The year was 1520 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Somewhere in the East Blue, on a small, nameless island.
Outside a modest wooden clinic, a long line of people had gathered. The air buzzed with chatter and impatience.
"The weather's fine today! Think Doctor Law will be seeing patients?"
"Who knows! I've been waiting for hours and haven't even seen his shadow!"
"Hours? I've been here since four in the morning! I didn't even dare go relieve myself!"
"Tch, that's rough. Good thing I'm constipated..."
"..."
Their voices rose and fell like waves, blending into a steady hum of anticipation.
Every one of them had come from nearby villages, traveling across the island or even from neighboring ones hoping to be treated by the mysterious new doctor.
Only a month ago, this man had appeared out of nowhere and opened his small clinic.
He claimed to cure any illness, no matter how strange or severe and remarkably, he did.
Every patient who left his care walked away healed, no matter how hopeless their condition had seemed.
At first, no one believed it. Rumors of miracle healers were common, but real ones were not.
Yet as more and more people recovered, disbelief turned into awe.
And soon, every day, crowds gathered at dawn hoping for their turn.
The door creaked open.
Instantly, the murmuring stopped. All eyes turned toward the entrance.
Out stepped a tall, broad-shouldered man black hair, sharp black eyes, towering nearly two meters. His posture was relaxed, his tone lazy yet warm, as though this commotion was nothing new to him.
"Morning, everyone," he said, stretching with a yawn. "Let's get started."
He gestured toward the first person in line a man whose arm was tightly wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.
"You're up. Come in," said the doctor, nodding.
The patient stumbled forward, trembling with a mixture of pain and excitement.
"Next time, keep the line straight," the doctor added before disappearing back inside.
Three minutes later, the man burst out through the same door, waving his arm wildly.
The bandages were gone. Not even a scar remained.
"It's healed! My arm's healed!" he shouted, laughing like a madman, tears streaming down his face.
No one in line looked surprised.
They just smiled faintly.
They had seen it before miracles, repeated every single day.
Inside the clinic, the doctor Lawrence leaned back in a bamboo chair, tossing a stack of cash into a wooden box beside him.
"The power of the Horse Talisman... healing and restoration," he murmured.
"Who would've thought I'd end up as a doctor in the world of pirates? Fate really does love a good joke."
Lawrence was not of this world.
He was a traveler between worlds, a man from another reality.
A month ago, he'd awoken here by accident.
In his previous life, he'd been a college student an anime enthusiast with an obsession for old classics.
On the day it happened, he had been rewatching Jackie Chan Adventures in his dorm when his phone exploded in a flash of light. The next thing he knew, he was here inside the world of One Piece.
At this point in history, Luffy had just set out to sea, Enel still ruled as "god" on Skypiea, and the Marineford War was years away. The age of legends had only begun to unfold.
Like many fans, Lawrence had often dreamed of living in an anime world battling giants, chasing adventure, and standing shoulder to shoulder with heroes.
But when it actually happened, all he could think was
"Damn it. This isn't exciting. It's terrifying."
Reality was harsher than fantasy.
Here, strength was everything.
The world was crawling with monsters Emperors of the Sea, Marine Admirals, the Five Elders, and that mysterious being, Imu.
Any one of them could erase him with a flick of their hand.
Fortunately, his "accident" had brought a gift with it.
A system a Jackie Chan Adventures Companion System.
"Open system," he whispered.
At once, a grey void appeared in his mind, filled with faint golden light.
In the center floated twelve glowing tablets, each engraved with a unique symbol the Twelve Talismans.
Two of them glowed brightly; the rest remained dim.
The Horse Talisman. The Ox Talisman.
The Ox had been his starter reward; the Horse, his first earned upgrade.
On the right side of the void, seven heavy iron doors stood chained shut.
Behind them, he could sense the presence of ancient, terrifying beings the Seven Demons.
On the left, ten floating masks hovered silently, each with a unique, menacing face.
They represented the Shadow Army Commanders, the generals of the dark.
Though most of these powers were dormant, Lawrence knew how to awaken them.
The system had whispered instructions to him when it first appeared.
"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the Jackie Chan Adventures System Template: Shendu the Demon Sorcerer."
"Access granted: Twelve Talismans, Seven Demons, Ten Masks."
"To awaken the ancient demons fuse with the essence of Devil Fruits."
"To unlock the Shadow Masks defeat powerful enemies and absorb their bounty value as command energy."
The instructions were burned into his memory.
The only problem? It never said how much power or how many fruits it would take.
"Figures," he sighed. "Guess I'll have to find out the hard way."
He shook his head and got up. There was no point worrying about it now.
For the moment, he had patients to treat and money to earn.
"Next!"
The door slammed open before he could say another word.
The hinges groaned as a towering man nearly three meters tall strode in. A long scar carved across his face, and a massive cleaver rested on his shoulder.
He moved with the easy confidence of someone used to violence.
"So you're the one they call Lawrence?" he asked, voice booming as he dropped into a chair across from him.
"Don't bother asking who I am. Just tell me if you can fix this."
He lifted his shirt to reveal a deep, ugly wound in his side. The flesh was torn open, blood crusted dark and dry.
Lawrence gave it a quick glance and smirked.
"Yeah, I can fix it," he said. "But it's gonna cost extra."