The sky was clear, and the wind carried a refreshing breeze.
The sea stretched out endlessly, vast and boundless.
This was the world Shin found himself in now.
That said, things would have been fairly comfortable—if not for the fact that most of his body was submerged in water. His hands clung to the edge of a narrow wooden board, barely wide enough to fit his palm, and about as long as his arm. The rest of him was awkwardly trying to climb onto it.
Shin was completely confused. He had no idea what was happening.
"Strange… I was clearly fishing by the creek last night. So how did I end up drifting in the middle of the ocean?" he muttered. "They say fishermen can catch everything except fish, but in my case, I didn't just fail to catch a fish—I somehow managed to fish myself into the sea!"
Still gripping the small wooden board tightly, he looked around, hoping to get his bearings and spot the nearest shore.
As he scanned his surroundings, a wave of dizziness hit him. Suddenly, unfamiliar memories surged through his mind.
Before he could even begin to process them, a powerful wave crashed over him, tossing him and the board into the current.
!!!
"Dammit—!"
Before he could finish swearing, everything went black.
With a rustling sound, the dizziness gradually faded.
Shin spat out a mouthful of seawater like a sputtering whale.
"Cough! Cough!"
He forced his eyes open—only to be greeted by a face full of pockmarks.
!!!
"What the hell?! Ma Zi's turned into a spirit?! And he's flying around in front of me?!"
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he was fully conscious.
The freckled face in front of him leaned back, clearly offended.
"Hey, hey! Who are you calling a pockmarked spirit?!"
"Huh?"
Shin finally came to his senses. He sat up slowly and muttered weakly, "So… it's a person. I thought it was a ghost."
"Of course I'm a person!" the freckled boy huffed. Then he smiled and introduced himself cheerfully.
"My name's Portgas D. Ace."
"Huh? Port… what now?" Shin didn't quite catch it the first time. Meanwhile, more fragments of memory continued pouring into his mind.
Through these flashes, he finally began to understand what had happened.
Apparently, while fishing, something bizarre happened—maybe the fish pulled him in? Either way, he had somehow traveled to another world. And not just any world—this was the magical, chaotic world of One Piece.
Of course, Shin had read One Piece in his previous life, both the manga and the anime.
While he might not remember every detail, he could still recall the major events and iconic characters.
"Portgas D. Ace!" the boy repeated.
Looking at the guy in front of him—shirtless, in black shorts, with a freckled face, and an orange hat hanging behind his neck—Shin finally recognized him. If he didn't know better, he might've mistaken him for some determined, strong-willed teen idol… minus the basketball and overalls.
On Ace's left arm was a tattoo spelling "ASCE," with the "S" crossed out. His freckled face beamed with a wide grin, so wide it looked like you could see his back teeth.
Everything about him—his appearance, his name, his energy—confirmed it.
It really was Portgas D. Ace.
"Portgas D. Ace… that name sounds familiar," Shin murmured, acting like he had just made the connection.
"Really? So my name's gotten around, huh?" Ace's eyes sparkled. "Where'd you hear about me? What do they say?"
"I heard it a minute ago. So I don't know if it's spread that far yet," Shin said with a grin.
"A minute ago… and you say it sounds familiar?" Ace squinted at him suspiciously and took a cautious step back.
"What's wrong with a minute?" Shin replied. "You think a minute doesn't matter? Some people can hit sage mode multiple times in one minute!"
He shrugged and added, "Anyway, my name's Shin."
(Originally, his full name was Lee Jerry—yes, that Jerry, as in Tom and Jerry. He'd been obsessed with cat-and-mouse cartoons as a kid and changed his name accordingly. But now, that name was behind him.)
Shin turned to look at the ocean again. The endless blue shimmered under the sun. In the distance, a strange ocean current swirled unnaturally, dragging in anything that came near. It was like a natural, invisible prison in the middle of the sea.
When he looked behind him, he spotted a few lonely coconut trees—none bearing fruit. Curious, he asked, "Where are we?"
"It's a deserted island in the middle of the ocean," Ace replied casually, without looking up. He was busy sorting through materials, clearly trying to build a raft or some other sailing tool.
"I've been here for six days."
Shin stretched and kept the conversation going. "Six days? Not bad. You're pretty good at surviving out here."
"Of course," Ace said proudly. "I grew up in the mountains."
He was referring to his childhood—how Garp had left him with Dadan, the mountain bandit of Mt. Colubo. Though it was called "fostering," he'd only ever been given a bowl of rice and a glass of water each day. The rest, he had to scavenge from the junk heaps.
Suddenly, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in Shin's mind.
Ding! Individual meeting binding conditions detected. Beginning system binding...
'Huh? A system?' Shin thought. 'Let me guess—is it Android? Hongmeng? Maybe even Apple?'
Having watched countless movies and novels, Shin wasn't too surprised. A system voice? That just confirmed he had crossed into a fictional world.
[System online. Do you want to open the beginner gift pack?]
Ding! Binding complete.
Scanning... Host confirmed to be over 18. Age-restricted filter lifted. Power limiter removed. PS: Work hard every day to grow stronger and achieve success.
'Okay… So the system's installed, but no interface? Not enough memory? Is this thing running on Windows 98?'
'And… what's with that motivational quote? Is this some kind of self-help system?'
Detected excessive naivety in host. Beginner gift pack awarded. Please check your inventory.
A glowing interface appeared in Shin's mind, revealing a system panel and a personal inventory space.
"Looks like some kind of old-school DOS system…" he muttered. "Alright, let's see what we're working with."
Inside the system space was a floating object wrapped like a present—his newbie starter pack.
'So this is the gift pack...'
Without hesitation, Shin activated it.
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A/N: Please Leave A Comment Or Drop A Powerstone It'll mean alot to me...