A 10th-century public officer in Japan who became the Pirate King

In 10th century Japan, there was a man who changed careers from public officer to pirate king. Fujiwara no Sumitomo was born into a family of high-ranking nobles. But his father died when he was still young. And during this time, that meant he was going to have almost zero chance in thriving in the noble realm. So, he was like a noble dropout.

But his uncle, who was appointed as the provincial governor of what was then called Eel Province, kindly invited him to come along and help him out. "I know you're a good boy. You can understand people's feelings, which is a talent I don't have, and my subjects hate me for it. I can see you become a star public officer unlike me."

"Thank you, uncle. I hope so."

Now, this inland sea in western Japan is called the Seto Inland Sea, and there were always pirates. So Sumitomo's first job was the coast guard of Iyo Province. So he went around rescuing pirates, but in doing so, he learned that pirates were just as human as he was.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I robbed a cargo ship and took their necklace. Our Tamachan died a month ago. She was the best hunter."

"Just don't do pirate stuff. Just stay on land and grow crops."

"Do you think we became pirates because we wanted to? What? We used to be farmers. The government's supposed to take 8% of our yield, but the governors they sent, most of them were corrupt, and they took 30%, 40%, whatever they pleased."

"Seriously?"

"So guys, just taking back what was taken. Well, except the necklace that I understand. I am stealing a necklace."

So when his uncle's term as a provincial governor ended, Sumitomo was like, "Well, Sumitomo, that was the job of a governor. Coercing peasants to pay out more tax than they should by mentioning big names like the emperor and whatnot. That's a skill."

"Uncle, I'm not leaving."

"What?"

"They all recommended me for the position. Who's going to be the king of the pirates?"

"What did you say?"

"I'm going to be the king of the pirates."

So, Sumitomo became the head of all the pirate clans in the central inland sea and went around assaulting every government office in every province. During this time, the imperial court was busy firefighting another revolt in eastern Japan. So, they didn't have the resources to do a manhunt for Sumitomo. They tried giving Sumitomo a noble rank to please him and calm him down. But the rank they gave him was the 14th degree out of 15°. So Sumitomo was like, "Just 14,000 berries? I'm not a man who settles for 14,000 berries. I am the man who is going to become the pirate king."

So he went around conquering all the provinces facing the central inland sea until he was arrested in 941. He died in jail. Villains who used to be kind-hearted. I feel they are very.