[Brain Storage!]
[No Storage, or Diarrhea!]
.........
Sea Calendar Year 1520
East Blue — Windmill Village
"Makino, one juice, please."
A deep, steady voice sounded from the tavern corner.
The speaker sat in the shade near the wall. Wild blond hair framed his face, and three jagged scars slashed across his left cheek like claw marks from some monstrous beast. He wore a plain shirt and looked utterly unremarkable at first glance.
He was KING.
An unlucky gamer who had arrived in this world only three days ago.
Inside, however, KING was screaming:
Help! Three days ago I was gaming and beating Saitama, and now the old man munching senbei across from me is Garp! The Marine hero! The man who punches mountains apart like they're tofu!
Even though he had never seriously followed One Piece, any otaku knew the basics.
So on his first day, he realized exactly what kind of world he had transmigrated into.
KING held his juice glass stiffly. His fingers turned pale from gripping it too hard.
Just then—
[Ding—God-Level AFK System Activated!]
A cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Newbie Gift Pack Issued: Concept-Level Passive Skill — Emperor Engine (Attack Effect Added)]
[Note: When activated, all creatures within 100 meters must undergo a sanity check. Those with weak willpower may experience fear hallucinations.]
[Host: KING]
[Status: Healthy (Tense)]
[Physique: 12]
[Spirit: 15]
[Speed: 9]
[Dominance: /]
[Skills: Emperor Engine (Passive), Game Mastery (God-Level)]
[System Rule: Attributes increase while AFK outside combat. Efficiency: 0.1/sec]
"…AFK… and I get stronger?"
This was practically made for him.
His greatest dream in life was gaming peacefully and avoiding trouble.
And now the system told him:
Stay idle. Become stronger.
He tried calling in his mind:
Saitama-kun?
No response.
The mysterious connection that once let him "summon" the bald hero in desperate moments had vanished.
"This time… I can only rely on myself."
But his opponent was Garp.
Compared to Garp, his own stats were barely above an ant.
He had to stay calm.
KING forced down his fear. His eyelids lowered slightly, maintaining a blank expression that looked like he saw through everything.
At that moment, the senbei in Garp's mouth lost all flavor.
"Crunch."
The chewing stopped.
Garp's lazy eyes narrowed.
He stared toward the shadowed corner.
A presence…
His instincts, honed through decades of battle, stirred.
"Just now… something changed."
It wasn't obvious.
But beneath the stillness was pressure — like magma sleeping beneath the ocean floor.
If it erupted, it could swallow everything.
Garp studied KING's face.
No fear.
No tension.
No attempt to hide.
To Garp, that looked like absolute composure.
As a veteran Marine who had fought legends, his intuition screamed:
This man is dangerous.
That faint oppressive feeling…
He had only sensed something similar from monsters of the previous era.
"…Strange."
He scratched his cheek.
"Hey, kid."
Garp dropped his rice crackers onto the table.
"You look unfamiliar. Since when did someone like you show up in the East Blue?"
Makino laughed gently while polishing a glass.
"Mr. Garp, this is Mr. King. He's a traveler who arrived a few days ago. He's very easygoing."
"Easygoing?"
Garp's eyebrow twitched.
That's easygoing?
Makino's too trusting…
KING's brain was spinning, searching for a safe reply—
BANG!
The tavern door burst open.
"Hahaha!!"
A group of mountain bandits rushed in wielding machetes and clubs.
Their leader was a burly man with a bounty of 8 million Berries — enough to terrorize villages across East Blue.
"Hand over the money and the meat!" he roared, slamming his blade onto the bar.
Makino gasped.
The tavern temperature seemed to drop.
Only two people remained motionless:
Garp.
…and a petrified KING.
"Hey, old man!" the bandit leader barked at Garp. "I'm talking to you!"
Garp didn't even look up.
Fighting East Blue bandits was beneath him.
Then—
THUMP.
A deep vibration echoed through the tavern.
Like a war drum struck in an empty valley.
THUMP.
THUMP THUMP.
THUMP THUMP THUMP.
The rhythm intensified.
The juice glass trembled. Ripples spread across its surface.
"What… what is that?" the bandit leader whispered.
A henchman pointed, trembling.
"Boss… it's coming from that man's chest!"
All eyes locked onto KING.
Inside, KING was screaming:
It's over! The Emperor Engine activated on its own! Why is my heart so loud?!
To outsiders, however, this was no heartbeat.
It sounded like a battle drum announcing death.
Garp's pupils shrank.
"This rhythm… his blood circulation just surged to an extreme level? Is this a combat state triggered by instinct?"
What an astonishing physique.
The bandits' perception warped.
Under the Emperor Engine's pressure, their weak wills collapsed.
The man in the corner vanished.
In his place sat a demon atop a mountain of corpses.
Souls wailed beneath his feet.
His gaze held absolute indifference toward life.
"Aaaah!!"
One bandit collapsed, sobbing.
"I saw it! He twisted my head off!!"
The leader felt ice crawl up his spine.
He wanted to run.
His legs refused.
KING slowly stood up.
In truth, he urgently needed the toilet.
But as he rose—
CRACK!
The old wooden stool shattered.
He turned.
The three scars on his cheek faced the bandits.
The Emperor Engine roared.
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP — !!!
Thunder in human form.
KING opened his mouth to say,
"Excuse me—"
No sound emerged.
His silence became the final blow.
"A GHOST!!!"
"Mom! I want to go home!!"
The bandits collapsed into panic, scrambling through the doorway and even smashing through the wall in their desperation to escape.
Within seconds, they vanished.
Silence returned.
Only fading echoes of war-drum heartbeats lingered.
KING exhaled in relief.
"Phew… thank goodness they ran. That scared me to death."
He moved to sit—
A massive hand clapped his shoulder.
"Hahahaha!! Good one, kid!"
Garp's booming laughter shook the rafters.
"That pressure just now — even Haoshoku Haki users can't fake that! Scaring enemies away with nothing but presence… and you say you're nobody?"
His eyes gleamed like he had discovered treasure.
"Hey, kid. KING, right?"
"Ever thought about joining the Marines?"
KING froze.
Joining the Marines meant fighting pirates.
Dangerous pirates.
Very dangerous pirates.
He was about to refuse—
[Ding — God-Level Choice Triggered!]
[Option 1: Refuse Garp]
Reward: Random Devil Fruit
Penalty: Garp labels you a potential threat and demands a spar.
[Option 2: Join the Marines]
Reward: Unlock Marine Headquarters AFK Map (high efficiency)
Bonus: Game console (online play enabled)
KING stared at the words:
spar with Garp
That wasn't sparring.
That was an autopsy.
He swallowed.
Under Makino's admiring gaze and Garp's expectant grin, KING slipped his hands into his pockets and lifted his chin slightly.
In the most indifferent tone he could manage:
"The Marines, huh…"
"…not impossible."
Garp grinned broadly.
"Hahahaha! Interesting!"
He slapped KING's back.
"This kid has the makings of an admiral!"