Chapter 4 I love my cheat (rewritten)

"Holy king of pirates!"

Plop Plop Plop

The sound of snot bubbles bursting echoed through the tiny, makeshift house. I didn't realize I'd been screaming until the others bolted upright, eyes wide open and filled with confusion. Honestly, I couldn't help it. My mind was reeling from the revelation that had just hit me like a ton of bricks—my chosen template, the mysterious cheat I'd wondered about for as long as I regained my memories, was none other than Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King himself.

"What the hell was that?" Ace muttered, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Did someone scream just now?" Dogra chimed in, groggy and annoyed.

"I swear, if I find out who woke me up, they're getting a knuckle sandwich," grumbled Magra, glaring around the room.

I clamped my mouth shut, heart still racing. How was I supposed to keep calm after finding out something like that? If you knew you had the chance to inherit the power of the Pirate King, wouldn't you be just as excited?

"Well, whatever it was, knock it off or I'll knock ya' out!" Ace growled, flopping back onto his mat. "Some of us are trying to sleep for god's sake!"

'Oh, for sure, Ace my bratty twin~' I thought, barely suppressing a grin. 'Just wait until next year—then we'll see who's giving orders around here. You have no idea how I will play with you. Trololololol.'

The Morning After

The sun had barely risen when we gathered outside to see Grandpa off. He was heading back to Navy HQ, returning us in the care of Dadan's gang of bandits. So to say everything as per the usual. Dadan herself was putting on quite the show, pretending to be all concerned and motherly while Grandpa was watching. The moment he turned his back, though, she stuck her tongue out and made faces behind his back. I couldn't help but chuckle. Little did she know, Grandpa could probably sense everything she was doing with his Observation Haki.

After he left, I headed back inside, my mind already racing ahead to the training I needed to start. Grabbing a strip of cloth from Dadan's room, I tied it around my eyes. It was time to boost my synchronization with Roger's power. The synchronization rate was still at 0%, and if I left it alone, it would only reach 5% by my next birthday. I wasn't about to let that happen. The system had given me a quest, and I wasn't one to back down from a challenge—especially not one that could make me as strong as the Pirate King.

Running 10 kilometres while blindfolded sounded insane, but after everything that had happened recently, I knew this was just the beginning. After all I probably won't end up lethally wounded, or attacked by a ferocious best living in mentioned forest, right?

'…Alright, maybe there's a smarter way to do this.'

I had to admit that running through the forest blindfolded was a recipe for disaster, since as of now, the synchronisation rate was at 0%

"Hey, what are you doing with that blindfold?" Ace's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Perfect timing.

"Ace! I need your help," I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.

"Help with what?" he asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"I want to train, but it's dangerous to do it alone. Can you keep an eye on me and make sure I don't hurt myself?"

Ace raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering what had gotten into me. I couldn't blame him—yesterday, we were excitedly planning on building up our secret base, but today, I was suddenly serious about training.

He looked all weirded out, which was kind of understandable. In our short lives, there wasn't a single physical activity we ever struggled to perform, sometimes we did it even better than some adults. Be it fighting, running, climbing and such, it all worked out perfectly. But this was different. Now I had the chance to advance by leaps and bounds, beyond most reasonable limits a human should have. So how could I not be serious?

"Alright, but this better not be some dumb stunt," Ace finally agreed, though the look on his face made it clear he thought I'd lost my mind.

'Bastard stop giving me that look! Wait a moment, same parents… I meant asshole, stop giving me that look!'

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Half a Day Later, Evening on Dawn Island

"Oh damn, what happened to you! Who the hell did this to you?! Just say the word, and I'll beat the crap out of them!" Dadan barked as soon as she saw me. Pretty sure I was all battered, bruised and bloodied, with torn clothes and skin in more places than I had fingers.

Still her concern was almost touching—if it wasn't so terrifying.

Sigh. "He did it to himself," Ace explained, frustration clear in his voice. "I lost count of how many times I told him to stop."

"Ouch! You know, for someone who can barely count to three, that's not very reassuring!" I shot back, wincing as Dadan's rough hands poked at one of my many bruises. "And can you not squeeze my shoulder so hard? I can walk just fine."

"Hah! Big words for someone who decided to run around blindfolded, kissing every tree in the forest," Ace retorted, clearly enjoying my misery. "What exactly were you trying to train? Your resistance to basic human intelligence or your ability to make dumb decisions?"

'Ouch, no wonder you will later be called fire fist.'

That one stung, even more than the scrapes and bruises I'd earned from my ill-fated run. But he had a point.

"What kind of training is that?!" Dadan added, her voice rising with disbelief. "You're lucky you didn't break your neck!"

"Oh, for fucks sake, why should I tell you?! Can't you all just back off!" The words slipped out before I could stop them, the frustration of the day boiling over. I was tired, sore, and fed up with the whole situation.

Dadan's eyes widened, and for a moment, I thought she was going to deck me. Instead, she crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine! Be that way! Go ahead and bash your head against every tree in the forest for all I care!"

"Boss, calm down," Dogra pleaded. "He's just a kid. He didn't mean it."

"Yeah, Boss," Magra chimed in. "He's only five and hurt himself pretty badly. It probably just slipped out."

"Oi! Don't talk to my brother like that!" Ace jumped in, glaring at Dadan.

Great, now it was turning into a full-blown argument. My head was throbbing, my body felt like it had been through a meat grinder, and all I wanted was to lie down and forget about this disaster of a day. But I knew I had to fix this.

Clenching my fists, I took a deep breath and walked over to Dadan. "I'm sorry, Dadan," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean it. I was just… angry and frustrated."

The room fell silent. Everyone stared at me like I'd just sprouted a second head. I guess apologizing wasn't something Ace or I did often—if ever. But I meant it. Dadan might be rough around the edges, but she was still the closest thing we had to family here.

Without waiting for a response, I turned and headed for my bed. I needed to sleep, to escape the pain and the disappointment. But even as I lay down, the system's light screen flickered in front of me, a constant reminder of what I was striving for.

[Quest: Run 10km Blindfolded (Incomplete: 1/365)]

Tomorrow, I'd try again. I wasn't going to give up, not when I was this close to unlocking the power I needed to live as freely as I like. To officially live as Gol D. Jackson!