Year 1516 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
The First Half of the Grand Line.
Drum Island...
In the snowy northern seas of the Grand Line, known for its world-renowned medical expertise, the Drum Kingdom had just undergone a monumental shift.
After the old king passed away, the crown was handed to a new ruler—Wapol.
The people, still cloaked in grief from the former king's death, barely had time to mourn. Because the new monarch, Wapol, was nothing like his predecessor. Far from it.
Since childhood, Wapol had been an overindulged prince, spoiled beyond imagination, his personality twisted and vile. And now, seated on the throne, his cruelty took shape in law.
To solidify his rule, Wapol began issuing a flurry of outrageous decrees, turning the kingdom into his twisted playground.
One year later.
As Wapol prepared to attend the Reverie—the World Summit of kings—he enacted a brutal policy: the "Doctor Purge Decree."
His objective? To eliminate any medical practitioner who refused to serve the crown.
Only those who pledged allegiance to him would be spared—dubbed the elite "Dr. 20."
But two doctors evaded his net: Dr. Hiriluk and Dr. Kureha.
Upon returning from the World Summit, Wapol was furious to learn of their survival. So, he devised a cruel ruse—he spread a rumor that a member of the Dr. 20 had collapsed from illness.
That very night—
Blizzards raged.
Knowing it was a trap, Dr. Hiriluk still made his way to the castle. He came not as a fool, but as a doctor—answering the call of duty that beat within his heart.
Before him stood the royal castle, surrounded by Wapol's soldiers, guns drawn, eyes cold.
Yet Dr. Hiriluk was calm. He sat down, took out a bottle of liquor, and smiled faintly.
"So it's not a real patient.
I was worried something terrible had happened in the country…
But no—just a ploy to lure me out."
He raised the bottle.
"You can't kill me.
Tell me—when does a man truly die?
When his heart is pierced by a bullet?
Wrong.
When he's stricken by an incurable disease?
Still wrong.
When he drinks a poisonous mushroom soup?
Of course not.
A man dies… only when he is forgotten!"
He stood, his eyes gleaming with hope.
"Even if I vanish from this world,
My dream will live on.
And that dream—
It will heal the true sickness in this kingdom's heart."
He raised the bottle to the sky—and drank.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out.
From the mountainside, pink cherry blossoms exploded into the air like snowflakes dancing in moonlight.
It was beautiful.
Heart-achingly beautiful.
As Wapol stood there, hands on his hips, laughing maniacally over the blood-stained floor—he didn't notice it.
In the howling wind and falling snow, a strange ripple formed in the air. A perfect circle, like a door opening in space itself.
"DR. HIRILUK!!!"
A voice roared through the blizzard.
A silhouette, like a man but with the body of a reindeer, sprinted across the snow. His face was covered in tears and snot, twisted in rage.
Tony Tony Chopper.
Wapol's guards turned their guns, switching aim toward the intruder.
But then—
Captain Dalton of the Royal Guard stepped forward.
Moved by what he had just witnessed, and knowing that Chopper had no chance against Wapol's forces, Dalton blocked his path.
"Run!" he urged.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning struck the castle with a roar, shaking the stone walls.
Dalton turned—
From the sky, amidst thunder and electricity, something enormous crashed down.
BOOM!
Neither Wapol nor his men had time to react.
The thing slammed into them with brutal force, purple-red lightning bursting outward like shattered stars.
A dome of pure energy erupted upon impact, flinging Dalton and Chopper through the air with a blinding flash.
They crashed into the snow, stunned and wide-eyed.
"W-What is that?"
"What's happening?!"
The electricity and light began to withdraw inward, as if pulled back into the object's core.
And slowly, its form was revealed.
"A… ship?" Dalton gasped.
It looked like a vessel—but not like anything that sailed the seas of this world.
Its surface gleamed silver-white, as though forged entirely of pure steel.
The deck was long and flat, about twenty meters in length, with no towering masts.
Instead, it had a "command tower", like a miniature floating fortress.
Strange. Completely alien.
"Your Majesty!"
"Where's King Wapol?!"
"The king is under it!"
The cries of the panicked guards snapped Dalton out of his daze.
He rushed toward the massive vessel.
Wapol…
Could he have been crushed?
Dalton shoved his shoulder into the ship's metallic side, trying to lift it.
"Hey! Help me!"
The guards, who had always flaunted their authority under Wapol's rule, scrambled toward him, terrified. They had the most to lose.
Meanwhile, Chopper stood frozen.
Wapol, The man who killed Dr. Hiriluk, Was dead?
What should he do now?
His mind reeled with confusion.
And then, a door on the ship's tower creaked open.
Out walked a young man, holding a large wrench, his face full of disbelief.
"Achoo!"
The freezing wind hit him square in the face.
"What the hell?! Where am I?!"
This young man was Jin.
Shivering, he looked around at the endless snow and strange castle walls.
"Is this... the North Pole?! Did I drift all the way here?!"
Suddenly, a burst of rapid-fire gibberish hit his ears.
He turned just in time to see a man with an afro and a thick beard leap onto the deck, snarling.
He wore boxing gloves and radiated pure aggression.
The bearded man barked a stream of furious words.
Jin, confused and freezing, waved his hands.
"I don't understand what you're saying! Do you have any clothes? I'm freezing my ass off!"
"And where the hell did I drift to?!"
The blizzard was so fierce, he had to shout while using wild hand gestures.
But the man misunderstood. Seeing Jin holding a wrench and waving it, he assumed this stranger was a hostile rebel refusing to surrender.
He snapped.
"STATIC—CRITICAL STRIKE!"
He charged.
Lightning crackled from his gloves as he swung a punch straight at Jin's face.
Jin's eyes widened.
"He's serious?!"
Startled, he fell back, instinctively raising his arms. Luckily, he'd trained in boxing for two years in college.
But this guy—he was fast. Too fast.
BANG!
A massive figure suddenly appeared between them, taking the blow with crossed arms.
Sparks flew from his fur.
"Hey! You alright?"
A bloodied, long-faced creature turned to look at him with concern.
Jin's jaw dropped.
"What the— A Monster?!"
"Am I dreaming? Did I forget to wake up?"
Wait—
That face…
It looked familiar.
Then it clicked.
"CHOPPER?!"
Even though their languages didn't align, the name was close enough.
Chopper froze, eyes widening.
"Eh? You… you know me?"
Jin, stunned beyond belief, nodded slowly.
It was all real.
He'd transmigrated. He was in the world of One Piece.
Back on Earth, Jin had been a carrier-obsessed hobbyist. He'd spent years and every spare cent building a fully scaled replica of a modern aircraft carrier.
People online mocked him.
"It's just a hollow shell!" they laughed.
Driven to prove them wrong, he modified it himself, installed a used engine, and navigated the rivers to reach the open sea.
Right before his last memory, he'd been working on the engine, which had glitched out. The entire ship rocked.
He assumed it was just a storm.
He never imagined…
He would end up here.
But now wasn't the time to think.
The bearded boxer noticed Chopper was distracted—he smirked maliciously and lunged.
A glowing Static Uppercut connected with Chopper's jaw.
WHAM!
The little reindeer-boy, still too young and inexperienced, was flung backward, rolling across the snow.
Jin's pupils contracted.
That guy—he recognized him.
Kuromarimo.
Wapol's right-hand man and one of the Bliking Pirates' commanders.
Even the weakest pirate crew in this world had absurd physical strength.
Jin had no chance in a straight-up fight.
"You're mine now!"
Kuromarimo roared, lunging forward.
Jin turned and ran, mind racing.
Then,
The deck split open beneath them.
A gaping metallic mouth opened wide and swallowed Kuromarimo whole.
Jin skidded to a halt, his breath catching in his throat.
"W-What…
What the hell was that…?!"
A mouth-
A giant, mechanical mouth.
And it just ate a man.