Chapter 1: First Appearance, The Boy of Cocoyasi Village

As autumn deepened, a heavy rainstorm swept over Cocoyasi Village.

"Wah wah wah, why is it raining so hard all of a sudden!"

"Brother Siano, run fast!"

At the gate of the tangerine orchard in the twilight, a black-haired boy burst out, carrying two baskets of tangerines on a shoulder pole, sprinting wildly toward the village.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from within the baskets; two little ones popped out of the pile of tangerines with a "pa," one on the left and one on the right, poking their heads out from the boy's shoulders.

"Charge, Siano Ship! The intersection is three hundred meters ahead, hard port!"

The girl with orange hair on the left raised her right hand high, full of high spirits.

"Nami, be sensible, Brother is already very tired."

The blue-haired girl on the right held up an umbrella, frowning slightly, her voice gentle.

"Hah? Only you are sensible? If you were sensible, you wouldn't still be sitting in the basket!"

"N-nonsense! I'm holding the umbrella to shield Brother from the rain; he's a head taller than me, how could I block it if I wasn't sitting up there!"

"Tch, then I'd say I'm more useful than you because I'm guiding Siano so he doesn't lower his head and lose sight of the road!"

Listening to the familiar bickering of his two younger sisters, Siano was long accustomed to it; glancing at the umbrella that was clearly not over his own head, he quietly quickened his pace.

Clearly, the one hundred and thirty kilograms of tangerines belonging to the two sisters were all borne on his shoulders.

Yet the boy still strode swiftly, his breathing steady.

A moment later, that familiar house appeared in his field of vision.

The lights had already been turned on.

Through the window glass, a slender figure could be seen bustling in the kitchen; cooking smoke climbed out of the chimney, mixing into the rainy mist, and soon vanished without a trace.

Pushing the wooden door open with his right hand, the orange glow of the fireplace lamp instantly washed over him.

In the warm, soft halo, the sweet scent of tangerines and the aroma of pine wood collided with him, squeezing the cold rain and chill straight back out the door.

Siano thumped the baskets onto the ground, closed the door, lay down on the old sofa, spread himself out into a large character shape, and comfortably stretched his limbs.

The firelight from the fireplace simmered the twilight into thick caramel, flowing over his splayed limbs.

In that instant.

The soreness and exhaustion seemed to drift away along with the desolate sound of the rain.

"Eh, you're back, Nojiko, Nami."

Footsteps sounded from the kitchen, approaching from afar, "And Siano too, you've really worked hard these past days."

Oh no! The two little ones scrambled out in a panic, but knocked over the bamboo basket with a clang, both falling to the ground with a splat, while the golden tangerines rolled all over the floor like little suns.

"Ah, I knew it!"

A young woman wearing an apron, her dark red hair tied in a ponytail, stood with hands on her hips, looking angrily at her two daughters.

"You said you were going to help your brother, but you were actually just going to cause trouble, right? Sitting on Siano's carrying pole again—are you only happy if you tire him until he collapses?"

"Bell-mère, we know we were wrong..." Nami and Nojiko looked pitiful, lowering their heads and kicking at the tips of their shoes.

"It's fine, Bell-mère."

Siano turned his face from the sofa, his weary voice tinged with gentleness, "Don't blame them; the rain was heavy and sudden, so I told them to hide in the baskets—not only does it keep them dry, but it's also good exercise for them."

"Exactly, exactly."

The two guilty little rascals immediately became yes-men.

"Aah, so infuriating, when will you two ever be as sensible as Siano!"

Bell-mère rapped her fists on the two little ones' heads, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to use force, "Don't do this next time; grab a Mao Jin to wipe your hair and come in to eat!"

Saved! Nojiko and Nami looked at their big brother with tears of gratitude, then cheered and leaped toward the kitchen dining table.

"Bell-mère, what are we eating tonight... Duck breast with tangerine sauce? Awesome!"

"And honey-glazed ribs, wow, let me taste!"

"Hey! Did you wash your hands before daring to grab food with your bare hands? You two wicked little brats, at least wait for your brother!"

Listening to the chirping sounds coming from the kitchen, Siano leaned back contentedly, only for the warm wall of a ceramic cup to suddenly press against the back of his neck; the warmth of ginger cola mixed with honey snaked into his nostrils.

"Drink it while it's hot."

Bell-mère's voice sounded somewhat ill-tempered, "You only know how to protect your two sisters, but you don't know how to take care of yourself."

She took a clean set of clothes from the wardrobe, and before Siano's astonished gaze, yanked off his shirt in three moves and two sweeps, then began wiping his upper body with a hot towel.

"Uh, um, Bell-mère."

Siano tried to dodge, but was forcibly dragged back to the spot; unable to hide his embarrassment, he said, "I'm already thirteen years old, you really don't need to do this, just let me do it myself."

"Less nonsense!"

Bell-mère exerted the authority of an adoptive mother, allowing no argument, "You're only two years older than Nojiko; what act are you putting on as a mature man? Stand still obediently!"

There was truly no way around it.

Siano could only let her fuss over him like a ragdoll, his face showing an expression of reluctance.

Yet in his heart, a wave of warmth inevitably arose.

To be able to live in Cocoyasi, to grow up in such a family...

It's so good.

When in his previous life had he ever had such an experience?

At twelve, cutting the back of his hand changing a lightbulb for the first time in the orphanage; at twenty-five, passing out from working overtime all night and being carried onto an ambulance; on his twenty-sixth birthday, his heart rate monitor curve flattening in the ICU...

Until he suddenly opened his eyes.

He found himself transformed into a five-year-old boy, covered in blood and filth, amidst ruins and broken walls, where a female Marine draped in a white Justice cloak struggled to bend down and extend a life-saving hand to him.

……

"How many times have I told you!"

Bell-mère suddenly twisted his ear hard:

"Don't push yourself, don't push yourself! You already harvested twelve baskets of tangerines today, yet you still insisted on making a seventh trip. Don't you know that little heroes who show off are the most likely to catch a cold!"

Siano gritted his teeth in pain and hurriedly reached for the Mao Jin, only to have dry clothing carrying the fresh scent of citrus draped over his head instead.

As the coarse-knit sweater brushed against his neck, it caused a slight prickling itch; amidst the crackling of the stove fire, the rustling sound of her gathering the wet clothes mixed in.

In his previous life, piles of plaid shirts had never carried the scent of sunlight, yet now the sensation of coarse fabric rubbing against his skin stirred a strange swelling ache within his chest.

Siano gazed at the face reflected in the mirror.

Black hair and black eyes; the delicate features of a thirteen-year-old boy were bathed in warm light, his eyelashes still holding the moisture left by the towel's wipe.

That lone figure who once stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of a skyscraper had long ago, unknowingly, been ground to dust amidst the ticking of the old grandfather clock in the living room.

"Thank you," he suddenly said in a low voice.

Bell-mère paused briefly in her bending motion to gather the clothes, then quickly resumed as if nothing had happened.

"What's with that? I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"You've taken on all the bitter and exhausting work in the tangerine grove; acting like this just makes me, your mother, look like a useless idiot. Really, you're still just a little runt, yet your strength is so terrifyingly great."

"I wonder what kind of people your birth parents were; I have a feeling they were quite significant, as if once you reached a certain age, boom, your bloodline awakened and you inherited some incredible power..."

Bloodline power?

What bloodline, and what sudden awakening? I'm not King Nika.

Siano was slightly stunned for a moment, finding himself unable to decide whether to laugh or cry.

In the first few years after his reincarnation, he had lived in a daze, frolicking and playing with his sisters every day, picking mushrooms on the mountain one day and catching fish in the river the next, just like a real child.

It was only in the last couple of years, around the age of ten, when his brain development became complete, that he gradually sorted out the memories of his past and present lives.

His birth parents in this life were merely ordinary people from the Oykot Kingdom who died in that fierce war, possessing nothing special whatsoever.

And if he hadn't happened to be rescued and raised by Bell-mère when he transmigrated here, he would likely have become a corpse among the ruins long ago.

However.

Bell-mère's nagging was understandable.

Because his performance was indeed standing out like a crane among chickens, especially in Cocoyasi, such a small village town in the East Blue.

At only thirteen years old, his strength was already unimaginably great.

During the wrestling tournament held at the Harvest Festival a while ago, not a single one of the hundreds of adult men in the entire town could be his opponent; some couldn't even last a few rounds.

An ordinary background, an ordinary bloodline.

Raised in a rural fruit-farming family, he had never received guidance from any famous master.

To possess such strength was naturally due to the golden finger he carried with him.

"Deep Sea."

Siano silently recited the activation phrase in his heart.

The system activated instantly; the air rippled like mermaid silk, and a dim blue light screen, visible only to him, floated before his eyes.

This was the "Sacrifice Trading System" he had awakened three years ago.

【Name: Siano】

【Age: 13 years old】

【Height: 159cm】

【Strength: 1.9】

【Agility: 1.8】

【Stamina: 1.7】

【Mental Power: 1.3】

【Remaining Points: 25】

【Skill Talents: Breathing Fist Style (Minor Achievement), One-Sword Style Swordsmanship (Entry Level), Cooking (Entry Level), Fruit Tree Cultivation (Minor Achievement), Fishing (Great Mastery)】

For an ordinary adult in the world of pirates, the average value for each basic attribute is one point.

Although Siano's basic attributes were only around one point something, under the premise that both sides were bare-handed, he was confident he could easily repel a siege by seven or eight adults.

After all, during the wrestling tournament, he was just playing around casually and hadn't used his true strength at all.

Clearly, the calculation method for attribute points was far from simple addition and subtraction.

It most likely followed some kind of exponential function relationship; for every slight increase in the numerical value, even just by a few tenths, the gap in actual power would be enormous.

The so-called Sacrifice Trading System.

As the name suggests, it contained an internal trading market that offered several items purchasable with points, refreshing once a month.

The source of points depended on whether the host could provide qualified sacrifices.

After sacrificing, based on the difference in value, one would receive points of an equivalent level.

When he had first awakened the system, Siano couldn't gauge what exactly counted as a sacrifice, so he experimented everywhere across the mountains and fields, even grabbing a passing dog to try it out.

But whether it was a large fat fish he had just caught, a rabbit hunted in the forest, or a large-denomination banknote of one thousand Beli, none could be sacrificed.

It was only by chance one time, when he took Bell-mère's old issued gun from her days as a Marine and tried it out.

The result was like a blind cat catching a dead mouse; it actually succeeded.

At that time, the system thoughtfully provided an identification panel:

【Sacrifice: Bell-mère's Old Flintlock】

【Quality: Excellent】

【Value: 50 Points】

【Appraisal Comment: The weapon that accompanied Bell-mère throughout her youth; its mottled barrel bears witness to her growth from a raw rookie recruit to a soldier capable of holding her own on the battlefield. Even after retirement, she often polished this gun—not merely as a memento, but as the pillar supporting her family, making it immensely significant to her.】

Damn, that hits way too close to home.

After reading the appraisal comment, Siano tossed and turned in bed, so consumed by guilt that he barely slept all night.

Especially the next day, when Bell-mère discovered her service pistol missing and stood at the doorway, frantic and furious, cursing the thief for the entire morning, he wished he could slap himself a few times.

I truly deserve to die!

So, once the guilt gradually subsided, whenever he selected new targets, he tried his best to choose inconspicuous small items.

For instance, Nami's tangerine flower hairpin, and Nojiko's forehead band.

These were gifts Siano had personally bought for his two younger sisters years ago when the family was still impoverished; they were already worn out and worth very little.

Now that life was slowly improving, it was about time to replace them anyway.

But as a result...

The sacrifice succeeded.

It's just that this damn system still loves to stab right at the heart.

【Sacrifice: Nami's Tangerine Flower Hairpin】

【Quality: Ordinary】

【Value: 180 Points】

【Appraisal Comment: A cheap accessory sold for one hundred Berries at a general store, yet young Nami loved it dearly, treasuring it like a jewel. She wore it every day, reluctant to remove it, even keeping it under her pillow while sleeping; it carries the gradually deepening emotional bond between brother and sister.】

【Sacrifice: Nojiko's Old Headband】

【Quality: Ordinary】

【Value: 30 Points】

【Appraisal Comment: A faded strip of cloth stained with tangerine juice, impossible to wash clean. Nojiko, possessing the awareness of an eldest daughter, would use it to tie her forehead tightly whenever her adoptive mother and eldest brother were busy in the tangerine grove. As a small child, she feared sweat flowing into her eyes and causing pain, worrying that it would break the heart of the brother who doted on her.】

That day, Siano fell silent for a long while, then slapped himself twice more.

I truly deserve to die!

The road of the martial world is long; today we meet again. Long time no see, everyone.

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(End of Chapter)