"Hiss… that hurts. Where am I…?"
"Hey, brat, don't lie in the middle of the road. If you're gonna die, go do it somewhere else and stop blocking the way!"
The sudden shout made the boy who had just woken up lift his head.
All he saw was a burly man over two meters tall, half his face covered in scars, staring down at him.
The boy swallowed his fear and scrambled on hands and feet to a corner by the wall.
The man walked past, but he'd already seen the panic on the boy's face.
He laughed. "Hahahaha, brat, don't block the road next time, got it? I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you off."
Still laughing, he walked away.
Most of the passersby watched with the casual interest of people expecting a show.
When they saw there was no drama, they lost interest and scattered.
An old granny walked over instead.
She reached into her basket, took out a piece of bread, and handed it to him.
"Here, child. Eat."
The boy's hand trembled a little as he took it. "Thank you, granny."
The old woman gave him a look, smiled, shook her head, and walked off.
"Phew…" The boy let out a long breath.
He opened his mouth and bit into the bread.
Mm. Sour. And a little rotten.
Probably something someone else didn't want, and she'd thought it was a waste to throw away, so she gave it to him.
The boy didn't feel angry.
He was starving—having anyone give him food at all was already pretty good.
As he ate, he examined himself.
Rags for clothes.
A frail, skinny body.
He dug through the memories of this body's previous owner.
The name: Arakaki Jin, "White Ghost."
The memories only really started from around five years old.
His parents had died in a shipwreck on one of their voyages, leaving behind the five-year-old original owner.
From the moment his parents died, the boy's childhood had turned into one long tragedy.
The house and property were seized by his uncle.
The business his parents had built was also taken over.
The original owner was locked in the house and forced to sign the transfer papers.
They'd tricked him, telling him that if he wrote his name, they'd take care of him until he grew up.
How old had he been then?
Just a kid who knew nothing. He'd stupidly signed his name.
A week later, the real nightmare began.
He was beaten and scolded every day.
At home, all he could do was laundry, mopping, and chores—his status lower than a servant.
His uncle had a son and a daughter as well.
They hit him when they wanted and cursed him when they felt like it.
If he didn't finish his work, he wasn't fed.
Most of the time he ate once every two days, and even then it was slop-tier leftovers.
Later, the boy finally ran away.
He ended up on the streets, rummaging through trash cans when hungry and finding random corners to sleep in when tired.
People in town just called him "brat."
And just like that, the original owner muddled along until he was twelve.
Then today, while walking down the street, he'd suddenly collapsed from hunger—right at that big guy's feet.
Now he finally understood why everyone earlier had that "watching a show" look.
Wasn't that basically a fake-accident scam?
That big guy had probably been a second away from pounding him.
"So the original owner starved to death?"
"And I just… moved in?"
He could only curse silently.
Heaven, is this what they call starting from absolutely nothing?
Great. He didn't even have a "bowl" to begin with.
At least one thing was confirmed—this was the world of One Piece.
He just didn't know what year of the Sea Circle Calendar it was.
Just then, two kids around his age suddenly sprinted past.
One red-haired.
One red-nosed.
They rushed right by him, with a chef in uniform chasing after them, hurling curses and "colorful language" nonstop.
Jin's jaw dropped.
"Holy crap… isn't that the 'Face-saving King' and the 'Luck Emperor'?"
The "Face-saving King" was Shanks, the red-haired guy who never lets his cool image get ruined.
The "Luck Emperor" was Buggy, walking disaster and plot armor incarnate.
"So this is Sea Circle Calendar 1498?"
He watched Shanks and Buggy run off into the distance and understood.
This was the year Gol D. Roger would be executed.
That meant he was about to witness the Pirate King's death.
And as a One Piece fan himself, he'd also get to see Hawkeye, Moria, Doflamingo, and the others when they were young.
Heh. Not a total loss.
Since he'd already transmigrated, it was reasonable to try calling for a system, right?
"Come out, system…"
Jin froze.
No reaction.
Wrong activation phrase?
"Come out, System Daddy…"
"System son? Dog system?"
"Hohoho…" Yeah, no, that was just coping.
"Damn it. So I really started with nothing but rags, and if I want to live I'll have to rob people?"
Big loss.
Jin struggled to his feet and wandered aimlessly down the street, hoping to get lucky and find something to eat.
He was too hungry to stay upset.
As he walked, Jin suddenly stiffened.
The back of the man in front of him… looked more and more like a certain character in his memory.
Monkey D. Dragon.
Holy crap. A walking golden ticket.
Jin's eyes lit up. He hurried over and shouted from behind:
"Hey, handsome! Got anything to eat? Can you spare some?"
Dragon turned with a frown.
His gaze fell on the frail, scrawny boy in front of him, around one meter thirty tall.
When Dragon saw the boy's eyes, he suddenly paused.
"You know me?"
Jin shook his head quickly. "Nope. First time I've ever seen you, sir!"
Under the green cloak, Dragon's eyes narrowed.
He could see doubt in the boy's eyes. CP, huh? The World Government's intelligence agency?
They'd found him this fast, even after he'd defected from the Marines?
Heh. As expected, he couldn't underestimate the World Government.
Jin's heart went cold.
The way Dragon was looking at him now… it was like he was already a corpse.
"Whoa, big bro, don't talk nonsense!
I'm not CP, and I'm definitely not from the World Government."
"Look at these rags. Do I look like one of them? This is way too scary. I'm just gonna go. Your eyes are scaring me."
The moment he finished, Jin turned and bolted.
If he didn't leave now, he'd really end up dead.
This was a man-eating world where whoever had the biggest fist was the boss.
What the hell was I doing just now? Am I addicted to courting death?
After running for a while, Jin had no strength left.
He slumped into a corner and sat down, gulping air as his breathing slowly steadied.
He silently swore to himself.
"Damn, I've got to lie low. If I don't, I won't survive three episodes."
Jin didn't notice Dragon standing on the wall behind him.
Watching this kid mumble to himself, Dragon only found him amusing.
To be honest, Dragon had already figured it out earlier.
A kid this frail and ragged couldn't possibly be one of those people.
He didn't even need Observation Haki—his eyes alone could see how weak this boy was.
If he poked him once, the brat might just ascend straight to heaven.
"Hey, brat."
Dragon jumped down and landed in front of him.
Jin almost jumped out of his skin. "Holy crap, big bro, you trying to scare me to death?"
Dragon ignored his tone.
"Brat, you're hungry, right? Want to come with me? I'll give you food."
Go with you? What, tag along to overthrow the world and punch the sky?
Jin shook his head like a rattle.
"Nope. Big bro, please just let me go. I'm scared of dying!"
The corner of Dragon's mouth curled.
"Heh. You really do know me."
"What an interesting kid. You're almost starving to death, yet you refuse when someone offers you food?"
"And the way you look at me… it's like you've known me for a long time."
"Can you tell me why?"
Jin deflated and decided to just be blunt.
"Mr. Dragon, I'm not cut out for big things."
"I'm greedy for life and terrified of death. I mean properly cowardly. I don't have any grand ambitions either. So please just let me go, okay?"
Dragon stared at him for a moment.
"Do you want to become strong?"
Jin nodded madly.
"Then come with me," Dragon said.
Jin shook his head just as hard. "I'm scared of dying."
Dragon gave him a weird look.
"Scared of dying, but you still want to be strong?"
"Yeah." Jin nodded like a pecking chicken.
Dragon could only shake his head with a smile.
He threw a wad of Beli at Jin, then turned to leave.
Faintly, Jin heard his voice drift back.
"What an interesting little guy."
Jin stared at the money in a daze.
I've got money now? I can actually eat?
Damn, so "a narrow escape brings blessings" is actually real?
He grabbed the cash and was about to get up when something jabbed into his back.
He turned and found a small notebook where he'd been lying.
He flipped it open. The pages were densely filled with writing.
"…Uh."
Holy crap. I can't read. I only know how to write my name.
Huge loss. This has gotta be Dragon's training notes or something he left behind, right? Damn it.
He could only stash the notebook away for now and deal with it later.
Jin used the money to find a bakery and bought some bread to fill his stomach.
After eating and drinking his fill, he let out a long breath.
He felt like he'd come back to life.
He lay on the ground and stared up at the sky.
Now that I'm in this world… what am I going to do? Become a pirate?
…Why was pirate the first thing that came to mind?
A Marine? Or should I follow Dragon and try to overturn the whole world?
As he thought about it, sleepiness washed over him.
Being full made him drowsy, and he drifted off without realizing it.
The next day, Jin woke up, rubbed his eyes, and felt much better.
Then he suddenly remembered.
How big was my heart yesterday, to just fall asleep like that?
But then he thought about how the original owner had also slept like this for years, so he relaxed.
He patted himself down.
The money was still there.
Dragon's notebook was still there.
He got up, found some water to wash his face, and quickly headed for the main street.
The street was full of people now.
Marines, pirates, all sorts. Clothing styles were all over the place.
Jin suddenly remembered.
Yesterday, he'd vaguely heard that today was the execution of Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
Looking at the flow of people heading toward the plaza, it seemed things were about to begin.
Jin joined the crowd.
He was going to witness the fall of a legend…
and the rise of a new era.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.