Chapter 03 - Setting Sail and Scholarly Pursuits

The survivors looked at him with a tumultuous mix of emotions: anger and hatred because they knew he was the source of the calamity, gratitude because they owed their lives to the young boy who had been their silent guardian, awe because they knew they could never achieve such a feat in their entire lives, and fear because they had witnessed how cold and indifferent this boy could be. He had only taken action when casualties had reached his emotional limit, and now they only wished to stay far away from this monster in a kid's body.

—————

A Week Later

"Shall we depart, milord?" asked one of the two surviving navigators. The third had been shot dead when he tried to leak Shinichi's intel.

"Sure," Shinichi replied.

The merchant ship, previously used to transport slaves to the Sabaody Archipelago, where the largest slave auction was held, had been cleaned thoroughly. There were no signs left to indicate its dark past. The crew now consisted of Shinichi, two navigators, two cooks, and three ship boys. The rest of the original crew were dead.

Flashback

Shinichi sat atop a cliff, looking down at the villagers as they worked to rebuild what remained of their village. He was feeling the aftermath of the raid, reflecting on his actions and analyzing his mistakes during the hunt. He pondered ways to be more efficient and effective. This habit of self-reflection, adopted since birth, had helped him greatly.

Shinichi knew that the danger wasn't over. History often showed that betrayal came when least expected, and it comes in multiple forms.

He thought of Roger's bold words against the World Government at his execution platform and Oden's loyal retainers backstabbing Kaido 20 years after Oden's death. Roger's last words had sparked the Great Pirate Era, and Oden's loyal retainers had carried out his will decades later, seeking to overthrow Kaido.

If only the World Government and Navy had been a little more alert, there would be no Great Pirate Era, and if only Kaido had been more thorough in executing the remnants of Oden, then he wouldn't have been defeated and become a teacher Kaido instead.

Staying alert, he watched for any signs of betrayal. He kept an eye on the Den Den Mushi (transponder snails) on the ship and the island. One wrong move, one attempt to sell his information to the Navy, and his location would be exposed. This could lead to him being hunted by the Navy much sooner than he anticipated, or by ambitious pirates looking to force him to join their ranks.

But this was also a test he set for himself. For a whole week, he had to make sure to shoot any troublemakers without alerting others.

He had already shot Morgan's seagull; no way was he getting photographed by that damn birdman.

Present

Shinichi stood on the deck of the now-cleaned merchant ship, ready to depart. He was leaving behind the island and its memories. Nostalgia tugged at him for this place where he had grown up, but fate often played cruel tricks.

He wasn't strong enough to guarantee zero casualties during the slave raid, and he knew that even if the villagers welcomed him, he would be treated as an outcast or, at best, an island watchman. Furthermore, the village no longer had friends he'd go out of his way for.

So, It was better to let go than to foolishly stay in the village. Leaving was better for both Shinichi and the villagers.. His next destination was Ohara, a place of great knowledge, perfect for a rookie like him.

As the ship sailed away, Shinichi looked back one last time. The climate to Ohara was pretty calm. There were no clichés like encountering the Navy, pirates, or slave ships. He used his Six Eyes, a cheat in the One Piece world, to scout 50-80 km surrounding every 30 minutes to avoid any mishaps. He was also intrigued by the vast ocean, sea species, and soothing wind, soon falling into a peaceful sleep.

The survivors on the island would rebuild, but they would never forget the silent hunter who had defended them. Shinichi's legend was just beginning, and the world would soon learn of his strength and resolve.

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A Year Later in Ohara

"Oh, Shinichi boy, you gotta renew your library card. It's been a year already," remarked the Level 3 librarian of Ohara. The library, housed within the Ancient Tree spanning five floors from ground to basement level 4, was meticulously organized and sophisticated—a far cry from anything Shinichi had experienced before.

Shinichi had been on this archaeological island for over a year now, blending in seamlessly with the citizens, aided by a few well-placed bribes to those with surface-level authority.

"Yeah, can you upgrade me to a Level 1 Entry Card? I'm tired of seeing the same old books every day," Shinichi said, visibly bored. In truth, he had already read everything the Ohara library had to offer. While the library management was impeccable, security was lacking—less vigilant than even the villagers back in his hometown.

"Hmm," the librarian raised an eyebrow momentarily. "That'll be around 2,000,000 Belly, boy," he replied with an amused expression. "I doubt you have that kind of money. Why don't you wait a few years? By then, your card will naturally upgrade to Level 1," he suggested, only to be surprised when Shinichi nonchalantly placed a stack of banknotes on the counter.

"Can you hurry up?" Shinichi demanded, his expression clearly conveying, 'What are you waiting for?'

After getting his card renewed and upgraded, Shinichi returned to the small two-floor hotel he had purchased with money he had hauled from the slave merchant ship. He had already left 10 million to his hometown to help villagers recover from the slave raid and resume their daily routines..

"Now only Level 0 is remaining. Can you believe how bookish these oldies are? They never leave that room. They eat, shit, bathe—all down below," Shinichi's face displayed rare annoyance. In fact, if he had the opportunity, he would have sneaked out of Ohara months ago.

He had to wait for months just to renew his Level 1 floor card and pay the rent for his private room there. "All for this bureaucratic nonsense," he muttered to himself, "Well atleast now i have legitimate reason to get familiar with oldies" he though with smirk oh his face.

Ever since Shinichi knew sneaking in level 0 was impossible with his current skills without alerting anyone, Shinichi decided to play a role of Rich Second Generation, A Bastard royalty from Goa Kingdom whose dad lift him with ton of money and have 2 families, One in Goa and one in Ohara..

Shinichi now had approximately 20,000,000 Belly left. Ten million he had left for the village, two million he had bribed the greedy librarian with, and one million he had spent on settling in from the village until now.

"Ah, My hard earn Money" I will get every penny back, just wait, Shinichi muttered as he went to Sleep.

 ——————

As months passed by, Shinichi became well-known among the elder archaeologists of Ohara, though not for good reasons. He was infamous as a fearless, rich bastard whose father wielded significant influence over major decisions in the Goa Kingdom.

Shinichi played his role to perfection, showing up every day to pick a book and then proceeding to pester an elder archaeologist until they read him the entire book. Once done, he would promptly pick another book and repeat the process, then another, and another, until it annoyed the hell out of them.

And since this was a sensitive period for archaeologists, who had already cracked the translation of Rio Poneglyphs and were in the process of deciphering ancient texts from the industrial stone Poneglyphs, they didn't want Shinichi's father to pay attention to Ohara. Therefore, they unanimously agreed to fulfill Shinichi's demands, despite his bratty behavior.

"Hey, Oldie Clover, can you read me this book? I don't understand it at all," Shinichi said with a mischievous grin as he approached Clover, the eldest archaeologist on Ohara and Head Librarian of the Tree of Knowledge.

The reason Shinichi could freely enter Level 0 was that others fled upon seeing him, leaving him with no choice but to approach those who remained to ask them to read books for him, hence his uninterrupted entry to the Level 0 library.

"Hey, don't be so rude. I can read this for you. Elder time is precious. I am Nico..." Suddenly, a girlish voice interrupted Shinichi. He turned around to see a girl around his age, looking at him with a puffed-up face. Nico Robin had short black hair, wore a white shirt and blue overalls, with a book in her hand.

"Hmmp, I doubt a girl would know anything at all. Shoo, shoo," Shinichi interrupted dismissively, waving his hand. Despite having an inkling of who she was, maintaining his character was crucial after months of careful cultivation, even if it meant disregarding someone as important as Robin.

"You..." Robin was stunned at the audacity of this white-haired, smirking boy. She could already see that he had no interest in books at all; he simply wanted to satisfy his vanity by annoying the elders. After watching him for a month, she decided to help the elders, only to be fiercely interrupted by Shinichi.

Robin watched Shinichi fade into the distance as he chased after Clover. She was visibly disheartened.

She had thought maybe the white-haired boy was different since other kids called her a demon after seeing her multiple hands, while Shinichi only had an indifferent face. She had hoped he had different views, but now it seemed this bastard was only interested in annoying the elders.

She silently turned around and went back to her house, wishing to see her mother's photo—her mother, Nico Olvia, who was missing and hunted by CP agents, a fact Robin was unaware of.

"Oye, Clover, don't run! If you run, then I will wait in your cabin until you read me the book!" Shinichi called out. Hearing this, Clover's pace quickened.

A smirk spread on his face as he thought, 'Hah, kid, I finally got you. I had already shifted my study material to another cabin. My old cabin has nothing but rusty books and boxes.' With this thought in mind.

Clover turned around and threw the keys to Shinichi. "Here, brat, take the keys. I have some work, I'll be back by evening. Wait till I come back," and fled the scene.

"Ohh" Shinichi returned to his stoick face, anyone would be shocked to see Shinichi, His acting finally bore fruits, He already read all books known all secret in Tree on Knowledge library, but even then there was restricted area, Clovers Cabin.

Shinichi returned to Clover's cabin, unlocked it, and slowly started to flip through the dusty books. His Six Eyes gave Shinichi unparalleled processing speed, allowing him to process information in one second that would take someone like Clover a few months.

By the end of the day, Shinichi locked Clover's room and gave the key to the nearest librarian before heading back to his hotel.

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