At this moment, Rokuro's fishing rod suddenly trembled — not slightly, but like a sea king tugging on the line.
His heart surged with anticipation.
"A fisherman will never be part of the Air Force!" he shouted, quoting a popular line from Earth — forgetting that nobody in this world would get the joke.
But the pirates nearby were less than amused.
"Hey, you're a slave now! Why the hell are you still fishing?!" one of the crew barked, walking toward him, swinging a rusted cutlass menacingly.
Rokuro paid them no mind. With a dramatic flourish, he reeled the line in like a veteran angler, shouting, "Heck yeah! Come to papa—!"
Splash. Out came… a soggy bundle of seaweed.
"…Are you kidding me?"
His face soured, turning as green as the sea grass itself.
"It's just seaweed?!"
The disappointment hit him like a ton of bricks. He looked at the prize dangling from the line and cursed inwardly.
"I've got a legendary-sounding rod — Supreme Fast Rod — and this is what it catches?" he muttered in disbelief.
"Could it be… my fishing technique is off?" He shook his head. "No, no. It's not me. The problem must be this sea area! Yeah, definitely not me."
But despite the failure, Rokuro could feel it: a strange warmth pulsing through his body. The moment he landed a catch — even seaweed — his physical strength increased ever so slightly. His muscles tightened, his reflexes sharpened.
[Fishing has increased your physical attributes by 0.01%.]
[Progress toward chakra capacity unlocked.]
"This… is such a weird way to cultivate."
Still pondering, he turned to his crow companion, Murkrow, who had been perched on his head the whole time.
"How do I make special bait?"
Rokuro grabbed the little bird and lifted it to eye level.
Murkrow, clearly unimpressed, pointed its wing toward its beak.
"Your throat? Is it sore? No wonder you're so raspy all the time…"
"Mute! Mute! Mute-mute-mute!" the crow squawked, annoyed.
"Okay, okay! I get it! You're not talking — you're mute!" Rokuro returned the bird to his shoulder with a sigh.
He cast his line again.
But this time, a particularly short-tempered pirate couldn't hold back.
"You think you can ignore us, brat? We gave you a chance to live! If Captain Alvida sees you slacking off, your skull's gonna be mashed into paste!"
That name froze Rokuro in place.
"Alvida?" he blinked.
The name was familiar — very familiar. He knew the East Blue plot well from his past life. That meant…
He was on Alvida's ship!
At that exact moment, a cheerful voice rang out from inside a nearby storage barrel.
"Ha! Looks like I survived!"
Rokuro's eyes widened. That voice… Could it be…?
He sprinted toward the sound, excitement bubbling in his chest.
"This is it… This is where the dream began!"
"Hey! Kid! Don't run!" the pirates roared and lunged at him.
But Rokuro vanished from view.
[Instantaneous Body Technique: Activated.]
A basic ninjutsu from the Itachi template — by focusing chakra under the feet and releasing it in a pulse, he moved in a blur, like teleportation. It resembled the Soru technique of CP9, but its principle was entirely different — chakra-based, not foot-speed based.
He appeared on the deck in a gust of wind.
Meanwhile, inside the barrel room, a boy emerged from a wine barrel, stretching his arms.
He wore a red vest, blue shorts, slippers, and a familiar straw hat.
His face radiated carefree energy.
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy," he declared with pride. "I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
Silence.
Then—
"Hahahaha! What lunatic are you? Pirate King?!"
"If you're the Pirate King, then I'm the Fleet Admiral, ha!"
The surrounding pirates burst into laughter, slapping their thighs, pointing fingers. Some even collapsed to the floor in tears.
But Luffy didn't flinch. He calmly adjusted his straw hat and kept smiling.
No explanation. No argument. Just belief.
"…Are you seriously going to the Grand Line to find the One Piece left by Gol D. Roger?" a trembling voice asked from the shadows.
It was Coby, Alvida's timid cabin boy, peeking nervously.
"That's right!" Luffy grinned.
"Don't joke around! The Grand Line is the pirates' graveyard! No one can make it out alive!"
Coby's voice cracked. "You'll die chasing that dream!"
"Shut up!" Luffy snapped.
He stepped forward, eyes burning. "So what if I die?! Having no dream is worse than being dead!"
With that, he punched Coby across the room. The boy hit the floor hard, dazed.
"I'm going to be the Pirate King! Even if it costs me my life!"
The conviction in his voice echoed like thunder. For a moment, even the pirates outside stopped to listen.
Coby sat there stunned, rubbing his swollen cheek. Then his eyes filled with tears.
"If… if I'm not afraid of dying…" he whispered, "does that mean I can chase my dream too? Can I… become a Marine? Even if it means arresting people like Miss Alvida?"
He looked up at Luffy, eyes shining.
The pirate boy stared back, then scratched his head.
"…Who knows?"
Coby face-planted. "So cold…"
But then Luffy smiled, wide and full of sunshine.
"I believe you'll make it."
Outside, tension snapped like a drawn bowstring.
"You little traitor, Coby!" a pirate snarled, sword drawn. "You gonna betray the captain?!"
Several pirates closed in, weapons gleaming. "You're gonna die today!"
Luffy cracked his knuckles, ready to spring.
But then—
"ONE PIECE! This is where it begins! I believe in you, Luffy!"
"MUTE! MUTE!"
Two voices rang from the entryway — Rokuro and Murkrow burst into the room, wild and radiant.
The pirates turned, blinking.
"…Who's this idiot?"
The sight of a boy with a fishing rod, a talking crow on his head, and pure enthusiasm on his face stunned them all.
"Another lunatic?! What's with today?!"
A long-haired pirate snarled and charged Rokuro, blade raised.
"Watch out!" Luffy warned.
But the moment the blade slashed—
Poof!
The Rokuro in front of them vanished into a log. A piece of driftwood clattered to the floor.
[Substitution Technique: Activated.]
To use it, one had to detect an attack, react instantly, and switch places with a nearby object using chakra.
Rokuro reappeared near the doorway, arms folded.
"With this level of attack, come back in a hundred years," he quipped smugly.
"Quit showing off!" the pirate roared, slashing again.
But this time, the blade passed through Rokuro like smoke.
"…A ghost?!" the pirate screamed.
[Clone Technique: Activated.]
The clone burst into mist — just a projection.
From the shadows, the real Rokuro stepped forward and coughed dramatically.
"Ahem. Since you forced me — allow me to introduce myself."
He straightened his rod like a sword.
"I'm Cool D. Rokuro, the peace-loving fishing master of the East Blue! Of course, if you won't listen to reason, I also happen to know a little bit of ninjutsu."
"Mute! Dumb! Dumb!" Murkrow squawked for flair.
Just as he finished, Luffy's arm stretched across the room like rubber, snatching Rokuro's shoulder.
"Wha—!"
Luffy pulled him into a bone-crunching hug. "You're amazing! Are you a magician?!"
"…Sort of?" Rokuro replied, wheezing.
The pirates' faces turned ghost white.
"M-Monsters. You're all monsters!"
One turned and ran.
"I'm out! This is cursed! Mom! I never wanted to be a pirate anyway!"
"Get the captain!" another shouted as the rest scrambled in chaos.