Chapter 2: The Castaway
“Near Water Seven, huh. Looks like I’m on the right track.”
Su Xiao was feeling quite irritated. The map he had purchased indicated that the entry point was Water Seven, six days before the storyline began.
But the teleportation point wasn’t on the island of Water Seven itself; it was in the nearby sea.
Compared to other time periods in the One Piece world, the Water Seven timeframe was very suitable for Su Xiao. There were no Logia-type Devil Fruit users here, nor enemies too powerful to resist.
Although Azure Steel Shadow might be able to harm Logia users, those kinds of enemies weren’t something he could handle right now.
For example, someone like Enel—Su Xiao had no chance of victory against an opponent of that level.
Swimming through the sea, Su Xiao received the general location of Water Seven.
Although the starting point was somewhat exasperating, Su Xiao’s mood gradually improved as he thought about his subsequent actions.
His trial world had been One Piece. Back then, he was far too weak and had to rely on schemes and tricks to complete his missions.
If it were the current Su Xiao, he would simply draw his blade and charge in. This wasn’t foolishness—why make things so complicated when you already have the strength?
Isn’t becoming stronger precisely to achieve goals more easily? If you have power but still act restrained, then getting stronger is meaningless.
Swimming in the clear seawater, a fire ignited within Su Xiao. He silently roared in his heart: ‘One Piece world, I, Su Hunsan, am back!’
After swimming for a long time, the surroundings were still an endless ocean. How frustrating was that? The “nearby sea” that Reincarnation Paradise had indicated was far too “nearby.”
Taking a deep breath, Su Xiao continued swimming toward Water Seven. He remained vigilant in the sea; the waters of the One Piece world were not safe, with various giant creatures being a common sight.
……
The sun was bright, and a few white seagulls flew over the sea surface. A three-masted ship sailed across the waves.
The three-masted ship was entirely wooden, about twenty meters long, with a slender hull and a ram at the bow. This was a fast ship, and only one type of person used such vessels: pirates!
This kind of fast ship had extremely poor cargo capacity but was very fast, making it perfect for chasing merchant vessels.
The sea breeze blew the black sails, which were full of holes. These holes were about the thickness of a finger, densely covering the sails, likely punctured by lead shot.
This pirate ship sailed very slowly across the sea, its hull covered in scars. The entire ship creaked and groaned, as if it might fall apart at any moment.
This pirate crew had been in a firefight with enemies for several days. Some parts had been roughly patched up, and one secondary yardarm had been broken, which was why the ship was so slow.
On the bow deck, the highest point of the deck, a one-eyed pirate pulled open his telescope and peered into the distance with his narrow, vicious eye.
“C-Captain… how much longer until we reach Water Seven? The *Grim Wolf* can’t hold out much longer.”
A pirate on the lower deck asked timidly. Dozens of other pirates stood nearby, their eyes full of anticipation. These pirates were dressed in various clothes, but they all shared one trait: they were gaunt and sallow, all wounded, with many missing arms or legs. Some pirates had festering wounds and were cutting away the rotten flesh with their cutlasses.
“Shut up.”
The one-eyed captain’s voice was hoarse and low. His throat must have been injured, likely a cut throat.
When the one-eyed captain spoke, those pirates backed away fearfully, their heads immediately drooping.
To become a captain required great strength, extreme brutality, or personal charisma.
This one-eyed captain clearly belonged to the former category. He ruled the ship with a brutal style. A black eyepatch, and if he also had a hook for a hand, he would look even more like a pirate.
Eight days ago, the *Grim Wolf Pirates* had encountered another pirate crew at sea. There was no negotiation or communication; they simply fired cannons at each other’s ships. This was the “etiquette” of pirates meeting.
After this “friendly” exchange of cannon fire, the *Grim Wolf Pirates* didn’t even get a chance to board. The enemy’s firepower was too fierce, so they fled.
Relying on sheer dumb luck, the *Grim Wolf Pirates* managed to escape and began drifting at sea.
Food and drinking water had long since been exhausted. Worse, the captain’s quarters had been blown apart, and that was where the preserved fruits were stored.
What was most important at sea? The answer was fresh water and fruit.
Fresh water was the top priority, fruit second. If you didn’t consume vitamin C for a long time, you would get scurvy, and that meant death.
Vegetables and fruits contain vitamin C, but vegetables are hard to preserve and expensive, so pirates usually carried fruit. Apples and green oranges were good choices.
Now, the *Grim Wolf Pirates* were in this predicament: infected wounds, lack of fresh water, no fruit, insufficient bandages and medicine.
Fortunately, they were not far from Water Seven, which prevented a mutiny on board. Otherwise, even the one-eyed captain couldn’t have suppressed these pirates.
Life at sea was extremely boring, let alone in this situation. The entire ship was like a powder keg, ready to explode with just a single spark.
A few pirates walked out of the cabin, blood at the corners of their mouths, chewing something, their gazes numb.
“Captain, found a castaway.”
A loud shout caught the attention of all the pirates on board.
“A castaway? Man or woman?”
The one-eyed captain asked. Whether male or female, both were useful to the current *Grim Wolf Pirates*. Men could be eaten as food, and women had even more uses.
“It’s a man, about twenty years old, no weapons.”
“A man, huh…”
The one-eyed captain’s tone was somewhat disappointed. In the month since they had set sail, the only female they had seen was a news bird delivering newspapers.
“Fish him up and lock him in the hold. Emergency rations are running low. I don’t know how much further it is to Water Seven. We only have the direction, not the distance.”
Men were caught and kept as emergency rations. Women would be toyed with first, then become emergency rations.
These pirates would eat people when they were starving. In fact, they were already doing so, eating their more severely injured companions.
In the sea, Su Xiao was still swimming forward with all his might. Suddenly, his perception detected a massive object. Turning his head, he saw a ship sailing toward him.
After seeing the ship’s flag, Su Xiao’s expression changed. A black flag—pirates.
He didn’t know the enemy’s strength yet, but one thing was certain: these pirates were not coming with good intentions. The ship was heading straight for him, clearly intending to ram him.
Su Xiao took a deep breath, sank his body, and dove into the seawater.
The scene before him changed. The surroundings were a vast blue. The seawater was clear, with the occasional fish swimming by.
The bottom of the sailboat came into view. After hesitating for a few seconds, Su Xiao chose not to damage the ship. It was a decent means of transportation, even if it was somewhat battered.
On the pirate ship, several pirates stood by the railing, looking down into the sea as if searching for something. They held long iron hooks with barbs, ready to hook Su Xiao onto the ship. An ordinary person hit by such a weapon would be crippled or killed.
“Did we hit him? We didn’t crush him, did we?”
“No, the ship is slow. At most, he’s knocked out. Keep him alive. Dead meat isn’t fresh.”
These pirates could no longer be called human. They had never been good people to begin with. After committing evil deeds, they fled to the sea to escape the pursuit of the World Government and the Marines.
Just as these pirates were searching for Su Xiao with their iron hooks, a grappling hook suddenly burst out of the sea, firmly embedding itself in the ship’s railing.
In the sea, Su Xiao tightened the Realm Severing Thread, his entire body being pulled upward. Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand, and Azure Steel Shadow was instantly activated.
The enemy’s strength was unknown, so caution was necessary. After all, this was the One Piece world.
With a splash, Su Xiao burst out of the seawater and landed directly on the ship’s railing. He grabbed the outer edge of the railing with one hand and flipped onto the deck.
“Quick! This guy is no ordinary! Kill him!”
A pirate roared, and dozens of nearby pirates surged forward, brandishing their cutlasses.