The salty breeze, carrying fine sand, caressed Tsukasa Yuu's face as he opened his eyes under the sting of the salt.
A dull pain in his temples made him curl up, his nails digging deeply into the damp sand.
"What's happening? Where am I?"
The rhythmic sound of the waves reached his ears, and seagulls cried "Oh oh oh" in the sky - sounds certainly not heard in an intensive care unit.
When his vision finally stabilized, his pupils contracted suddenly.
Under an indigo sky, flights of albatrosses skimmed the pearly sea, and the kaleidoscopic glow of the distant coral reefs painted the entire beach in a dreamlike palette.
This scene was too familiar. The looping opening sequence of One Piece now enveloped him in a 6D immersive experience.
"So... is this the world after death?"
Just graduated from university, he had joined the ranks of the "blessed" in 996, dying suddenly during a late night of work.
What a failed life...
He looked down at his intact hands; the marks of countless needles had disappeared without a trace.
The surge of euphoria was interrupted by a sharp whistling sound, and something hard hit his forehead.
"Plop!"
A black fruit rolled to his feet, its spiral patterns shimmering with a metallic sheen under the sun.
Tsukasa Yuu's breath caught - even as a casual fan who had only seen two episodes on TikTok, he could not mistake this forbidden form...
The dark purple glow emanating from the fruit's skin was exactly like the close-up of Blackbeard's Dark Fruit in the manga.
Damn! A Devil Fruit?!
Although each Devil Fruit is unique, he recognized it at first glance.
At that moment, a voice sounded in his mind!
[Consume the Shadow Fruit to activate the Shadow Monarch System.]
The mechanical voice exploded in his brain, but Tsukasa Yuu burst into laughter, tears welling in his eyes.
What was this?
A free fruit and a system from the start?
A compensation for an overworked deceased worker?
A Devil Fruit meant he was in the world of One Piece.
The Shadow, judging by the name, must be a Logia-type Fruit!
He also knew the Shadow Monarch, the protagonist of Solo Leveling, who bore the same name!
"And what if I don't eat it?"
[I will send you back where you came from.]
"To hell with that!"
He picked up the fruit trembling and took a big bite!
As his teeth pierced the skin, an indescribable taste shot to his brain!
It was like octopus tentacles soaked in formalin, like Aunt Yu's sweaty size 43 feet from the Northeast, like a moldy delivery box in a corner of an apartment - all the foul smells exploded on his taste buds.
"Ugh..."
Tsukasa Yuu covered his mouth, feeling nauseous, his stomach churning.
[The host has consumed the Shadow Fruit and has successfully linked with the Shadow Monarch System.]
"Ygritte!"
Tsukasa Yuu instinctively called out this name.
However, besides the sound of the waves and birds, only silence surrounded him; nothing happened.
[Host level too low. Please try again after increasing your strength.]
"What level do I need to reach?"
[Level 100 will establish a connection with another world, gain the 'Shadow Sharing' skill, and summon all Shadow Legion Commanders extracted from that other side.]
Immediately after, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes:
[Name: Tsukasa Yuu]
Level: 1
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 5
Spirit: 5
Height: 1.78 m
Weight: 90 kg
Length: 5-18 (?)
Devil Fruit: Shadow Fruit (Awakened)
Fruit Abilities:
1. Shadow Extraction: Extract shadows from deceased living beings and transform them into Shadow Soldiers, absolutely obedient.
Note: Extracted shadows retain their full strength from before their death and grow in power with the protagonist's strength increase. The success rate of shadow extraction depends solely on the host's level.
- Level 1: Can extract shadows of ordinary people, Shadow Combat Rank D.
- Level 10: Can extract shadows equivalent to ordinary Marine soldiers, Shadow Combat Rank C.
- Level 30: Can extract shadows of Marine Colonels, Shadow Combat Rank B.
- Level 50: Can extract shadows of Marine Vice Admirals, Shadow Combat Rank A.
- Level 60: Can extract shadows of Marine Admirals, Shadow Combat Rank S.
- Level 80: Can extract shadows of Fleet Admirals, Shadow Combat Rank SS.
- Level 100: Can extract shadows of Fleet Admirals in Chief, Shadow Combat Rank SSS.
[The above level divisions are approximate strength classifications and do not exclusively concern the Marines! These are only examples based on Marine ranks!]
[And do not concern characters whose strength far exceeds their rank, like Garp, who would require Level 100 for extraction, at the same level as Sengoku!]
[All the above is indicative; the final determination rests on actual strength!]
Damn!
Extracted shadows can be strengthened, for example by consuming Devil Fruits or enhancing their Haki, which can exceed their initial ranking.
2. Shadow Preservation: Shadow Soldiers are stored in the user's shadow and can be summoned at any time.
3. Shadow Exchange: The user exchanges positions with a designated Shadow Soldier, cooldown time 5 seconds.
Armament Haki: None
Observation Haki: None
Conqueror's Haki: None
Tsukasa Yuu's mouth twitched seeing the strange "Length" item on the panel. What did that question mark mean?
"Detection of extremely weak physical condition of the host, please start training immediately!" The system voice rang again, interrupting his thoughts.
Daily training missions:
Push-ups...[0/100]
Sit-ups...[0/100]
Pull-ups...[0/100]
Squats...[0/100]
Running...[0/15 kilometers]
As long as the daily training missions are completed, experience points and rewards will be obtained.
Seeing these tasks, Tsukasa Yuu felt his scalp tingling, his fingers digging deeply into the sand.
As a former unhealthy individual who panted climbing stairs, these tasks were torture.
But as he gazed at his gaunt reflection in the sea, something fervent stirred in his chest...
It was the passion buried under PowerPoint, the chuunibyou spirit stifled by Excel spreadsheets.
This mission, I accept it!
"At least... this time, I can truly live for myself." He tore his hospital gown to shreds, revealing a torso as pale as paper.
At the seventh push-up of the first set, a sharp tearing sound echoed near his shoulder blade!
After a three-kilometer round trip run, the metallic taste of blood in his throat reminded him of a certain morning spent revising a proposal until dawn!
The difference was that this time, every drop of sweat turned into data flowing into his body:
[Strength +0.1]
[Endurance +0.3]
[Ding, all today's missions are completed!]
"Is that it?"
"Since that's the case, why not reward me..."
[Length +0.01]
...
By early morning, as the first ray of sun hit the beach, Tsukasa Yuu had already begun his training.
Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups...
Each movement caused immense pain, and his posture was often distorted, but fortunately, the system did not check if the exercises were perfect.
It was a small deserted island; there was no one else but him.
Only the sound of waves, birds, and his own panting and encouragements.
Sweat soaked his clothes, dried in the sea breeze, then soaked again.
With time, Tsukasa Yuu was surprised to find that his body underwent incredible changes.
The former office worker was now a muscular man with a six-pack abs.
The time needed to complete the missions was getting shorter and shorter!
From the initial twelve hours, he went to ten hours, eight hours, five hours...
Eventually, he could complete all the training with standard movements in just three hours!
Three months later, his level rose to 10, and all his stats had significantly improved.
Surprisingly, even his height and length had increased by 10 centimeters!
Tsukasa Yuu looked at the data on the panel and nodded with a smile.
Heh heh, that charm of mine.
If I meet Empress Hancock, wouldn't she be completely seduced and would she call me "husband"?
Clap~ clap~ clap!
After finishing a series of exercises, Tsukasa Yuu skillfully rubbed two pieces of wood to start a fire and skewered a sea fish on a branch to grill.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."
Curls of smoke rose, and the aroma of grilled fish wafted in the air.
Ah~ this damn happy life!
No 996, no KPI, it's absolutely great!
Oh, by the way, System, what year and month is it?
I wonder if that kid Luffy has already set sail. It would be great to tag along with him.
The system is here to kindly provide you the time~
We are now in the year 1520 of the Marine Calendar!