Nero was almost dumbfounded.
Everything before him looked like something out of a science-fiction movie.
It was simply too unbelievable.
Nothing felt real, yet everything felt completely real at the same time.
After all, he had suddenly arrived in this world from another one.
The experience itself was already absurd enough, and now this strange system had appeared before him, making it impossible to tell where reality truly began.
Even so, Nero was filled with excitement and anticipation.
His voice trembled slightly as he asked,
“What does the Myriad Worlds Mall System do?”
“Answer: The host may purchase goods from the Myriad Worlds Mall according to his circumstances or exchange equivalent items for value.
The mall contains items, abilities, skills, defensive methods, and offensive methods.”
Listening to the mechanical voice, Nero became completely immersed in it.
Most importantly, this incredible thing had fallen into his hands.
Just thinking about it made him excited.
As the prince of a kingdom, obtaining money shouldn’t be particularly difficult.
After remaining in the system space for a while, his excitement gradually settled down.
Finally, he asked curiously,
“System, are there any beginner rewards or novice gift packs?”
“Answer: All items in the system mall must be purchased.
Would the host like to spend one Beli to open the novice gift pack?”
“One Beli?”
Nero froze for a moment.
At five or six years old, he rarely had any reason to spend money, so he didn’t have a clear understanding of prices in this world.
However, he knew that Beli was the standard currency of the One Piece world.
Thinking of that, he immediately said,
“Open it.”
Although he didn’t personally possess any Beli, there were countless valuable items around him.
The system could also accept equivalent exchanges instead of direct payment.
In other words, anything of value could be converted into Beli.
Before leaving the system interface, Nero had noticed his balance.
353.4 million Beli.
The amount had shocked him.
At first, he couldn’t understand where such enormous value had come from.
Then realization struck.
The Devil Fruit beside him.
The system automatically identified nearby possessions and exchanged them for value.
By now, it was already too late.
He still didn’t know exactly what kind of Devil Fruit it had been or what category it belonged to.
However, one thing was certain.
Its abilities were likely related to plants or vegetation.
Originally, he had thought that even if he didn’t use it himself, giving it to someone else would still be worthwhile.
Now that opportunity was gone.
Still, Nero wasn’t discouraged.
What truly interested him now was the novice gift pack.
As the system deducted one Beli, a golden door suddenly appeared before him.
When the door slowly opened, the mechanical voice sounded once more.
“Congratulations, Host.
You have obtained a novice gift pack.
Would you like to open it?”
The gift pack emitted a dazzling golden glow.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed valuable.
“Open it.”
Nero replied immediately.
“Congratulations, Host.
You have received the One Piece World Starter Package.
Contents:
Top-tier Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror’s Haki.
Marine Six Powers training method.”
The system’s announcement sounded.
Yet Nero wasn’t excited.
In fact, he was staring at the note attached beneath the reward.
It contained additional requirements:
Run 10 kilometers every day.
Perform 500 push-ups daily.
Complete 1,000 frog jumps daily.
Maintain this training regimen for ten years.
Nero’s face instantly stiffened.
None of the exercises were particularly complicated.
The problem was that they had to be completed every single day.
And he was only a child.
Running 10 kilometers alone was enough to make him question his life.
Adding 500 push-ups and 1,000 frog jumps on top of that was almost torture.
Was this a novice gift pack?
Or a novice punishment package?
That was a question worth discussing.
Looking at the requirements, Nero was completely speechless.
Just imagining the next ten years made him feel miserable.
Still, he understood something very clearly.
The people in this world were monsters.
If he didn’t work hard, who knew what kind of future awaited him?
For now, life was comfortable.
The old king was still healthy, and he didn’t need to worry about anything.
But in a few years, once the old king’s health declined and the kingdom was handed over to him, what would he do then?
After thinking it through, Nero smiled.
Although the novice gift pack was somewhat outrageous, it wasn’t impossible to accept.
After exiting the system space, he looked helplessly at the empty spot beside his bed.
The Devil Fruit was gone.
Even though he had expected it, he still felt slightly disappointed.
At that moment, the old king suddenly pushed open the door and hurried inside.
“Nero, where’s the Devil Fruit from earlier?”
Because he didn’t know what type of fruit it was or what abilities it contained, he was worried his son might have eaten something useless.
Nero smiled and replied,
“Father, don’t worry.
I didn’t eat it.
But I felt it would only bring disaster if we kept it around, so I threw it away.”
“Good.
Throwing it away was the right choice.”
The old king visibly relaxed.
“That thing is a disaster.
A small kingdom like ours can’t afford the trouble it brings.”
He completely believed his son and never suspected he was being deceived.
The Tru Kingdom belonged to the South Blue.
As far as Nero knew, South Blue was considered the weakest of the Four Blues.
At least, that was how he remembered it.
Now that he knew he was in the world of One Piece, many things became clearer.
The weakest sea was South Blue.
The strongest was East Blue.
Of course, being in South Blue had both advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage was that pirates rarely appeared.
The disadvantage was that when pirates did appear, they could often plunder an entire country.
“Father, what were the Marines doing here earlier?”
Nero asked curiously.
The old king thought for a moment before answering.
“It seems they’re searching for the Pirate King’s wife.
Apparently, they aren’t sure whether she’s hiding somewhere within our kingdom, so they came to notify us.”
“The Pirate King’s wife?”
Nero couldn’t help exclaiming.
Until now, he had always used the Great Pirate Era as his rough point of reference.
He had never paid much attention to specific dates.
He certainly hadn’t expected to arrive during this period.
But after the initial surprise, he became excited.
This was actually good news.
It meant the future protagonist of the pirate world hadn’t even been born yet.
That gave him plenty of room to develop.
Still, he wasn’t interested in dwelling on such matters right now.
What mattered most was becoming stronger during the next ten years.
Just thinking about the training requirements was enough to drive him crazy.
“Father, starting tomorrow, I’m going to train and become strong.
At the very least, we can’t continue being bullied by others whenever they please.
We can’t allow people to come to our kingdom and act recklessly.”
Nero said seriously.
The old king was delighted.
For a moment, he looked years younger.
Patting Nero on the shoulder, he laughed and said,
“Good son.
If you’ve made up your mind, then go ahead and do it.
I’m still healthy enough.
I won’t hand this mess over to you anytime soon.”
“Come on, Father.
You’ll live for at least another twenty years.”
Nero replied with a smile.
Regardless of the old king’s actual condition, Nero understood one thing.
Ever since he had arrived in this world, the old king had always treated him exceptionally well.
He had never known his mother.
Everything he had experienced growing up came from the old king’s care.
The palace itself wasn’t particularly large in population.
The Tru Kingdom was weak not only militarily but economically as well.
The entire country existed in a state where people barely had enough to survive.
Things had always been this way.
There had never been any major development.
Of course, that wasn’t unique to the Tru Kingdom.
Most countries in this world struggled in similar ways.
Being located in South Blue only made matters worse.
Trade opportunities were limited, and economic growth was slow.
For now, Nero didn’t intend to worry too much.
The future could be dealt with when it arrived.
Beginning the very next day, he started preparing for the challenge ahead.
Fortunately, the Tru Kingdom was relatively peaceful.
There was little danger to worry about.
Even so, whenever Nero went out running, the old king sent guards to accompany him, afraid that something might happen.
Every day followed the same routine.
He woke up early and ran ten kilometers around the forest surrounding the kingdom.
For a child, it took an extremely long time.
The first few days were especially painful.
After finishing the training on the first day, he didn’t even want to get out of bed on the second.
Several times, he considered giving up.
Yet in the end, he persevered.
After a month, his lazy appearance had noticeably diminished.
At the very least, he could now complete the entire ten-kilometer run without stopping.
Day after day.
Year after year.
Nero repeated the same routine.
Even the people within the palace couldn’t understand him.
He could have enjoyed an easy and comfortable life, yet he chose to torture himself every day.
Nevertheless, many ministers admired him.
At the very least, he had demonstrated a determination that refused to surrender.
Through sheer perseverance, he earned the respect of those around him.
This continued for several years.
By the seventh year, the old king’s health had begun declining rapidly.
At over eighty years old, such deterioration was only natural.
As Nero’s training continued, he gradually started involving himself in state affairs.
Within the Tru Kingdom, there wasn’t much that required special attention.
After all, the country had always been the same.
Poor.
No trade.
No economy.
Almost nothing at all.
Ironically, that lack of importance meant few people paid attention to them.
Yet everyone understood one thing.
If things continued this way, the kingdom’s future would only grow darker.
The people were already poor, and conditions continued worsening.
Five years earlier, the entire world had changed.
The Pirate King had been executed in Loguetown.
His final words shook the world.
Soon afterward, pirates began appearing throughout South Blue.
Even the Tru Kingdom, which rarely saw pirates in the past, started encountering them regularly.
As a result, the kingdom’s economy suffered heavily.
Fortunately, most pirates were ordinary people.
The kingdom’s military could usually suppress them.
However, stronger pirates occasionally appeared.
Whenever that happened, casualties became unavoidable.
The Great Pirate Era had arrived.
Countless people now dreamed of becoming pirates.
The resulting chaos brought suffering throughout the kingdom.
The moment Nero became involved in government affairs, he recognized all of these problems.
The situation wasn’t something the Tru Kingdom could solve overnight.
At least not in the short term.
Fortunately, Nero possessed modern knowledge.
Combined with the system, handling these issues wouldn’t be impossible.
By the eighth year, Nero had reached the age of fourteen.
It was also the seventh year of the Great Pirate Era.
He now stood around 1.8 meters tall, with a strong and well-proportioned physique.
Although he had not officially taken over the kingdom, his status alone drew the attention of many citizens.
Meanwhile, the old king spent most of his days bedridden.
He rarely concerned himself with the outside world anymore.
Aside from training and handling state affairs, Nero devoted nearly all of his remaining time to staying by the old king’s side.