The New World.
On a lonely, uninhabited island, waves rolled in beneath a gray sky, crashing endlessly against jagged rocks before washing across the shore.
“Cough…
cough…”
A young man lay sprawled on the sand.
His black hair was disheveled, his clothes stained from travel and seawater.
Even so, the quality of the fabric was impossible to miss.
The garments were clearly made for nobility, not survival.
Both arms remained locked around a heavy chest, as though letting go of it would cost him his life.
“At least…
I should be safe now…”
Rowan D.
Drake forced the words out between ragged breaths.
His chest burned with exhaustion.
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
What a ridiculous turn of events.
Just days ago, he had been an ordinary person on Earth, staying up late and waiting for the newest One Piece spoilers.
Then everything went black.
When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer on Earth.
He was in the world of One Piece.
At first, Rowan thought fate had handed him a winning ticket.
His new identity was enough to make anyone jealous.
He had become the prince of the Kingdom of Valeria.
Valeria wasn’t known for overwhelming military might, but its craftsmen were among the finest in the world.
The kingdom’s luxury goods were coveted across countless seas, and its famous brands generated wealth on a scale most nations could only dream of.
Money.
Status.
Power.
As the kingdom’s prince, Rowan had assumed his future would be smooth sailing.
A life of comfort.
A life of privilege.
A life where every door opened before him.
Then reality reminded him what kind of world he was living in.
Most nations eventually joined the World Government.
In exchange for protection, they paid the Heavenly Tribute—a crushing tax that drained enormous wealth from every member kingdom.
Valeria never joined.
The kingdom had always relied on its own strength.
Why surrender mountains of gold every year when they were fully capable of defending themselves?
For generations, that decision seemed wise.
Until the day the World Government decided otherwise.
To the rulers sitting atop Mariejois, Valeria was a treasure vault that had remained locked for far too long.
Its wealth.
Its industries.
Its world-famous craftsmanship.
Sooner or later, they intended to claim it all.
And so they moved.
Not with warships.
Not with armies.
But with shadows.
CP0 slipped into the kingdom and began working from within.
Officials were bribed.
Ministers were corrupted.
Loyalists to the World Government quietly rose through the ranks.
By the time anyone realized what was happening, the rot had already spread through every level of government.
Even the strongest walls meant nothing when the enemy was living inside them.
The royal family was slowly hollowed out from within.
Political allies disappeared.
Trusted officials switched sides overnight.
Accidents became frighteningly common.
Then came the final blow.
The coup.
A single night that shattered an entire kingdom.
Valeria fell.
Its throne changed hands.
And Rowan’s father—the king beloved by his people—was suddenly transformed into a villain in the eyes of the world.
A tyrant.
A criminal.
A ruler who had supposedly betrayed his own nation.
The narrative had been prepared long before the first sword was drawn.
Fortunately, the old king had sensed the approaching storm.
On the night of the coup, he secretly ordered his most trusted guards to escort Rowan out of the capital.
There wasn’t enough time to save the kingdom.
There wasn’t even enough time to save the royal family.
Only enough time to open the treasury once.
The king had ordered Rowan to take the most valuable treasures inside and flee while there was still a chance.
After that…
He stayed behind.
The king could have escaped.
He could have run.
But he chose not to.
Because he understood the World Government better than anyone.
If he fled, the hunt would continue without end.
Every resource at their disposal would be turned toward exterminating the royal bloodline.
But if the king remained…
If he allowed himself to become their prize…
Then their objective would be fulfilled.
The surviving prince would become a secondary concern.
A loose end.
Something to deal with later.
By now, Rowan doubted his father was still alive.
His grip tightened around the treasure chest.
“Damn you…”
The words escaped through clenched teeth.
“World Government.”
“CP0.”
The hatred in his voice was impossible to hide.
Slowly, he pushed himself upright and looked out across the endless sea.
Knowing the enemy changed nothing.
The World Government wasn’t some pirate crew he could challenge through courage alone.
It was the organization that ruled the world.
A colossal power that stood above countless kingdoms and rivaled the might of the Yonko themselves.
And him?
He was just a teenager.
He had some combat training, but that was all.
No Devil Fruit.
No Haki.
No legendary bloodline awakening waiting around the corner.
Nothing.
In this world, strength was everything.
Without strength, justice was meaningless.
Without strength, revenge was a fantasy.
If Rowan’s suspicions were correct, he was already a wanted man.
The moment he left this island, Marines and bounty hunters would begin searching for him.
A prince without a kingdom.
A fugitive carrying the last remnants of a fallen nation.
A future that looked increasingly bleak.
Rowan let out a long breath.
Then a mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
[Host detected.]
[Initializing Villainous Crew System.]
[Loading system…
Please wait.]
Rowan froze.
For a moment, he wondered if exhaustion had finally broken him.
Then his eyes widened.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
He knew exactly what this was.
Every web novel reader knew.
A system.
A cheat.
The golden finger every transmigrator dreamed about.
More importantly, it was a chance.
A chance to rewrite his fate.
The voice continued.
[Synchronization: 30%]
[Synchronization: 50%]
[Synchronization: 90%]
[Synchronization complete.]
[Special Item Obtained: Black Coffin of Nullification.]
The instant the notification appeared, a torrent of information surged into Rowan’s mind.
At the same time, a vision materialized within his consciousness.
A coffin.
An enormous black coffin.
Ancient beyond measure.
Its surface seemed to swallow every trace of light that touched it.
Even as a mere image, it radiated a suffocating pressure that made Rowan’s heart skip a beat.
As the information settled into place, his breathing gradually quickened.
Then his eyes widened.
The excitement became impossible to suppress.
Because the ability of the Black Coffin was absurd.
No.
Calling it absurd wasn’t enough.
It was a power capable of shaking the entire world.
According to the information provided by the system, if a dying Devil Fruit user and a normal fruit were placed inside the coffin together…
The coffin could forcibly recover the Devil Fruit.
Not through luck.
Not through the mysterious rebirth process that everyone in the world relied upon.
But through direct extraction.
A guaranteed recovery.
A perfect harvest.
Rowan stood motionless.
The sea breeze whipped through his hair, but he barely noticed.
His pulse thundered in his ears.
Devil Fruits were among the rarest treasures on the planet.
Pirates crossed entire oceans searching for them.
Kingdoms spent fortunes trying to acquire them.
Wars had been fought over them.
And now…
He possessed an artifact capable of reclaiming those powers with certainty.
The implications were terrifying.
If news of this ability ever spread, the entire world would erupt.
The Yonko would covet it.
The Admirals would hunt for it.
The World Government would stop at nothing to seize it.
Every major power on the seas would descend upon him.
Slowly, Rowan smiled.
For the first time since arriving in this world, the crushing weight on his shoulders eased.
The future was still dangerous.
The World Government still stood above him like an insurmountable mountain.
But now he could finally see a path forward.
A path to power.
A path to vengeance.
And perhaps…
A path that would one day shake the world itself.