Strolling down the streets of Loguetown,
admiring its local scenery and bustle…
Kai had no idea.
Unbeknownst to him, he had just scared an entire gang—dozens strong—so badly that they nearly wet themselves.
Even if he had known, he probably would've just laughed it off and not thought much of it.
Loguetown was packed with visitors.
As the island town closest to the Grand Line and the place known as the Beginning and the End, it naturally attracted countless tourists—
and just as many pirates looking to sail from the East Blue toward the Grand Line.
After all, Loguetown was the only route for pirates leaving the East Blue to reach that fabled sea.
Without the Marine s' ability to cross the Calm Belt, pirates could only go step by step—through Loguetown, then up Reverse Mountain's treacherous currents—before entering the Grand Line.
Of course, there was serious risk involved.
Every year, nearly half of all pirate crews attempting the journey from the East Blue perished at Reverse Mountain—ships shattered, crews swallowed by the sea.
As Kai wandered the streets, he spotted quite a few pirates.
But, not wanting to stir up unnecessary trouble, he didn't lift a hand against them.
There was simply no need.
If anyone was foolish enough to provoke him, then he'd deal with them.
Otherwise, he had no intention of playing the self-righteous hero exterminating pirates on sight.
In short—
one word summed it up.
Zen.
Kai's attitude toward pirates was always rather Buddha-like.
As for why he'd been so ruthless toward Buggy's crew?
Simple—he just couldn't stand the clown.
And because that clown happened to be best friends with Red-Haired Shanks…
Buggy ended up catching the heat for Kai's annoyance with Shanks.
Poor Buggy…
He probably still had no idea he'd taken the fall for his dear friend.
"System, open the status panel."
As he walked, Kai decided to check in on his progress after the fight with the Buggy Pirates.
[Host: Kai]
[Strength: 26 (+1.3)]
[Speed: 22.4 (+0.9)]
[Endurance: 27.4 (+1.2)]
[Spirit Power: 14.3 (+0.2)]
[Ghost Back Completion: 10.42%]
[Current Training Efficiency: ×100]
The battle with the Buggy Pirates had once again brought a noticeable boost to his overall power.
The increase wasn't huge, but progress was progress.
A hundred fights like that, or a thousand, and the accumulation would be massive.
If not for the hundredfold training bonus, his growth would've plateaued long ago.
Ordinary "devil-style" training barely did anything for him now.
He'd have to develop a new, more scientific training method—
Only then could his strength make another great leap forward.
"One battle, decent rewards," he mused.
"All stats improved a little. Not bad at all."
His standards weren't high.
As long as each fight made him stronger, he was content.
"The only pity…"
He sighed.
"The Ghost Back progress—still crawling like a snail."
He'd been hoping to hit 20% completion soon, to unlock the next multiplier increase, but that goal felt maddeningly far away.
"Once the Ghost Back surpasses 20%, I can feel it—something major will change," he murmured.
"A true transformation. A leap in quality."
When that day came…
Perhaps his multiplier wouldn't be ×100 anymore—
maybe ×200…
or even ×1000!
If so, one day of training would equal years for anyone else.
At that rate, a single month might make him invincible.
The thought made his eyes gleam with anticipation—
but he could only shake his head helplessly.
The Ghost Back's progress was just too slow.
So slow that he'd almost stopped noticing it entirely.
With a deep breath, he pushed the idle thoughts aside.
Clenching his fists, he could feel it—
his power had clearly risen since before the battle with Buggy.
Feeling satisfied, Kai turned toward the harbor, ready to head back.
Along the way, he overheard a few passersby talking excitedly.
Curious, he listened in—
—and realized, to his surprise, they were talking about him.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Over on the east side, there's a tavern—that was the Buggy Pirates' base! The nerve of them, setting up right here in Loguetown!"
"Yeah, that Buggy the Clown—heard he's a vicious pirate with a mountain of corpses to his name!"
"Right? A four-year-old beating a pirate worth twelve million?—that's no small fry!"
"But get this—just now, the Buggy Pirates were defeated! Even Buggy himself got captured and sent to a Marine prison!"
"No way! A pirate worth twelve million, taken alive? Who did it? Colonel Gerson himself?"
The group of townsfolk gasped and murmured in awe.
Buggy's reputation in the East Blue was terrifying—his name alone could make people tremble.
No one had imagined he'd one day be defeated, much less captured.
It was a story that thrilled the whole town.
Soon enough, speculation spread—
Who could've possibly taken down such a notorious pirate?
"I heard…" one middle-aged man said in a shaky voice,
"…it was a child. A four-year-old kid! All alone, he defeated the entire Buggy Pirates—and captured Buggy himself!"
The street went silent.
Then—pandemonium.
"W-what?!"
"You're kidding, right?!"
"A four-year-old took down Buggy's crew?!"
"Am I hearing things?"
"That's insane!"
"A four-year-old beating a pirate worth twelve million? What kind of monster is that?!"
Everyone was stunned speechless.
"Were the pirates just weak?" someone muttered.
That earned an immediate scoff.
"Weak? Don't be stupid! A twelve-million-berry pirate can level a town! Buggy wasn't weak—"
"—that kid was just too strong!"
"A four-year-old monster…!"
The story spread like wildfire.
Every alley, every street in Loguetown soon buzzed with the same tale—
how a child, only four years old, defeated the Buggy Pirates.
And with it, a name began to echo through the city.
The name of that monstrous child—
Kai!
"Kai, huh…" someone murmured.
"I can already see it. One day, this sea will tremble under that name."
Across Loguetown, the legend grew.
As for the man himself—
Kai walked through the crowd, expression caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief.
He hadn't expected this.
All he'd done was casually defeat Buggy's crew—
and somehow the entire town was in an uproar.
The East Blue really was the East Blue.
In the Grand Line, pirates with ten-million bounties died every day—it barely made the news.
But here?
Just one pirate crew's capture caused a full-blown sensation.
At a small barbecue stall, Kai overheard the owner chatting with a customer.
"Little guy," the man said kindly, eyeing Kai's small frame, "you look about four years old too. You should learn from that Kai fellow!"
Kai's face froze.
…So now he was being told to learn from himself?
"By the way, kid," the vendor asked, "what's your name? And where are your parents? You shouldn't wander around alone—Loguetown might have Marine s, but there are still plenty of thugs."
"Thugs, huh?" Kai chuckled. "You don't need to worry, boss. Even if they had a hundred times the guts—
they wouldn't dare come after me."
"Oh? And why's that, little guy?" the vendor asked, curious.
Kai's smile widened.
"No special reason," he said lightly.
"Just because…"
He turned, meeting the man's stunned gaze, and grinned.
"My name—
is Kai."
Then, without another word, he grabbed a skewer of sizzling barbecue,
and walked away without looking back—
leaving the stall owner standing there, eyes wide,
as realization dawned on him like a thunderclap.
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