Year 1484 of the Sea Circle Calendar — God Valley
Gunfire tore through the dense jungle.
A swarm of terrified prisoners—men, women, even children—ran for their lives through the tangled underbrush, all of them wearing identical white shirts marked with blood-red targets on their backs.
"Run! They're gaining on us!"
"Move! I don't want to die!"
Screams echoed. Bullets flew. Bodies dropped. Chaos consumed the forest.
Amid the madness, four figures stuck together—three boys and one girl—refusing to split up despite the frantic stampede around them.
One of them, a towering child with a burly frame and soft, round features, shielded the others from behind. Though clearly still a kid, his size was monstrous—easily over two meters tall. An arrow jutted from the center of his back, embedded right through the red target. Blood stained his shirt, but he didn't cry out. He gritted his teeth and pushed on.
The only girl in the group turned, caught sight of the wound, and gasped.
"Bear! You're getting hit from behind—you're too big to stay back there!"
"Don't cry, Ginny." The boy she called Bear gave a wincing smile. "I'm fine. You're safe, that's what matters."
He said it like it didn't hurt, but his pale face and trembling voice told the truth.
The other two boys turned at the sound of Ginny's voice. One had a thick afro and fire in his eyes. The other was leaner, sharper, with disheveled black hair and a calm, unreadable expression.
"Jace," the boy with the afro growled, glaring at the arrow in Bear's back. "We've got to find shelter. Bear's not going to last like this!"
The boy he called Jace didn't wear a slave's shirt. Instead, he had on a white long-sleeved coat, clean and higher quality—clearly different from the others. He looked barely older than ten, but something about him felt… older.
"There's nowhere safe," Jace said, eyes scanning the tree line. "We stop now, we die. We keep moving until the sun sets. Then they'll retreat."
"But—!"
"Run," Jace snapped. "Unless you want to die here."
Bear grunted and nodded. "Ivan, Jace is right. Don't worry about me. If I go down, you three keep going."
He was nine years old and already preparing to die. Ginny broke into sobs.
"No! I'm not leaving you behind, Bear!"
Jace's pace faltered. His words had been harsh, but his feet were slowing, matching Bear's speed.
The gunfire behind them gradually faded. After a while, the jungle fell eerily quiet.
Jace kept them moving for another half-hour just to be safe, until they stumbled across a pond hidden in the trees. One by one, the kids collapsed at the water's edge like puppets with their strings cut. Bear went down flat, arms and legs splayed in the shape of a giant X.
Jace didn't sit down. Not yet. He checked the perimeter, eyes sharp and searching, before finally dropping to the ground and staring into the still water.
His reflection stared back. A young face—his face—but one that didn't feel entirely his.
It had been a week since he arrived in this world.
A week of running. A week of fear. A week of wondering if he'd make it to the next sunrise.
He wasn't supposed to be here. His name was Jace—or at least, that's what he remembered. Back in his old life, he'd been an orphan working part-time jobs just to finish college. No family. No fortune. Just a bunch of broke guys sharing a dorm and chasing a degree.
Then came the night of graduation. They'd all gotten drunk, celebrating hard. Jace had stumbled out to find the bathroom, leaned too far over the stairwell—and that was it. Darkness.
When he woke up, he was a kid again. On an island. Surrounded by strangers. And worst of all... he wasn't in his world anymore.
It was the One Piece world.
He'd figured that out when he met the three kids who took him in—Ginny, Ivan, and Bear. Their names and appearances had shocked him. Ivan with his iconic afro and flamboyant flair. Ginny with her sharp tongue and big heart. And Bear—Bartholomew Kuma, even as a child already towering over the rest.
Jace recognized them instantly. He'd read about them in the manga. He'd seen how their story ended. They were the good ones. The kind who'd fight the world if it meant protecting the weak.
And somehow, they accepted him. A scrawny stranger with no memory, no past, and no power.
They didn't hesitate. Just reached out and made him one of them.
From three, they became four.
It didn't take long for Jace to realize where they were—and what that meant.
God Valley. The Celestial Dragons' private hunting ground.
He remembered the stories. The infamous incident that never made the history books, the war that would erupt here between the Rocks Pirates, the Marines, and the World Nobles.
This wasn't some quiet little beginner's island.
This was a death trap.
No system. No cheats. No overpowered mentor to pull him through. Just pain and blood and running through the jungle, day after day, dodging bullets and hoping he wouldn't catch one in the back.
At first, he'd held onto hope. Maybe there was a cheat coming. A hidden system? A power-up? Maybe he'd hear a ding in his head and see a glowing menu with god-tier abilities.
But no. No voice. No system. No tutorial.
Just screaming. Gunshots. And the constant terror that some bored Celestial Dragon might decide to blow his brains out for sport.
He thought about the manga. About how Kuma was supposed to find the Paw-Paw Fruit around this time. In the original story, he and Ivan stumbled upon it and made their escape.
But now Jace was here. What if his presence threw everything off?
What if they never found the fruit?
What if he got Kuma killed?
He clenched his fists, staring into the water, chest heaving.
This isn't how it's supposed to be.
He slammed his fist into the pond, sending ripples across his reflection.
And then, through gritted teeth, he whispered,
"Celestial Dragons... if I survive this... I swear—none of you will die peacefully."