Chapter Twelve: I Am the Incarnation of Love and Justice

A string of crackling arcs of electricity danced across Shu Mingyuan’s fist as he shot through the blazing corridor, driving his punch straight down at Monka. Monka let out a ferocious sneer, swinging his battle axe horizontally. The massive blade became an iron shield, blocking the force of the Thousand Birds.

“Idiot! An iron axe conducts electricity!”

Arcs of electricity crawled along the axe, coursing through Monka’s entire body as if he’d been struck by lightning. He gritted his teeth against the current, slashing his axe sideways. Shu Mingyuan leaped nimbly, dodging the attack.

“Brat! Let’s see you dodge this!”

Monka mocked him. Shu Mingyuan was still airborne, unable to shift his momentum—there was nowhere to run. Monka stepped precisely to where Shu Mingyuan would land, his axe hand slicing through the air with a chilling gleam, aiming to cleave the boy in two.

He could tolerate this brat’s strange lightning tricks, but one blow of his own would be enough to split Shu Mingyuan apart!

“Die, brat!”

The axe blade sliced through Shu Mingyuan’s body—but the expected spray of blood never came. The boy in midair burst apart with a puff and vanished without a trace.

“An illusion?”

Monka stood frozen. He had seen the boy leap—but why…?

“Idiot! Thousand Birds!”

Shu Mingyuan’s voice rang out behind him, accompanied by the piercing cry of a bird. Colonel Monka spun around just in time to see a lightning-wreathed left hand rushing toward his face.

Squelch!

Thousand Birds pierced Monka’s throat, blood gushing from his neck and drenching him head to toe. Monka stared in disbelief at the apparition-like youth before him. His lips moved, but no sound emerged. His corpse collapsed, lifeless.

“Congratulations, host. You have successfully slain an evil Navy officer. You gain 200 Justice Points and 200 chakra, meeting the requirements for advancement. Would you like to level up?”

The system’s voice rang out abruptly. Shu Mingyuan made his choice without hesitation. He opened his stats page and saw that his attributes had changed dramatically.

Character: Monkey D. Shu Mingyuan
Rank: Genin (Lower Ninja)
Chakra: (560/50000)
Justice Points: 225
Acquired Jutsu: Lightning Release: Thousand Birds (evolution conditions unmet), Clone Technique, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
Ninjutsu Value: 155
Taijutsu Value: 50

He was now a genin. Both his ninjutsu and taijutsu values had nearly doubled, reaching 155 and 50 respectively. Shu Mingyuan knew well that the power of his techniques depended directly on his chakra supply and ninjutsu value. With this promotion, the exponential rise in both stats boosted his strength by far more than just twofold.

It seemed that advancing to higher ranks as a ninja was the fastest way to increase his power. But when he saw that he needed fifty thousand chakra to reach the next rank, chunin, his lips twitched—he nearly cursed aloud. If becoming a chunin required so much chakra, how many lifetimes would it take to reach the level of a Super Kage?

He stared at his 225 Justice Points, momentarily dazed. He’d thought he was broke again, only to find that fortune favored him. Killing an evil Navy colonel earned him more Justice Points than defeating pirates. Since one Justice Point was roughly equivalent to fifty thousand beli, Monka was about on par with a pirate with a ten-million-beli bounty. The calculation made sense.

He’d also learned from the system that Justice Points could be earned not only from pirates but also from Navy officers, as long as they were evil.

For the sake of Justice Points, he would cut down anyone in his path.

If chakra was the foundation of a strong ninja, then powerful jutsu were the essence of true might! He would never forget: during the Fifth Great Ninja War, when the legendary heroes emerged, any one of their techniques could shake the heavens.

Shattering mountains and sundered rivers? That was but a minor trick.

“Ignorant fool, don’t even know about hidden clones?”

Shu Mingyuan snapped out of his reverie. He glanced at Monka’s corpse, curled his lip, then bent down and wiped his blood-stained palm on Monka’s clothes before rising to face the remaining Navy troops.

“Monka is dead. You are all free now,” Shu Mingyuan said calmly. The Navy soldiers in the execution yard stared in shock, then erupted into cheers. They had lived under Monka’s tyrannical shadow long enough, always fearful. Now, with the tyrant gone, the town was finally free.

“You have defeated the brutal Colonel Monka, and we can’t thank you enough. But with such strength, are you a pirate?” a lieutenant stepped forward, voicing everyone’s concern.

A sly smile played on Shu Mingyuan’s lips as his voice rang out, “Pirate? No! I am the embodiment of love and justice, the arbiter of darkness, the herald of light—the great pirate hunter, Monkey D. Shu Mingyuan!”

Zoro’s mouth twitched. This guy fought like a demon—where was the love in that? He was more like the devil himself.

Shu Mingyuan strode toward the group, smiling. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but the trouble’s been dealt with.”

“Wow, Mingyuan, you can shoot fire as well as lightning? Haha! That’s awesome! Did you eat a Devil Fruit too?” Luffy laughed.

Shu Mingyuan ignored Luffy’s nonsense and glanced around, noticing someone was missing.

“Huh? Where’s Nami?”

It was only then the others realized that Nami had slipped away at some point. Everyone’s attention had been on Shu Mingyuan and Monka, and no one had noticed her leaving.

Guessing her whereabouts, Shu Mingyuan narrowed his eyes at the Navy base’s tall building. “Little Cat Burglar Nami, you’re not getting away.”

He smiled. “You all head to the pier and wait for me, all right? Koby, aren’t you aiming to join the Navy? Don’t miss this golden opportunity.”

Koby straightened, his face shining with determination. “Mr. Shu Mingyuan, I’ll do my best! One day I’ll catch all the bad guys!”

Shu Mingyuan patted Koby on the shoulder and headed into the base. If his guess was right, Nami must have already opened Monka’s safe by now.

Every marine along the way stepped aside, their eyes filled with awe. The strongest man in this base, the corrupt Colonel Monka, had been slain by him. He had liberated the town from Monka’s grip. Now, the young man had become a hero in their eyes.

What’s more, he wasn’t a pirate, but a pirate hunter who targeted outlaws. He might not be Navy, but he had earned their respect.

…

Inside Monka’s quarters.

Click.

A faint sound of locks being picked. Nami opened the safe, her heart leaping with joy as she found the rolled-up chart inside. At last, the map she’d searched for so long was in her hands.