Chapter 03
After going out once, Yoriichi Tsugikuni returned with two tiger legs.
Yoriichi had no idea of their exact weight, but judging from their size alone, if the meat did not spoil, he probably would not need to worry about food supplies for quite some time.
However, to avoid attracting other predators with the smell of blood, Yoriichi did not bring the tiger legs directly back to the cave. Instead, he left them at the foot of the mountain, quite a distance away from the cave entrance.
At the same time, he roasted a small piece of the meat and tasted it first.
Although the bird had indirectly indicated that the meat should be edible, it was better to be cautious and test only a small piece first.
Eh?
Not bad. There was no poison.
As for the taste…
It could not be said to be delicious. In fact, it had absolutely nothing to do with the word “tasty.”
The blood had not even been properly washed away. The meat was tough, and the fishy smell was extremely strong.
However, Yoriichi was still very satisfied.
After all, this was meat.
Compared to that unknown flour paste he had eaten before, this was countless times better!
After confirming that the meat was safe to eat, Yoriichi immediately spent more than an hour roasting several kilograms of meat to fill his stomach.
He did not know what kind of structure this body had, but after eating several kilograms of tiger meat, he was only about half full.
Still, Yoriichi managed to suppress his urge to continue roasting more meat.
Instead, he built a simple smokehouse at the foot of the mountain and cut several dozen kilograms of meat, preparing to preserve them through smoking and extend their shelf life.
After spending half a day “cooking” and processing part of the meat, Yoriichi decided to put the matter aside for now and investigate the surrounding terrain.
Although the food problem had temporarily been solved, the biggest problem Yoriichi faced at this moment was not food.
It was water.
Fortunately, this most urgent problem was solved during Yoriichi’s second trip out to explore the surroundings.
After filling his stomach, Yoriichi carried his sword and once again began examining the nearby environment.
This time, he did not continue outward along the forest path.
Instead, after carefully observing the terrain, he headed toward the lowest point of the land and entered the dense forest.
“These trees are truly enormous.”
“If I don’t leave any markers, it would be very easy to get lost.”
A dense jungle could easily make someone lose their sense of direction.
To prevent this, Yoriichi moved quickly as he traveled, casually swinging the long sword in his hand.
Any flowers or plants growing too close to him were directly cut down and flattened.
Having lived another life, Yoriichi’s mentality had also become much younger.
…
“Gurgle… gurgle…”
Deep within the island, after following the slope of the land for nearly forty minutes, Yoriichi finally discovered a stream.
Looking up, it resembled a silver snake winding through the mountains.
The two sides of the stream were covered in lush green grass.
Farther away was a dense forest filled with countless giant trees that Yoriichi had never seen before.
Yoriichi stopped beside the riverbank and looked around.
He swung his sword and cut down a giant tree nearby that was thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around.
After cutting off a section of the trunk, he hollowed out the inside and made a simple container.
Then he submerged it into the stream and filled it with water.
“Hmm?!”
“Why is this water this color?!”
“And there’s a faint smell of blood?!”
After scooping up a bucket of stream water, Yoriichi suddenly noticed that under the contrast of the wooden container, the water actually appeared faintly red.
He looked toward the stream in surprise.
At some point, the stream itself had also turned a pale red.
As the water flowed downstream, the faint red gradually transformed into a deep crimson.
A thick smell of blood entered his nose.
“This…”
“What exactly happened?!”
The water source had been contaminated.
Yoriichi frowned slightly and looked upstream, trying to see if he could find anything.
After thinking briefly, he casually threw the bucket onto the riverbank, tightened his grip on the long sword, and decided to follow the stream upward to find the source of the contamination.
He had finally found a water source.
No matter what, he had to investigate the reason behind the pollution.
As long as he followed the stream and removed the source of contamination, this flowing water would become clean again within an hour.
The greatest problem he faced right now would also be solved.
…
Following the stream upstream.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Yoriichi’s vision suddenly widened.
After climbing up a slope, the dense forest had been left behind him.
But the scene before his eyes caused Yoriichi to hold his breath.
At the upper reaches of the stream was a wide open plain.
However, the land was now covered with corpses.
A rough estimate showed there were several hundred bodies.
Blood had gathered into streams, flowing into the river below.
This place…
Was clearly a battlefield.
Not far away from this battlefield was a small town filled with ruins.
Several locations inside the town were still releasing thick black smoke.
Yoriichi looked around.
A deathly silence filled the area.
He could not sense the presence of a single living creature.
At the same time, the clothing on some of the corpses immediately caught Yoriichi’s attention.
A blood-stained white cloak.
On the cloak were two thick black characters written with powerful strokes.
Those words gave Yoriichi an intense sense of familiarity.
“Justice…”
“Marines?!”
On the second day after arriving in the world of One Piece, Yoriichi had personally witnessed the cruelty of this world.
Judging from the clothing and the positions of the bodies, the “people” lying on the ground seemed to belong to two different factions.
The Marines wearing their uniforms, and the civilians holding farming tools such as pitchforks, hoes, and wooden sticks.
These two groups appeared to have been allies.
Opposing them were…
Pirates.
Pirates carrying various weapons and possessing strong physiques.
Yoriichi walked into the battlefield and looked around.
He discovered that the number of pirate corpses was far smaller than the number of Marines and civilians.
Even stranger…
Among the civilian corpses, there were no women or children.
“Did the pirates win this battle?”
“Were the women and children taken away…”
“Or did they hide somewhere?”
Crossing the horrifying battlefield, Yoriichi walked toward the ruined town in the distance while thinking.
The originally beautiful houses had become piles of rubble.
The relatively wide streets were filled with wooden carts blocking the roads.
The carts were loaded with stones.
After passing through the obstacles…
The white stone road was covered with shocking patches of crimson.
Standing in the center of the ruins, Yoriichi’s heart sank.
Even though he had not personally witnessed the villagers resisting the pirates, he could imagine the tragic scene that had occurred here.
As far as his eyes could see, there was not a single place that could be called intact.
Yoriichi entered a nearby house.
What appeared before him was a messy living room and overturned furniture.
He casually opened the bedroom door.
A strong smell of blood rushed into his nose.
The corpse on the bed caused Yoriichi’s brows to tighten.
With a sigh, he covered her body with a blanket.
Then he silently left the room.
“How tragic…”
After a simple search, Yoriichi silently walked through the entire town.
His heart was heavy.
The hand holding his sword tightened again and again.
There were no demons here.
But the cruelty of humans…
Even compared with demons, it was no less terrifying.
At the end of the town was a high cliff.
Looking out, he could see the vast ocean.
The sea breeze blew past, dispersing the smell of blood in the air.
Yoriichi silently drew his sword.
He stared at the weapon in his hand.
The matte black blade reflected a blurry image of his face.
Looking at himself reflected on the blade, his eyes moved toward the character engraved near the base of the sword.
“Destroy…”
Yoriichi finally understood.
Muttering to himself, he said:
“I think… I already know what I must do.”
“Use you to bring a little light to this world.”
“Black Blade—Dawn!”
As his words fell, dust around Yoriichi’s body began rising without wind.
A terrifying aura beyond description erupted from his body and rapidly spread in every direction.
Deep within the primitive forest, countless leaves rustled.
The waves crashing against the shore were pushed away by an invisible force, rolling backward toward the distant sea.
…
Several thousand meters away, on the ocean.
A dog-headed Marine battleship was rapidly sailing toward Dragon Roar Island.
A middle-aged man wearing a black suit and possessing a thick beard stood at the bow with his arms crossed.
The Marine cloak of “Justice” on his shoulders fluttered wildly in the wind.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, a terrifying wave of power arrived from afar.
The ocean current, which had originally been flowing in the same direction as the ship, completely reversed at that moment.
Feeling this overwhelming presence, the middle-aged man was slightly stunned.
Then he grinned.
“Conqueror’s Haki!”
“I never expected that such a person would appear even in the small East Blue!”
“The disappearance of Unit E-23… was that guy’s doing?”
“HAHAHAHA!”
“Interesting!”
“He actually dares to attack the Marines.”
“I absolutely won’t let you get away with this!”
While the middle-aged man muttered to himself, a Marine soldier hurriedly ran behind him.
After giving a standard military salute, he loudly reported:
“Vice Admiral Garp!”
“An unknown ocean current suddenly appeared. If we continue according to our original route, there may be unexpected danger.”
“What should we do?”
“Should we change course?”
Hearing this, Garp slightly turned his head.
With a smile, he replied:
“No need to worry about it.”
“Maintain the current course.”
“The current will return to normal soon.”
…………………………
