The sunlit beach possessed an intoxicating charm.
The seawater gently washed up onto the sandy shore before slowly receding, leaving behind damp trails and tiny aquatic creatures.
The rhythmic splashing sounded incredibly pleasant.
Ian had been standing on the beach waiting for a while.
When he finally spotted a dark silhouette flying in from the horizon, he quickly let out a sharp whistle.
Hearing the whistle, the silhouette immediately changed course and flew toward his position.
As it drew closer, it became clear that it was a seagull.
A rather strange seagull…
It was quite large, surprisingly wearing a sailor’s hat on its head and carrying a satchel slung around its neck.
Seeing it land on the beach, Ian walked over, pulled out a coin, and handed it over.
“One newspaper, please!”
However, upon seeing the number “50” printed on the coin, the seagull shook its head in a troubled manner.
Using its sharp beak, it pulled a slip of paper from its satchel.
Written on the paper was a large number: “80”!
“The price went up again!?” Ian stared wide-eyed at the seagull, speaking with grief and indignation.
“Didn’t it just go up three weeks ago?
Why is it increasing again!?”
“Coo!” The seagull let out a cry and scratched its head with a wing, looking helpless, as if to say there was nothing it could do.
“Fine, fine, here!
Eighty Berries!
If the price goes up again next time, I’m not buying from you anymore!” Ian painfully fished out three more coins marked with a “10” from his pocket and handed them over.
After accepting the money, the seagull finally pecked a newspaper out of its satchel and passed it to Ian.
The seagull flapped its wings and flew away.
Ian unfolded the newspaper and began reading it as he walked back.
The front page featured a massive headline: *Traces of the Red Hair Pirates Appear in the East Blue*.
“Red-Haired Shanks…” Ian sighed.
“One of the Four Emperors…
There’s no doubt about it, this is definitely the world of One Piece.”
It had been three months since he arrived in this world.
After confirming his current reality once again, Ian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Ian’s original name was An Yi.
He used to be an ordinary, upstanding young man on Earth.
Talk about bad luck—while out shopping, he passed by a KFC he frequented.
It was exactly noon, and on a whim, he took out his phone, planning to stand outside and piggyback off their Wi-Fi to claim some stamina in a mobile game he played.
But right at that moment, the massive KFC sign outside the store suddenly plummeted, crushing him squarely beneath it…
He figured he was definitely dead, because when he woke up again, he found himself in an unfamiliar place, possessing the body of a ten-year-old boy named Ian.
At first, he had no idea where he was.
This place was just a remote, isolated little village with limited access to information.
It wasn’t until he suddenly heard the words “Pirate King Roger” from his master, Koushirou, that he was completely dumbfounded.
Only then did he realize that he had actually crossed over into the world of One Piece, and this place was Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue!
He never imagined that simply leeching some Wi-Fi could cause him to transmigrate here.
Although he was also a One Piece fan, he still found it hard to believe that such a thing had happened to him.
‘Is it a crime to steal Wi-Fi!?
Can’t a guy catch a break!?’
With his mind in a tangled mess, he walked toward the village.
Soon, Ian arrived outside a dojo.
Standing there waiting for him was a middle-aged man with round glasses, long black hair tied in a ponytail, and a gentle, harmless smile on his face.
“Master!”
Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Ian quickened his pace and called out, “Here is this week’s newspaper!”
This middle-aged man was Ian’s master, Koushirou.
In this life, Ian was an orphan who had been adopted by Koushirou at a young age and learned kendo at the dojo.
Koushirou took the newspaper, casually patted Ian on the head, and smiled.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
This was meant to be an affectionate gesture, but although his current body was that of a child, his mind was that of an adult.
How could he stand being treated like this?
As a result, he felt incredibly awkward.
Fortunately, Master Koushirou didn’t notice his discomfort.
He read the newspaper while walking into the dojo, and Ian followed closely behind him.
“The Red Hair Pirates?
What are they doing in the East Blue?” After reading the news, Koushirou looked somewhat worried.
Behind him, Ian couldn’t help but curl his lips.
He knew what Koushirou was worried about.
Although Red-Haired Shanks was a decent person in the manga, he still carried the title of a “pirate.” It wasn’t without reason that Master Koushirou worried about pirates appearing here.
However, Ian knew that while Shanks had appeared in the East Blue, he would only make a brief stop in Foosha Village and wouldn’t come anywhere near Shimotsuki Village.
Therefore, Master Koushirou’s worries were unnecessary.
‘Foosha Village…’ Ian couldn’t help but reminisce.
‘That’s the town where Luffy is, right?
Red-Haired Shanks will have a fateful encounter with Luffy there, won’t he?’
Just as he was lost in thought, Koushirou patted him on the head a few more times and said, “Ian, what are you thinking about?
It’s time.
Go call your junior brothers to practice together!”
“Yes!” Ian immediately replied in a dejected tone.
If there was one thing that annoyed Ian the most about transmigrating to this world, it was undoubtedly the scheduled sword-swinging practice at the dojo.
There was no other reason for it—could anyone imagine the scene of lining up neatly with a bunch of snot-nosed brats flashing goofy, toothless smiles, all grunting as they swung their swords together?
That feeling was simply too stupid for words!
Soon, all the disciples in the dojo were gathered.
They stood in two rows on the left and right sides of the dojo, holding bamboo swords in their hands, waiting for practice to begin.
The children who came to study at the dojo were all from Shimotsuki Village, and they were all boys.
Ian looked ahead and saw that the row opposite him was an uneven mix of tall, short, fat, and thin kids.
Looking at his own row, it wasn’t much better.
The first kid on his left was a brat wearing thick, bottle-bottom glasses.
Every time Ian looked at him, he felt like the guy’s eyes were just two swirling spirals.
Further down was a bald little boy.
A trail of snot dripped from his nose, only for him to snort it right back up, let it drip down again, and snort it back up once more.
Next was a little kid with curly hair, but his hairstyle took curliness to a whole new level.
He looked like an untransformed Frieza—bald in the middle, with hair sticking out like horns on the left and right sides of his head…
They were all a bunch of misfits, a truly tragic sight to behold.
Ian didn’t dare look any longer…
He had no idea how Master Koushirou went about accepting disciples…
Fortunately, amidst this dismal picture, there was one single bright spot—Kuina, who stood at the very front of the opposite row.
Kuina, Master Koushirou’s daughter.
With her clear large eyes, crisp short black hair, and boyish attire, she naturally exuded a stubborn and fierce aura.
Among a group of little brats, she stood head and shoulders above the rest.
When Ian looked over, Kuina happened to look back.
Although she didn’t speak, she gave Ian a slight smile, making him feel as if he could hear her usual greeting ringing in his ears: “Big Brother Ian!”
As an orphan adopted by Master Koushirou, Ian was a few months older than Kuina.
In the dojo, Kuina was the strongest.
Even the oldest, Ian, couldn’t defeat her.
But even so, she always called him her older brother.
So even though Ian had now taken over the original owner’s identity, he still held a great deal of affection for her.
Despite being very stubborn, Kuina had always been a well-mannered child.
Master Koushirou’s voice echoed in his ears, signaling the start of the sword-swinging practice.
Ian gathered his thoughts and began swinging his bamboo sword in time with Koushirou’s commands.
“Strike!” “Retract!” “Strike!” “Retract!”
Ian performed the sword-swinging practice very earnestly.
And as he swung the bamboo sword in his hand, a continuously ringing voice echoed in his mind.
“You performed sword swing practice, Basic Swordsmanship proficiency +1!”
“You performed sword swing practice, Basic Swordsmanship proficiency +1!”
“You performed sword swing practice, Basic Swordsmanship proficiency +1!”
“You performed sword swing practice, Basic Swordsmanship proficiency +1!”
…
Back when he watched One Piece, Ian’s blood used to boil with excitement during the battles, and he had shed countless tears over the bonds between the main characters.
But setting all that aside, the world of One Piece was actually full of darkness and cruelty.
The talent of Ian’s current body wasn’t very high.
Despite studying kendo under Koushirou for so many years, he hadn’t made much progress.
If things continued like this, Ian thought he might as well just hunker down in Shimotsuki Village and live out his days in peace.
However, the very first time he practiced swordsmanship after arriving in this world, Ian discovered that something extra had appeared in his mind.
Perhaps it was because he had been crushed while leeching Wi-Fi to play a game, but Ian found that the very game he had been playing was now engraved into his soul and had followed him into this world.
Funny enough, this mobile game was just some random, chaotic app Ian had downloaded—a typical knock-off mobile game.
It was a card game where the player had a main character and could build their own team by drawing cards to engage in battles.
The cards featured characters from various anime and games—anyone and everyone was included, giving it a real crossover brawl vibe.
Ian had originally thought it would be fun to play because he saw so many familiar characters in it.
Little did he expect that this mutated game would now become his foundation for survival in this world.