The slap of daylight through the grimy window was no kinder than the old man's voice.
"Wake up, you piece of shit!"
The words hit the boy like a boot to the ribs. He stirred, his body aching from the thin mattress and thinner mercy of the house he called home. Above him loomed his uncle, a gnarled figure backlit by the sickly morning sun. A beer bottle dangled from his grip, the liquid inside sloshing like the venom in his throat.
"You bastard," the old man spat, his breath sour with last night's sins. "How long you gonna lie there? I'm hungry. Get up and make the damn food."
The boy peeled his eyes open, slow as a rusted hinge. The room smelled of sweat, spilled liquor, and something deeper—something rotted, like the promises adults never kept. "Damn you…" he murmured, the words slipping out before he could choke them back.
The old man laughed, a sound like gravel in a tin can. He staggered toward the doorway, his free hand already clawing at another beer on the cluttered table. "Hahaha! That's a good boy…" The praise was hollow, a knife wrapped in rotten cloth.
The boy waited until the footsteps faded before letting his fists tighten in the sheets. The truth coiled in his chest, sharp and familiar: "Only if I wasn't an orphan… stuck with a drunkard uncle who treats me like a slave."
Shin moved on autopilot—cracking eggs, frying rice, ignoring the way his uncle's eyes glazed over with each new beer. The tiny apartment was a tomb of cracked dishes and unpaid bills, but cooking was the one thing that kept the old man's fists at bay.
They ate in silence. The TV droned in the background, some news report about another disaster Shin would never have the luxury to care about. His uncle scarfed down the food like a starved dog, then slumped into his chair, already half-asleep.
Shin exhaled, retreating to his corner of the room. His only escape? A tattered One Piece manga, its pages worn from too many rereads.
"If only life was like this…" he thought, tracing Luffy's grinning face. "A world where freedom actually exists."
Then—it happened.
A searing white light erupted from the manga's pages, flooding the room. Shin gasped, but the sound was swallowed by the roar of wind, of waves, of a voice that seemed to echo from the sky itself:
"YOU WANTED FREEDOM, DIDN'T YOU?"
The last thing he saw was his uncle's drunken stupor snapping into shock—before the world shattered.
"System Activated."
The words burned behind Shin's eyelids, searing into his vision like a brand. His lungs heaved—hot, dry air scraping his throat.
Where… am I?
He blinked against the glare of the sun, his fingers digging into soft, golden sand. The scent of salt and spice hung heavy in the air, mixed with the distant cries of seagulls.
The name surfaced in his mind like a half-remembered dream. The desert kingdom. The war. The rebellion.
No way…
His hands trembled. Did I really get reincarnated into the world of One Piece?
A holographic screen flickered before him, its eerie blue glow cutting through the haze of his disbelief.
[Cursed Energy System: Jujutsu Protocol Loaded]
level 1 -
Innate Technique: unknown
Cursed Energy Reserve: 2%
[Current World: One Piece – Alabasta Kingdom]
This isn't Japan. This isn't even Earth.
A gust of wind howled past him, kicking up a veil of sand that stung his cheeks. He squinted, his eyes adjusting to the endless dunes stretching toward a sky so vast it made his chest ache.
Alabasta.
His pulse spiked. A system. A real, functioning system. Not just some hallucination.
"Explain," he demanded under his breath.
The screen shimmered, text rewriting itself as if reading his thoughts.
[System Origin: Unknown]
[Primary Function: Adaptation of Jujutsu Kaisen's Cursed Energy Framework to Host World's Physics]
[Warning: Energy Reserves Limited. Replenishment Required.]
Shin exhaled sharply. So I've got cursed energy… in a world without curses
Shin clenched his fist, focusing on the strange warmth coiling in his gut—cursed energy. It felt like liquid fire, sluggish but responsive.
The crowd roared around Shin, a river of people surging toward the docks, their voices a cacophony of excitement and relief.
"The Straw Hats! They really defeated Crocodile!"
"Princess Vivi is safe because of them!"
"They're setting sail soon—we have to see them off!"
Shin's heart pounded in his chest. The Straw Hats… Luffy… they were here? Just moments ago, they were just ink on paper to me. And now—
His fingers trembled. The system screen flickered at the edge of his vision, but he ignored it.
This is real. All of it.
A grin split his face. "I'm free."
No more drunken uncle. No more rotting apartment. No more fists and curses and empty beer bottles.
He was in the world of One Piece—and the Straw Hats were right there.
[System Alert: Emotional Spike Detected – Cursed Energy Fluctuating]
Shin barely registered the notification. He pushed through the crowd, elbows digging into shoulders, sandals slipping on sun-baked stone.
"Move! Please, I need to—!"
A burly man in a turban scowled down at him. "Kid, you'll get trampled!"
"I don't care!" Shin ducked under his arm, darting forward.
The scent of salt grew stronger. The cheers grew louder.
And then—
The sea.
Endless blue stretched before him, waves crashing against the docks where a familiar ship—the Going Merry—sat anchored, its figurehead grinning as if sharing a private joke with the world.
And there, on the deck—
Luffy.
Straw hat tilted back, laughing at something the long-nosed guy—Usopp—was shouting. Zoro leaned against the railing with chopper, looking bored but content. Nami was yelling at someone, hands on her hips. Sanji twirled on the deck.
Shin's breath caught.
They're all here. Right in front of me.
For a moment, he forgot about the system. About cursed energy. About the fact that he was a stranger in this world.
All he felt was joy.
Then—
[WARNING: Anomalous Energy Detected]
A pulse of something dark rippled through the air.
Shin's vision blurred. The system screen glitched, text scrambling into gibberish before reforming:
[??? Presence: 12% Manifestation]
[Location: 300 Meters Northwest – Underground]
His blood turned to ice.
What the hell was that?
He spun, scanning the crowd—but no one else seemed to notice. The celebration continued, blissfully unaware.
Then, a voice—not his own—echoed in his skull.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
Shin whirled.
A man in a black cloak stood at the edge of the docks, his face hidden beneath a hood. But Shin could feel his gaze.
"Cursed energy doesn't belong in this world," the stranger murmured, voice carrying unnaturally over the din. "Yet here you are."
[SYSTEM ERROR]
[UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED]
[ADMINISTRATOR? Y/N]
Shin's hands shook.
Who—or what—is that?
And why did the system just call him… Administrator?