Gusion's eyes lit up when he saw the information about the new world.
One Piece!
He had been looking forward to this world for a long time. As one of the Big Three Shounen series from the previous century in his memory, this manga brought him a lot of joy in his childhood.
Moreover, the Armament Haki he was using now was an ability from One Piece. If he could enter that world, his Haki abilities would surely improve greatly.
He just wasn't sure if he'd be lucky enough to start off in a place where Haki could be learned. In small countries outside the New World, Haki was indeed rare.
On his way back, Gusion used the rest of his End Coins at the trading market to stock up on some consumables. He then returned to his room and entered the room unique to Pioneers.
Previously, he had completed a Pioneer mission in the world of Kengan Ashura and received a Pioneer Medal, which could be used in the shop.
But when he browsed the shop back then, he wasn't satisfied with the goods, so he didn't exchange anything.
After returning this time and checking the refresh, he still felt the items weren't great. Gusion roughly understood the purchasing power of the Pioneer Medal.
The Bronze Pioneer Medal seemed to be a lower-level medal, only able to exchange for rare-grade max-score gear or mediocre purple recovery items. So Gusion didn't bother saving it and directly exchanged it for purple-quality recovery items, in case it became useless later.
Once everything was ready, Gusion lay down on the Divine Rest Bed to meditate and relax, adjusting his spirit to its peak.
When the countdown began, he got up, shrank the Divine Rest, and stored it in his inventory.
[Teleportation commencing…]
With the End Space's prompt, Gusion felt himself once again entering that hazy tunnel of white light. Everything was blurry, except for the clear system voice in his ear.
[World positioning…]
[Positioning complete. Target: Large Derivative World—One Piece.]
[End Space will deploy 179 explorers.]
[Divine Space will deploy 158 explorers.]
[Universal language for this world has been granted to Pioneer. 100 End Coins consumed.]
[World teleportation in progress… Pioneer may view world details first.]
After the prompt, a menu popped up before Gusion's eyes. Since teleportation would take some time, he began to read.
[Mission World: One Piece]
[Mission World Type: Large Derivative]
[World Difficulty Level: Lv.3~???]
[Note: This is a large, open-world derivative. Different regions have different difficulties. Pioneers, act with caution.]
World Overview:
A struggle for wealth, fame, and power, shrouded in the mist of historical truth;
On the vast seas, Marines battle pirates, 'Justice' faces 'Evil,' Devil Fruit users and Haki clash.
Devil Fruits: Born from people's inner desires, eating one grants mysterious powers, but as it violates the law of nature, the sea—the mother of life—abhors the power. Devil Fruit users fear seawater and Seastone.
The Three Types of Haki: Powers latent in all humans, high-level techniques that require strong will to awaken.
World Government: The largest organization, ruling the world for 800 years.
Marines: The armed force under the World Government, sometimes maintaining peace at sea.
Pirates: Mostly ruthless criminals who pillage and slaughter, though a few are true adventurers in pirate name only.
[Note: Killing explorers from Divine Space in this world has double the usual chance to drop a Dead Man's Chest.]
Gusion skimmed through the information, then heard a new prompt from End Space.
[Assigning initial identity for Pioneer…]
[Analyzing strength, titles, traits, personality…]
[…Comprehensive analysis complete. Suitable identity assigned.]
[Deployment successful. Please check your mission, Pioneer.]
As the sense of weightlessness faded, the stench of rot invaded his nose. Gusion opened his eyes to a dark, damp prison cell.
He froze, then tried to move his limbs, only to feel a heavy sense of restraint.
His face immediately darkened, because he realized he seemed to be… in jail again!
And unlike last time in the Kengan world, this time his legs were shackled with Seastone, and a heavy iron ball hung from the outer chain.
Fortunately, he wasn't a Devil Fruit user. Even with his legs locked, it only restricted his movement, not his ability to fight.
He was in a single-person cell, and the treatment seemed decent—at least he had a private room, Gusion comforted himself.
After confirming there was no immediate danger, Gusion stayed alert as he checked his mission and initial identity.
[Current Location: New World. Wano Country. Udon Prison]
[Current Time: Sea Circle Calendar Year 1510]
[Current Identity: Prisoner]
He didn't even see the mission yet. Just checking his location and identity almost made Gusion cough up blood.
Nice. Very nice.
He had hoped to land in the New World, since most people there could use Haki, making it easier for him to learn.
In a way, the system had fulfilled his wish—and then some.
Not only had it placed him in the New World, but it had thrown him directly into the prison run by the Hundred Beasts.
Except, he wasn't a member of the Beasts Pirates—he was a prisoner in Udon Prison, a slave laborer expected to work to death under the watchful eyes of overseers.
After browsing his identity details, Gusion understood why he was here.
Originally, he was a traveler who accidentally entered Wano. After witnessing the local suffering, he decided to become a Demon Slayer.
He went to challenge Kaido, and unsurprisingly, was nearly beaten to death. Actually, beaten wasn't quite right—Kaido, drunk, had lazily swung his club from afar, and the resulting shockwave sent Gusion flying into a wall, his fate unknown.
Kaido always had a soft spot for those brave enough to challenge him—or perhaps he just didn't like wasting manpower—so he ordered his men to send Gusion to Udon Prison for labor reform.
According to the headliner who brought him in, if Gusion behaved well, he could apply to join the Beasts Pirates as a Waiter—the lowest rank, awaiting a chance to eat a SMILE fruit.
Gusion didn't know how long he'd had this identity; currently, he'd been in Udon Prison for three days, just recovered from his injuries, and still had his bandages on.
Probably to fit his initial status, Gusion's original black nightmare coat had been stowed away by the system, and his special footwear had been disguised to look ordinary.
After some analysis, Gusion realized why he had such a starting identity.
Normally, his overall strength wasn't enough to handle missions in such a dangerous place as the New World. But, by coincidence, before entering the One Piece world, he had already mastered Haki at a level considered solid even here.
Further, his backstory was likely influenced by his two titles: "The Fearless" (described by End Space as headstrong and fearless) led him to challenge Kaido, and "Demon Slayer" matched perfectly with Kaido, who is an oni. So he became an oni-slaying vigilante, and, predictably, ended up in jail.
Finally, checking his mission, he understood his situation.
He had no main quest, only a side quest called "Fruit Hunter."
It was his first time encountering a derivative world with no main quest. But End Space explained: One Piece is a large open-world derivative, where explorers are free to act and aren't given a main quest directly.
Of course, their stay wasn't unlimited—just three months. After that, End Space would forcibly extract the explorers.
To prevent explorers from simply loafing around, the system warned that their mission rating would depend on their Exploration Points.
Gusion had analyzed Exploration Points before: killing key characters, changing the plot, or interacting with important figures could all earn them, depending on the situation.
But in any case, you couldn't just stay in one place and wait for points. So if he just kept rotting in jail, he'd never get much exploration value.
And as soon as explorers started moving around, danger was everywhere.
This world was chaotic, filled with pirates and battles. Even running into the Marines wasn't necessarily safe.
Gusion had read the latter half of the manga while in the system space. He thought the World Government seemed more and more like the villain, and the Marines were getting increasingly shady.
So, even in the East Blue, explorers might not be safe, let alone Gusion's current position in the New World.
Wano is a high-level zone. He couldn't see the difficulty cap, but it was likely over level 40, maybe even 50. Even the wardens in Udon Prison might not be able to beat each other.
Luckily, as long as he didn't try to break out, he shouldn't be in mortal danger for now. And while being a prisoner sucked, there were benefits to be had.
After all, Udon Prison was like training ground, and here, one could learn advanced Haki techniques—like Ryuo.
Because it's a high-level area, most people here could use Haki. He could learn Ryuo and Observation Haki.
Gusion had no intention of submitting to Kaido and becoming a Waiter. Jokes aside, Kaido was a brutal tyrant, and Gusion didn't want to join him, nor did he want to eat a SMILE fruit.
So, after organizing his thoughts, he decided to observe the prison for a while, find Old Man Hyogoro, and learn Haki from him before considering an escape.
He wasn't worried about the Seastone shackles either. Maybe thanks to his boosted luck, he just happened to have a master key, which could unlock Seastone cuffs.
When the time was right, he could escape at any moment.
Just as he was thinking, Gusion heard footsteps. Soon, a guard appeared at the door, with another prisoner in Seastone cuffs behind him.
But unlike Gusion's expectations of a dirty labor convict, this prisoner was a tall, young woman with long, gradient white hair, wearing a white sleeveless kimono, her waist tied with a huge shimenawa rope.
A supreme bandage was wrapped around her forehead, her youthful face full of displeasure, her movement making her bust tremble visibly at the kimono's armhole.
The escorting guard opened the door, looking nervous. "Young master, please, come in."
Judging from the guard's attitude, this was less like bringing in a prisoner and more like serving a young lady.