The year 1518 of the Sea Calendar.
East Blue, the sea area near Marine Branch 152.
Inside the underground treasure room of a wealthy mansion on Ander Island.
"Is this you?"
Holding a blade in one hand, Hiroto held up a yellowed bounty poster with the other, comparing it to the girl in front of him.
"That's not me." The girl said with a forced smile.
"This is definitely you." Hiroto glanced at the face on the bounty poster again and spoke with certainty.
It wasn't just the bounty poster, he had a deep memory of this face from his previous life.
"The boss said that if we encounter the person on this bounty poster, we must chop her into pieces and kill her by a thousand cuts. Right, boss?"
Behind Hiroto, a pot-bellied middle-aged man grinned. "That would be such a pity. This Cat Burglar is so good-looking, we can't let her go to waste."
"Hiroto, I'm not like a genius like you. I came from a poor background, so I know the value of thriftiness. I usually won't even let a single grain of rice in my bowl go to waste."
Hiroto understood the character of the wealthy merchant behind him. Calling him 'benevolent' would be a stretch, he wasn't even human.
"However, I haven't seen this lady next to her before. Why does she look like she has a grudge against me, Ryder?"
The wealthy merchant, Ryder, had a face full of interest.
There were four people in the treasure room.
Himself.
Hiroto, the swordsman he had recruited as a thug whom no disturbance could escape.
And the Cat Burglar, Nami, who had stolen from him once and actually dared to come a second time.
Plus... a rare beauty who looked enticing.
"Ryder, your notoriety is known to everyone. You will be executed sooner or later." The unfamiliar beautiful girl cursed fiercely.
Beside her, Nami broke into a cold sweat instantly. "Carina, calm down."
"I can't calm down!"
Carina shouted recklessly, but her eyes quietly glanced at Hiroto as she said in one breath, "Ryder, do you think no one knows about your bastardly deeds?"
"You kidnap children and smuggle people in the East Blue. What you do is much worse than the two of us thieves. You also... also..."
"Also like to 'act like a man'."
Ryder finished her sentence with a smile, then said, "That's just a personal hobby of mine. No matter how much you try, my guard won't turn against me. The conditions I offer can buy even a person's soul."
"Perhaps you should listen to Hiroto's famous saying. Then you'll understand how futile your efforts are."
"If money is gone, you can earn more. If your conscience is gone, you earn even more."
Hiroto nodded expressionlessly, his eyes sizing up Carina.
This girl's intelligence didn't seem as high as it was in the movie. Is it because she hasn't experienced enough to learn from her mistakes yet?
That's right.
This thief traveling with Nami was the songstress from One Piece Film: Gold.
She used to hang around the East Blue just like Nami, and they had cooperated to steal from a Treasure Hunter's vault.
After Nami was caught by the Treasure Hunter, she abandoned Nami and ran away, though from later descriptions, it seemed to be a scheme to save them both.
"Yes, that's the line. I really appreciate your intelligence, Hiroto. Talents like you who share my views are too rare." Ryder laughed loudly.
"You... you guys..."
Carina's eyes widened, and she said indignantly, "Birds of a feather indeed. Neither of you is any good."
"Stop talking, Carina. I don't want to die here."
Nami was on the verge of tears. She tried her best to keep a straight face and revealed the tattoo on her fair left shoulder.
"If... if you kill me, the Arlong Pirates won't let you off."
"Arlong Pirates?" Ryder frowned, looking at Hiroto.
"It's fake." Hiroto said without changing his expression.
"The Arlong Pirates' territory is near Marine Branch 16. I've dealt with people over there. Their members are all Fishmen. Humans are lower-class citizens there, let alone joining the Arlong Pirates."
"You dare lie to me?"
Ryder whipped his head around, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.
Then he suddenly smiled warmly again. "But it's fine. I won't get angry—getting angry at ingredients is a mistake only low-class chefs make."
"Ah..."
Nami was dumbfounded.
The name of the Arlong Pirates didn't always work. She had encountered more than one situation where it was useless, and even many who knew about them but didn't care at all.
But this was the first time she'd seen someone who clearly knew about the Arlong Pirates but spoke such nonsense.
Carina pursed her lips and said nothing, her heart filled with regret.
If she had known, she wouldn't have listened to Nami about taking the treasure here and then looking for a Treasure Hunter's vault. Now it looked like they wouldn't be getting out at all.
"Speaking of which, I haven't cooked in a long time. It just so happens an old friend is coming today. Although she doesn't like to eat, Hiroto, would you like to taste my skills while you're at it?"
Ryder said with a smile, "This isn't a treatment just anyone gets."
Hiroto shook his head. "I'll pass. I can't get past this hurdle. Boss, since things are settled, what about the payment?"
"Don't worry, you can trust me. I've already looked into the places you wanted to check, and the ship you asked for is ready, docked at the island's port."
:The money is no problem, but as for the weapon... after all, you want a Graded Blade, which is actually very difficult to manage."
Ryder pretended to be troubled. "However, I know many kingdom nobles. Perhaps they have what you want."
"But... although I can pay, these nobles aren't necessarily short on cash. Maybe you'll have to do something for them."
"Is that so?"
Hiroto sighed. "What a shame. I thought I could gain a bit more, but this should be enough for now."
"Hahaha, I'm really sorry. If there's anything else you want, Hiroto, just say it and I'll get it for you as compensation." Ryder laughed in high spirits.
After all, having secured this expert, he might even gain the upper hand in the meeting with that old friend today. It would save him from that super-strong woman acting all high and mighty every day, even though he was the one paying the bills.
'Forget it, I shouldn't think about that unlucky iron gorilla.'
Ryder turned to look at the two women kneeling before him and began to imagine how he would enjoy the banquet tonight.
'What do we do?'
'Don't move yet. That man is very strange.'
Nami and Carina exchanged secret glances and finally quieted down.
Waiting for death was definitely not an option, but they weren't confident about successfully escaping in front of the man with the blade.
This man...
He was terrifyingly sharp.
Just then, Hiroto shrugged and took Ryder up on his polite offer. "I do. I want to borrow something from you, boss."
"What?"
"I'd like to borrow your head."
An abrupt flash of a blade swept through the room.
Ryder's smile froze on his face as he felt the world spin. His perspective shifted, and a headless corpse with a smooth cut on the neck, gushing a large amount of fresh blood, appeared in his sight.
Is that... me?
A flurry of images flashed through Ryder's mind.
From his difficult childhood to discarding his bottom line to grab blood-stained berries step by step, becoming a wealthy smuggler who dominated a region.
He hadn't made a single wrong move. Why... why would the other party betray him?
It shouldn't be. There was no reason.
All the confusion and anger froze at this moment.
Replacing them was...
[Distortion Energy acquired.]
An abrupt message appeared in his eyes, which Hiroto skipped over as if he were used to it.
He wiped the blood off the blade with Ryder's clothes and then looked at the two dumbfounded people in front of him.
The two girls shuddered simultaneously, as if they had realized something.
But just as they were about to speak, Hiroto interrupted them, "I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious yet. Let me check my gains first."
As he spoke, a deep blue light screen appeared in Hiroto's eyes.
[Name: Hiroto]
[Age: 21]
[Strength: E+ (The level of overpowering a pirate with a bounty of several million)]
[Agility: E (The level of a pirate with a bounty of several million)]
[Constitution: E (Even dozens of ordinary marines from a Marine Branch can't take you down)]
[Perception: E (You can sense obvious potential crises)]
[Held Entries: Transmigrator (Rainbow), Gluttony (Orange), Incoming Chaos (Purple), Swordsman (Green)]
[Note: Small fry, no more words needed]
The slightly sharp evaluation was a precise judgment of his strength.
About a month had passed since Hiroto had transmigrated to the One Piece World. During this time, he had roughly understood the various pieces of information on the panel.
First was the attribute rating, with the highest being EX-rank, which meant unmeasurable. Below that were S, A, B, C, D, E, F, and other ratings—a clichéd but quite intuitive and common classification.
A minus sign meant it wasn't enough to reach the corresponding rating but was higher than the next rating down.
A plus sign meant the value was doubled.
F+ = F+F
F++ = F+F+F
The entry levels from highest to lowest were: Rainbow, Red, Gold, Orange, Purple, Blue, Green, White.
That's right, this was Hiroto's cheat.
Thinking back to a month ago, he was still a young modern corporate slave, working an ordinary job.
He felt that life in the big city was too hard, and when he went home, he was even pressured to marry. At that time, he was even prepared to accept the fact that he was an ordinary person.
But... a small accident happened.