One Piece: The sky is azure, I just time-traveled today.

Page 2

When the manga was first released, it was revealed that the Roger Pirates had as many as 32 members. Was that really all?

He chewed expressionlessly.

It's like completing some kind of task.

"Hey, newbie! Not to your liking?" A man next to him, missing a front tooth, nudged him with his elbow, grinning with bits of meat stuck between his teeth.

Liu Jiu didn't dodge, but just glanced at him sideways.

He said it. His voice wasn't loud, and it was mostly drowned out by the surrounding noise.

The man didn't seem to care, and grabbed another handful, eating with gusto.

Liu Jiu continued eating.

One bite after another.

Not far from the bow, Roger sat cross-legged, holding a huge wooden goblet, talking to Rayleigh, occasionally bursting into loud laughter. That laughter had a strange, infectious quality, making the entire deck feel warm and inviting.

Liu Jiu looked at them.

Watching this group of people, who are called "legends" in the comics, now eating with their hands without any regard for their image, laughing and talking loudly, their shirts stained with oil.

It's so real it's almost... bland.

He looked down at his greasy fingers.

I kind of miss the plastic packaging boxes for takeout.

At least that thing doesn't leak oil.

After finishing the last bite, he wiped his fingers on his rough trousers.

The sea breeze brought a touch of evening coolness.

He leaned against the ship's railing, watching the sun slowly sink below the horizon.

It got dark.

Torches were lit on the deck, casting flickering light and shadow.

Someone started singing, off-key, but very loudly. Someone else followed along, tapping an empty bucket with a wooden spoon.

But there's a kind of savage vitality to it.

He just leaned there, watching the darkness gradually engulf the horizon where the sea met the sky.

One by one, the stars appeared.

It's much brighter than what you see in the city.

He raised his hand, which was still a little sticky, and made a grasping motion towards the starry sky.

They caught nothing.

Only the salty wind slipped through my fingers.

Yawned.

Chapter 2 A Simple Day

The sky was still dark and gray before dawn.

Footsteps and the muffled thuds of buckets hitting each other could be heard on the deck.

Liu Jiu was kicked in the calf, not too hard.

"Get up and wipe the deck."

It was that yellow-toothed guy. He tossed over a piece of coarse cloth so dirty its original color was unrecognizable, damp and smelling of seawater from the previous night.

Liu Jiu sat up and rubbed his eyes. His back was stiff from sleeping on the wooden board.

He didn't ask why it was him.

I simply picked up the piece of cloth and weighed it in my hand. It was heavy and absorbent.

He walked to the wooden tub, soaked the cloth, lifted it up, and the water gushed out.

From left to right, one stroke at a time. The movements weren't very practiced, but I wasn't slacking off either.

The rough wooden planks darkened in color when wet. Some old stains were stubbornly embedded in the cracks and could not be wiped off.

He didn't argue and skipped it.

The sea breeze was cool in the morning, and it gave my skin goosebumps as it blew against my wet arms.

The other crew members walked around him, shouting orders, adjusting the mooring lines, and setting up the sails. No one gave him a second glance.

He was just a background figure.

A backdrop that moves and wipes the floor by itself.

As he approached the bow of the boat, the figure wearing a straw hat was facing away from him, with his back to him and his face turned towards the sea.

Roger simply stood there, arms crossed, motionless. His broad back, like a mountain, suppressed the noise of the entire ship.

The piece of cloth passed by those big feet wearing straw sandals.

Roger suddenly moved.

He turned around, his eyes under his straw hat sweeping over Liu Jiu without any particular emotion, as if he were looking at a deck or a cable.

Liu Jiu didn't look up.

The cloth in his hand moved at a constant speed.

A voice came from above, loud and clear, with a slightly hoarse tone, as if the person had just woken up.

Liu Jiu stopped what he was doing and straightened up.

Roger looked at him, grinned, revealing two rows of dazzlingly white teeth: "Clean yourself up, I'm going to sunbathe here later."

Then continue bending over and wiping the floor.

It brushed past Roger's feet.

Seawater mixed with sweat slid down my forehead, making me feel a little itchy.

He raised his arm and wiped it with his still-dry sleeve.

He had only wiped a small part of it.

As the sun slowly climbed higher, the temperature rose, and the shirt on my back clung to my skin.

He heard Roger yawn behind him, followed by a heavy thud as he sat down, probably to start sunbathing.

Liu Jiu threw the dirty rag into the bucket, rinsed it, and then picked it up.

He watched as ripples spread across the murky water.

A thought flashed through my mind.

This captain certainly knows how to pick a spot to sunbathe.

A distorted roar suddenly came from the lookout tower.

"Navy!! Port side! It's Garp's dog-headed warship!"

In an instant, the air on the deck froze.

The crew members, who had just been laughing, joking, working, and dozing off, all froze in place. Then, it was like a pot of boiling water had exploded.

"Damn it! It's that madman!"

"Quick! Turn the rudder! Full sails!"

"Shells! Bring the shells up!"

Panic spread like a plague, with a real, cold touch.

Liu Jiu straightened up, and the wet cloth in his hand fell back into the wooden tub with a "plop." He looked in the direction of the horrified gazes of the crowd.

To the left rear, on the sea horizon, a dark spot was growing larger at an alarming rate. The enormous dog-head statue on the bow was clearly and menacingly prominent.

The man who can chase the Pirate King all over the world.

Liu Jiu blinked.

This experience is more exciting than reading comics.

A young sailor beside him was pale, his teeth chattering, and he could barely hold onto the rope.

The yellow-toothed man slapped him on the back of the head, his roar revealing his own barely suppressed panic: "What are you trembling for! You coward! Prepare for boarding action! We'll fight to the death if necessary!"

Rayleigh had already drawn his longsword, his eyes behind his glasses sharp as an eagle's, rapidly issuing commands in an attempt to shake off the pursuit.

Chaos reigned.

Only the man at the bow of the boat.

He stood up at some point, hands on his hips, watching the approaching warship. Far from being afraid, he... laughed even more heartily.

"Kurararara! Garp! You old rascal, you have a really good nose!"

The loud laughter pierced through all the noise and panic, inexplicably calming the flustered crew members.

Liu Jiu watched Roger's retreating figure.

He glanced again at the warship that was approaching with an oppressive aura.

He bent down and fished the wet cloth that had fallen into the bucket back up.

Then, continue wiping the deck that you didn't finish wiping earlier.

All around were the sounds of running footsteps, the clash of weapons, and heavy breathing.

He wiped very carefully, stroke by stroke, trying to remove a stubborn stain.

A burly man carrying a box of artillery shells nearly bumped into him, cursing as he swerved around him: "Damn it! Can't you see where you're going?!"

Liu Jiu ignored him.

The stains still haven't been wiped off.

He gave up and moved to the next spot.