Wipe out a kingdom in three years?
A non-affiliated kingdom?
And the Marines did it?
Tashigi felt the situation was absurd, the victor was actually spouting such reversed black-and-white nonsense.
Was there any need for that?
Yet when she looked up at Hiroto, she suddenly caught a glimpse of... pity?
Tashigi's breath caught, instinct told her he was telling the truth.
At least the truth as he saw it.
But how could that be?
The just Marines she believed in would never do such a thing.
"Believe it or not, you can investigate for yourself. Though whether you'll survive the investigation, I can't say."
Hiroto pointed to the Marines outside. "Right now, instead of fighting to the death, you'd better think about your comrades out there and Smoker."
"For my own reasons, I don't plan to kill you, but I'm not letting you off easily, either."
"You like collecting swords, right? Bring me your collection and they'll live, we'll call it settled for now."
"After that, whether you keep chasing me is up to you."
Tashigi stayed silent for a moment, then forced herself to step… toward the exit.
In the end, she chose to compromise.
Hiroto watched her leave, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
He wondered if the hints he'd dropped would push Tashigi to dig deeper and let him glimpse how tightly the Knights of God or even the Celestial Dragons, gripped the Marines as a whole.
'Forget it, just a casual move on the board.' Hiroto shook his head and stopped thinking.
...
Tashigi moved quickly. By afternoon she delivered the Grade Blade hanazuru and took the wounded Marines away.
Smoker wasn't among them—he was still nailed to the tree trunk.
Hiroto wouldn't leave the island until Smoker could cause no more trouble.
Later, Merry contacted Binmock. Once sure they only wanted the ship, they handed the Going Merry over to Hiroto. They then watched Hiroto and the others sail out of port with the half-dead Smoker.
Kaya stared blankly as Hiroto's ship disappeared, a deeper sense of loss welling inside. But she shook her head, pushing down the flutter in her heart.
That man had saved her from Kuro, in truth rescuing her and her whole family.
He had also slain Kuro, the killer of her parents, a dazzling figure whose name now rang across the seas.
Like the gallant knights or dashing swordsmen in stories, a name people would remember.
But she was no princess, no rich young lady destined to meet such swordsmen. Someone else still lived in her memory.
'Still, I'll remember the name Hiroto for the rest of my life.' Kaya thought quietly, her soft golden hair dancing in the sea breeze.
—
Aboard the Going Merry, Carina hurried to Hiroto, who was leaning on the rail.
She glanced at the harbor and teased, "Captain Hiroto, leaving just like that?"
Hiroto gave her an odd look. "What else? Stay and let the Marines wrap us up like dumplings?"
Carina rolled her eyes. "I meant that pretty young lady."
Hiroto shrugged it off. "Just the suspension-bridge effect."
Carina stressed, "She's a real beauty."
"If you're worried I'll fall for her, move fast. Don't regret it later."
Hiroto refused to follow her rhythm and turned the tease back, making Carina's cheeks flush.
After a few more exchanges, Hiroto strolled away.
Nami bounced around, getting to know this fine ship.
Zoro, meanwhile, was gloomy. He hadn't fought anyone this trip, how could he surpass Hiroto this way?
Just then, Hiroto walked over and tossed him a sheathed longsword.
"Grade Blade Hanazuru, spoils of this battle. It's yours."
Zoro was surprised. "Just like that? I didn't do anything worth mentioning."
Hiroto clapped his shoulder. "Plenty of chances. Sailing with me, nine fights in three days is normal."
Come to think of it, ever since cutting down Ryder, he'd either been fighting or on his way to a fight.
"…"
After a pause, Zoro didn't refuse.
A quiet warmth rose in him and his regard for Hiroto grew even stronger.
By now, he understood Hiroto well—this was definitely not someone he could dislike.
"See ya."
Hiroto left, glancing at Johnny and Yosaku bustling around as helpers. They were the very picture of beasts of burden.
He found it odd—they'd shown no sign of leaving, determined to follow Zoro. Still, they filled a valuable manpower gap, sparing him from chores.
After warning them of the risks, he let them stay when they insisted.
Seven people in all, the Going Merry felt a bit cramped.
So the two women bunked together, Zoro with Johnny and Yosaku, while Hiroto kept the Captain's cabin to himself. There was still enough space overall.
Inside the cabin, Hiroto sat on the bunk and called up the panel—time to cash in his gains.
He'd beaten Smoker, taken Tashigi's Shigure and Hanazuru.
He'd killed Kuro and changed Syrup Village's storyline.
The real jackpot, though, was seizing the Going Merry—erasing Merry's spirit from the plot.
And with Usopp losing the pressure, he might never set sail.
So many canon changes, what would they yield?
Hiroto rubbed his hands in anticipation as the panel appeared.
He tapped the Transmigrator entry, then clicked Extract.
A blazing orange interface flashed.
[Entry: Genius Trader]
[Quality: Orange]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: Designate a target for investment, materializing your own entry onto them. Effect is half the original, your entry remains unchanged.
When the round ends, siphon 10%–100% of any improvement the target makes, depending on investment length.]
[Cost: Stamina]
[Remark: I'm putting money into this project!]
Hiroto carefully read the description of Genius Trader and grasped its power.
Designating a target meant no consent required.
Materializing his entry without losing it meant zero cost to himself.
Most crucially, he could siphon up to 100% of any gains the target achieved.
Say he found Luffy right now and invested Steel-Severing Slash, setting the term to maximum—100%.
Whatever gains Luffy achieved during this period would be split with Hiroto at the end.
Bluntly: slap it on Luffy before Onigashima, then wait.
Upon payout, Luffy's advances in Conqueror's Haki—100% would be siphoned.
Of course, Luffy was too far away. But right now, Hiroto had a perfect target.
Zoro!