Chương 3: Origin Story: Part 2
In a large rectangular room with an elongated dining table made of oak, I was sitting together with the bandits, a few hours after my reincarnation, eating dinner. The food in the 'One Piece' world, or at least in this hideout, was surprisingly tasty and nutritious. The meats and fruits were much more succulent, and fresher compared to my previous life.
After being recruited by the bandits, I hadn't had much interaction with them. They'd assign me a tent and left me alone to do their own stuff including: drinking, gambling, fighting and sleeping. This was good news for me since I'd been able to gather more information without raising their suspicion. As the famous English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon would have said, "Knowledge is Power"; information was my top priority right now.
The current year was 1510; the Great Age of pirates had already been initiated by Gol. D. Roger. I had read multiple articles about the era of pirates from the 'World Economy News Papers' the bandits had collected. It blew my mind when I saw the globally distributed newspaper via News Coo come to life.
Next, I found out more about where I am. The bandit hideout is situated somewhere in the Conomi Islands, which is an archipelago that houses at least 20 different communities. Nami's Cocoyasi village from the manga is located somewhere here. Accordingly, this would also mean that I'm a resident of the East-Blue Sea where Luffy first started his adventure.
Also, the physical fitness and the skin quality of people seemed to be much better in this universe. I partially opened my lips when I felt the smooth texture of skin on my body. It didn't even take a day for all the scratches I'd accumulated from the forest to heal.
Finally, I tried to conclude my next course of action. 'Hummm… Should I try joining the Straw-Hats… or should I form my own crew and become the pirate king… wait I should forget thinking about Chunibyo stuff and focus on escaping,' I contemplated as I skimped all the information I had gathered.
While I was lost in my thoughts, the bandits conversed and drank merrily.
"Ha Ha Ha…What a great day! We collected over half a million Berrys and found a promising recruit."
"The Billy bandits will make it to the top… our captain's bounty's already 10 million!"
"Yeah, we'll rule over the entire Conomi Islands and wipe out the marines and the damn pirates!"
Captain Billy got up from his chair, quieting down the entire room.
"Kuhum…Kuhum… We've had another great day today thanks to God. Now I would like this room empty… you stay though Cross." He said.
All the bandits left for their respective tents, and I waited for the captain with a tensed expression, 'What the hell does this man want now.'
"Cross, was this your first kill today? He asked.
"Umm... yes captain."
I wondered if I should tell him my Call of Duty Kill/Death ratio to make myself look more impressive… Though now that I remember, it was only slightly below 1.
"Do you feel guilty?"
"I-I don't much. I had no other option anyway." I answered.
My mind pondered on why this guy was asking so many weird questions. I mean he was the asshole who gave me the order to kill anyway.
"Hmmm… Good! When I kill people, I don't feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel guilt instead. You acted just like me with your first kill, and you seem to have great aptitude. I was about to leave East-Blue because of the lack of talented people, but you'll be my latest recruit from now on. Your training will begin tomorrow morning!"
"Ahhh… Thank you I guess."
Though I wasn't exactly pleased by being appreciated by a bandit, I imagined some training from an expert would not be so bad. For instance: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
"Now all we can do is leave everything to your efforts, but more importantly our God Satan!"
Captain Billy left the room after saying that, not even waiting for me to respond. I had been so disappointed with my luck recently that I wasn't even too surprised to find out the god he talked about so much was Satan.
Just like that, my intense training under Devil-worshiper Captain Billy began.
**
2 years passed quickly as my skills and strength increased.
Under the intense training from Captain Billy, I learned how to use melee weapons and flintlocks.
Apart from that, my physical limits exploded tremendously during these two years. It probably had something to do with the strength pack I got previously; either way, I was confident I could beat every bandit here apart from the captain.
Captain Billy was a mysterious man. He didn't speak much at all and did nothing all day, apart from training me. For one thing, he didn't even preach anything about Satan to me yet. He'd just set up a system where the bandits and me would have to go terrorize and collect some money from nearby communities. Occasionally, I'd have to grit my teeth and kill a few of the marines or merchants who chose to fight us.
I had tried to escape a few times from the bandit group; however, Captain Billy was persistent in keeping track of me. I didn't exactly know his fascination with me, but he didn't want me to escape at all.
Out of frustration from all of this, I'd finally hatched a plan that would get me out of trouble.
…
A new day and morning sun arose in the village of Manoli. An array of people from farmers and spiritual leaders to traders, craftsmen and innkeepers got up from bed and headed to work.
A 10-year-old boy was currently walking around the village. He had his 2 lackeys follow him, and he walked as though he owned the entire village. He had a lean muscular body and a handsome masculine face with brown eyes and wavy, blue hair, giving him an appearance of a wild-beast. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, brown trousers with a long quarterstaff attached to his back. There were a few locals who recognized him and immediately hid themselves.
…
"Cross senpai, are you taking us for sparring again?"
A bandit lackey asked with a grave expression. He had a very bad experience of being my punching bag in the name of 'sparring.'
"Nah… Trash like you is not even good enough for my punching bag anymore… I also have something el-"
Thak… Thak…
At that moment, an angry plain-looking man walked straight towards us.
"How dare you scam me young man?! You think I won't be able to track you down. Let me see how you'll get away with your crime… compensate me twice the money I lost, or I'll give an official complaint to the World Government!"
The man said, his voice was loud and full of anger. He was trying to attract the support and outrage of the crowd.
'Hmmm, how did this guy successfully track it back to me', I scratched my head in confusion.
Despite being a bandit, my income was low. Our monthly earnings from looting were barely a million and there were more than twenty people in our group. Another key point was that the captain hoarded more than half of our loot. While most other bandits were happy with their meager earnings, I wanted more.
As a result, I had no choice but to get a little creative. Out of my many 'creative ideas', this one involved calling random transponder snails and congratulating their user for winning a large about of money. All they had to do was transfer a certain amount of money to our anonymous bank accounts to confirm that they were 'eligible winners'. The scam worked like a charm in this world, netting me more than 15 million Berrys so far.
Presently, my lackeys were looking at the man and sneering, while the crowd also looked at the situation with nothing but sympathy for the man.
"How dare you slander our Cross-Senpai, he's part of Billy's bandit group." A lackey said.
The man paled when he heard of Billy.
"Hmph, we should teach him a very nice lesson for insulting you Cross senpai…", The other lackey added
Bandit Billy had a fierce reputation that demanded fear from all the residents of Conomi Islands. His attack on merchants and the lack of response from the marines inspired great terror.
"Ple-please… I didn't know… I have a wife... we just m-married"
The man pleaded. Unlike his previous indignant expression, the man's face trembled as though he had seen a ghost.
"Mwah ha ha... Very Nice… Not only will you get compensation for slandering me… your wife will get compensated too. Take him home guys and make sure to compensate him very nicely."
If there was anything I hated more than Captain Billy, it was people who showed off their love and marriage while I was still a virgin. I yawned with indifference as I ordered my lackeys to wreck him home for this traumatic experience.
"Yes, Cross senpai"
Both lackeys unanimously rushed towards the man and carried him to his home.
I left the area soon and walked towards a quiet alley. I'd pre-arranged a secret meeting here to solve some of my problems.
Whoosh… a man jumped out from the shadows to greet me.
He was man of average height with light purple hair, multiple ponytail, and a long goatee. He was wearing a standard Marine uniform with a Marine coat and a green scarf. His name was Pudding Pudding, a marine commodore in the 77th Branch of the marines.
"So young and already profound in bandit ways." He said.
"If not for ass marines like you who have still not captured my captain, why would my skills in banditry be so high? Just give me the goods and get lost." I said.
The Marine flinched at my words and then handed me a small package.
"Hmph… You do your job right and I'll make sure to honor my deal." He said.
I snorted at his words and disappeared from the alley.
**
It was night on the same day, and I had been summoned by Captain Billy for a private conversation. I wasn't too surprised since he'd often call upon me to correct the mistakes in my fighting stances.
Currently, he was eyeing me with a slight frown on his face. I couldn't handle his intense stare, making me turn my head down, 'Why does this Devil-worshiper weirdo scare me so much?'
"Cross, I've called you today to tell you that god has finally shown me some light."
I narrowed my eyes, completely confused by what the captain meant by 'shown me some light'. Like can Satan actually do cool stuff like that?
"God Satan has informed me about you Cross." He said.
"What the hell are you talking about Captain? Is it that case about me spreading bad rumors about you…? Don't believe that asshole bandit Rick! I may have bitched about you, but I bitched about you with respect!"
"Ha ha… I'm talking about the poison in our drinks and the Marines."
My eyes froze; I couldn't believe that my plot was so easily revealed to him.
Earlier today, I had contacted the Marines for an underhanded deal to solve both our problems. They'd given me a bag of ricin to poison the bandits before their attack tonight; in exchange, they'd kill the bandits today and give me full amnesty.
"H-How'd you know…? B-But clearly all the bandits drank the poison. I saw them" I said, my voice trembling a little.
The same twisted smile I saw on him the first day returned on the bandit's face.
"I am a part of the Satanic Cult of Namakura, and my mission was to release a monster in this world. Your final mission was to kill me… There isn't much else for you to know. Ha Ha Ha Ha… Choke Choke …"
Foam started forming in his mouth, as his body went into seizure.
"Old man, you've gone completely senile… What the fuck?!"
I didn't have any time to think about his words. The Marines were coming, and I had to steal all the bandit's treasures before they came. I grabbed his treasured quarterstaff and a bag of money before rushing towards my planned exit point.
That night, the 77th marine squad division raided the Billy Bandits and completely wiped them out. The entire region of Conomi Islands rejoiced at the news, and the merchants finally traveled freely.
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