Seagulls are flying over the blue sea, the calm sea surface reflects the orange sunlight, and a small boat is sailing slowly on the mirror-like sea surface.
"What a nice and sunny day!" A thin boy stretched lazily on the boat.
"This world is much more beautiful than those in cartoons." The boy admired the sun rising from the sea and felt the cool sea breeze, feeling extremely relaxed.
His name is Xeon. In his past life, he had a car accident and was reincarnated in the world of One Piece.
He was born in an ordinary village. Therefore, he concluded that he was not the protagonist of the story.
In fact, he wanted to change the world and help suffering characters, but after being beaten and brought to tears repeatedly by neighborhood kids, he gave up on that idea.
Besides, he didn't even have a system.
Also, the people in his village are very kind, and there's a girl who loves him. To him, living such a simple life is something very fulfilling.
At least, considering the pressures of his previous life.
Fishing every day, spending time with his family, walking on the beach with his girlfriend, enjoying the dim sunset together. This is life.
"I miss my girlfriend. Let's finish fishing early and go back." Xeon pulled the net. He was lucky and got a great catch.
"People in this world are really unnecessarily strong!" Xeon sighed. In his previous life, a 16-year-old boy could never pull such a full fishing net.
The boat was slowly heading toward a nearby island, and Xeon was rowing.
Xeon approached the shore, tied the boat, and carried the large fishing net.
"Hey, isn't this Xeon? You are quite capable, little brat."
"Uncle Nochi, I'm going to marry your daughter!"
"What did you say! You little bastard!"
Xeon greeted everyone along the way and arrived at the village. The village was very small, and each house was a little far away. The house next to his house was Uncle Nochi's house, which was also Henna's house.
"Xeon, you're back!" A soft voice came, full of surprise and joy.
Shortly after, the girl in the house rushed outside.
The girl was wearing a fabric dress, her hands were covered in fish scales and water stains, and there was a smile on her face. With her black hair and wide forehead, she was very beautiful to me.
Her peach blossom eyes, crescent-shaped eyebrows, and the dimples that appeared when she smiled always made my heart beat faster.
Who wouldn't love such an innocent girl at 16?
"Today's harvest is great, Henna. I'll bring you something to eat later. Oh, and also this."
Xeon pulled out a palm-sized pink seashell from his pocket.
"It's so beautiful, is it a gift for me?"
Henna carefully took it and examined it attentively, her brown eyes were shining.
"Thank you, I love it. I'll go back to cooking now. See you in our usual place in the evening."
Henna stuck her tongue out playfully.
Bakus returned home and gave the fish to his mother. When he heard that his father had gone to the field, he told his mother he would help his father with the farm work.
Since the island was very remote, there were vast barren lands.
The important thing was that there were no tax-collecting nobles, so everyone could live a comfortable life.
But that also meant the island wasn't protected by the Marines and didn't have an army to defend against foreign forces.
When they arrived at the field, Xeon began to help his father with the farm work. His mother came to bring him food. After eating, he continued working and only returned home when the sun was about to set.
Xeon ran to the place where he had promised to meet Henna.
On the beach of the island where they often went for walks, there were unforgettable memories and views they had admired together.
When Xeon reached the beach, he saw Henna staring dreamily at the setting sun. The cold and damp sea breeze was blowing through her hair, and the tides were gently caressing her delicate feet.
Xeon was stunned.
When Henna turned around, she saw Xeon staring at her blankly. She laughed, ran toward Xeon, and gently patted his head.
"Hey, what are you looking at?"
Xeon snapped out of it and grinned.
"My girlfriend is so beautiful?"
Henna's lovely face blushed slightly as if reflecting the magnificent sunset in the sky.
But the sunset wasn't as beautiful as Henna.
That's what Xeon thought.
In previous lives, a love like this was as rare as panda blood.
That's why Xeon loved this girl who cared for him so deeply.
Henna held Xeon's hand and interlocked their fingers tightly.
The two of them were walking along the beach after sunset. They weren't saying a word, just walking.
Everything looked so beautiful.
If only time could stay in this moment.
Xeon thought this kind of life wasn't bad at all.
Even though he hadn't seen the endless ocean, hadn't eaten a devil fruit, hadn't become a powerful leader, and hadn't changed the world... this kind of life was beautiful too!
The two of them were sitting on the beach, and Henna was playing with the pink seashell.
"You really like this seashell."
"Yes, you gave it to me."
"Do you remember what day it is today?"
"Of course I remember. Today is the sixteenth anniversary of our meeting. When are you going to marry me?"
"Let's do it tomorrow. I've already talked to Uncle Nochi, and we agreed."
In this world, getting married was very simple. As long as two people agreed to be together, the rich would have weddings, and the poor would keep everything simple.
And in this village, there was no high bride price, no education equivalency, and none of the hardships from the previous life.
"Henna, life might be very hard in the future."
"It's okay, I can help you. If you're tired, I'll support you."
"From now on, we'll walk together."
"Then you can't hit me like my dad after drinking."
"What if I hit you?"
"Then... can you hit me a little more gently?"
Xeon looked at Henna's serious expression, her peach blossom eyes were tearful and full of pleading, as if her heart was in pain.
"It hurts my heart to even touch you, I was just joking."
Henna's face was full of smiles again, with two cute dimples forming on both cheeks.
"Xeon, please don't leave me."
Henna had lost her mother when she was five and was afraid her relatives would abandon her. She never wanted to feel such loneliness again.
"No, I'll always be with you, always..."
When night falls, it swallows the remaining light.
"Henna, go back. I'll marry you tomorrow."
"Okay then, I'll be waiting for you."
Even though it was dark all around, Henna felt like everything was glowing brightly, because... her sun was beside her and was giving her light...