Chapter 011

The island of Sirencester was a bustling city in the first half of the grand line. Having a Marine base on the island, none of the pirates dared to attack the island alone. But the base wasn't only responsible for protecting Sirencester but also the neighboring towns. They were constantly busy porting the nearby seas and catching the new pirates that arrived from the four blues.

The year was 1490, and the city of Sirencester hadn't changed much in the last five years. It still had countless ships arriving and leaving the port. The island had a Captain stationed on it, giving the people great confidence. But in the base, something had changed.

In the last five years, there was a recruit growing tremendously.

The boy who first joined at 14 had only turned 19 not long ago. Yet he was already Ensign before even turning 20. Ensigns were the lowest rank allowed to wear the coat of justice, and a 19-year-old had achieved that.

He was described as a monster by the others in the base. The young man possessed incredible strength yet was so down to earth. The people around him would recount him being a soft-spoken man.

The Ensign was Wilhelm, who had awakened his Hamon three years ago. If before he needed to worry about his health when training, all concern was thrown out after being able to use Hamon. Wilhelm's strength grew exponentially as he increased the intensity of his training. After being promoted to seaman first class as early as two years ago, he had more time during the day to train.

As Wilhelm guessed earlier, the 'classes' in the base were easy and required minimal effort from him. He spends most of the day and night training alone or with his current teacher Ramirez. Wilhelm wasn't a genius in the path of swordsmanship but could be considered somewhat of a talent.

Wilhelm's swordsmanship wasn't the best, as his constitution was his focus. He didn't believe he was some protagonist who could randomly pick up the sword and become a grandmaster without trying. That's why he concentrated on his body, as improving it was simple. Progressive overload would lead to muscle growth, improving his physique. Coupled with his nutrient-rich diet and Hamon, Wilhelm had broken through his physical limiter a few times. Which was a good thing as that meant he could continue to grow.

There was obviously a ceiling for all living beings, and Wilhelm hoped he could break through his ceiling using Hamon's healing prowess when he encountered it. His swordsmanship was good; his strong body allowed him to move swiftly. However, Wilhelm couldn't hear the breath of all things yet. He wasn't in a rush, though. He quite literally has a lifetime to process the way of the sword.

Being Ensign might mean something here, but Wilhelm was still weak compared to the rest of the world. He was still living with fear in this world. Wilhelm knew how insignificant his life was as a weakling. As it stood now, he didn't even have protection for his life besides Hamon. His stand would awaken after another year, but it was unknown if it would be powerful.

Having a God complex, Wilhelm despised his weakness, which is why he trained so relentlessly. He would carry weights adding up to one ton while wearing his breathing mask. His insane workout was monster-like to the other seaman.

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(Pov: Wilhelm)

I was currently boarding the ship to go on my first patrol. Usually, anyone above seaman recruits would rotate for patrol, but I was much younger than the rest, so the Captain kept me from leaving the base.

'The pirates entering the grand line are either lucky or have some degree of strength. Hopefully, I don't encounter a super strong pirate group.' I thought while standing by the side of the ship. As an Ensign here, I didn't need to do all the tedious ship sailing tasks. That was what the seaman was for.

'One more year, and I can purchase the standing arrow. If I remember correctly, a stand is a visual manifestation of life energy. So logically speaking, the more powerful the individual's body is, the greater their stand power. That begs the question of if I should awaken my stand when I purchase the arrow or later when I'm stronger.'

I was now in a profound dilemma. On the one hand, I needed power; on the other hand, I could get even more remarkable abilities if I waited.

'What to do?'

It's true I was weak now, even if I had Hamon, but I needed some self-protection. In a world where the strong decide everything, I was nothing.

'But if I were to awaken a weak stand, I would be screwed. I don't know how long it would take for me to get enough SP for a practical stand from the system shop.'

'AH fuck, wait, no, you fucking moron. They describe stands as the fighting spirit of their user. I'm doubting myself for no reason. Having a physically strong body couldn't be the requirement for a strong stand; that makes no sense, you dumb fuck. Literally, every one after part 3 had op stands since they were babies. Stands and their users are linked, so stand should be able to grow as their user does. So I'm worried about nothing.'

As I finished my thoughts, I heard a shout, "Pirate ship spotted portside."

I stopped thinking about the future and looking at the distant ship. This was going to be the first I killed another human. I don't care to say about killing, but the first might still take some time to process. As I looked around the ship, I saw the faces of the seaman tense up. No one knew how many would survive this battle. How many of them would ever get to see their families? Oh, the pain their death would bring to the people closest to them.

'Yea, they would never be me. I only needed myself. I was the only person who cared about myself. Everyone else was a tool—a tool for my benefit. Having relationships were meaningless. I would be immortal, and they were nothing to my greatness. A little speck of dust in time who would be forgotten in a few years.'

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and focused on the present situation. I could feel the tension as everyone prepared for the incoming pirate ship. As the two ships connected, the two sides rushed to clash.

I was naturally physically faster than everyone present. I reached for my sword and tightened the grip. Rushing at a 4 meters half-naked man, I thrust my sword into the man's heart. I never realized just how bloody it gets when you stab someone. Moments later, my face and clothes were covered with warm blood. I didn't know that blood is like water, maybe slightly thicker. For some reason, I believed it was thicker.

I didn't have time to process my first kill as this was a battlefield. I pulled my Luck and Pluck sword out of his body.

'Probably should slash and not stab.' I thought as I continued to my second kill. Aiming for his neck, I cut it open in one slash. More blood gushed out than the first guy. My shoes were soaked in red, along with my coat of justice. My hair and glasses were covered in blood, but I continued to my third, fourth, fifth, and sixth victims.

I was stronger than these pirates, so my life wasn't in danger. And the battle soon ended as we outnumbered the pirates and had better equipment. Standing on the bloody ship covered in blood, I couldn't help but smile.

'I didn't feel anything as I killed those six people. There was no joy or sorrow when I killed, as it should be. I was above humans. I shouldn't feel anything from their deaths.'

I was well aware there were people around me. And seeing someone covered in blood smiling was creepy, no matter how you looked at it. Oh, while it didn't matter what these people thought of me. I will ask the Captain to transfer me to HQ after I get my stand, and the opinion of these weaklings didn't matter.

And my 'nice guy' persona wasn't helpful. But my indifference or enjoyment on the battlefield only added to the ideal marine soldier facade. And my approach was wrong from the beginning. The Marines wouldn't care if I was a sociopath, psychopath, or a selfless hero. All they cared about was people who followed orders. My original purpose of the 'nice guy' was to get any valuable tools here, but I realized two things. One, I wasn't some protagonist who would find geniuses out of the blue in novice villages. And two, trying to win over these background npcs was a waste of time.