4 The Marines

It's been two days since the last pirate attack. I ordered the sailors to only feed the prisoners enough food to let them not die of hunger, but not enough to actually do anything more than that. Due to my ruthless onslaught, the sailors became afraid of me and started listening to all my orders.

The only one who did not become afraid was Goro, and I was thankful for that. After all, the spar sessions we've been doing during the week did help me. Only that, he asked that I use the wooden sword instead of the new sword that I got in the fight. I agreed.

'Two more days. We have two more days to reach the Sorbet Kingdom.'

I started doing push-ups. Unfortunately, there were no weights available to increase the effectiveness.

'Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to skip ranks when I enter. If the Marine is anything like what I think it is, then I can only rank up when I have enough strength and military achievements. I may be bringing them a pirate captain with me, but that's nowhere near enough to allow me special treatment. It will only make it easier to enter the Marine, not skip ranks.'

"Humm, Humm…"

I ignored the gagged pirate captain's attempt at speaking. I didn't allow him to be placed inside with the other prisoners. I let him outside to be whittled down by the sea and reduce his strength. I don't want my ticket to suddenly gain a burst of strength and kill himself to reduce his worth.

But it surprises me that he still has the strength to try to speak, even with both hands severed and whittled down by the nightly winds. But knowing that his VIT is even higher than mine, I accepted.

Two days later.

Looking at the approaching island, I can only let out a small smile. I can already see the bustling kingdom from afar. Besides, on the left side of the island, a building can be seen. At the side facing the sea, a single word could be seen in big letters. Marine.

"So you are really going to join the Marines?" asked Goro as he comes to my side. I looked at him. "Oi, don't get me wrong. It's just that you don't seem to be the 'Justice' type."

I shrugged. "I have my reasons." I said while not going into details.

"Fair enough. So, as you are going to get the captain's prize…" I interrupted him before he finished.

"You can have any bounty from the rest. Even the first mate's corpse you've been keeping."

"Ha… haha… so you noticed."

"Hard not to notice, with the amount of perfume you are using. That leaves a question, do all bounty hunters carry perfume with them to mask the smell of corpses?" I asked in curiosity.

"I won't say all of us does, but at the least, the ones I know do bring a bottle or two."

"hmm…" I stayed quiet as we observed the sailors starting the process to dock. It took a few minutes, but as the ramp was set, we're officially on land. "Well, I should get going."

I walked towards the Grimmshaw, picking up the now quite a thin man and setting him on my shoulders. He did not make a sound. If not for sensing his aura, one would think he already died.

"You are going just like that? What about Otoya?"

"He seems to be very afraid of me. It's better that I go before he panics again." I started walking down the ramp. "See ya, Goro." I waved without turning back.

"Tsk. This boy is going to be someone." He thought I didn't hear, but I did, in fact. Not that I care what a small bounty hunter thinks of me.

As I walk towards the Marine base I saw before, strange glances are being thrown at me. Considering they have a marine base here, they probably receive a fair share of bounty hunters delivering pirates and other criminals. So the attention is due to my age.

Due to my training, my height is considered very tall for my age, and my body can be considered very muscular. Still, my body is that of a child, and it shows. So I'm not surprised by the attention, as an eleven years old boy carrying a pirate on his shoulders can be pretty strange.

Finally reaching my destination, I go through the double doors. Upon entering, I noticed a window with a wooden board at the top side. It reads Bounties. So I go towards it. Resting my ticket at the wall, I looked towards the counter.

On the counter, a woman who I assume is a Petty Officer is resting with arms loosely hanging and head atop the window sill. She has blonde, long hair, eyes with a shade of blue, and rosy lips. She wears a baseball cap with the word "MARINE" across the front and the basic Marine attire.

Using my Haki, I got information on the officer.

Name: Hisashi Mayuri

Age: 20

Titles: Petty Officer, Marine's Beauty

STR: 9

DEX: 9

VIT: 8

INT: 11

WIS: 10

I had to cough twice to get her to notice me.

"Huh?"

"I've come to collect a bounty."

"Oh? Oh! Yes, you are at the right place." Taking a closer at me, she made a surprised look. "So young? I never saw you before, little boy. Are you new in town?"

"Just reached a few minutes ago."

"Oh, I see. You are so young and already going bounty hunting? These kids these days." She shook her head while my face was still expressionless. "Where are the criminal?"

I didn't say a word as I lifted the pirate enough for her to see. I also slapped him, which made him wince slightly. That was to show that the pirate was still alive.

"Ok, let me search him up quickly." She took a stack of wanted posters and started browsing through them, sometimes comparing the paper with the pirate. "Let me see… let me see… found it!" She shows the wanted poster to me. "Grimmshaw 'Liar' Buckler. Captain of the Grimm Pirates and an active bounty of 1,150,000 Berries."

'Hmmm. It seems that Goro had outdated information.'

I nodded to her, and she smiled. "Alright, I'll arrange your payment. Could you be a sweet and put the pirate in that cell over there." She points to an empty cell. I nodded and brought the pirate captain to the cell. I closed it and got back to the counter without looking at the pirate.

After a few minutes, the Petty Officer came back carrying a bag. setting it atop the window sill, she said. "Here it is. 1.150.000 Berries." I took the bag. "Anything else?"

"Yes, actually." She looked at me with interest. "I want to become a Marine." She showed a surprised expression.

"Oh? I thought you were a bounty hunter."

"That was just a 'gift' I come up with to the Marine." She giggled with a hand in front of her mouth.

"Alright, little boy. I will call over the Master Chief, so wait here a little."

While waiting, I decided to look into the bounties to see if I found any familiar faces. Going through one by one, I finally found one slightly familiar.

'Hoh, so he was already a pirate at this time?'

The poster shows a grinning man with triangle-like eyebrows, and a red, long nose. His name reads 'Foxy' with a bounty of 15,000,000 berries.

"… he is here, chief. He's the one that brought the Grimm Pirates' captain."

Turning around, I saw the blonde officer leading another man. He was tall. Easily over two and a half meters tall, and despite his height, he was a skinny person. He had short, almost bald, black hair, and he wears the standard Marine's attire without the baseball cap.

"Him? But isn't he just a kid?"

"Chief… I already said that." said the Petty Officer with a twitch in her eye.

"Oh? You did? Haha, I don't remember." He laughed.

"Sigh." She massaged her temples.

Scanning the new officer, I wasn't surprised by what I saw.

Name: Amekawa Sadasake

Age: 28

Titles: Master Chief Petty Officer

STR: 69

DEX: 67

VIT: 71

INT: 16

WIS: 19

'Weakling.'

"Tell me your name, boy."

"Nero."

"Hmmm…" He started caressing his non-existent beard. "My name is Mayuri. You can call me Master Chief Mayuri. Now tell me, why do you want to become a marine?"

'If I tell you, I would be sent to Impel Down right away.'

"Because I want those pirates to know True Justice!" I said with a serious face.

"Hmmm…" He continues caressing his chin. "I can let you in, boy. I can see that you are sincere, and since you brought a criminal, that's even better to prove you're sincere."

'Wait, what? No background checking? No interrogation? I acted as a good child for two years for this!'

Seeing my silence, the officer laughed. "Haha. Welcome to the Marines, boy."

'… he's probably an idiot.'

Three years later.

At the training square of the Marines, it was empty except for me. I was doing push-ups in a handstand, with my legs straight. Balanced at my feet, is a metal bar with a weight of 1 ton at each end.

"… 10,093… 10,094… 10,095…"

"Nero! Nero, where are… Oh, there you are! I knew you would be here." said a marine that had just entered the square.

Grumbling in frustration, I carefully put the weight down before standing up from the handstand. "Mori, you better have a good reason to make me stop my training. Else, I will use you for my sword training."

Swallowing hard, he stuttered. "H… hey. No need to go that far. It's actually a good reason." I signal him to continue. "Captain Himei just announced that he will be leading a warship for a few months out in the sea. He is summoning you to his office."

"Sigh. Alright." I said while taking a towel that I reserved earlier to remove the sweat from the body.

Nodding, Mori said before heading out. "Ok. See ya in the ship."

Putting the towel aside, I called the system.

'Status.'

Name: Nero

Age: 14

Titles: Transmigrator, Haki Connoisseur, Seaman First Class, Monster

STR: 184

DEX: 199

VIT: 191

INT: 506,210

WIS: ?

Putting on a marine shirt, I started thinking.

'It's been three years since I joined. I had to work my way up from shore boy, but I finally got to Seaman First Class. I got major improvements in strength. Not only physical but also in terms of Haki. I got to do a lot of experiments with my Haki on those criminals I apprehended. Hu hu hu. Haoshoku Haki really deserves the title of strongest Haki, the things it's possible to do with it. Now that I think about it, the people on One Piece doesn't really use this Haki to its full potential, merely brute-forcing along the way. I will show them what an 'Emperor's Haki' truly is.'

Looking at the last title I gained, I smiled.

'These idiots dubbed me Monster after seeing my training regime. But I got to thank them for it, as it allowed me to verify that the titles' system works the way I expected when I asked for it. If enough people recognize you for something you do or did, then you will get a corresponding title. It may seem useless, but in actuality is quite the opposite. I can know beforehand If something happened that may affect my reputation. If the world government someday decides to be my enemy, I can know and prepare myself.'

Walking inside the building, I go up the stairs and walk towards the left-most room. A sign is hung at the door. "Captain". Opening the door, I see a man talking in a Den Den Mushi. He was bald, with a big bushy beard. He wears an orange shirt with the signature cape with "JUSTICE" on his back. He also wears white-striped orange pants and black shoes.

He signals me to wait while he finishes. I nodded after closing the door. While waiting, I decided to see his stats and compare them to mine.

Name: Himei

Age: 39

Titles: Marine Captain

STR: 304

DEX: 224

VIT: 311

INT: 43

WIS: 200

'I'm finally able to see a somewhat decent power level. At least I know where I stand in this world. I probably have the strength of a Lieutenant without Haki. And if I use Haki, I would go up to Lieutenant Commander. Now, if I use Haoshoku Haki… he doesn't stand a chance. He would either die miserably or do whatever I say.'

My thoughts shifted.

'But I'm not killing him without reason. He did teach me Soru and Geppo, so he has a few points in my books.'

"… uhu. Well, he's here already. I'm going to talk to him." With that, my focus shifted to him. He put the snail aside and looked at me.

"Nero. My boy, I see you are becoming quite strong yourself." He said with an approving gaze.

"It's all thanks to your help, captain."

"Haha. No need to be so humble. It was all your hard work. You never stopped training, not a single day. I'm impressed, and so is the higher-ups."

'The higher-ups, huh? It's time, finally.'

"So captain, what is it that you want?"

"You heard we're going on a campaign in the sea?" I nodded. "Good. I've been talking to a Commodore on the Den Den Mush, and we agreed on letting you become an Ensign if you do well during the next four months."

'Finally. No more of this cadet bullshit.'

"What will I have to do, sir? To be considered 'well'?" He grinned.

"Kill enough pirates to an accumulative bounty of at least 30,000,000 Berries."

I smiled coldly.

"Consider it done, sir."