Loguetown The town of beginnings and endings.
It was here that the Pirate King, Gol D.
Roger, was born, and it was here that he met his end.
A Marine base was stationed in the town as well.
Its commanding officer had been transferred directly from Marine Headquarters—a capable officer who showed no mercy to pirates.
Under his command, the people of Loguetown no longer had to live in constant fear of pirate attacks.
According to the locals, the new commander was far superior to the previous branch captain, who had secretly colluded with pirates behind the Marines’ backs.
— A medium-sized ship slowly emerged from the horizon.
The Marine sentries stationed at the harbor immediately raised their binoculars.
If it turned out to be a pirate ship, they would have to report it at once.
However, the scene before them was an all-too-familiar one.
Several pirate corpses hung from the bow of the ship as a warning.
Standing calmly at the front was a clean-cut young man, while behind him a group of pirates trembled in terror.
They were all fierce-looking men…
Yet every one of them looked as frightened as a cornered animal.
“It’s Rodney.” One of the Marine soldiers finally relaxed.
“He’s here to collect another bounty.” Rodney had recently become one of the most famous pirate hunters in East Blue.
Every time he appeared, he would deliver an entire pirate crew to the Marines in one trip.
“Inform Warrant Officer Tashigi immediately.” “And prepare to receive the prisoners.” “Yes, sir!” — Not long afterward, the ship belonging to the Hacksaw Pirates docked at the harbor.
Marine soldiers quickly formed a perimeter, dispersing the curious crowd before approaching the vessel with handcuffs and shackles in hand, ready to escort every surviving pirate into custody.
Leading them was a beautiful young Marine officer wearing glasses.
A long sword rested at her waist.
It was Warrant Officer Tashigi.
“Mr.
Rodney.” Tashigi greeted him politely as she walked aboard.
“Good afternoon, Warrant Officer Tashigi.” Rodney nodded with a smile.
“The Hacksaw Pirates are all here.
How much are they worth altogether?” Tashigi returned the smile.
“Please wait a moment while we verify everyone’s identity and bounty.
Don’t worry—we’ll make sure you receive every last Berry you’re owed.” “Of course.” Rodney wasn’t concerned.
He trusted Tashigi’s character.
She was honest to a fault and would never cheat someone out of their reward.
As for Captain Smoker…
Rodney doubted someone like Smoker would ever embezzle bounty money.
If even Marines like him became corrupt, then the Navy truly would have no future.
— After a careful inspection, Tashigi returned carrying several bundles of banknotes.
“The total comes to 5,630,000 Berries.” Rodney accepted the money.
Scarface Locke’s bounty accounted for 4.5 million Berries, while the first mate, second mate, and the remaining crew contributed the rest.
Without lingering any longer, Rodney found an inn where he could rest for the night.
After entering his room, he immediately opened the System Store.
He spent 3 million Berries on Explosive Tags, another 100,000 Berries on additional kunai, shuriken, senbon, and steel wire, then stored everything inside his equipment pouch.
The System Store sold far more than basic ninja tools.
There were countless ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, Kekkei Genkai, secret techniques, bloodlines, and even legendary weapons from the Naruto world.
Unfortunately, almost all of them required Mission Points instead of money.
The Eight Gates Technique, White Fang Chakra Saber, Chakra Extraction Technique, and his initial supply of chakra had all come from the beginner gift package provided by the system.
At present, Rodney could only open the First Gate of the Eight Gates.
If he wanted to unlock the remaining Gates, he would first have to continue tempering and strengthening his body.
Looking at the shop interface, Rodney couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Mission Points and Berries were displayed separately, just like premium currency and ordinary currency in an online game.
The difference couldn’t have been more obvious.
Unfortunately…
Real money couldn’t buy everything.
He stuffed the newly purchased Explosive Tags into his storage pouch before organizing the rest of his ninja tools.
His waist pouch contained a small storage space of roughly one cubic meter.
Although it functioned similarly to a storage scroll, the storage scrolls sold by the system were absurdly expensive despite offering very limited capacity.
Rodney let out a helpless sigh.
“I’m broke again…” The moment the words left his mouth— Ding!
A familiar notification sounded.
New Mission Released.
Rodney couldn’t help smiling.
“Every time I complain about being poor, the system gives me another mission.” He immediately opened the notification.
— Mission: Eliminate Kuro of a Hundred Plans Rank: C Reward: Permanent Chakra Fruit ×1, 150 Mission Points — “A Permanent Chakra Fruit?” Rodney’s eyes lit up.
That was an excellent reward.
Naturally, it wasn’t the legendary Chakra Fruit consumed by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Instead, it was a greatly weakened version created by the system.
The fruits were divided into two categories.
Permanent Chakra Fruits permanently increased the user’s chakra reserves, expanding their overall chakra capacity.
Burst Chakra Fruits, on the other hand, temporarily granted an enormous amount of chakra for a limited duration.
Once the effect expired, the additional chakra disappeared completely.
Either version was incredibly valuable.
As for his target…
Kuro of a Hundred Plans.
Rodney frowned slightly.
That wouldn’t be an easy mission.
Kuro carried a bounty of 16 million Berries.
Jumping directly from hunting a pirate worth 4.5 million to one worth 16 million was a significant leap in difficulty.
Still…
The mission reward was simply too tempting to ignore.
Kuro was widely recognized as one of the greatest strategists in the East Blue, second only to Benn Beckman, first mate of the Red-Haired Pirates.
After faking his own death to escape the Marines, he infiltrated Syrup Village, disguised himself as the wealthy heiress Kaya’s butler under the alias Klahadore, and patiently plotted to seize her fortune.
He was intelligent, patient, and dangerously calculating.
Unfortunately for him…
He would eventually cross paths with Usopp and Monkey D.
Luffy.
And that would mark the end of all his carefully laid plans.
It was the latter half of Haiyuan Calendar 1517.
According to Rodney’s memories, Kuro of a Hundred Plans had already been serving as Kaya’s butler under the alias Klahadore for nearly six months.
“That scheming bastard won’t be easy to deal with.” Rodney frowned slightly.
A reckless opponent was easy to defeat.
A clever one was an entirely different matter.
…
Once again, Rodney set sail.
Since he knew almost nothing about navigation, he wisely chose to follow a merchant convoy instead of sailing alone.
The sea was full of dangers.
Without proper knowledge, it was all too easy to drift into the Calm Belt or become trapped by violent storms and unpredictable currents.
The merchant vessel he accompanied happened to be transporting goods to Syrup Village and required an escort.
It was an easy job.
Not only could he safely reach his destination, but he would also earn some extra spending money along the way.
The voyage was peaceful.
The merchants stopped at several islands, buying and selling cargo before continuing their journey without encountering any trouble.
After arriving at their final stop, the captain gratefully handed Rodney 50,000 Berries as payment for his services.
From there, they continued toward Syrup Village.
Large merchant ships couldn’t dock directly at the village harbor, so everyone transferred to smaller boats before heading ashore.
— Syrup Village was known as one of the most peaceful villages in East Blue.
It was the hometown of Yasopp, the legendary sniper of the Red-Haired Pirates, as well as his son, the future Straw Hat sniper, Usopp.
The moment Rodney stepped onto the shore, a loud shout echoed throughout the village.
“Pirates!
Pirates are coming!” The voice belonged to a young boy.
Rodney instinctively looked toward the commotion.
A cloud of dust rose from the village road.
A lanky teenager wearing a headscarf, sporting an unmistakably long nose and a head of wildly curly hair, sprinted through the streets as fast as he could.
Behind him, a crowd of furious villagers chased after him with brooms, sticks, and farming tools raised high in the air.
Every face was filled with irritation.
“So that’s Usopp…” Rodney immediately recognized him.
The future sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates dashed past like a gust of wind, while the angry villagers stubbornly continued the pursuit.
Rodney casually stopped one of the men.
“He’s only a kid.
Is there really any need to chase him like that?” The villager sighed in exasperation.
“Only a kid?” “He pulls this stunt every single day!” “Once or twice would be one thing, but he runs through the village shouting ‘Pirates are coming!’ day after day.” “Anyone would lose their patience.” “Just like his father…
he’s the son of a pirate.” Rodney nodded silently.
He understood their frustration.
To the villagers, pirates were symbols of fear and tragedy.
Years ago, Yasopp had accepted Red-Haired Shanks’ invitation and left his wife and young son behind to become a pirate.
From the villagers’ perspective, he was nothing more than a husband and father who had abandoned his family.
When Usopp’s mother, Banchina, became gravely ill, she longed to see her husband one last time.
To comfort her, young Usopp ran through the village every day shouting, “Pirates are coming!” He wanted her to believe Yasopp had finally returned home.
After Banchina passed away, the lie remained.
It gradually transformed into a habit that neither he nor the villagers could escape.
Eventually, everyone in Syrup Village came to regard him as nothing more than an incorrigible liar.
Rodney asked casually, “By the way…
where does the richest family in the village live?” The villager pointed toward a magnificent mansion standing atop a nearby hill.
“That villa over there.” He suddenly became suspicious.
“…Wait.
Why are you asking?” Rodney’s appearance hardly inspired confidence.
At first glance, he looked more like a suspicious traveler than an honest bounty hunter.
Rodney smiled faintly.
“I’m a pirate hunter.” “A dangerous pirate has infiltrated this village.” The villager blinked.
“You mean that kid?
His father’s a pirate.” Rodney shook his head.
“No.” “I’m talking about a real pirate.” “Thank you.” Without another word, chakra surged into Rodney’s legs.
Shun!
His figure instantly vanished like a powerful gust of wind, leaving only scattered dust behind.
The villager rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
“…Wasn’t that guy a pirate too?” Still puzzled, he hurriedly called several others before chasing after Rodney.
Unfortunately for them, an ordinary person’s speed was nowhere near enough to catch up.
— Moments later, Rodney arrived at the rear garden of the mansion.
With a light leap, he vaulted over the wall and landed silently inside.
This was the home of Kaya, the wealthiest young heiress in Syrup Village.
It was also the hiding place of the infamous pirate…
Kuro of a Hundred Plans.
After becoming one of East Blue’s most wanted pirates, Kuro had devised an almost flawless escape.
He ordered one of his loyal subordinates to impersonate him.
Using Jango’s hypnotism, the unfortunate stand-in genuinely believed he was Captain Kuro.
The Marines surrounded and killed the fake Kuro, while the real one secretly eliminated every witness who knew the truth.
By the time the incident ended, the only surviving witness was the Marine officer responsible for the operation.
With every loose end tied up, Kuro disappeared from the world’s sight.
Officially…
Captain Kuro was dead.
In reality, he quietly arrived in Syrup Village under the identity of a shipwreck survivor who had been abandoned by his former crew.
The kind-hearted Kaya family took him in.
Over the years, he earned everyone’s trust and eventually became Kaya’s loyal butler under the name Klahadore.
Beneath that gentle smile, however, lurked one of the most calculating minds in East Blue.
Many considered him second only to Benn Beckman in intelligence.
His patience, planning, and attention to detail were truly terrifying.
Rodney slowly walked through the beautifully maintained garden.
Flowers of every color bloomed beneath the afternoon sun.
After observing the enormous estate, he quietly climbed onto a large tree overlooking the mansion.
The residence was simply too large to search carelessly.
Rather than expose himself, Rodney chose the wiser option.
He remained perfectly still, concealed among the thick leaves, silently waiting for his prey to reveal himself.
___________________________ You can read more chapters of this fanfic in Novellek website, the link is in my bio.