Year 1518 of the Sea Circle Calendar
Grand Line — Marineford
Marine Headquarters
Outside the Fleet Admiral's office, the stationed marines stood ramrod straight, faces solemn and unreadable.
"GARP!!!"
A thunderous roar erupted from within, rattling the building like a minor earthquake.
Yet not a single marine flinched.
Their posture remained perfect, expressions like stone—utterly unshaken.
After all, if there wasn't a daily outburst from those two inside, that would be cause for concern.
---
Inside, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was fuming, pointing an accusatory finger at Garp, who was lounging lazily on the office sofa.
"I hid the rice crackers! How the hell did you find them again?!"
"Bahaha! With your hiding skills? It's either under the sofa or the table. No creativity at all!"
Garp cackled while stuffing cracker after cracker into his mouth, unfazed by Sengoku's fury.
"You think you're clever? Back in the day, that brat—"
Sengoku abruptly cut himself off. His anger ebbed, replaced by a heavy silence as he slumped back into his chair with a sigh.
Garp, too, fell quiet, the crunch of crackers ceasing.
"…It's been a year, hasn't it?" Sengoku murmured.
Two long minutes passed before Garp finally responded.
"I didn't have much choice. You know his condition. Letting it continue would've been dangerous."
"You were the same when you were young," Sengoku said quietly.
"This is different," Garp replied, voice firm.
Sengoku gave a slow nod. He couldn't deny it. Once, he too had chased lofty ideals—Justice that ruled the world.
But now…
"His strength… it's too weak."
There it was. The truth, spoken aloud.
In this world, strength granted freedom—at least, as long as you didn't cross the World Government's bottom line.
Just like Garp.
And just like the younger Sengoku, once a fierce believer in ideals.
But that era was long gone.
The calligraphy scroll on the wall, once bearing the phrase Justice Reigns Supreme, had been replaced years ago.
Now, only two words remained:
Absolute Justice.
---
East Blue — Three Nautical Miles from the Calm Belt
Rhodes Island
Once, this small island had served as a key naval outpost—its sole purpose: to monitor and intercept pirates attempting to slip into the East Blue via the Calm Belt.
Why so much caution?
Because the East Blue was one of the World Government's most vital economic centers.
But over time, the outpost lost its strategic value. After all…
Pirates from the first half of the Grand Line simply lacked the power to cross the Calm Belt.
And those who could—the true monsters from the New World—couldn't reach the East Blue directly. They had to pass through the New World, loop through the North or West Blue, and re-enter the Grand Line via Reverse Mountain before even approaching this sea.
By then, Marine HQ would have already picked them up on their radar.
As for the outpost itself?
If a pirate strong enough to make that journey ever reached the East Blue, a low-level marine base like this wouldn't stand a chance. They'd be obliterated before they could even send a distress signal.
So, over decades, the once-bustling station—with over a hundred marines—was gradually downsized.
Until only a skeleton crew remained.
Within the Navy, Branch 157 became a joke:
The Forgotten Outpost.
The Marine Retirement Home.
The geography didn't help either.
According to official charts, the East Blue is split into two regions:
1. The Prosperity Zone — centered around the Goa Kingdom and nearby territories. This area held most of the populated islands Luffy once visited.
2. The Desolate Belt — a thousand-mile stretch toward the Calm Belt, nearly devoid of islands, towns, or people.
Even pirates avoided it. Why sail across a sea with no villages to raid?
And so, Branch 157 drifted into irrelevance.
No pirates.
No threats.
No missions.
Just silence.
For decades.
Until one year ago.
---
Inside the Laboratory
Colonel Luo Lan stared at the syringe in his hand, filled with a glowing blue liquid. His eyes shimmered with something he hadn't felt in years—hope.
Beside him stood a disheveled man in a crooked lab coat, hair a mess, buttons misaligned—Dr. Seras.
"Seras," Luo Lan said, voice tense. "Have you tested it yet?"
Twenty years.
For twenty damn years, he had been a weakling.
Despite forging his body to its limits… the result?
5 Doriki.
Pathetic.
An average marine had at least 10.
Even some civilians reached 7 or 8.
But him?
That might finally change.
How could he not be excited?
"We tested it using your cells," Seras replied, adjusting his glasses. "The results were promising. But… since your condition is unique, we couldn't conduct live trials."
Luo Lan nodded. Of course.
There was no one else like him.
Because he wasn't from this world.
He was a transmigrator—a man from Earth, reborn in the world of One Piece.
A body jumper, no less.
Still a full-body transmigration, huh...
Originally, being transmigrated with your own body didn't seem like such a bad deal—after all, soul transmigration meant using someone else's body, and that always felt a little awkward.
But...
The problem with full-body transmigration was that his body—was that of an Earth human.
And let's be honest, have you ever seen an Earth human capable of pushing their body to the kind of superhuman limits you find in the world of One Piece?
It just wasn't possible. There was a hard racial limit.
And that, right there, was the real reason why Luo Lan only had 5 points of Doriki.
It wasn't because he didn't work hard. Quite the opposite, in fact—back when he was stationed at Marine Headquarters, he trained harder than anyone else, pushed himself relentlessly. But the results?
"Can I inject it directly?" he asked.
"Yes, Colonel. But just so you're aware, the process is going to be extremely—pain—?"
Before Dr. Seras could even finish his warning, his eyes widened in shock.
Luo Lan had already pressed the injector against his left arm and was steadily pushing the glowing blue liquid into his veins.
You couldn't really blame him. Luo Lan had waited far too long for this day to come.
Seras nearly jumped out of his skin.
He hadn't even finished speaking, and the Colonel had already injected himself?
A second later, a pain beyond comprehension surged through Luo Lan's entire body.
This wasn't just physical pain—it was something deeper. Harder to define. As if—
As if his very soul was being torn apart.
Even Luo Lan couldn't stay upright under the weight of it. He dropped to one knee, barely able to keep conscious. His thoughts began to blur.
"Damn, it's already begun!"
"What are you all standing around for?! Hurry! Get the Colonel onto the testing platform and activate all monitoring systems!"
"Move, move!"
Seras was shouting orders in a panic.