章節 2: A Clown's Struggle

Hailan, 16 years old, is the son of the former admiral and current chief instructor of the Navy Headquarters, "Black Arm" Zephyr.

The purple in his hair wasn't entirely due to the firelight but partly due to Zephyr's genetics.

However, Hailan didn't fully inherit Zephyr's head of purple hair. His hair was predominantly black with a purple sheen, and his handsome face gave him a unique aura.

Zephyr had grown up as an orphan in a Navy port. He had no surname, only the name Zephyr.

Therefore, Hailan also only had a given name, without a surname.

Many people in this world don't have a surname. Some hide it intentionally, while others genuinely don't have one.

Zephyr didn't know that the "Time-Space Management Bureau" had swapped his son, and now the soul inside Hailan was that of a person from a distant, different world—Earth.

Thirteen years ago, Zephyr, who was then an Admiral, suffered the most significant blow of his life—his wife and son were killed by a vengeful pirate.

After some efforts to save him, Hailan, who was then only three years old and declared beyond saving by the Navy hospital, miraculously survived.

That day, Zephyr, seen as a pillar of strength by countless Navy soldiers, shed the most tears he had ever shed.

But from that day on, Hailan no longer had a close relationship with Zephyr.

Everyone thought the traumatic incident had created a rift between father and son, but Hailan knew that the original son of Zephyr had left this world forever.

For a modern person, terms like "crossing over" or "rebirth" weren't unfamiliar. The problem was Hailan had never watched the anime One Piece before he crossed over.

His knowledge of One Piece was limited to some game advertisements. He only knew a few keywords, such as "Navy Admirals," "Four Emperors," "Straw Hat," and "Three-Sword Style," without knowing the specific names.

Otherwise, given Hailan's current identity, he would have used his foreknowledge to become an Admiral at fifteen and surpass the Four Emperors by twenty.

"You seem to look down on my nose!"

After shouting this, Buggy regretted it.

With the first mate heavily injured, the captain missing, and himself surrounded by nearly a hundred soldiers, Buggy had no idea why he had blurted out such a thing.

His nose was Buggy's Achilles' heel.

Sometimes, Buggy would get worked up alone without anyone else doing anything.

However, Hailan did take a few more glances at Buggy.

At first, he thought it was some strange decoration. Now, he was sure that the big red nose was natural.

Having been in this world for 13 years, Hailan had seen many people with bizarre appearances. A red nose alone wasn't particularly surprising.

But seeing the pirate's extreme reaction, there was a misunderstanding.

"Tie them all up for me. Use iron chains for those listed on the bounty posters!"

People were influential, and ordinary ropes couldn't restrain powerful pirates.

"Yes, sir!"

The Navy soldiers followed the orders.

Hailan walked towards Buggy. "What's your problem?"

Buggy quickly put on a smile. "Nothing, nothing. I was just asking for the officer's opinion, no other meaning."

"Take him away!"

Hailan didn't have time to mess around with the red-nosed pirate. He needed to support Gion.

Buggy panicked. "Wait, I'm just a circus clown. You can catch pirates, but why are you catching me?"

"Buggy, how can you betray us? We agreed to share fortune and trouble together..."

"Screw you! Who's your companion? I joined your ship only because I was interested in your treasure map!"

Buggy, desperate, revealed his real motive. At least, being greedy wasn't as serious a crime as being a pirate.

"You bastard! If you aren't loyal, don't blame us for being unfaithful. Officer, I report that this clown Buggy was once a captain under Golden Lion Shiki."

"Screw you! I was Pirate King Roger! Do you believe everything you're told, idiot?"

"Everyone shut up!"

Hailan's shout silenced the bickering pirates. He ordered his men to take the others back to the base, leaving only a few soldiers and Buggy.

"You seem smart, so you can try convincing me to let you go."

Seeing his chance, Buggy decided to use his luck. "Well... I know where the Anderson Pirates hid their treasure!"

On this sea, countless pirate crews and islands were scattered. After plundering, to avoid being robbed by other pirate crews or exterminated by the Navy, most pirate crews buried their loot on secluded islands. They marked the locations on maps, thus creating treasure maps.

Hailan turned to a soldier. "Note this down. We can send someone to retrieve it later."

Buggy had no idea where the Anderson Pirates' treasure was. If he did, he would have run off by now. He gave Hailan another treasure location instead.

Buggy's eyes darted around as he quickly offered another piece of information. "Actually, we... I mean, their pirate crew has a few more members enjoying themselves in town."

Hailan couldn't do much about that. Tigers are easy to hunt, but cockroaches are tough. The remaining pirates would have to be dealt with by the local Navy branch.

"Give me something useful."

"Something useful..."

Buggy thought momentarily and then confidently asked, "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"You speak first."

"No, you speak first."

"Are you bargaining with me?"

Hailan raised his hand to tweak Buggy's nose.

"No, no, no... I'll talk!"

Buggy struggled but eventually chose to cooperate. "Anderson is a Paramecia-type 'Barrier-Barrier Fruit' user. His ability is..."

"No need to say more."

Upon hearing the name "Barrier-Barrier Fruit," Hailan understood Anderson's ability.

Given his position, Hailan had already studied the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.

Unlike the incomplete or simplified versions circulating the seas, the Navy Headquarters' encyclopedia detailed Devil Fruits' abilities and suggested development directions.

These were pieces of information the World Government had collected over 800 years.

"Take him back, solitary confinement."

Hailan ordered the soldiers to take Buggy back to the Navy branch. He needed to relay this information to Major General Gion immediately.

The Barrier-Barrier Fruit, with its absolute defense capability, couldn't be melted even by magma. A confrontation would only harm Gion.

"Hey, you can't do this! You're burning bridges!"

"Let me go. I already gave you three pieces of information. You promised to let me go! I want to see your superior!"

Buggy was dragged away, screaming, while Hailan had long used Soru to leave, not hearing Buggy's cries at all.

Boom!

Gion punched Anderson. Despite being a powerful strike imbued with Armament Haki, Anderson effortlessly blocked it.

The relaxed, cheerful expression on Gion's face was gone. He hadn't faced such a formidable opponent in a long time.

"Heh heh... You think a fool like you can break my defense? You better send an Admiral, or you'll never beat me!"

His absolute defense fueled Anderson's arrogance.

He didn't realize how powerful the punch he blocked was or that it was imbued with Haki. He didn't even know what Haki was.

But the Barrier-Barrier Fruit was unreasonable, and Anderson had mastered its use, instantly deploying and retracting barriers, giving no chance for his opponents to understand his ability.

"Force is mutual. Hitting me is hitting yourself."

Anderson taunted Gion.

The pain on Gion's body wasn't from Anderson's attacks but the rebound from his strikes.

"The path ahead is blocked. If you don't want to get hurt, you'd better scram!"

"It's just the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. Stop pretending."

"Who... uh..."

Anderson's body went limp, collapsing to the ground like a heap of mud.

The Barrier-Barrier Fruit's defense was invincible, but the user could only deploy one barrier at a time as a price for its power.

The ultimate defense of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit was to encase oneself like a cocoon using a twisted barrier.

Before Anderson could use this move, Hailan had restrained him with Sea Prism Stone handcuffs.

Gion approached the limp pirate. "Hailan, you were right. This guy's got no real skills, just relying on a weird ability to protect himself. Even I couldn't harm him. You said his ability is the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, right?"

Hailan nodded. "We had a blind spot. We thought the forces chasing the Anderson Pirates weren't strong enough, but it was a matter of numbers. With two major generals working together, defeating this pirate should be easy."

Gion called the branch's commanding officer, and soon, a group of Navy soldiers arrived to take Anderson away.

"You did well. It seems the rumors about you in the ranks were false."

"What rumors?"

"They say Hailan is the best cadet but also a cold-blooded killer who often violates military regulations to kill pirates. But today, you acted differently."

"Is that so..."

Hailan just smiled without further explanation.

Despite not understanding the world's bizarre law of "not killing pirates," Hailan hadn't killed pirates to express dissatisfaction with the World Government but to play his role well—a boy whose mother was killed by pirates.

Hailan decided to be himself again, and Anderson was a crucial step in that direction.