Chapter 1: The Wine Tastes Terrible, Sentence Them All to Death
Year 1500 of the Sea Calendar, off the coast of the Sabaody Archipelago.
The weather was anything but pleasant; a storm raged over the vast ocean. A navy warship sailed through the choppy waters.
"Reporting, Lieutenant Commander Michael! Two kilometers to the northeast, we've spotted a suspicious vessel. No merchant or pirate flags, significantly larger than a civilian vessel, and with hidden gun ports. Preliminary assessment: smuggling ship."
Michael, lounging idly on the couch, perked up at the report. He gave a curt order, "Close in on them. Prepare to board and inspect. Load up the rounds, and if they resist, engage in close-range sweeping fire. No cannon fire."
"Aye, Lieutenant Commander Michael."
The navy officer saluted and left to pass on the orders.
Michael gazed through the window at the endless ocean and sighed with a mix of boredom and frustration. "Why did I have to end up in the One Piece world?"
Yes, Michael was a transmigrator – a person from another world who had found himself in this reality, and to make matters worse, without any kind of support system. But perhaps due to his transmigration, his strength, speed, and even his Haki training progressed at an extraordinary rate. His stamina was seemingly boundless.
Even so, Michael's life hadn't been an easy one. After losing his parents, he had an uncomfortable childhood and only found stability by joining the Navy.
The four seas stirred with chaos, and the Grand Line was as mysterious and treacherous as always. As a reader, an outsider, Michael had once loved the epic story of One Piece. But now, as a player within this world, he found it rotten to the core.
A corrupt government, a ruling class that embraced slavery, pirates rampaging across the seas, and gangsters exploiting civilians. Even the Navy was reduced to mere lapdogs of the World Government, disgracing the very concept of "justice."
The creator of the manga had illustrated the hot-blooded adventure on the surface but had hidden the darkness and brutality between the lines. Now, patrolling near Sabaody, he had encountered a smuggling vessel. The reason he had forbidden cannon fire was that he couldn't be certain whether the cargo… consisted of "living beings."
Any fans familiar with One Piece lore knew that Sabaody's most profitable business was human trafficking – a high-reward, low-risk trade.
Michael got up from the couch and headed to the deck. Smuggling ships were no match for a Navy warship. The difference in power was like that between a wooden sailboat and a steel behemoth. If not for the existence of strange powers in this world, the Navy would have already conquered the entire sea.
In no time, the Navy ship had caught up to the smuggler, and the crew relayed Michael's orders through a loudspeaker. "Slow down and prepare to be boarded for a routine inspection. Cooperate, and this will go smoothly."
The ship showed no signs of fleeing or resisting. It obediently came to a stop, though Michael kept his guard up, taking a group of soldiers to board it.
"Heh heh heh! Esteemed Navy officer, we're just doing honest business here. Please, feel free to inspect." A short, shady man greeted Michael with a creepy smile, bowing obsequiously.
Michael narrowed his eyes, sensing a subtle air of arrogance behind the man's servile demeanor. "What's your name?"
"Jerome, sir. I'm delivering goods to a pet store."
"A pet store?" Michael glanced skeptically at the thuggish men standing behind Jerome. He gestured toward the locked hold. "Open all the compartments."
"Yes, yes, right this way."
Jerome led the way with the same creepy grin, opening the doors. Lightning split the stormy sky, illuminating the hold. Inside were over a hundred people, classified and caged by race.
Even Michael was taken aback by the sheer number of captives. He had raided slave ships before but had never seen one so brazen about it.
"Jerome, is this your idea of legitimate business? Which pet store are these for?"
"Heh heh heh! Tell me, sir, is there really a difference between a pet and a slave?"
Michael raised his hand, signaling his men to raise their guns, aiming them at the crew around them. But Jerome showed no fear, and with a smug smile, he spoke, "Now, now, let's not be hasty. You wouldn't want to regret this, would you?"
"Regret?" Michael's eyes darkened. "Capturing scum like you is something I'll never regret."
"Sir, I wouldn't be so sure. This batch was pre-ordered by the Celestial Dragons."
The mention of the Celestial Dragons made some of the soldiers hesitate. Jerome, seeing their reaction, tugged at the word "Justice" on Michael's navy coat and offered, "How about this? If you let us go, I'll give you ten percent of the auction profits."
Michael looked at the despair in the captives' eyes, slowly turned to Jerome, and replied, "Twenty percent, final offer. Deal?"
"Heh heh heh! You drive a hard bargain, but I like dealing with greedy people."
Michael ordered his soldiers back to the Navy ship. Once alone with Jerome, he asked, "Got any wine? To celebrate our cooperation."
"Of course, we have the finest wine!" Jerome eagerly grabbed two bottles.
Michael took a sip and sighed. He couldn't hold back his temper any longer.
He smashed the bottle over Jerome's head with a wicked smile. "Celestial Dragons? Forget it. If other marines want to be their dogs, that's their problem. I'll never bow down."
He spread his angelic white wings, and a divine light pierced through the storm clouds, purifying the deck in brilliant, bone-white flames.
"Wine tastes terrible. Sentence them all to death."
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