A white shirt, a light gray cloak.
Beneath the shadow of the hood were a pair of dim eyes filled with melancholy, as if all hope in the world had long since faded.
The young man in the mirror appeared to be around twenty years old, well-built and standing at 1.8 meters tall. His tight shirt clearly revealed a lean, muscular physique.
Yet, for some reason, he always carried an air of lethargy.
As he stared at his reflection, a complex, indescribable emotion flickered in Kyle's eyes.
He was a transmigrator.
A week ago, while playing a pirated mobile game, he suddenly lost consciousness without warning.
When he opened his eyes again, his soul had already entered this completely new body.
"Sure, I've read tons of webnovels and was fed up with the 996 grind back in my previous life..."
"But transmigrating just like that? Isn't it a little too random?"
Kyle muttered to himself as he stared into the mirror.
Even though he was an avid webnovel reader, this kind of brute-force, unreasoned transmigration still caught him off guard.
Luckily, upon arriving, he had immediately inherited the original body's memories, which spared him from panicking too much.
After sorting through the memories, he quickly realized…
This transmigration wasn't ordinary!
Because the world he had entered was none other than that of his favorite anime—One Piece!
And his current identity? He was the biological nephew of Admiral Kizaru, one of the strongest characters in the One Piece universe!
People always said Kizaru was the best uncle in the world.
Who would've thought—Kyle was now going to experience that unclely love firsthand!
In his past life, he was just an average Joe. Now, he had suddenly become a second-generation military elite.
Naturally, his residence was also among the elite: the Marine Headquarters—Marineford, home to many high-ranking officers' families.
A place hailed as the safest in the world, yet destined to be utterly destroyed by Whitebeard in the near future.
At this moment, Kyle was standing in his room, practicing the melancholic aura of the original body in front of the mirror.
Only when his handsome face finally displayed that lifeless look did he nod calmly and mutter:
"Hmm… That's more or less the vibe the original had."
"Gotta maintain it. Can't mess it up later."
Following the instructions in the secret letter, Kyle placed the newly delivered message over the flame of a nearby oil lamp.
As the flames licked the flammable paper, it quickly caught fire.
Only when the document was nearly reduced to ashes did Kyle let go of it, allowing the remnants to fall and disintegrate on the ground.
Watching the fire fade, he sighed deeply and grumbled in frustration.
"Damn it…"
"They couldn't have summoned me sooner or later? Of all times, they wait until I transmigrate to call me. Feels like I'm being targeted!"
After adjusting his collar one last time, Kyle walked out of his room.
That burnt letter was none other than a secret order from his uncle—Admiral Kizaru.
Although Kyle was Kizaru's nephew, he wasn't actually a Marine.
Why? As Usopp might say:
Kyle had the "terminal illness of dying if he joins the Marines."
Once upon a time, Kyle idolized his uncle and dreamed of wearing that cool "Justice" coat.
He even relied on his own talent and hard work to enter Zephyr's elite Marine training program and was praised by Zephyr himself as a "rare genius."
While not quite equal to the three future Admirals in their youth, he was at least on par with someone like Smoker.
Many had high hopes for Kyle, believing he could be a pillar of the Marines just like his uncle.
At age 12, Kyle believed it too.
But…
A tragic incident shattered the world of this genius boy.
Seven years ago, 13-year-old Kyle went on a holiday trip to the Sabaody Archipelago with his Marine parents aboard a civilian ship.
Being the closest island to Marineford, the route was supposed to be one of the safest on the Grand Line.
But fate had other plans.
A pirate crew appeared out of nowhere and raided the ship, committing horrific slaughter and plunder.
The pirate captain had a bounty exceeding 100 million berries.
Kyle's parents, a Navy Colonel and a Major, were no match for them—especially while trying to protect the civilians aboard.
In front of Kyle's eyes, both his parents were killed by pirates.
Kizaru arrived not long after and wiped out the pirates to the last man, rescuing Kyle.
But the dead could not return.
Seeing his parents slaughtered ignited deep psychological trauma within Kyle.
In his young mind, he blamed the Marines for his parents' deaths—for choosing to protect others, they lost their own lives.
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Kyle had led a smooth, privileged life, and the trauma hit him even harder than most.
Since that day, Kyle subconsciously resisted becoming a Marine.
Eventually, after skipping too many training sessions, a disappointed Zephyr kicked him out of the elite program.
A year later, Zephyr's training vessel was ambushed by pirates.
Only Zephyr and two cadets survived.
When young Kyle heard the news, it only confirmed his subconscious belief:
"People who become Marines will die."
Though irrational and baseless, this belief took deep root in his mind.
From then on, Kyle lived like any other military family member in Marineford.
Seven years passed in peace.
Until one week ago, when his body was taken over by a soul from another world.
…
…
Walking on marble-paved streets, Kyle surveyed his surroundings while maintaining his melancholic persona.
Since the original Kyle had long given up on being a Marine, he actually had no idea how to get to Kizaru's office.
Luckily, as soon as he stepped outside, he met a Marine officer who had clearly been waiting for him.
The officer handed him a wide conical hat that concealed his face and figure.
Disguised as a mysterious visitor, Kyle followed the man through a quiet path leading to Marine HQ's office complex.
"Seriously though, what's with Uncle Kizaru acting all secretive? What could he want from me?"
According to the original Kyle's memories, his mother once told him that she, Kizaru, and their eldest brother (killed by pirates in childhood) made Kizaru the second eldest—hence Kyle calls him "Second Uncle."
Under the wide-brimmed hat, Kyle's eyes darted back and forth, trying to guess what his uncle was planning.
Though he had never shared his trauma with anyone, surely Kizaru must've figured something out over the years.
Usually, Kizaru only visited Kyle at his home.
This was the first time in seven years that he'd summoned Kyle to Marine HQ.
It completely disrupted Kyle's plans.
He had intended to sneak out of Marineford today to activate the cheat power that transmigrated with him.
As a transmigrator, Kyle naturally came with a cheat—his "golden finger."
And it was none other than the pirated mobile game he was playing before transmigrating.
"Looks like I'll have to delay activating the system…"
Kyle sighed inwardly. Then, with a thought, a modest-looking interface appeared before his eyes.
Just like every low-budget mobile game, it was a cheaply reskinned title without official licensing.
The game was based on the One Piece world.
Players took the role of a rookie pirate captain, using gacha mechanics to summon crew and collect items.
What made it exciting was…
Since the game wasn't licensed, the developers shamelessly threw in characters and gear from other anime franchises into the gacha pool.
Though the gameplay was horribly unbalanced, the stunning character illustrations—especially the female ones—attracted many players.
Kyle was no exception.
Bouncing curves, smooth legs, sweet faces—he had fallen in love with the game's art.
Often while playing, he'd randomly open his browser...
If he could really use this cheat system now, Kyle believed his future would be bright.
This time, no holy light could obscure his vision!
"Hehe…"
Just thinking about it made Kyle chuckle like a fool.
However, good things never come easy.
At the moment, his cheat system was stuck on a surprising screen:
"The Great Pirate Era has begun! Create your own pirate crew and sail across the vast seas!""Please enter your pirate crew's name: ______"