Chapter 5 — A Marine's Resolve
Bang!Bang!
Every time Shinji Ikari was hit by an attack, the power of the Devil Fruit inside him transformed the damage into energy. That energy became his strength.
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These remaining pirates were nowhere near as strong as their captain.
One punch after another—
They fell.
After several blows, even the wound on Shinji's back had completely healed.
The injury that had nearly crippled him had instead become a turning point.
Shinji stepped slowly out of the granary.
"Dead…"
"A corpse that can't breathe and can never laugh again."
"What a sick world."
"In a world filled with pirates… I'll clean them all out."
He lowered his head as he walked.
In the corner of the granary lay one last body.
A young girl.
A bullet hole in her chest.
A fatal wound in her head.
It was clear she had resisted desperately before dying.
She had protected her dignity—
And lost her life.
Her eyes were wide open, her pupils already lifeless.
She was still staring upward.
Not lowering her gaze.
A burning rage rose inside Shinji's chest.
He felt weak.
If he had been stronger—
Stronger than Garp.
If his awareness had been sharp enough—
He might have sensed the tragedy on this island earlier.
Maybe these people could have been saved.
Shinji clenched his teeth.
He didn't close the girl's eyes.
If she died with hatred in her heart—
Then she should keep watching this world with anger.
Watch his back as he walks forward.
Watch him destroy evil.
Bullets struck him again and again.
Shinji turned around and looked toward the surrounding buildings without fear.
Whoosh!
He leapt upward and landed on the second floor of a nearby house.
One punch—
Another pirate died.
Then Shinji jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
Swords.
Muskets.
It didn't matter.
Every enemy fell with a single punch.
"Monster! Why won't you die?!"
"Help! Even our blades can't cut him!"
"Go to hell, you monster!"
Soon—
The gunfire stopped.
No more ugly screams from pirates.
The buildings were riddled with bullet holes.
And in the middle of the street—
Shinji stood alone.
His body was covered in blood.
But the wound on his back had already healed completely.
From this moment on—
He silently swore to himself:
He would never let his back be injured again.
Not even once.
"Shinji!"
Koby stared at him in shock.
Was this even human anymore?
He had defeated more than twenty pirates by himself.
That pirate captain alone had a bounty close to eight million Berries, making him notorious in the East Blue.
And Shinji?
Just a trainee who had joined the ship not long before Koby.
The Marine ranks were strict.
At the bottom were recruits and trainees.
Above them were Seamen, divided into three levels.
Then came Petty Officers, also divided into three levels.
Only after becoming a Warrant Officer did a Marine truly begin to stand out.
After that came the ranks of Lieutenant, Captain, and Colonel.
For example, Smoker was currently the colonel stationed in Loguetown.
Beyond that level, there were very few stronger fighters.
The Marine Headquarters had only about a dozen Vice Admirals.
And at the very top—
Only three Admirals, the strongest forces of the Navy.
"So strong… will Shinji get promoted immediately?" Helmeppo swallowed nervously.
A veteran Marine beside him—currently a corporal—answered seriously.
"At the very least, he deserves to become a Warrant Officer."
"That pirate captain's bounty was nearly eight million Berries."
"But Shinji is still just a trainee… so the promotion will probably be lower."
At that moment, everyone understood.
This battle had completely changed Shinji's fate.
Shinji dragged the pirates' bodies together one by one and threw them into the sea.
In his opinion, garbage like them didn't deserve burial on this island.
Just as he prepared to return to the village to bury the villagers—
Garp jumped down from the ship.
Behind him, rows of Marines followed.
"Bury the villagers."
"Yes, sir!"
The Marines saluted and immediately began their work.
Shinji wanted to help.
But Garp grabbed him by the collar with one hand and lifted him up.
"Brat."
"You fed those pirates to the fish."
"What did the old man tell you?"
"Be more careful next time."
Garp glanced briefly at Shinji's back.
He had clearly seen everything that happened.
"Old man… you already knew the villagers were dead before we even landed, didn't you?"
"And?"
"How strong do I need to become… to sense things farther than you?"
"To see further into the future?"
"To prevent tragedies like this?"
Garp snorted.
"Surpass me?"
"Kid, worry about replacing Sengoku as Fleet Admiral first."
He tossed Shinji aside.
But when he turned away—
A faint smile appeared on his face.
It had been many years since he had seen someone with such strong will… and such a sense of justice.
"I'll surpass everyone," Shinji said stubbornly as he stood up.
"No matter if it's Admirals or Fleet Admirals."
"Until I surpass you."
For a moment, he felt a little embarrassed.
After all, this was his second life.
Why did he still sound so childish?
Then again…
He had been young before transmigrating too.
Maybe it was fine.
The adjutant walked over and patted Shinji's head.
A gesture that didn't seem like something he would normally do.
"Kid… Vice Admiral Garp was worried you'd lose the chance to be promoted to Second Lieutenant."
"After all, you fed those pirates to the fish."
But after watching Shinji's battle from start to finish, the adjutant could feel the anger burning inside him.
Once upon a time, he had also been a Marine full of passion.
Hating evil with every fiber of his being.
"I don't care about rank."
Shinji cracked his knuckles.
Even though the battle had ended, the smell of blood still lingered in the air.
For the first time since arriving in this world—
He truly felt the cruelty of the Age of Pirates.
That evening.
After bathing and washing away the blood, Shinji changed into clean Marine clothes.
Then he heard Garp shouting loudly somewhere on the ship.
"Just a Sergeant promotion?!"
"Why don't you dive to the bottom of the sea and fish out those pirate bones first?!"
After yelling for a while, Garp casually sat in his recliner.
Moments later—
He was snoring loudly.
Shinji couldn't help admiring him.
One moment he was furious.
The next moment he had already forgotten everything and fallen asleep.
Meanwhile, the deck had become lively.
"Extra dinner tonight!"
"Congratulations to Shinji Ikari for being promoted to Sergeant!"
"But since it was so sudden, your squad only has two members for now—Koby and Helmeppo!"
"You passed me already?!" Koby shouted.
"Well… makes sense. If Shinji had handled things differently, he might've become a Warrant Officer immediately!"
"Woohoo! I want lobster!"
Koby and Helmeppo wrapped their arms around Shinji's shoulders, cheering loudly.
They shook him back and forth.
The three of them drank orange juice together.
Shinji, meanwhile, devoured lobster fried rice.
His appetite had become terrifying.
One meal now required five large plates of fried rice, plus vegetables and grilled meat.
Of course—
At sea, fruit and fresh water were just as important.