To Loguetown
Hooonnkk!
In the dock, hundreds of people gathered. They filled the wide beach many were carrying luggage. Be they commoners or nobles, they converse with each other.
A navy ship was docked and people lined up to climb and enter the large ship. Four young marines in uniform inspected papers that the people handed out. When they were qualified, the inspectors would then let them climb the ship.
The process was slow, but not many were also participating. The people were just there to watch.
In the crowd, a man in a robe that covered his entire body was squeezing his way towards the front.
It was Rai.
His face was serious and was cautiously scanning the crowd as he moved to the front. That was because he was fleeing.
After days of planning, he succeeded in stealing his adoptive parents' money. It was the plan he brewed 10 days ago. He worked hard in cracking the code of their vault, he cracked it several days ago, but he only stole what was inside yesterday.
What was surprising was, the vault had over 3 million bellies. Without even blinking, he took the three million and left remaining money, which was over 3 hundred thousand.
He did not go home yesterday, and right now, he was sure that his parents are already looking for him. If they find him, he would then be unable to board the navy ship, as he would be arrested.
Even if he wasn't the one who stole it, Rai was pretty sure that his parents would still send him to jail. He was just an adopted kid, and it was pretty clear that they did not like him at all.
The money occupied nearly half of his inventory, and it was already full from the maps, gloves, clothes and kitchen tools. He took them as it could become handy in the future. Unless he found a good restaurant that had food better than his own, he would cook for himself.
His skills might not be better than that of Gordon Ramsay, but he estimates that it was pretty close.
When he finally squeezed through, he immediately lined up. When he saw that most of the people accepted handed out papers before they were allowed to climb the ship, he got nervous.
Rai instantly regretted not checking out those documents in the vault.
'Oh, shit! I f*cked up.' He thought in frustration. But when he saw that some people were allowed to pass even though they did not provide papers, he was a little relieved.
He then joined the line while still cautiously darting his eyes around. To avoid suspicions, he removed his hood to reveal the pair of mesmerizing red eyes. Although he was not that good looking, he still belonged to that of the above-average appearance. His height was also not bad, reaching 178 cm. His skin was also a little tanned giving the "bad boy" aura.
When it was finally his turn, he looked the marines in the eye and showed an expression of great determination and resolve. Of course, it was just an act. He needed to increase his chance of getting accepted even though he had no papers.
"Papers." one of the four young inspectors asked with no expression. It was apparent that he was already used to this process, the same could be said to the others.
"Sir, I am an orphan." Rai stood erected and. He wanted to give them the impression that he was well disciplined. The only thing missing would be a salute and he would look like a soldier.
"Oh, What's your name?" His tone warmed a little when he heard that the young man in front of him was an orphan.
"Rai Kiri." Rai knew that in a situation like this, more words would mean more chance of failing.
"How old are you?" His act seems to his act worked. The young marine looked at Rai like he was looking at his past self, and indeed he was. He was reminded of his past self from this young man.
"17, sir." Although he did not shout, his voice was clear and firm.
"Okay, you pass. If you have anything on you, better remove it." The marine smiled and let him pass.
"Yes, sir," Rai answered but he just continued for the body inspection. He already stored everything in his inventory, so he did not worry about it. Fortunately, he still wore ordinary clothes, or his act would have been blown.
"You may pass." the body inspector said and let Rai pass. He climbed the ship and stepped on the deck.
He scanned his surroundings, and there were about 50 people who were accepted. Since they were in the same city, some people were familiar or friendly with each other. So the ship was a little rowdy. Ignoring them, he found a spot and sat down. He looked at the spectating crowd and suddenly recognized a face.
'Is that Sabo's dad? Hmm, what was his name again? Whatever.' Rai looked at the man in the distance. The man with a blue hat and suit that had a stereotype noble pose and appearance. Even though he could not see clearly, Rai was able to see the arrogance and disdain coming from the man. He only recognized him because of the past of Sabo that was quite impactful.
Ignoring everyone, he closed his eyes and tried to rest. He did not get much sleep last night, using the earth as a bed and the sky as the blanket was not very comfortable. It was also very cold. He did have a blanket, but it was not enough.
It took an hour for the line to run out and the people made a noise. The people from the shore waved their goodbye and the ones accepted to become marines also waved their hands while shouting. Some people were crying, excited, and some people were like Rai, who just watched the commotion.
The ship departed with different emotions.
Just as the men and women who were just accepted to become marines were getting rowdy, a voice instantly silenced them.
"Silence!" From the cabin, a lady with a sword on her waist came out. But that was not the only thing that stood out, she also had a pair of towering peaks that her shirts could not hide. She wore eyeglasses and had short hair. In other words, a beauty with glasses and a sword.
'Tashigi?' Rai nearly blurted the name out. He was shocked to see her here, he thought that only low ranking petty officers were sent here.
"Sergeant Major Tashigi!" The petty officers in the ship immediately saluted. The crowd was also impressed by the lady's appearance. They looked at her with perverted gaze, if it wasn't because she was a high ranking and was extremely strong, they would have already pounced on her.
Rai was also entranced, of course, he would be, he was still a young man filled with raging hormones. Thankfully, he managed to suppress it, otherwise...
'Smoker shouldn't be here, right?' Rai immediately got nervous. With that stubborn and arrogant bastard, his plan could fail. But after observing for a moment, he did not see any cigar smoke, the ship did not smell either.
"Gather!" Tashigi shouted in command.
The people instantly gathered in front of her, while the marines led stood in their original place.
"Good! It will take 8 days for us to reach Loguetown. Everyone must be wondering why we did not allow you to take anything with you, right?" She looked at the confused crowd and continued, "It is because we will be providing everything for you in these 8 days of travel. So everyone does not need to worry."
Hearing her words, the people were relieved.
"But! Joining the marines is not easy! These eight days will also be a part of the screening test! Those who will not pass will be sent back home!" The atmosphere suddenly turned gloomy. Some people's faces darkened. As for Rai, his eyes brightened.
'Ha! What a good coincidence. I just need a little acting and I should be able to walk away pretty easily, haha!' He celebrated in his head while thinking that his days of planning was all for naught.
The ship sailed with the wind as they picked up speed. The marines conversed with the new potential recruits and they even taught them what they knew.
The people who knew nothing about the outside world were enlightened. Some of them even had regrets deciding to join the navy. They probably felt that they could not probably handle situations and they were already thinking of quitting.
Rick only snorted, 'Humph? To think that they did not even know the real terror of pirates. If the world suddenly flipped and pirates swarms East Blue, then what could these people do? No, what would the people even do?' Although he was just a young man, he possessed the hot bloodedness of the youth. His disdain also came from the fact that he knew where these guys would reach. They would probably become cannon fodders with only a few or even one of them being a little successful.
The afternoon passed and they ate. What they did not know was, Tashigi who they thought was minding her own business was actually watching them. It was the job she was assigned to by the Captain, Smoker.
But even if Rai knew that he would not care less. He just wanted to safely arrive at Loguetown and enhance his strength.
He already had plans in mind. Set up everything and calculate when the plot would start.
That's right, the plot does indeed matter. As for training, he was a little too late for that. With only less than 2 months left, it was not enough to get a major increase in strength.
Also, with the arrival of the main character, the chaos he would bring would lead to all potential bounties wasted. In every story, the main characters all of their own halo. By touching them, you would either become extremely fortunate or would instead become your downfall.
Rai did not know if he had that Halo, and if he did, then thank you, he will be grateful to have it.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone