The morning air was crisp, carrying the scent of dew-soaked earth as the first rays of sunlight stretched lazily over the horizon. Hunnt stood in the clearing where he trained every day, fists clenched, breath steady, sweat running in faint streaks down his face.
He had just finished another round of running, punching, and strengthening drills. His arms and legs moved with a precision and sharpness that would have once left him gasping for air. Now, however, his body barely protested. His fists no longer ached, his lungs no longer burned.
Instead, a restless heaviness sat in his chest.
"…This is getting boring," he muttered, lifting his gaze toward the sky. The words hung in the cool air like an admission. "I need something new… something more."
The familiar safety of Ravenshire suddenly felt too small, too confining. Driven by impulse, Hunnt wandered beyond the outskirts of the village, his feet carrying him down a twisting dirt path lined with thick forest. Birdsong filled the air, broken only by the rustle of leaves in the morning breeze.
After a while, the trees parted to reveal a quiet, untouched clearing beside a slow-moving river. Sunlight shimmered across the water, and the open space hummed with a sense of calm. Hunnt's lips curved into a grin.
"This place…" he whispered, scanning the ground, the sky, the water. "Yeah. This'll work."
He dropped into a cross-legged seat on the grass. Closing his eyes, his thoughts drifted far away — to a life he no longer had.
His smartphone. His late-night anime binges. Hours lost to gaming. Familiar screens glowing in the dark.
A small laugh escaped him. "One Piece, huh…"
And then it struck him — sharp, sudden, and electric.
Rokushiki.
The six secret techniques of the Marines. His heartbeat quickened as the names surfaced in his mind:
Soru — super-speed, the illusion of vanishing.
Tekkai — muscles hardened like steel.
Geppo — leaping into the air as if stepping on the sky itself.
Shigan — a finger thrust with the force of a bullet.
Rankyaku — a slicing kick of compressed wind.
Kami-e — a body so light it flowed with the breeze.
The corner of his mouth lifted into an eager grin. If I can move my body faster, harder, lighter… maybe I can really pull it off here.
Hunnt rose to his feet, excitement thrumming through his veins. "I'll try Soru first. Just need to stomp my feet ten times, right? Easy."
He took position, legs bent, recalling the images of blurring Marines flashing across his old screen.
"Alright… here goes nothing."
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
He hurled himself forward—
—and immediately went sprawling face-first into the dirt.
"…Ow."
Spitting out a mouthful of grass, Hunnt rolled onto his back, staring up at the sky. Instead of frustration, laughter bubbled out of him.
"That… that felt different. Faster."
Dusting himself off, his grin widened, eyes gleaming with reckless excitement.
"Alright, Rokushiki… let's see if you work in this world."
---
High above, concealed in the branches of a sturdy oak, a pair of bright feline eyes blinked.
Pyro had been wandering the outskirts of Ravenshire when his sharp ears caught the sound of stomping and crashing. Curiosity drew him here — and now, crouched low with his tail swishing lazily behind him, the Palico watched in silence.
From his vantage point, he saw everything: the small human running, stomping, tripping, crashing into the dirt, and then rising again with a grin that never faltered.
"Nya…" Pyro murmured under his breath, his whiskers twitching. "What's this little one doing? Training? But… nya, those moves are strange."
He tilted his head, ears flicking, eyes narrowing in focus. There was no polish, no proper stance or technique in the boy's movements — only raw, chaotic effort. But beneath the clumsiness was something undeniable: determination that burned brighter with every failure.
"Different… he's definitely different… nya…"
The Palico stayed hidden in the shadows of the branches, tail curling with intrigue as he continued to watch. Something about this boy pulled at his instincts. He didn't know why — not yet — but he couldn't look away.