When Will opened his eyes, the first things he saw were a sandy beach and the vast blue sea.
I’m alive.
Just as I thought.
I suppose this could be considered a rather unconventional form of body snatching.
The most pathetic body snatching in history.
Hahaha.
But as long as it worked, that’s all that mattered.
When it comes to staying alive, doing something a little crazy is perfectly acceptable.
Hahaha.
On the beach, the nine-year-old boy let out a strange, sinister laugh.
I’m so hungry.
What’s going on?
This kid must have passed out from hunger.
I need to find food as soon as possible, or I’m going to starve to death!
Will looked around.
Fortunately, he wasn’t on a deserted island.
Several tall buildings could be seen not far away.
Judging by the architecture…
is this some kind of European-style town?
As he slowly made his way toward the town, Will discovered that devouring the little boy’s soul had done more than restore and rejuvenate his own damaged soul.
It had also brought along quite a few fragments of the boy’s memories.
For example, this body was nine years old.
This wasn’t Earth.
The town was called Loguetown.
And the language spoken in this world was one Will had never heard before.
As he slowly sifted through the memories, Will felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Loguetown?
Where have I heard that name before?
Just as he continued searching through the memories, he suddenly encountered a particularly vivid fragment.
Today was the boy’s ninth birthday.
He had heard someone say that it had been thirteen years since the execution of the Pirate King, Gol D.
Roger.
And then came the boy’s dream of becoming a pirate.
The Pirate King?
I’ve come to the world of One Piece?!
This is that ridiculously powerful world!
Amazing!
I finally don’t have to be an ordinary person anymore!
I can pick up a sword and fight too!
“Hahaha!
What an exciting piece of news!”
I absolutely have to become stronger.
Then I’ll travel all over the world and see what this world is really like.
I’ll meet people from all kinds of races, cross paths with all kinds of powerful fighters, and taste delicious food from every corner of the world.
Should I join the Marines?
Or become a pirate?
Neither.
I’ll become an adventurer.
I don’t want to be like a certain rubber idiot, flying a pirate flag while doing the work of an adventurer and a Marine.
Hmm.
This isn’t the time to think about that.
If I don’t eat soon, I’m going to starve to death.
But I don’t seem to have any money.
What am I supposed to do?
As he walked, Will racked his brain.
Steal?
Not a good idea.
And I don’t even have the ability to pull it off properly.
After walking for about five minutes, he finally reached Loguetown.
It was still morning, and the town was bursting with life.
The streets were packed with pedestrians, while vendors loudly hawked their wares.
Various food stalls lined the roadside.
The sight made Will’s stomach growl even louder.
He spotted a small stall selling grilled meat skewers.
A crowd had gathered around it, all waiting for their delicious food.
Will glanced around.
No one seemed to be paying attention to him.
He quietly slipped his guilty little hand into the pocket of a middle-aged man’s coat and pulled out several banknotes.
He didn’t even bother counting them.
Then he turned around and walked away.
After putting some distance between himself and the stall, Will took out the money and counted it.
Not bad.
About 20,000 Beli.
I wonder how many meals that can buy me.
He casually found a small restaurant, ordered a bowl of porridge and a plate of pickled vegetables, and began eating slowly.
After an unknown amount of time spent starving, suddenly gorging himself on a huge amount of food would have been asking for trouble.
Will could also tell that this body wasn’t particularly strong.
It was just an ordinary nine-year-old child’s body.
So becoming stronger is going to have to be a long-term project.
For now, I need to settle down.
Then I’ll figure out how to become stronger.
I really don’t understand why those transmigrators from all those stories are so ridiculously lucky.
They arrive on deserted islands, somehow survive comfortably, become stronger, and then the moment they leave the island, they’re already strong enough to fight an Admiral one-on-one.
Seriously…
If I were dumped on a deserted island, I probably wouldn’t even live long enough to see tomorrow’s sunrise.
Absolutely not.
The bowl of porridge in front of him was soon empty.
He was still hungry, but at least he was no longer so weak from hunger that he could barely move.
What should I do now?
Maybe I should look around for a workshop that manufactures ship components.
I don’t know how to build an entire ship, but I’m very familiar with ship components.
This isn’t exactly the same era as the ships I’m familiar with, but the basic principles should still be similar.
After searching for quite some time, Will finally found a shop called Old Red’s Ship Components.
He walked inside.
It was a relatively small shop filled with all kinds of old-fashioned ship components.
Fortunately, Will recognized most of them.
Behind the counter stood a middle-aged man in his fifties.
He was bare-chested, slightly chubby, and had a distinctive rooster-like hairstyle.
He was probably the owner.
The middle-aged man looked at him and asked,
“Little fella, are you looking to buy something?
Everything here is for ships.”
Will thought for a moment.
He didn’t immediately reveal his real intentions.
“Uncle, do you know where the nearest Marine Branch is?
I was shipwrecked at sea and drifted to this island.
I don’t even know if I’ll ever be able to go home.”
The middle-aged man sighed.
“What about your family?”
Will deliberately put on his most sorrowful expression and lowered his head without saying anything.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man shook his head.
Then he asked,
“Do you have anyone else in your family?”
Will shook his head.
That should be enough.
He looked at the man and asked,
“Uncle, this shop sells ship components, right?
Can I work for you?
I’m very capable.
I can make all of these things.”
The middle-aged man froze.
He clearly didn’t believe him.
“Little fella, lying isn’t good.
Besides, you’re far too young.
How could I hire you?”
“Uncle, I really can do it.
My father used to run a shipyard in Water 7.
I learned how to make these components from Uncle Air when I was little.”
Will looked directly at the man with complete confidence.
The moment the middle-aged man heard the words Water 7, his eyes immediately lit up.
“Really?
You actually know how to make these components?”
He waved Will toward the back.
“Come on.
Go into the workshop and show me what you can do.
If you really know how to make them, I’ll pay you 30,000 Beli a month.”
In the workshop, Will saw several simple machines.
Whether it was what he had learned at university or his practical experience working aboard ships, these basic machines were far too easy for him.
After only a few operations, he produced several different kinds of ship components.
The middle-aged man was delighted.
“Not bad!
What’s your name?
From now on, you can work here.”
“As for where you’ll live, you can use the small room upstairs.
I’ll show you in a moment.”
“Oh, and you just need to produce two hundred of these components every day.
How does that sound?”
Will made a rough calculation.
Two hundred pieces would probably take him only three or four hours of work.
That’s pretty good.
I’ll have a stable place to live and a steady income.
Now I can start thinking about how to become stronger.
He readily agreed.
“Deal.”
He also told the man his name was Will.
In return, he learned that the shop owner’s name was Red.
Red then led him upstairs to see his new room.
The small room was actually quite decent.
It was a little over ten square meters, which was more than enough for him.
There was a bed, a cabinet, and even a mirror.
Will stood in front of the mirror.
This was the first time he had ever seen himself in this world.
He was about 1.2 meters tall, with short black hair and black eyes.
His appearance was completely ordinary for a little kid.
He probably hadn’t grown into his features yet.
The only distinctive thing about him was his smile.
Whenever he laughed with that strange, “hehehe,” expression, he gave off an unsettling impression.
This kid probably isn’t quite right in the head.
Better not get too close.
Anyway…
The adventure of Will, in the world of One Piece, was about to begin.
He was already looking forward to it.
“Hehehe…”