Chapter 16 : One Piece (6)

Before we began our official pirate activities,

I taught Yamato the common sense of this world.

“Yamato, what do you think pirates are?”

“Hmm… the freest people in the world!”

“Yeah, that’s partly true.”

Yamato, who had spent her whole life under Kaido’s control without a proper education, was like a blank slate.

That’s why I had to teach her.
I had to help her understand the norms of this world.

“Pirates are indeed free. But because of that, they’re also full of trash.”

“Trash…?”

“Yeah, trash. People who deserve to die. Parasites who rob, kill, and survive off others. More than 90% of the pirates in this world are scum like that.”

One Piece.

In that manga, pirates are portrayed far too kindly.

The main character, Luffy, spends every other chapter defeating evil pirates and saving nations.

But Luffy is an exception.

In this world, especially since the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, more than 90% of pirates are absolute garbage.

They plunder villages, brutally murder people, and some go as far as committing unmentionable atrocities.

The pirate world is overflowing with filth.

“But in Oden’s journal, all the pirates were good people…”

“Oden… he was lucky to meet the good ones. Pirates who valued loyalty and romance over personal gain and pleasure. That’s why he could have such a positive image of pirates. He joined their crew and became friends with them.”

The pirates Oden associated with—

Whitebeard’s crew and Roger’s crew—

Were relatively good-hearted compared to the rest of the world.

So naturally, Oden wrote fondly of pirates in his journal.

And since Yamato read that journal, she also developed a positive perception of pirates.

That perception… was dangerous.

So even if it meant shattering her illusions, I had to tell her the truth.

Most pirates weren’t the kind she thought they were—they were trash.

“Yamato, what I’m trying to say is this: don’t hesitate.”

I approached Yamato, who had deflated after having her ideals shattered, and gently patted her head.

“We’re pirates now. And as pirates, we’ll inevitably clash with others. In those moments, you must never hesitate. Ever.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to see you hurt. You’re my precious crewmate.”

Whether she’s fighting pirates, marines, or the World Government—

I never wanted to see Yamato injured.

So I warned her clearly.

Don’t hesitate.
When the time comes—act without doubt.

“Alright, enough heavy talk. Let’s talk about ourselves now.”

“Huh?”

I sat down in front of Yamato, trying to lift the heavy mood.

“We’ve just become crewmates, right?”

“Yeah.”

“But we barely know anything about each other. So let’s fix that. Let’s share our stories.”

“Great! I’ll go first!”

“Sure, go ahead.”

I smiled as Yamato excitedly began talking about herself.

It had been a long time—
Since I last had such a pure, friendly conversation.

‘Ever since I lost my parents, I’ve been on my own.’

I couldn’t trust anyone.

To survive, I could only rely on myself.

That’s why this moment—
Spending time with someone I could trust without doubt like Yamato—
Felt incredibly precious and fulfilling.

I listened to her story with genuine interest.

And once she finished, it was my turn.

More precisely, it was time to tell her about Shine—the real owner of this body.

“Sh-Shine… you’ve gone through so much…”

Yamato’s eyes welled up after hearing Shine’s story.

Being born a bit differently had led to a lifetime of discrimination for Shine.

It must’ve been a painful tale.

“It’s okay now. Those experiences helped me become stronger.”

“Really? So how strong are you, Shine?”

“Me?”

As soon as I mentioned strength, Yamato’s eyes sparkled with excitement, completely forgetting her sadness.

“You know King, right?”

“Yeah! He’s Dad’s subordinate. Super strong uncle!”

“Well, I’m stronger than King, but weaker than your dad.”

That’s where my strength currently stood.

Above the Four Commanders, but below the Four Emperors.

“Whoa?! That’s amazing! I wanna be that strong too!”

She wants to get stronger, huh?

“Then first, we need to figure out what you can do—and what your weaknesses are.”

“What I can do and what I’m weak at?”

“Yeah. To get stronger, you need to clearly understand your strengths and weaknesses. That way, you can improve what’s lacking or learn new things.”

“Hmm… I don’t know my weaknesses, but I do know what I can do! I can transform and use… that thing… Conqueror’s Haki! Yeah, that!”

“Transformation and Conqueror’s Haki?”

Conqueror’s Haki—
One of the three types of Haki that exist in this world.

Haki is the manifestation of a person’s inner will.

It comes in three forms:

Armament Haki – coats the body in invisible armor.
Observation Haki – enhances the ability to sense others.
And Conqueror’s Haki – overwhelms others with sheer presence.

‘Of course Yamato can use Conqueror’s Haki.’

She had insane talent.

Not only was she born with the extremely rare Conqueror’s Haki, but she could also use it from the age of eight.

That kind of talent was rare enough to rank in the top ten of this world.

But then—

“What’s this transformation of yours?”

“Hold on! I’ll show you!”

Poof!

A puff of white smoke surrounded Yamato.

And when the smoke cleared—

“Tada!”

“…!”

Yamato was gone.
In her place stood a small, adorable baby wolf.

I was startled at first, but quickly realized what was happening.

‘The Dog-Dog Fruit: Model Okuchi no Makami.’

The Guardian Deity of Wano.
A mythical zoan fruit that grants the power of a frost-controlling wolf.

It was the same fruit Yamato had eaten in the original story.

‘Didn’t expect her to have already eaten it…’

I reached out with trembling hands and lifted the small, fluffy baby wolf—Yamato.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Shine?”

“… I can’t resist this.”

I placed Yamato on my lap.

And immediately started petting her like crazy.

“W-Wait, Shine! T-That tickles—kyaa!”

“So warm… so soft…”

This was Yamato’s fault.

Who could resist such a sudden transformation into a cute little wolf?

I continued petting her until she melted under my touch, enjoying her warmth and fluffiness to the fullest.

It was… extremely satisfying.

“Uuuh… a little more…”

“Sure. I’ll keep going.”

“Hehe.”

As I petted Yamato, I began making plans.

‘Let’s start operating in the New World for now.’

The New World.

A sea where power was everything—
Where Haki was the standard.

I decided that we’d make our debut there.

‘I want to learn Haki.’

Haki was an incredibly attractive power.

Armament Haki could enhance physical strength and weapon attacks.
Observation Haki could detect opponents more sharply—or even glimpse the future.
Conqueror’s Haki could knock out weaker enemies or be infused into attacks to massively increase power.

All of them were insanely desirable.

So I decided to spend some time in the New World to learn how to use Haki.

‘I don’t need a mentor.’

I was confident I could master Haki on my own.

The power of the angelic race—
Far beyond human potential.

And the ability to accelerate growth.

With those two powers, I didn’t need anyone’s guidance.
I could learn Haki through self-study.

So—

“Yamato, time to turn back to normal.”

“Mmm… okay.”

With a squishy expression, Yamato reverted to her original form.

“Alright. Now, I’ll explain our plan going forward.”

“Okay!”

Yamato snapped out of her daze and focused on my words.

“The plan isn’t too complicated. From now on, we’re going to rob pirates.”

And—

“We’ll grow stronger by doing it.”

“Grow stronger?”

“There’s no better training than actual combat. So we’re going to fight and rob pirates to grow. Got a problem with that?”

“Nope! Let’s go rob some pirates already!”

“Alright then, let’s find the closest group of bastards and hit them first.”

I activated my detection magic and lowered Maxim from the sky to the sea.

The Radiant pirates’ pirate hunt—
Had begun.