"Luffy, save me."
Nami's voice was hoarse with emotion, stripped raw by years of swallowed pain and the desperate hope she could no longer carry alone. Yet even as it trembled, it held the fragile sincerity of a girl who had fought endlessly for her village's freedom, only to be broken by the cruelty of the world.
Luffy stood before her in silence.
Slowly, deliberately, he reached up and removed his straw hat.
Without a word, he placed it gently on Nami's head and turned away.
He took a few steps forward, crouched slightly, and shouted with everything he had.
"OF COURSE I WILL!"
Nami's composure shattered. Tears spilled freely as she clutched the brim of the hat, memories flooding back unbidden—the first time she had met the strange boy with the reckless grin and the unwavering eyes.
This is my treasure. Don't touch it.
Luffy walked toward Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp, who had been waiting for him near the edge of the village. The usual carefree air around him was gone, replaced by a quiet resolve that needed no explanation.
"Let's go."
"Yeah," the three replied together.
Their destination was clear.
Arlong Park.
The walk to the coast should have been tense. It should have been filled with dread, anticipation, or anger. Instead, silence followed them, broken only by the sound of their footsteps against the dirt road.
That silence shattered the moment Arlong Park came into view.
The structure that had loomed over the village like a symbol of fear and dominance was gone. What remained was a field of destruction. Towers of coral and stone lay collapsed, shattered as if struck by an overwhelming force rather than worn down through battle. Deep fissures carved through the ground radiated outward from the center, and the air carried the unmistakable stench of blood.
Fishmen bodies were everywhere.
Some lay sprawled across the ground, limbs bent at unnatural angles. Others were half-buried beneath rubble, their expressions frozen in rage, shock, or terror. Blood pooled at the heart of the ruined park, darkening the cracked stone beneath the sun.
Usopp stopped walking.
"Guys…" His voice wavered. "We're… late, aren't we?"
Sanji stared at the carnage, his cigarette forgotten between his fingers. "This isn't a joke."
Zoro's eye narrowed as he took in the damage. His hand rested on his sword, instincts screaming a warning that had nothing to do with Fishmen. "This wasn't done by brute force alone."
At the center of the devastation stood a lone figure.
The man appeared young, perhaps in his early twenties. His dark hair was tied back into a neat top bun, and his posture was relaxed, almost casual, despite the carnage surrounding him. He wore blue sweatpants and a green jacket marked with a strange swirling pattern on the back—foreign, yet deliberate.
His clothes were torn and stained with blood, though none of it appeared to be his own.
He stood with his back to them, unmoving.
Waiting.
Luffy tilted his head. "Huh."
The man exhaled slowly. His breathing was steady, but beneath it ran a subtle strain, like someone forcing themselves to remain standing through exhaustion. The air around him felt heavy, oppressive in a way he still hadn't grown accustomed to.
This world resisted him.
Chakra, once fluid and responsive, now felt dense and uncooperative. Every technique demanded more effort than it should have, draining him faster than any battlefield back home ever had. Whatever power governed this sea—Haki, he had sensed it clearly during the fight—it pressed down on chakra relentlessly, favoring sheer will over precision.
He had won.
But victory here always came at a price.
Footsteps approached behind him.
"You did this?" Zoro asked, his voice low and sharp.
The man turned.
For the briefest instant, his eyes gleamed red, patterned with a swirling design that vanished almost as soon as it appeared. Sanji stiffened, a chill crawling up his spine.
"…Did you see that?" Sanji muttered.
Usopp grabbed his arm. "See what?!"
"Yes," the man replied calmly. "I did."
Luffy blinked. "Oh. Cool."
Everyone stared at him.
"COOL?!" Usopp shouted. "This guy wiped out Arlong's entire crew!"
The man studied Luffy for a moment, his expression faintly puzzled. "You're loud," he observed.
Luffy grinned. "Thanks!"
Zoro stepped forward, the tension in his stance unmistakable. "Why?"
The man tilted his head slightly. "Why what?"
"Why kill them."
The man's gaze drifted across the ruins, lingering briefly on the bodies scattered across the ground. "They enslaved this island," he said simply. "That was reason enough."
Sanji clicked his tongue. "Tch."
"We were gonna do that," Luffy said cheerfully.
The man looked back at him. "Then I suppose I arrived early."
Usopp shook his head. "I don't like him."
"I heard that," the man replied without looking.
Usopp screamed.
Zoro's hand tightened around his sword. "You don't fight like a swordsman. And you're not a brawler either. What are you?"
The question lingered.
For a moment, the man said nothing. His thoughts drifted to a different sky, a different land. To missions, blood-soaked nights, and eyes that reflected too much of the world's cruelty.
"This isn't my world," he said at last. "But where I come from, I am a shinobi."
Silence followed.
Sanji frowned. "A what?"
"A ninja?" Usopp offered weakly.
The man considered it. "Close enough."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "That's awesome!"
In a blur, Luffy closed the distance between them.
Ren did not move.
"You would have died," he said calmly.
Luffy laughed and stepped back. "You're funny!"
Zoro exhaled slowly, reassessing. This man hadn't reacted—not out of arrogance, but certainty.
"I am Uchiha Ren," the man said. "A jōnin."
"And that means…?" Sanji asked.
"It means," Ren replied, his gaze steady, "that I survived long enough to earn the title."
Zoro met his eyes. "And here?"
Ren looked down at his hands, still faintly trembling from exertion. "Here, I am learning the rules."
A voice cried out from behind them.
"Luffy!"
Nami skidded to a halt when she saw the ruins. Her breath caught as she searched desperately for Arlong—and found only destruction.
Then her eyes fell on Ren.
"You did this?"
"Yes."
She bowed deeply.
"Thank you."
Ren stiffened, unaccustomed to gratitude offered so freely. "…You're welcome."
Luffy slung an arm around his shoulders. "You hungry?"
Ren blinked. "…What?"
Sanji sighed. "Captain, you can't just invite random murder ninjas."
"I can if I want to!"
Ren looked at them—this strange crew bound not by fear or hierarchy, but trust. For the first time since arriving in this world, the weight on his chest eased slightly.
"…I will travel with you," he said slowly. "For now."
Luffy grinned. "Awesome!"
And somewhere deep within Ren's eyes, the Sharingan observed quietly.
This world was dangerous.
But perhaps—
So was he.