The sky was clear, and brilliant sunlight poured down upon the world.
Along a wide stretch of golden sand, a young man dressed in slightly worn clothing was lying comfortably on the beach.
A thin blade of grass rested between his lips while he stared lazily at the endless blue sky, his expression peaceful and untroubled.
The waves repeatedly surged toward the shore.
Wave after wave rolled toward the shore.
Just as the water was about to reach his body, he spat out the blade of grass and sat up.
“About time!”
Gazing out at the vast, boundless sea, Lucas Zane felt a faint surge of excitement.
This was the world of One Piece, and somehow, Lucas had already been here for three years.
Thinking back to what he had looked like when he first arrived, a self-deprecating smile appeared on Lucas’s face.
Back then, transforming from an ordinary shut-in into a resident of the One Piece world had left him incredibly excited.
He had nearly shouted to the heavens, Nami!
Robin!
I’m coming!
Of course, he soon discovered the reality.
Yes, he had transmigrated into another world—but he hadn’t brought a damn thing with him!
Other transmigrators came equipped with divine artifacts, cheat abilities, and systems capable of infinitely enhancing their strength.
As for him, he had crossed over completely empty-handed.
He hadn’t even seen a single strand of divine-artifact hair!
Still, as a twenty-first-century shut-in with a reasonably broad outlook on life, he quickly found a way to survive.
Just as he was reminiscing about the past, a gigantic beast suddenly emerged from the sea before him.
It was nearly the size of a house, and its enormous maw came snapping down without mercy.
Lucas was slightly startled.
With a quick sidestep, he sprang to his feet.
He then lightly stamped the ground, sending his body shooting backward and allowing him to evade the creature’s terrifying jaws.
“What the hell?!
This thing is way too damn big!”
Seeing the bloodshot, savage eyes of the enormous beast, Lucas couldn’t help but curse.
There was no shortage of strange creatures in this world.
If anything, the seas were overflowing with monsters.
Lucas had originally intended to use himself as bait to catch a fish several meters long.
He certainly hadn’t expected to lure out a monster more than ten meters long!
Although the beast had already charged onto the shore, it suddenly twisted its enormous body.
With a violent flip, it sprang into the air and lunged at Lucas once more, jaws snapping.
To it, Lucas was nothing more than a bite-sized snack.
Lucas continued cursing under his breath, but his body remained completely focused.
Even after three years of relentless training, killing a monster of this size would be no easy feat.
His expression turned cold as his right hand closed around the sword at his waist.
“Iai Slash!”
With a crisp clang of steel, a dim blue-white sword arc swept outward.
Slash!
Blood immediately poured from the enormous creature’s mouth like rain.
Its ugly tongue had been severed halfway through by Lucas’s strike.
Looking at the giant beast writhing in pain, Lucas showed no trace of triumph.
Instead, his face fell into a bitter grimace.
For the past three years, he had been constantly practicing Iai techniques.
He had practically challenged every swordsman in the nearby town on this island.
Yet even after putting everything he had into that strike, and targeting the creature’s most vulnerable point, he had only managed to cut its tongue halfway through!
The moment it was wounded, the beast’s enormous, ugly eyes filled with even more savage fury.
Its entire body seemed to go berserk as it frantically lunged at Lucas, trying to tear him apart with its jaws.
Lucas gripped his sword with both hands and continuously dodged its attacks, not daring to confront it head-on.
The wounded beast had gone completely mad.
It paid no attention to the fact that it had already ventured deep onto land.
After retreating several more steps, Lucas suddenly slid his sword back into its scabbard and smiled as he waved his hand.
“Bye-bye!”
In the next instant, four enormous logs suddenly emerged from the surrounding area and shot toward the beast.
Their ends had been sharpened to deadly points, and they flew at incredible speed.
The beast had no chance of dodging them!
BOOM!
After several thunderous impacts, the dust gradually settled.
The enormous beast had been firmly pinned to the ground by the logs.
Blood gushed from its body like a fountain.
After twitching weakly for a moment, it finally lay still.
Looking at the dead monster, Lucas wore a faintly exhausted expression.
He frowned and gave a bitter smile.
“A thing like this…
just looking at it kills my appetite.”
Although he said that, what truly worried Lucas was something else.
On land, he could set up all kinds of traps.
Even a beast as large as a house could ultimately be toyed with until it was killed.
But once he went out to sea, encountering a monster like this would be a completely different story.
He would be the one getting played to death!
He had gone through all the trouble of transmigrating into this world.
Lucas had no intention of dying again.
Who knew whether he would transmigrate somewhere else if he died?
What if he simply died for good?
But…
Whenever he thought of the eccentric and spirited Nami, or the cool-headed and intelligent Robin, a burning determination appeared in Lucas’s eyes.
No matter how dangerous it was, he had to venture out.
There was no truly safe place in the One Piece world to begin with.
Besides, if he stayed here forever, his strength would probably never surpass his current level.
At best, he would remain a second-rate swordsman—not even as strong as Roronoa Zoro had been when he first set out to sea in the original story.
Through the dense canopy of leaves, Lucas gazed at the sun overhead.
The look in his eyes gradually hardened into determination.
It was the sixteenth year of the Great Pirate Era.
Four years remained before Luffy would set sail.
And on this day, a swordsman destined to become a legend and shake the entire world would set out to sea.