Does the story sound better now, than the previous version? I changed the starting point of his life a bit in the first chapter, so it led to a lot of new content being written for chapter 2. I hope you guys like it!

Please Review!

Chapter 2

Life went on. I grew quickly and learned all sorts of things about the world.

For example, we lived in LogueTown, the last stop in the East Blue before going to the Grand Line. I was glad I wasn't living in the Grand Line. That place is crazy.

My uncle and aunt never told me what happened to my parents, no matter how much I asked. I realized that if it was pirates, they would have told me already. Which meant it had something to do with the marines.

Of course it did. Scumbags.

When I was four, I received my first mission. It was to learn how to swim. Strangely, there wasn't a reward listed. When you live on a world that is mainly islands, learning to swim is not really optional unless you want to never leave the island. I wouldn't trust traveling by boat without being able to swim either in this world. So I asked my uncle to teach me. My Uncle Mickey was more than happy to take and teach me on the coastline.

Yes, He was named Mickey, just like Mickey Mouse. And before you ask, yes, somehow he married someone named Minnie. No, they aren't mice.

It was weird how unnaturally well people were at swimming here, but that's just my preconceived notions from living on Earth. People in the One Piece World were more hardy. An olympic swimmer in our world was just a normal swimmer in the One Piece World.

One thing that I discovered was that I dislike swimming in salt water. Who knew that salt water has so much...salt? I hated whenever it got into my mouth. I wanted to gag. I got used to it quickly though enough to ignore it.

When he was teaching me, I took to it extremely well. I suppose the Extremely Fast Learner Trait was really helping here. I understood what Uncle Mickey wanted me to do, and did it. I think my Physically Adaptable Trait was also helping here because I got used to the water quickly and controlling my breathing. Once in a while, I would also get new ideas about how to move through the water, which made the learning process a lot faster. Clearly, the Genius Trait was working too.

The point here is that I chose two traits that seem to go well with the learning trait. Turns out, I didn't screw up my trait selection. Hooray!

After six months of weekends of swimming and eventually reaching the level of a pro swimmer in the One Piece World, I gained the "Like a Fish in Water" Trait. Why did it take so long? It's because no one in their right mind would let a four year old go to the sea alone to practice, that's why. We don't have pools.

It was honestly very surprising. I didn't expect that to happen at all, since the mission stated that there wasn't a reward. I think my other traits made it possible for me to become extremely good at swimming to develop this trait.

The new trait affected my body by making it more optimized for swimming. It was pretty cool. I won't ever swim better than fishmen or mermen, but against other humans, it would be a lot easier.

The Extremely Fast Learner trait was really helping in all aspects of my life. My coordination increased quickly, allowing me to dress myself easily when I was younger. I learned how to read and write in the World Language (what I assume is Japanese) really fast. I also learned other knowledge like basic history of the world, world geography, basic math (although that could have been knowledge I retained from my previous life), and basic sciences.

It was actually humbling that there was so much to know about this world. Loguetown wasn't even truly connected in the global sense. People really only knew information by word of mouth and the World Economy Newspaper that is delivered by the News Coo. The News Coo are large seagulls that wear hats and bags for the newspapers and collecting money. They go around delivering newspapers all over the world. Even if you are on the sea, they can find you. Capitalism at its finest folks, Thank god the World Government doesn't use them as spies as far as I know.

Because of this disconnect, it's really easy for the World Government to manipulate information. Heck, they are hacking into all of the Den Den Mushis that they can in the world to keep a watch on the populace and mark dissidents. Only important people have Den Den Mushis, so it's not like there are millions of them out there. For example, there's only one on this island that is owned by the Marine base.

After some time, I felt like I was stagnating. As my brain continued to develop, my mind and emotions were becoming more adult-like, catching up quickly with my mental age. Playing with other children began to feel irritating. I was too mature for other children and I felt like I had nothing to do. I would be starting school soon, but I was going to outpace them really fast. I tried to hide it from everyone as much as possible, but my family definitely noticed some things.

If only there were more Missions. That would give me something to focus on. Unfortunately, I had only gotten one in my life so far.

So I came up with a plan of my own. I decided to let loose a little bit and ask my family for help.

I went up to my uncle and aunt one afternoon. My uncle was a tall, jolly looking man, with a short beard, and always a smile on his face. He was the kind of person that would light up the room and generate laughter. My aunt was a kind, beautiful woman with long brown hair, and slightly plump from living a domestic life.

"Hey, Uncle Mickey? Aunt Minnie?"

"Yes dear?" My aunt was washing the dishes while my uncle was reading the newspaper.

"I'm bored."

"Go outside and play with your friends." My uncle said lazily, continuing to read his paper.

"It's not fun anymore." I said slowly.

My uncle stopped reading his paper. "What do you mean?"

"Playing with the other kids has gotten...tiring. It's boring to play the same games with them. I want to do something new."

"Is that why you seem to be avoiding the other kids, sometimes?" My uncle mused. "Well, you just learned how to swim. Do you want me to teach you something else?"

"What else is there?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, how about we learn the power of cleanliness!" He introduced enthusiastically. "Let's go learn how to wash the dishes, sweep the floors, and wipe the counters."

"I'm four, not stupid."

"Tsk. You were cuter when you were younger." Uncle Mickey kept thinking.

"Perhaps he needs to be challenged a bit." Aunt Minnie chipped in. "Krishna is pretty smart and more mature than his peers. Maybe we should start thinking about his future? What do you want to do when you grow up, Krishna?"

I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head. "I don't know." I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do in the future.

There were a lot of options in the world such as a ship builder, construction worker, doctor, waiter, merchant, chef, fisherman, etc. In the One Piece World, anything could end up being a lot more fun than expected.

I didn't know what I would enjoy doing. In my previous life, I had no ambition other than wanting to be a writer. I didn't have the talent for it, so I became a dentist instead.

I refuse to be a dentist again in the One Piece world. Plus, where could I get such specialized equipment for it?

"Well then, I guess we know where to start." My aunt declared confidently. "Mickey, take him around town and see if he can learn from other people in town about their jobs and get some experience about it."

Uncle Mickey sighed. "Alright, I'll send word that I won't be at work tomorrow." He looked at me and smiled. "We're going all around town on a hunt for Krishna's future! Let's do it!"

"Yeah!" I chimed in enthusiastically, matching his vibes.

"Not to break your happy moment, but your first year of school is going to start soon. If you start doing poorly in school, all bets are off!" Aunt Minnie warned me with an evil look in her eyes.

"Yes ma'am!" I saluted. Shouldn't ever be a problem because of my learning trait. I love that trait. I cannot stress how much I wish I had that in my previous life.

The next morning, we went around town, and asked around if there were shops or places willing to take me in and teach me things for a day or two a week.

The first place we walked into was a familiar looking shop with mainly swords and some other weapons. There was a short man who was bald on the top of his head with black hair on the sides. He had tan skin, red nose, and was wearing a blue shirt.

It was Ipponmatsu, the weapon's merchant. Roronoa Zoro gets two of his future swords from this guy.

Cool.

Can I just say that it's weird that you can just go and buy weapons off of the street? On the other hand, in America, apparently you can just go out and casually buy guns, so maybe it's not as weird as I thought.

I liked his shop. Swords and all of the other weapons were awesome. I feel like I could stare at them all day.

"Oi! Mickey! How are you doing?" Ipponmatsu waved us over.

"I'm good, you?" My uncle made some small talk.

"Business is booming!" He said happily. "There's lots of pirates traveling through to the Grand Line! And they're always looking to stock up on things! No doubt, your wife's clothing store is doing great too!"

Seriously, how have I not noticed all of the pirates going through town all this time? Hmm, is this why no one takes me to the commercial district that much?

Hmm. Better safe than sorry, I guess.

"Haha, yup!" My uncle agreed with him wholeheartedly. "Although, you never know if one of those bastards will turn on you."

"Heh!" Ipponmatsu brushed him off. "If they steal or attack people in this town, it'll be closed to all pirates in the future! They need us to secure goods before they head to the Grand Line! On top of which, we aren't pushovers! There's a reason why every shop owner has guns! If one person gets attacked or threatened, we'll band together and fight back. In addition, there's a marine base here, even if they aren't that strong. Making a commotion here will put those pirates on the World Government's radar in the Grand Line where the marines are a lot stronger!"

"That's true…" My uncle agreed with him, but still shook his head. "But we can't predict the actions of pirates with normal logic. A lot of those bastards are insane."

"There's always risks in business. We all accepted that when we chose to live and deal here." For a moment, Ipponmatsu looked pretty cool with how serious he was about it. "Anyways, I doubt you came to talk to me about possible pirate problems. What's going on? What brings you and your young charge to my fine shop? Looking to equip him with his first weapon?"

"Not today, Ippon." My uncle frowned slightly. It already looked like he may have already started regretting this venture. "My nephew here has no idea about what he wants to do in the future, so I was planning on going around with him and seeing if there were people willing to show him what they do for a living and teach him some stuff."

"Nice to meet you." I greeted as cued.

"I don't know…" Ipponmatsu hesitated. "Having children near weapons constantly without their parents is a bad idea." He shook his head. "I'm going to have to refuse. Sorry kid."

"It's okay." I was slightly disappointed, but it was fine. It's not like it was a blacksmithing place. That would have been really cool, and disappointing to miss out on. This place just sold the weapons here.

"Nonsense!" A voice came out from the back.

A tall, large woman with a pointed nose, low ears, long eyelashes, thin eyebrows, and shoulder-length, curly red hair emerged from the back room. She was wearing a light polo shirt and skirt, dark sweater, and a dark cap with stars on it. She took the opportunity to smack Ipponmatsu upside the head.

"Ow!" He clutched that back of his head. "What was that for?"

"You idiot! When we needed to close the shop because you were sick, who made you that soup? It was Minnie! When we left the island for vacation, who looked after the shop? It was Mickey and Minnie's family. When our son was having trouble getting his first job, who gave him a shot and taught him the trade?"

She looked at him pointedly, and he sighed. "It was Minnie. You're right. I suppose it's time to return that last favor. Alright Mickey. He's welcome to come to the shop whenever he wants to learn."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mission Available: Learn From Ipponmatsu's Shop

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Huh? No rewards listed again? That's messed up. What's the point of these missions if they don't give me traits?

Or is learning its own reward?

There weren't any answers incoming, so there was nothing to do but accept it.

Uncle Mickey smiled. "Thanks Ipponmatsu. Don't worry, he won't be here all that often. We're going to ask all the shops around if they can teach him stuff. It's more to learn about different products, how to handle business, and meet new people. Hopefully, something will spark his interest."

"That's reassuring…" Ipponmatsu mumbled.

We waved goodbye to Ipponmatsu, and we went to a bunch of the other shops in town like a grocery store, antique shop, music store, bakery, book store, butcher, confectionery shop, dairy store, doctor's office and pharmacy, florist, and junk shop. My aunt had her clothing store so we didn't need to ask anyone about that. Everyone agreed to help out and teach me basic knowledge.

I was actually really touched. I didn't expect that at all. The people here were pretty nice.

Of course, a huge part of it had to do with how helpful my aunt was around town and all of the connections that she built over time.

On the other hand, I think my family is kind of insane. Uncle Mickey has already found numerous people for me to learn from, and it doesn't appear like he has any intention of stopping.

"Um, Uncle Mickey?"

"Hmm? What is it, Krishna?"

"Don't you think this is enough?"

"Enough what?" He genuinely had no idea what I was referring to.

"Enough places to learn from." I supplied. "We already have twelve places that said they would teach me stuff."

"No way!" My uncle exclaimed. "Krishna, you aren't planning on working at each of these places forever! This is to help you find something that you're interested in. The moment that you realize that a certain occupation isn't for you, you can stop going. Just let them know and thank them for their help."

I was startled. "Is that okay?"

"Sure!" He encouraged me. "You're just a little kid. Everyone expects you to eventually lose interest anyways. As long as you're respectful, no one will care. Although, if you can stick to things, then I would highly recommend that you try to learn as much as I can from each place. Your knowledge is the only thing that can't be stolen from you."

That last part was a little dark. Must be the family secrets popping up again. I wonder what Uncle Mickey would think if he knew there was a devil fruit that could directly mess with your memories.

Anyways, I nodded in agreement. I guess it was fine. It wasn't a big deal since I was dying of boredom. No TV or internet does that to you.

Each one of these places gave me a mission just like Ipponmatsu's shop. There were no rewards listed for any of the missions. This system is harsh.

I think I figured something out though. Missions that popped up for "learning" something wouldn't give out rewards. It appears that the system did consider learning its own reward.

The swimming mission was also a learning mission, but it required practical experience, which is why I eventually received a trait. These newer missions do not require practical experience, but if I did get enough experience, I could probably get more traits.

The Trait System doesn't just give me traits when I complete a mission. Apparently I have to really earn them first so they get ingrained into my body with the system.

What a pain. Why can't I just get a system that just gives me stuff. Where's my beginner's gift pack?

*Nothing Happens*

Dammit! I thought randomly demanding a gift pack from your system is supposed to work. That's how all the stories go.

Well, that's how Chinese stories go, at least. I guess that explains a lot. Main characters in those Chinese web novels are always playing on easy mode.

I wish I got to play my life on easy mode.

Oh well. It's not like I lost something.

We were getting hungry, so my uncle decided to treat me to one of the nicest restaurants in town in celebration.

"So Krishna…" Uncle Mickey started to explain to me about what I should do when I meet people. "Remember that you aren't going to these shops just to learn how to run their shops."

"Hmmm? I'm not?" What else am I supposed to be doing then? Spying?

"Of course not!" Uncle Mickey rolls his eyes. "I mean, yes, you are going to learn that from them, but there is much more. Listen closely. Each of these stores has places where their products come from. For example, working at the grocery store can take you to the farms. Behind the butcher shop and milk shop are the ranches. Behind your aunt's clothes shop are the clothes makers. There are many other things behind all of these shops. I want you to find them and see if any of those jobs are something you want to do in the future too."

"WHAAAAT?" I exclaimed in surprise. "Is that a joke? How many jobs do you think I can do?" Clearly my uncle's expectations were more skewed than I thought they would be.

People in the restaurant gave us dirty looks and the waiter even came over to reprimand us.

After apologizing profusely, Uncle Mickey responded to me. "Just do whatever makes you happy. If you try something out a couple of times, and you don't find it fun at all, just move on. People can only do a certain number of things in their lifetime. In fact, those who are greatest are those who specialize in one thing and love doing it!"

"Oh!" That's right! I was thinking way too hard about all of this, using conventional gamer system thinking.

Last thing I wanted was to become a jack of all trades, and master of none. Better to find something I liked first and focus on obtaining traits in that direction. Otherwise I'll just end up with a mishmash of random traits that don't synergize. After all, obtaining traits takes a lot of time.

Anyways, just because I don't have the trait doesn't mean I can't learn something. I can still learn and do things without the corresponding traits and be skilled at it.

Traits are different from passive skills in the normal gamer system. Passive skills would directly make me better at performing certain actions. On the other hand, traits change something at the fundamental level, indirectly increasing my ability to perform certain actions. Unlike passive skills, traits don't guarantee constant proficiency at a certain level when completing a task. The result is similar though.

"How was your food today?" The waiter asked as he checked up on us.

"It was magnificent as always." Uncle Mickey patted his belly. "Let Phillip know it was delicious!"

"Tell me yourself!" A tall fat man wearing a chef's hat came to our table. "I just heard you were at my restaurant! You should have told me, so I could have entertained you myself!"

"Hahahaha! No worries my friend!" My uncle got up and gave him a hug. "I know you're always busy with your restaurant."

"And who's this?" The man looked at me.

"This is my nephew, Krishna." My uncle introduced us. "Krishna, this is Signore Phillip, one of the best chefs in town, and a childhood friend of mine."

"Wow!" Signore Phillip exclaimed. "You've gotten so big! Last time I saw you was when you were just a year old. I bet you don't remember me at all."

"We rarely get to see him because he is so busy. If he isn't here in the kitchen, he's been called to cook for some swanky party at other islands for famous people." My uncle filled me in.

"I'm never too busy for you my friend." Signore Phillip glared at him. "Ever since...that day, your family stopped inviting people over. All of us wanted to be with you during those dark times."

Ah. That explains why I didn't really know anyone.

"I'm sorry. We needed space to grieve." My uncle explained. "In addition, we wanted to keep the limelight off of Krishna, just in case people had bad intentions, until it became a footnote."

Why would people come after me?

"I know." Signore Phillip was exasperated. "You explained that to us already, but we would have made sure nothing happened."

"Better safe than sorry." My uncle was adamant. "You never know who is watching."

The chef just sighed in resignation. "Krishna, did you know that your uncle helped me create this place? When we were young, I was just starting out. I didn't have money to start my own business. Of course, neither did your uncle! But your uncle was resourceful. He used to go out for long hours to the sea and bring his entire catch to me. At that time, we struggled together to open up a food stall and I would make fish skewers or other treats and sell them on the road. It was tough but good times. Eventually, we saved up and bought a run down place. We remodeled it extensively ourselves, and after we made more money, hired others to come and make it even better. And that's how this place came about."

"Woah…" I never knew that my uncle was part owner of a restaurant. As far as I knew, he was always a fisherman. That was really cool.

"That's right." Chef Phillip was satisfied with my reaction. "Your uncle truly is an amazing person. Anyways, it's unusual to see you around at this hour, instead of working on your boat. Something up or did you just take a day off?"

"I took the day off for Krishna." Uncle Mickey explained what we were doing and who we'd seen so far.

"Hahahahahaha!" Phillip laughed his ass off. "You really never do anything in half measures. Instead, you always take it too far. Putting all of that on a five year old though..."

"It's fine." My uncle was dismissive. "Krishna may have taken his father's last name, but he also has the Astley blood from my family running through his veins."

"Well, my old friend, my kitchen is always open to your nephew if he wants to learn a little bit." Signore Phillip was sincere in his offer.

"Thank you, Phillip." My uncle's smile was infectious. "We will take you up on that offer."

We left and continued to look around everywhere. When we went near the marines, my uncle stopped and stared at it. He was holding my hand extremely tightly.

I knew it. Something definitely happened with those damn marines.

Someone tapped on my uncle's shoulder, breaking his stupor. It was a tall man with a lean build, large sideburns, mustache, and goatee. When Uncle Mickey saw who it was, he relaxed. "Hey Masterson. How's it hanging?"

It was Daddy Masterson, the guy who would have a sniper duel with Ussop in Loguetown.

"Nothing much, Mick." Daddy Masterson was quite a bit younger at this time, although he seemed to be sporting injuries. "Just got injured. Lost to a damn pirate in a duel."

"What?" My uncle was surprised. "They were that good? Dammit Masterson! We told you to leave them alone! The Red Hair Pirates were nice enough people for pirates! And the marine branch here isn't strong enough to have dealt with the fallout if they were truly serious."

Red hair pirates? Oh yeah. Dude was lucky to be alive. Shank's crew isn't afraid to get their hands dirty if someone chooses to bet their life. Daddy Masterson clearly had balls of steel to go after a future Yonko's crew.

Wait a second...the Red Hair Pirates were on this island and I missed it? Son of a bitch! I wanted to meet Shanks and the crew. It would have been awesome.

"I guess they are soft for pirates." He sighed. "Even though I tried to kill them for the bounty, they refused to do the same, just because I had a kid recently."

"And we thank them for it." Uncle Mickey breathed out in relief. "Going after pirates is a dirty business. You got lucky this time. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm turning in my resignation." Daddy quietly declared. "I have no right to be a marine anymore."

"..." My uncle stayed quiet. He really hated the marines. It was weird that my uncle had Daddy Masterson as a friend, but he must be okay with him because of years of friendship or something. I don't really know much of my family's friend circle yet.

Daddy Masterson continued. "When Yasopp of the Red Hair Pirates let me live...all I could feel at the end was relief!" He was disappointed in himself. "To be a marine, you need to have the resolve to die at any moment. Otherwise, you might end up fleeing at a critical moment and harming your brothers in arms! After being close to death, I feel fear when I think of leaving my daughter behind all alone. I just can't do it anymore…"

I went up to Daddy Masterson and patted him on the leg since my uncle didn't seem to be doing anything. "It's okay, uncle. Everything will be okay." I used simple words to get the feelings across so it wouldn't be weird that a kid like me could understand everything.

He looked down at me. "Is this…?"

"It's Ishaan and Sally's child." My uncle stated sadly.

It was the first time I had heard my parent's names. I don't know why, I never thought to ask. They were just mom and dad to me in my memories. I rolled them in my mind. One was Indian, if that was a thing here. One Piece had a large variety of names that originated from Japanese, English, and Spanish. Who says there can't be Indian names here too? That explains my name. The other was a basic white name like Mickey, which made sense because Uncle Mickey was my mom's brother.

"You know, about what happened to-" Masterson started.

"Save it." My uncle's eyes darted to me and back. "You know as well as I do what happened. And you know exactly what the marines did."

Damn. Fine. Keep your secrets. I'm not stupid. I know this has to do with me and my parents. I'll find out eventually, one way or another.

"That's…" Masterson tried again, but my uncle just shook his head and motioned towards me. "Fine. What are you guys doing out and about anyways?"

"I'm looking for things to do!" I piped up at this moment. "I want to figure out what I want to do when I grow up, so I asked Uncle Mickey for help. He got people to teach me things at a sword shop, pet shop, bakery, restaurant, bookstore, florist, doctor's office and lots of other places!"

"Heh! That's a lot of different things you're going to be doing, little guy!" He had a light bulb moment. "Since I'm going to leave the marines, I'll have a bunch of free time anyways. I plan to take up bounty hunting since I know how they work already, and can limit myself to easier targets. I could use some help. How about I show you the ropes?"

Me, learning bounty hunting? Holy shit!

"I don't think that's a good idea." Uncle Mickey hesitantly stated. "That's dangerous work."

"It's fine. I only plan on teaching him the support aspects of the job." Daddy Masterson was really getting into it. "Information gathering is vital, no matter what profession he goes into the future."

Bleh. Boring! As useful as it may be, that is just too dull for me.

"That's fine...I suppose." My uncle reluctantly gave his approval. "Although I will have to make sure with Minnie first."

Masterson nodded to my uncle. He saw that I didn't really want to learn from him, so he threw out some bait. "And if you do a great job, I might even spend some time teaching you how to shoot."

Bingo! "Alright! I'm all in!" I hear shooting guns is fun! I can't wait!

Masterson saw my face and started laughing. "It's a deal then. I'll see you soon then!" My uncle thanked him and Masterson just waved it off and left with a smile.

Uncle Mickey watched him go into the distance, and turned back to the marine headquarters. After a moment, all he could say was, "I need a drink."

After making me promise not to tell my aunt about this, he took me to a bar that appeared to be closed, even though the door was open. It was completely empty except for an old man that appeared to be cleaning glasses behind the counter.

That made sense. It was basically just an hour after lunch. People would be working until they got back in the evening, and then they would relax at these kinds of places.

"Marines again?" The old man asked while offering him a drink.

"Yeah." My uncle took the glass gratefully.

"I figured. You only come here when you seem to come in contact with the marines."

"..." My uncle just stared at the drink quietly, as if it had all of the answers.

"First time you brought a squirt to my place, though. Not sure I appreciate that." He gestured towards me.

"It's my nephew. Don't worry. He's a good kid."

"Oh, it's that kid you talk about, huh?" He looked me up and down. "Don't see what's so special about him."

"Nothing at all." My uncle stated calmly.

"Then why were the marines after him years ago?" The hell?

My uncle's head whipped up faster than I thought possible. "WHAT?"

"I thought you knew." The old man said casually. "They went to everyone and everywhere to ask about your family. Most people didn't say anything, but a few were coerced. Apparently, they found out about all of you and were going to arrest your entire family."

"How could you know about something like that?" My uncle asked suspiciously. I could understand that. Old dude just dropped a bomb randomly like that.

"This bar used to be bustling before, when Gol D Roger was alive." He shook his head sadly. "Now, it's only frequented by marines regularly. They say a lot of stuff they aren't supposed to when they get drunk. Apparently, one day they were raving to go, and the next, it was completely canceled. It was strange, so I remembered it now when I saw your nephew."

My uncle snorted. "It's not that easy to mess with the Astley family."

Huh. Honestly, that was an extremely unexpected turn of events. Didn't think our family had pull like that, since my uncle is a fisherman and my aunt is the owner of a clothing store. Guess there's still a lot under the surface that I don't know about.

"I suppose not, after seeing that." The old man commented. "Enough about these old matters. You're here extremely early in the day. We aren't even open. What's going on?"

Wow. My uncle must really follow a routine for everyone to react like this.

"Nothing serious. I was helping Krishna here. He wants to figure out what he wants to do in the future, so I was taking him all over town and asking people to teach him stuff and show him the ropes. That way, he can learn about all of the different things out there."

"Not a bad idea." The old man nodded. "Hey kid, any interest in learning how to make alcohol?"

"Aren't I too young to learn something like that?"

"Ho ho ho! You're never too young to learn how to make some beer!" He answered in response.

"…" I looked at my uncle in response. I actually do kind of want to learn how to make alcohol. It sounded interesting. On the other hand, while I know I'm mentally older, this situation seemed a bit sketchy for a child to be in. In my opinion, it was just as sketchy as the bounty hunting teacher that we stumbled on.

"I'm okay with it, under one condition." Uncle Mickey said hesitantly.

"What is it?" The old man stared a little hard at my uncle. "As it is, I'd be sharing trade secrets. If it isn't reasonable, we can forget the whole thing."

"This is non-negotiable." My uncle shook his head. "You're not allowed to let Krishna drink anything when teaching him."

"What?" The old man asked incredulously. "How is he supposed to learn about the drinks then?"

"Either you figure it out, or we just forget about this." My uncle was firm. "Krishna isn't allowed to drink any alcohol until he's 18 years old. I won't let anything affect his growth."

Damn. I guess that's true though. Drinking alcohol before a certain age can be bad for your mental and physical health. It's also a lot easier to become an alcoholic.

On the other hand, I'll definitely drink when I am older. A guy has to have some fun, am I right?

"Fine." The old man grumbled. "I guess I can work around that." His eyes lit up. "In fact, that might even make him better. He can learn about alcohol using all of his other senses instead."

"Why are you so hung up on this?" My uncle's eyes narrowed. "It's strange that you're still willing to teach him even after I added on a condition like that. Although I'm a regular customer, I don't believe we're that close for you to help out like this."

It was true. My uncle didn't drink that much to begin with, so he probably didn't come here that often. There was no way he could have developed a solid relationship with this guy, unless they'd known each other since my uncle was a child. That clearly wasn't the case here.

The old man sighed. "I'm old now, and when you started talking about teaching the younger generation, it made me think. I don't have any family left to teach or pass on this bar to. If your nephew wants to learn from me, it would satisfy a craving of mine. Even if he doesn't take up the craft or my bar, if he learns even a little bit of my skills, at least something of myself will survive the passage of time. I don't want to be like Roger. I don't know if he even left anything behind other than the supposed mystery of the One Piece."

We were silent. It must be hard knowing that once you die, you'll probably be completely forgotten. Like you never existed.

"Alright." My uncle agreed somberly. "He can learn from you."

"Don't make that face." The old man smiled at us. "Even if your nephew doesn't learn from me, it doesn't mean others won't want to. I just offered it to you guys first since you were the ones that made me think about teaching in the first place."

Ah, that explains it.

"Krishna has a lot of different teachers, but he'll try to come once a week. At least, as long as my nephew is interested in learning it." My uncle promised.

"Sounds good." Raoul spoke to me. "Hey kid! The name's Raoul! I'll be looking forward to teaching you!"

I froze for a second. "Thanks. I'll see you soon!"

Raoul? Anime episodes only Raoul? I should have put it all together. It was an old man wearing a white, red-hemmed shirt, a gold necklace and earrings, a purple hat, and small black glasses working at a bar called "Gold Roger". He barely has a role in the story though, as he casually meets Luffy when he gets lost.

Huh, I've met three side characters that were a part of the One Piece story. Cool.

After we left, my uncle took me to the docks. "I think that's more than enough people to learn from. The last thing you are going to do is learn the fishing trade from me."

"Fishing?" That doesn't sound like fun.

"That's right! Fishing is the lifeblood of Loguetown!" Uncle Mickey's whole demeanor changed. He was very enthusiastic about his own career choice. "Seafood is a major part of everyone's staple diet, especially for people of island nations. Fishing is the one occupation that allows you to keep your family fed and also make money! As long as you know how to fish, when you're on the sea, you can survive much easier!"

"Ehhh…." It was a good thing to learn, but I didn't really want to do it.

"All complaints will be ignored!" My uncle declared grandly. "Sometimes, you need to do things that are more active! Learning is good, but only if you know how to survive in this world. Fishing will help you get into shape! You're going to join me at least once a week on my boat and learn our family's main trade!"

I resigned myself to my fate. "Okaaaay."

It's fine. If I was ever forced into dire straits, knowing how to fish can prevent me from starving. In addition, if I wanted to see this world-which I did-knowing how to fish would make travel a lot easier.

"LET'S GO!" He cheered as our boat set off.

"Hey uncle, are you going to teach me how to fish with a rod too?" I asked.

"Haha! We'll get to that eventually! Glad you're getting into it!"

"No, that's not what's happening...don't be in denial, Uncle Mickey…"

God, this was going to be a long year…

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