I've gone to sea, please give me more guidance.
Ahem... why does that sound so strange? Never mind, it doesn't matter.
Shaking his head, Kyle cast these chaotic thoughts from his mind, walked into the ship's cabin, and began to rummage through boxes.
These pirates had terrible taste; their clothes mostly reeked of sweat and blood. He finally managed to find a set of black shirt and trousers from a relatively clean box. Although the material was rough and too large, it was still better than his 'savage suit' sewn from leaves and animal skins.
After changing into new clothes, Kyle found a relatively smooth copper plate to use as a mirror.
The young man in the mirror had black hair and golden eyes, with healthy tanned skin from long-term sun exposure. His features were well-defined, and though a hint of childishness remained on his face, his eyes were exceptionally bright.
Especially those golden pupils, which seemed to shimmer with a strange light in the dimly lit cabin.
"Tsk, I never thought I'd be able to rely on my looks in this life." Kyle narcissistically brushed his bangs, expressing extreme satisfaction with the handsomeness of his new body.
"What a pity, if this were my previous life, I'd at least be campus heartthrob material, right? Maybe I could even become an internet celebrity."
After his bout of self-admiration, Kyle returned to the deck. He imitated the pirates from his memories, skillfully adjusting the sails, then gripped the helm.
"Alright, let's go!" Kyle shouted spiritedly, feeling like a man about to conquer the stars and the sea.
And then… there was no then.
An hour later, the pirate ship was still circling in place.
Two hours later, Kyle was drenched in sweat, and the ship's distance from the deserted island… seemed to have gotten a little closer?
"What the—how do you even drive this thing?!" Kyle scratched his head in frustration, his handsome face flushed red with embarrassment.
In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person who had ridden a boat a few times; let alone driving one, his swimming skills were barely passable.
He had learned a lot of theoretical knowledge from various films and TV shows: how to hoist sails with the wind, zig-zag against the wind, keep the helm steady… But once he got his hands on it, he realized it was completely different from driving a car!
"I remember when Luffy and his crew set sail, it didn't seem this hard, did it? Before Nami, how did they sail the ship?" Kyle fell into deep self-doubt.
He tried to activate his Boba Fruit ability, hoping to push the ship with a shockwave. The result was a loud "boom," a tremor hitting the sea, splashing up huge waves, half of which splashed back onto him. A feeling of weakness immediately washed over him, the ship swayed, and then… it was pushed back a short distance by the recoil.
"…" Kyle wiped the seawater from his face, looking up at the sky in exasperation.
Alright, it seems he could only go with the flow. He gave up struggling, letting the pirate ship drift aimlessly like a helpless leaf on the vast ocean.
Days passed. Kyle went from initial frustration, to helplessness, and now to numbness. The fresh water and food on the ship were decreasing at a visible rate.
Every day, besides spacing out, he practiced his Boba Fruit ability against the sea, and prayed that the heavens would open their eyes and quickly let him drift to a populated place.
"If this continues, I'm afraid I'll become the first pirate in the Pirate King world to starve to death at sea because he couldn't sail a ship. What an embarrassment to the transmigrator army." Kyle lay on the deck, on the verge of tears. He even started to miss the strangely flavored grilled fish from the deserted island.
Just as Kyle was starving and seeing stars, beginning to ramble, a blurry black dot finally appeared on the distant horizon.
"Land! It's land!" Kyle jolted up from the deck, so excited he even wanted to use a shockwave to accelerate himself, but reason told him it was better to conserve his energy.
Fortunately, the ocean currents seemed to be on his side. After half a day, the outline of the island became clearer. It looked like a prosperous island, with a dock on the shore and many buildings.
Kyle was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. He didn't care about navigation skills, haphazardly steering the helm, desperately trying to get the ship closer to the dock.
His "efforts" immediately caused a commotion at the port. Workers moving cargo on the shore screamed and scattered, shouts and exclamations filling the air, and several innocent small boats were smashed to pieces by his wildly crashing pirate ship.
Kyle was drenched in sweat, and at this moment, he didn't care about appearances, only wishing this broken ship would stop quickly.
Finally, with a dull "thud," the ship's bow was firmly wedged into a thick wooden pile on the dock. The entire ship shook violently, finally getting stuck and unable to move. Perfect.
"Phew, finally here." Kyle didn't care about the ship's sorry state or the strange looks from the people around him. He leaped onto the dock, and the feeling of his feet on solid ground made him almost want to kneel and kiss the earth.
He eagerly stopped a passerby, trying to make his expression seem friendly:
"Excuse me, sir, where is this place? And what time is it?"
The passerby was startled by his dusty, starved appearance, but still replied, "This is the port on the outskirts of Dogg Town. It's afternoon."
"Dogg Town?" Kyle was completely blank. He had never heard that name!
He quickly pressed on, "Then… how is the Pirate King doing now? What about the Marine Hero? And, is there a Straw Hat?"
The passerby looked Kyle up and down with a crazy look, "Huh? What are you talking about? Never heard of them. Kid, are you out of your mind from hunger?"
With that, he waved his hand in disgust, as if shooing away something dirty, and quickly walked away.
"Hey, wait, big brother! I meant what year of the Sea Calendar it is, not whether it's morning or afternoon!"
"Huh?" Kyle was confused. How could the famous Pirate King and Marine Hero be unknown?
Even if Straw Hat Luffy hadn't made a name for himself yet, there shouldn't be absolutely no news of him, right?
Could it be that the time he transmigrated was too early or too late? Or was this Dogg Town really so remote that it was cut off from the world?
A thick cloud of doubt filled his mind, and Kyle walked down the town's streets somewhat dejectedly.
The town was bustling, with people coming and going, and constant shouts of vendors, full of life.
Kyle was wondering if the few Berries he had scavenged from the pirate ship would be enough for a full meal when his stomach loudly protested.
Just as he was about to find a tavern to inquire for more detailed information, a violent explosion suddenly erupted in the distance!
"Boom!"
Following that were terrified screams and chaotic running.
"Pirates! It's the Black Shark Pirates! They're robbing again!"
"Run!"
Kyle suddenly looked up, only to see thick smoke billowing and flames soaring from the direction of the port.
He could vaguely make out a pirate ship flying a shark skull flag, indiscriminately shelling the buildings on the shore with its cannons!
"Great, I haven't even eaten yet, and trouble has already found its way to me." Kyle's mouth twitched, but a faint, almost imperceptible excitement flickered in his golden pupils.
Perfect, I'll use you guys to vent the frustration I've been holding in! And I can 'borrow' some meal money too.