Three days had passed since Buck's execution.
In the open-air training grounds of the Marine base, the sunlight was fierce.
Whish—!
A swift flash of blade-light drew a cold arc through the air, precisely slicing a falling leaf atop a wooden stake. The stake itself remained perfectly still, not a single vibration disturbing it.
Aiden slowly sheathed his blade, exhaling a long breath of turbid air.
In just three short days, the [Swordsmanship · Intermediate] he had exchanged from the shop had been completely "synchronized."
With the system's support, his daily progress was comparable to months of grueling training for an average person.
Now, his sword skill had firmly reached the [Intermediate] level.
"The proficiency for Marksmanship should be finished in a day or two as well."
"Physique... it feels like I'm almost at the next level."
Over the past few days, Aiden had performed two more instances of [Physical Improvement] by executing newly captured pirates. Though they were only C-rank minor improvements, they allowed him to feel clearly that he was just one step away from the next threshold.
"This rate of progress... could it be that the original owner of this body was actually a super-genius?"
Aiden shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh. Whether he was a genius or not no longer mattered in the face of the system.
Just as he was immersing himself in the pleasure of steadily becoming stronger—
Vrrr—!!!
Every Broadcast Den Den Mushi in the base suddenly rang out simultaneously with a high-level alarm sharp enough to pierce eardrums!
The ear-splitting siren echoed across the entire sky of Loguetown.
Every Marine—whether resting, patrolling, or training—stopped what they were doing in that instant and looked toward the source of the broadcast in shock.
A solemn and chilling voice announced from every base loudspeaker, its high-pitched tone addressing every soldier:
"Emergency Report! The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, has been successfully arrested by the Marine Hero—Vice Admiral Garp!"
After a brief moment of silence, the entire base erupted into a deafening roar of cheers!
"It's finally... here?"
Several hours later, as the first wave of News Coos flooded the sky, more detailed information spread across the world.
The front-page headline of the newspaper bore the most eye-catching title:
The Legend Ends! Marine Hero Garp Personally Terminates the Pirate King!
And another piece of news sent everyone in Loguetown into an even deeper state of shock and frenzy.
The World Government had decided that three months from now, in the Pirate King's hometown of Loguetown, Gol D. Roger would be publicly executed!
Aiden looked at the line of text on the newspaper, his gaze becoming incredibly burning.
"Three months later... the ultimate starter village gift pack that is Roger is finally within my reach."
"As long as I consume it, I'll reach the heavens in a single step!"
...
Meanwhile, in a dark tavern basement at the Loguetown harbor.
A group of pirates gathered around a table, the atmosphere heavy. They were the remnants of the "Mad Shark" Diego pirates, whom Aiden had previously executed.
"Big Brother! I've found him! I know who that masked executioner is! I spent sixty thousand Berries to get it out of a Marine!" a pirate with a scar on his face said through gritted teeth.
"Dammit!" the one-eyed leader slammed his fist on the table. "We don't dare touch those officers, but we don't dare touch one executioner brat either?!"
"We've got to do it! We'll take that brat's head to satisfy the boss," another pirate said excitedly. "The papers say that three months from now, this place will be crawling with big shots from Marine Headquarters! We won't get another chance to avenge the Captain after that!"
"But that kid is a loner; he almost never leaves the base... we don't have a chance to strike!"
A look of ruthlessness flashed in the one-eyed leader's eyes.
"Then we sneak in! Tonight is our last chance! Once we kill him, we set sail immediately!"
...
Late at night, Aiden's single-room dormitory.
He had just completed an execution that afternoon and was lying on his bed, preparing to check today's gains.
At that moment—
Aiden's ears suddenly twitched.
Since his [Physical Level] had broken through to [Intermediate], his five senses had long surpassed those of ordinary people.
In the silence of the night, he could clearly hear several sets of deliberately lowered footsteps coming from the corridor outside. These definitely did not belong to the night patrol.
Not only that, the [Intermediate] Stealth techniques he had inherited from Buck didn't just teach him how to hide himself; they gave him a beast-like intuition in the dark.
Aiden could clearly sense that the hiding techniques of those few guys outside were laughably clumsy, riddled with openings and undisguised, violent murderous intent.
"Assassination?"
The thought flashed through Aiden's mind, but he immediately felt it wasn't right.
"In this base, I'm just an executioner ostracized by everyone. I have no power or influence. I'm not in anyone's way, and I don't have any secrets worth silencing me for. Who would come to kill me?"
As his thoughts spun, his gaze instinctively swept over the execution rifle leaning in the corner, which he had just cleaned.
"...Are they here for revenge?"
Aiden's eyes instantly turned cold.
Boom—!
The dormitory door was violently kicked open by a massive force! Four dark shadows holding blades and guns rushed in like hungry wolves, only to find the room empty!
"Where is he?!" the one-eyed leader let out a low, shocked shout.
A second later, a cold voice spoke from behind them—low and icy.
"Looking for me?"
The pirates turned back in terror, only to see that Aiden had appeared behind them at some unknown moment.
"Kid, die..."
The pirate closest to him roared, raising a blade to strike.
Aiden didn't even look at him.
He simply took a step forward, leaned to the side, and delivered a precise hand-chop to the man's neck.
Crack.
There was no scream. The pirate went limp and collapsed silently to the floor
This happened so fast that the other three didn't even have time to react.
Aiden didn't want to use a blade, and he certainly didn't want to use a gun.
He found it messy—especially in his own room.
Relying on his [Intermediate] Physique, Aiden's silhouette transformed into an afterimage, moving at high speed within the cramped space.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After three muffled strikes, the battle came to an abrupt end within three seconds.
Aiden looked at the invaders lying unconscious across the floor, his brow furrowing slightly. After a thought, he chose to report this to his superior.
Five minutes later.
The patrol squad and the Duty Sergeant who had rushed over looked at the pirates' bodies—dispatched with clean efficiency—then looked at Aiden, who stood to the side yawning. Their jaws nearly hit the floor.
"This... you did all this by yourself?" the Sergeant asked in shock, his voice slightly out of tune.
"They snuck into my dorm. Probably wanted to avenge some pirate or other."
Aiden nodded, his expression as calm as if he were discussing a trivial matter.
"Sergeant, if there's nothing else, can I go back to sleep?"
"Uh... ah... okay, okay..." The Sergeant instinctively stepped out of the way, his brain still lagging.
Under the stunned, monster-observing gazes of the crowd, Aiden nodded politely and turned back into his room.
Back in his room, it felt as though he had merely stepped out to take out the trash.
In his mind, a series of notifications for completing Sin Judgments rang out.
"As I thought..."
Aiden whispered to himself, his voice devoid of any surprise.
"It's just as I suspected."
From the first day he was bound to the system, he had a theory: In the name [Sin Judgment], the focus was on "Sin," not the form of the "Judgment."
The system taking effect through executions was simply because he happened to be in that position—it was the first method of ending sin he encountered.
Tonight's assassination was not just a small crisis for him; it was a long-awaited experiment—a verification of whether his system could function outside the execution grounds!
Now, the experiment had a result.
With a thought, he opened the system's "Judgment Archives."
Seeing the four crystal-clear new records at the very top of the log, a smirk of "everything is under control" finally tugged at the corner of Aiden's mouth.
He glanced at the nearly one thousand Sin Points provided by the four C-rank pirates, then swept his eyes over the [Selectable Rewards] that held zero attraction for him.
Aiden's mind moved, and without hesitation, he chose [Physical Improvement] for all of them.
Four streams of warm current—weak, but significant when accumulated—poured into his body, making his physique, which was already on the verge of leveling up, that much more solid
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