Following the execution, Sear was with the same older white-haired teen who had been with him at the plaza. They were below the roof of a decrepit bar, taking shelter from the rain.
The downpour was still strong outside, and though the place was falling apart, it was cozy. Moreover, the owner had been nice enough to easily let them in.
As they sat there, beside the window, the white-haired boy brought up the short conversation they were having before being interrupted.
"? Earlier, weren't you trying to say somethi—"
"No, it was nothing!!" Sear scoffed, his tone dismissive, even before the sentence could be completed.
Actually, when he had first seen the boy's appearance, he had instantly recognized that characteristic white hair. Even someone who had only ever watched the initial parts of the series could do the same.
Undoubtedly, the boy was a young Captain Smoker, and although Sear knew this, he obviously didn't show that he did.
In a hurry, he swiftly steered the focus away from his accidental tongue-slip. "By the way, I don't think I told you my name. I am Sear—Arka Sear."
"Oh!! You've got a pretty cool name. I am Smoker. Got no family name," Smoker introduced himself with a wide grin.
He was far from the stoic chain-smoker he would be in the future. —Just as Sear was thinking that—
"You want one?" True to his name, he offered a cigarette.
"I don't smoke! If my dad saw me with a cigarette, he would kill me... what's more, I am only six years old, you know!!"
"Well, you certainly don't sound six." Lighting the cigarette, Smoker took a deep puff before continuing. "So let me ask you something... what do you think about that execution? Dude, me personally; the way Roger smiled at the end gave me goosebumps."
Both of them agreed.
"Right, that was cool. Makes you wanna be a badass like him," Sear casually remarked.
"And be executed as a result? No thanks!! I wanna be cool, not cold as a corpse!! And besides, yours truly is gonna be a Marine. Matter of fact, you should follow this big bro's example."
"Haha! Lame!! Not interested." Sear laughed at even the thought.
He had attempted to check if Smoker would potentially diverge from his position in life as a hard-boiled Marine.
'So he already had such an aim this early in life...' Evidently, that seemed to be a pipe dream for the foreseeable future.
Although his attempt was an utter failure, a strange kind of connection managed to form between the two. Safe to say, from now on, their fates were intertwined for life.
The two kept talking about other miscellaneous things. In the meantime, the rain outside died down significantly, so thereafter, the two parted ways.
That same day, Sear had to begin his return trip back to Shimotsuki Village. Mashaku feared waiting to depart could increase the chances of them being targeted by pirates, who were bound to operate rampant following Roger's final words.
It was a given, considering the storm of people who would take to the seas seeking wealth, fame, and power in the proceeding weeks, years, or even decades to come.
And sure enough, the waters were teeming with pirates; the seas were their personal playground for the time being. It was gonna take a lot of effort from the Marines to retake control.
Along the route, their boat had a few close encounters, but on every occasion, they either managed to hide or steer clear of the pirates' view. Having a Marine with a convenient transponder snail certainly helped.
After two weeks in frequent games of hide and seek, the boat finally landed ashore, having evaded any issues along the route.
And so, life resumed as usual for Sear.
Day after day, he trained and honed his skills, breaking his limits time and again. Years went by, leading up to his 16th year in this life.
Sear became a lot stronger in this time, mature in both body and mind. His muscles were well-defined, though he was still lean, not being the macho type. The two horns on his head had also grown a tad bit; they were even starting to bend backward from the tips.
Normally, around this hour of the day, he would be practicing the Radiant Sun Dance.
In fact, that should have been the case; however, today the usual script was slightly altered.
At the moment, Sear had his mind fixed on the conspicuous-looking blade in his hand, indeed really eager to try it out.
Unlike the usual wooden sword that he used during practice, this was a real, sharp killer. Not that he hadn't used real blades before, having had a fair share of experiences with a few already.
—But nothing forged specifically for him, and that too by none other than the famed master Kouzaburou. It was the final masterpiece of the old blacksmith.
Sear always preferred a shorter blade over the typical katana, so taking that into account, the old man had made a kukri blade, naming it Hibutsu (A/N — literally Sun Buddha or Hidden Buddha).
As opposed to the stockier kinds that can commonly be seen carried around, it was a lot more slender and overall longer.
Without further ado, Sear impatiently took the kukri out from its scabbard, though when testing the blade, he abruptly stopped mid-swing, having accidentally caught a glance of an ominous silhouette in the ocean.
Being that he stood atop a cliff, it was clearly visible when he focused.
A ship, flying an unmistakable black flag, was approaching the island. Although distant from his current position, it was already near the other side of the island.
"Pirates!! This is bad." Sheathing Hibutsu for the time being, Sear ran toward the shore at full speed.
He didn't recognize which pirate crew the flag belonged to, but surely they didn't come here for sightseeing.
Despite frantically rushing, by the time he arrived at the harbor, the pirates had already anchored ashore. Moreover, they had even started combatting some of the villagers.
In particular, there was one familiar figure whom Sear instantly recognized.
Amidst swarms of rowdy goons, the man, Roronoa Arashi, despite a missing arm and an injured leg, fought persistently while struggling just to keep himself standing. Others, faring better, tried to protect him; nonetheless, a few pirates managed to close in.
Even in that dire condition, he hadn't lost his fighting spirit, which was abundantly clear seeing him fight against the pirates with a katana in his right hand and another's hilt between the jaws of his mouth, instead of his missing left arm.
Tracing the trail of blood from Arashi, Sear discovered that it ended at an amputated arm, pinned beneath a saber. Its likely owner stood beside it, arrogant with a smug look on his face.
'Is this snob the captain?' Drawing his newly acquired kukri, Sear promptly charged straight at the man without much thought.
The remaining villagers kept the rest of the small-time pirates busy, so there was nothing to worry about.
"What? Y-You bastard!!" the pirate captain exclaimed in surprise as he dodged the attack at the last second. Then, without a moment to waste, he picked up his saber just in time to block another attack.
"Agh! How dare you... you know who I am?"
"Don't know, don't care."
"Good!! Hope you do continue with this haughty attitude..." the pirate ended his sentence on a menacing note.
"What? Where'd he go?" Mouth agape, Sear exclaimed in surprise.
The man who was here just a moment prior had seemingly disappeared.