenant, they will allow you to go to the Marine Headquarters!"

I smiled lightly. Why would the Marines allow a small-time guy like me to go to the Headquarters? That's because I showed them my Kenbunshoku Haki and my Busoshoku Haki. I thought deeply about the pros and cons of doing so, and the pros outweigh the cons by a large margin. Hiding now would only slow me down unnecessarily.

'We're going to stay at the sea for four months while hunting pirates. Granted, we're only going after relatively small-time pirate crews as we are dependent on the ship's speed, but that will be enough. With four months in my hands, I'll have plenty of time to finish my test. Meanwhile... I will continue my training.'

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Three days later.

"We have a few reports of sightings of pirates that happened the last few days." Said the captain. He was leaning over a circular table where a map of the South Blue is laid down. A few officers are gathered around the table and discussing where the ship is going next.

I am leaning on the wall by the side. I was allowed to participate in such meetings due to my strength, despite my low rank. But I still mostly listen, only occasionally making suggestions that go more according to my plans.

By the captain's side, is his sidekick. A brown-haired man whose overall appearance screams ordinary. He was short and thin. He wears the standard Marine outfit, with a saber half his size at his back.

Name: Mosu

Age: 27

Titles: Marine Ensign

STR: 156

DEX: 176

VIT: 162

INT: 39

WIS: 156

He's almost at the same level as me. This also opened my eyes to realize that not everyone that has a low position is a complete weakling. The path of power in this world is not some overly complicated bullshit, which also means that more people can figure out how to get stronger. Like I did.

"First we have a sighting of a ship sporting the Jolly Roger of the Black Dogs Pirates, led by Thornley 'Mad Dog' Wright with a bounty of 7,000,000 berries. The location is near Cobalt Island. That was 2 days ago." He said pointing at an island on the map.

'Seven million. That might be a good start. I just have to make sure that I am the one to kill the captain.'

"The second is another sighting near The Blue Coves Archipelago. Reportedly, the Jolly Roger is that of the Bloodsails maniacs. Their crew is led by Sylvia 'Devil's Charm' Brent, with a bounty of 15,000,000 berries. That was 32 hours ago."

'Good bounty.'

"The last is not just a sighting. But a raid." a few rushed voices could be heard.

'Interesting...'

"... The report was of 7 hours ago. The crew responsible is the Red Bandannas, led by 'Red Hair' Jon with a bounty of 12,000,000 berries. The location is the Roku islands."

'Roku islands? hmmm... hu hu hu. Interesting.'

"We need to decide which crew we are going after." Exclaimed the captain as he eyed the officers.

It was at that moment I interjected. "I'd say we go after the last one. It's the most recent, so the chances of intercepting them are higher. The Black Dogs was reported 2 days ago, which means they are already very far from where they were seen. The Bloodsails on the other hand, are different from other pirates. They are unpredictable, which makes them harder to intercept. The only real choice is the last one."

"Hmmm..." The captain mused for a few seconds. "Does anyone have any objections?" No one spoke. "Then it's decided, we are going after the Red Bandannas."

-------------------------------------------------------

One and a half days later.

Currently, we are in the captain's room discussing how to intercept the pirate ship.

"... The direction our intel indicates is towards the north side of the island. It's been almost two days since the report..." explained the captain. "... if we don't intercept them in the next few days, we may lose them."

"Cap'n." An officer raised his hand. Having the signal to talk from the captain, he continues. "As it is, it may seem like the pirates have the advantage. But I don't think so."

"Care to elaborate, Officer Kazuma?" Asked the captain.

"Look, as long it's not one of those crazy pirates of the Grandline, pirates are easy to predict. Once they raided an island, the first thought that comes to their mind is to waste all they gained on alcohol and hoes. As long as we can figure where they are going to spend their ill-earned money, we can plan a route to intercept them mid-way."

"Hmmm..." The captain and the other officers started thinking.

"He's right." I said. "As long as we predict when and where they are going, we can find them." I walked over to the table, where a map lays. Pointing at a few locations, I continued. "Here, here... and here. These are the most likely places they are going to."

"Why is that, Seaman Nero?" This time was Mosu's time to speak.

"Simple. The first island holds a port where it is known to be a gathering place for outlaws. And even though the Marine has this knowledge, we never made significant efforts to clean the place. I wonder why?"

"Ahem. Seaman Nero, that is irrelevant to the topic at hand." The captain coughed and interrupted me. I smiled lightly at him and nodded.

"You are right. I Am sorry for getting sidetracked, officers. Anyway, the reason for picking the second island is that there's a crime family that resides there in the underworld. So the pirates are likely to be able to sell the goods they got from the raid."

"You are quite knowledgeable about this, Nero." Says an officer at the side.

"The captain let me study some past reports in the past few years. I got to know a few things. You never know when you need this kind of knowledge." The officer nodded. Seeing that no one was going to speak, I continued.

"As for the last island..." I frowned slightly. "... its kind of a guess." A few officers scoffed. "What I mean is that I saw a few reports of sightings of pirates in the outskirts of the island in the past. But there was no mention of a raid. Not a single one. That seems suspicious enough, so I included it in the list."

"Hmmm... good suggestions. Then, in that same logic, we can leave out the second island. There's another Marine base here." The captain said, pointing to an island that stands between Roku islands and the second island. "They won't dare to go so close to a marine base, not after a raid."

'Yes...'

Then Mosu intervened. "So that leaves us with two islands. I'd say we go for the first one. It's a known gathering place for pirates so the chances are higher. We can easily intercept them with the speed of our ship, plus their ship should have been slowed down due to the weight of the stolen goods."

'This is my chance.'

"But we cannot overlook the possibility that they will choose the last island. I suggest that the ship goes towards the port, while I use geppo to go towards the island. I'm fast enough using it, and have more than enough energy to get there."

Mosu frowned. "You are going after them? Alone?"

"Yes. I will also bring a Den Den Mushi with me to report if I see any signs of them."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Seaman Nero. You are strong for sure, but that is an entire pirate crew."

"I can take care of myself." I said with a smile.

"Alright, enough you both." Exclaimed the captain. "Nero, are you sure you can get there with geppo?"

"Yes."

"It's decided, then. We are going after the first island, while Nero will go towards the last island and report if he sees anything. Anyone has any opinions?" No one talked. "Good. All of you can leave now. Nero, you stay."

'Hmmm, did I got caught? But I was never trying to hide in the first place. It was an open scheme all along.'

As the officers passed by me, they took a wide berth around. As Mosu got out of the room, he closed the door.

"Captain, why do you asked me to stay?"

"Are you sure you can handle using geppo all the way towards the island?"

"Captain, I will not lie to you. I've been practicing using soru alongside geppo. I was met with small success. It's not perfect yet, and I can only use it in a straight line, but my speed almost doubled. I can safely get there before I tire out."

"Wait, you've been using soru with geppo?" I nodded. "My god. You are really a monster." I smiled lightly.

"You don't have to praise me like that, captain."

"I am not praising you, you freak of nature. Do you ever stop training to enjoy life?"

"I enjoy my life training."

"Ugh." The captain rubbed his forehead. "No wonder you can use Haki. Your will to get stronger is something I never saw in my life."

"I'm sure there are some with a will even stronger than mine."

"Whatever. Just don't forget us when you get big in the Headquarters, brat."

"Don't worry, I won't."

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Two hours later.

I could be seen running in the air above the ocean. My speed was staggering due to my combination of soru and geppo. I was already about four hours from reaching my destination.

'Manipulate them to be able to get into this island was so easy. With this, if my guesses are correct, I may be able to finish the test in but a few hours. Seeing the old reports in the base, I was able to identify the group of pirates that come to this island. There are no ports here, so the chance of anyone coming here after a raid is near zero. What this island has, in my guesses, is a retirement village.'

I coldly smiled.

'Some pirates who retire from the sea life choose this island to stay in and make a family. Mainly because the island is not overseen by the World Government.'

Chuckling coldly, I speed up the pace even more.

Four hours later, I finally stepped onto the beach. I finally got to feel how sore my legs actually were. Using my geppo for six hours straight really stressed my leg muscles.

'I can't go on like this. I need to rest first and let my legs relax a little. It's already nighttime, so that helps. I can stay atop a tree for the night.'

Walking towards the center of the island, I spotted lights coming from afar. I smiled.

'The village.'

Walking the other direction, I go towards a forest where I found the largest tree. I climb it and rested at a thick branch coming off the side. I started meditating as the night passed around me.

The next day, in the morning.

Opening my eyes, I notice the sun casting its rays through the crown of the trees. Smiling, I jumped down. Feeling my legs refreshed, I go towards where I saw the light last night. It's time to start.

Halfway through, I spotted a dirt road going down, so I naturally took it. After a few minutes, I sensed a few small auras approaching me through Haki. Putting a good smile on my face, I meet a few kids playing with a red ball along the way.

"Hey. Look! There's someone!" A blue-haired girl spotted me and exclaimed.

Along with her, is two boys. One looks to be about 9 years of age. He has short, brown-hair and droopy eyes. The other one, who is holding the ball, looks the same as the other one but one year older.

"What? It's true."

"I've never seen him before."

They ran up to me carelessly and started throwing questions.

"Hey, where are you from?"

"Did you come from outside the island?"

"Were you a pirate too?"

'Poor children. So naive and innocent. They don't even recognize a Marine uniform. Probably never went out of this island.'

"Hahaha. One at a time, please. I will answer your questions, but only of you guide me to your village."

"This way!"

"Over here!"

"No, follow me!"

"Alright, I'll follow all of you!"

I was laughing along with the children as we reached the village. Along the way, I answered a lot of their questions. I only left out the fact that I was a Marine. No need for them to know beforehand.

Looking over at the village, I could see a few relatively old people. There were both women and men. Among them, there were those I recognizes from wanted posters.

Seeing us coming to the village, these adults were alarmed seeing my uniform. Some of them went towards their houses to do what I assume is getting weapons, while others started yelling at the children to get far away from me.

"Rose, Landre, Mica! Get over here! Don't stay near him. He is an evil man!"

The children got scared and ran over to their parents. By now, the ones that went inside were already out with weapons in hand. I smiled coldly. Pointing at one by one, I started saying their names and their bounties out loud. I could see their hearts going cold.

"Riley 'The Foul' Reeve, a bounty of 28,000,000 berries... Bridget 'Savage' Ashton, a bounty of 17,000,000 berries... Arledge 'Evil Grin' Beasant, a bounty of 41,000,000 berries..."

After saying a few couple more names, they were finally out of patience.

"Brat, no need to say more. You are here for us, I can see that. And if you are here alone, means you are strong. I just ask you to leave the women and the children alone, they are innocent."

I smiled.

'I may as well play a little theatre.'

"Justice doesn't discriminate. They are associated, thus they also need 'Justice'."

I took my sword out of the sheath.

"Let me show you, 'True Justice'."

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"Oh, so you successfully intercepted the pirates? That's good, captain." I said while seated at a stool I found in one of the houses. In my hands is a Den Den Mushi.

"Yes. What about you? Did you find anything in the village?" Says the Snail with the voice of the captain.

"Actually, I did found something interesting. This island is actually a retirement place for pirates. I was able to find 9 retired pirates that were high profile in the last few years before retiring. Actually, captain, with the total amount of bounties those pirates had, I'm pretty sure I'm done with the test. So I ask that you come here to pick me up, and also to evaluate the bodies."

"..." The Den Den Mushi had an opened mouth. "Did I said that you are a freak?"

"You did. Yesterday, actually."

"Sigh. Alright, wait for us there. We will be there in a few hours."

"Got it." With that, the Den Den Mushi went silent.

Chuckling slightly to myself, I played with a small red ball in my hand. The corpses around me not once bothering my good mood.