My Journey In One Piece!

"KahaKaha! Ya can't keep dodging, brat!" I ignored the taunt, focusing instead on dodging a sweeping kick from the wild kid. 'This kid is slow.' I tilted my head as he flew past me trying a flying kick, while the sound of the pirates cheering and laughing, drinking made my teeth grit at the insanity of it all. 'Kruff made it clear, either me or this kid.' Sweat dripped down the back of my neck as I raised my arms to swat away a bag of flour the kid threw at me, temporarily blinding me. 'System, what happens if I fail the required quest?!'

I heard the system as I blindly dodged a slash that nicked my throat. I responded by grabbing the kid's shorter arm and throwing him over me into barrels of alcohol.

*Ding!*

^System Response!^ [Failure to complete the required quest will result in failure. Failure results in the loss of the Mercenary Life forever!]

'What if I kill the kid and end up forced to be a pirate?' I froze for a moment as my thought caught up to me and the kid capitalized on that, slashing at my raised arm. I frowned, not from the pain but from the act itself.

*Ding!*

^System Response!^ [The Pirate Life is not one that can not be changed, and must be thought of carefully!]

I gritted my teeth as I blocked the knife, allowing it to puncture my hand. I gripped the blade and swept the kid's legs out from under him. He used my hand as leverage and kicked me in the chin, stunning me for a moment before spitting in my eye.

'Fucker!'

With more force than I meant to, I grabbed the kid's face and dragged him across the boat's floorboards, sending him crashing into another table. The pirates laughed again. 'Is there no other way?' I thought, wiping the spit from my eye. I gripped the dagger tucked into my pants as I was not planning on using it with a grimace, I lowered myself as the kid charged again, this time with two daggers in hand.

'I'm so sorry, kid.'I pushed weight into my toes, appearing in front of the kid before he could react, aiming my dagger for his skull, planning for a quick death. I froze as his eyes gained a look of clarity and he whispered to me. "I only wanted to see my sister again.."

I froze, the tip of the short blade barely puncturing the kid's head. Then, looking down I felt something cold pierce my chest.

'F-fuck..'

Coughing, I watched as blood poured out of my throat, along with Mobile Inventory.

"KahaKaha! A shame you lost, brat!" Kruff's words were a blur, as my eye locked onto the kid's smiling face. He reached up, gripping my hair and pulling my face close to his. "I could've ended that fight whenever I wanted."

The world blurred further. As the sound around me died out, a crackling voice echoed in my mind.

[Warning! Blood Instinct has been activated!]

~Kruff Stuffy POV~

"KahaKaha! You did it again, Captain!"The true Captain of our crew merely scoffed, turning away from the falling body. But my eyes widened in horror as the Captain's head was decapitated. Standing there was the brat we had picked up, his messy black hair casting a shadow over his eyes.

"What are you waiting for?!" I shouted, pointing at the brat. "Kill him!"

The others charged and I sprinted out of the cabin, heading upstairs to grab my sword. But I froze as mangled corpses burst through the deck.

'Wha—'

The years of sailing the seas and the battles I'd survived kicked i, and I jumped back just as bloodied arms erupted from the deck. Grabbing a nearby cutlass, I readied myself.

"How are you alive, brat?!"

I received no response, only a freakish, mocking grin from the brat. He pulled his arms back the cracking of bones filling the air as his eye locked onto me. His eye causing a shiver to run down my back along with the canines that stretched farther than normal.

"Y-you brat!"

Gritting my teeth, I used my Devil Fruit powers and I couldn't help but grin as I saw the brat's eye widen in shock.

"KahaKaha! I ate the Ant Ant No Mi, Model: Bullant!"

The transformation was complete. I let out a screech, hoping to stun him before blitzing behind him.

"Kaha! You probably don't know this, brat, but bullants can jump much higher than normal ants, and they have venom that can—"

I was cut off as a kick to my stomach sent me reeling back. I looked up and found the brat already in front of me, gripping my mandibles, which were now cutting into his hand.

'W-what is he—'

I tried to get up as I realised what he was doing, keeping my mandibles as close together as I could, feeling him pry them apart.

"W-wait!"

My words died in my throat as I looked into his eye. He opened his mouth and before I could do anything, he ripped off my mandibles and bit into my shoulder that was hardened by my Devil Fruit.

"Ack!"

I kicked him off me, but he disappeared before I could regain my stance. Suddenly, I felt something dig into my spine. Turning, I saw the brat with a black snake wrapped around his torso and an iron sword that was digging into the gaps between the plating of my hardened body.

"YOU—"

I didn't get another word out. In the blink of an eye, I was staring up at the sky.

'Wha—'

The brat's voice cut through my thoughts, calm and mocking.

"Bang."

That was the last thing I heard.

~Scene Change~

*Ding!*

^System Alerts!^ [Host has completed the required Quest for the Mercenary life! Reward: Status unlocked]

I ignored the heat beating down on me as I lay on the deck of the ship, staring at the grey panel. 'What the fuck happened?' My memories were a complete blur, the last thing I remembered was- 'Oh, god.' I rolled over onto my forearms, throwing up whatever was left in my system. Images of me cutting and ripping people apart flashed in my mind.

"Fuck—blegh!"

I threw up more, feeling Mobile Inventory slither around my leg. I quickly rolled away from the mess.

"Fuck..."

I rested my blood stained hand over my face, staying like that for what felt like hours. Eventually, I realized I had to get up and eat something or I'd roast under the sun.

As I got up, I looked around and saw body parts scattered about, which made me feel sick again. I quickly closed my eye and took a deep breath, wincing at the taste of blood that clung to the ocean air.

"All right..." I sighed, rolling my sore shoulders before walking to the mess deck to grab something to eat while thinking about what happened.

'Last thing I clearly remember was the system's voice announcing something.' I frowned, pushing the door to the cabin open as I called out to the system.

"System, Skills."

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#Skill Tab#

̶O̶̶b̶̶s̶̶e̶̶r̶̶v̶̶a̶̶t̶̶i̶̶o̶̶n̶: Locked

????: Locked

Blood Instinct

Pathfinder's Veil

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My eyes narrowed as I tapped on Blood Instinct and Pathfinder's Veil, causing their descriptions to open.

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#Skill Information#

Name: Blood Instinct (Passive)

Level: Max

When the user is on the brink of death and facing an overwhelming threat,

this skill activates, sharply enhancing their physical abilities and instinctive reactions.

The user will be solely focused on eliminating the threat, disregarding pain, fear and even the will to survive.

Requirements:

>Close to death

>The threat must be overwhelming and beyond normal combat capabilities.

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#Skill Information#

Binding Vow Name: Pathfinder's Veil (Passive)

Level: 1/?

In exchange for the user never being able to see out of their left eye,

they gain the ability to perceive the path required to reach their goal.

This path manifests as a faint, ethereal string or smoke that guides the user,

showing the most efficient way forward.

Requirements:

>None

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I eyed the skills for a moment before slumping. "So I have a berserker skill? Just fucking great..." Noticing some food in a pot, I began eating it with my hands, ignoring the blood smeared on them. 'I mean, it's not all bad... except for the "will to survive" part...' Sighing, I finished the food in mere moments and walked out of the mess deck, heading into my cabin which had been left untouched. I let out a light snort before shaking my head as I changed out of my clothes, opting for a pair of loose black pants and nothing else.

As I exited my cabin, I looked out to the ocean and saw a faint white line at the bow of the ship that stretched farther than I could see. 'Guess that's where I need to head for land.' Shrugging, I grimaced as I looked at the bodies still littered around the ship. 'They really do look no different than animals once they're dead.' I shook my head, pushing the thought aside and began the disgusting job of cutting off their heads. I had remembered the pirates had a bounty that I could hopefully cash in. 'So gross.'

~Scene Change~

After three hours of vomiting and decapitating heads, which I threw into a barrel, I was now somewhat successfully steering a ship. 'Not bad, Kai. Not bad at all.' I had to admit, I was mildly impressed with myself. Even with a skill aiding me I'd thought navigating a ship would be far more challenging, but here I was sailing smoothly.

"Thank fuck I made that Binding Vow!" I shouted, letting go of the ship's wheel before heading down to my cabin. I'd moved some of the pirates old gear there, after all they wouldn't be needing it anymore.

"Am I getting over killing humans too fast?" I muttered, scratching my chin. With a shrug, I turned my attention to the pile of items. Guns, swords and two things that immediately caught my eye, Devil Fruits.

'A fruit that can grant a person the greatest of abilities...' I sighed, slouching as my mind drifted back to my earlier excitement when I had first found them. I had bitten into one of the fruits, only for the system to inform me I couldn't gain Devil Fruit powers.

"Well, maybe I can trick people into thinking I have Devil Fruit powers if they see me eat one." I wasn't sure how that would play out, but the idea had potential to be amusing. Shaking my head to clear the thought, my gaze landed on a greatsword.

It had silver edges with black metal running down its length and it was slightly wider than a typical great sword. Its height when including the black handle was almost up to my shoulders.

'While I'm not entirely sure how tall I am anymore, I'd guess the sword is around 6'2or 6'3.'

I shrugged and picked it up in one hand, swinging it carefully in the limited space. 'I'll keep it.'

Turning to Mobile Inventory, who was lazily sprawled out on the bed, I chucked the sword at them. They opened their mouth wide and the blade slid in with ease.

Glancing back at the rest of the pile, I decided to sort it out later. Everything that had happened today had drained me. 'The ship should be fine if I take a quick nap.'

With that thought, I laid down beside Mobile Inventory, closing my eye and letting exhaustion take over.

{Kai}

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Chapter Release Schedule:

Monday: Chapter 1 - Tier 1

Tuesday: Chapter 2 - Tier 1

Wednesday: Chapter 1 - Free / Chapter 3 - Tier 1 

Thursday: Chapter 2 - Free / Chapter 4 - Tier 1 <- Today

Friday: Chapter 5 - Tier 1