"Honestly, Luffy feels a little weak here."
"He could've just gone Gear Third or Gear Fourth and ended the fight right away, but no he has to drag it out in base form, maybe coat a punch in Haki if he's feeling fancy. It's not like he didn't have the chance."
"Kind of hard to make sense of it."
Rain hammered against the window, lightning split the sky, and thunder rolled across the city. Inside the bright little room, a young man lounged in his chair, eyes fixed on his computer screen as the Fishman Island arc played out.
He was perfectly at ease, a carton of Telunsu milk in his left hand, sipping between scenes.
On the monitor, Luffy traded blows with Hody Jones, the new Fishman Pirates' leader. On land, Luffy's dominance was absolute every punch rattled Hody to the core.
But the young man watching already knew the bigger picture. He had seen spoilers from the Wano arc, had long since learned that Luffy was capable of flattening Hody without breaking a sweat. On land, he didn't even need to rely on Haki or open a Gear. Underwater, however, things turned upside down. Hody became monstrously strong while Luffy, burdened by his Devil Fruit, could barely keep himself alive.
"Man, it's frustrating but still entertaining."
The young man was a loyal One Piece fan. He didn't collect figurines, posters, or cosplay gear, but he never missed an episode. Every week, as soon as a new chapter or episode dropped, he was there.
Before long, the episode ended.
He reached for his mouse, ready to queue up the Marineford arc. But just as his cursor hovered over the next file, the screen flickered and warped.
A swirling black void appeared where the video had been. Before he could react, it surged outward and swallowed him whole.
"Waaahhhhhhh—!"
The void collapsed as suddenly as it had appeared. The monitor returned to normal, now playing an ad as if nothing had happened.
But in the quiet little room, the chair was empty.
Outside, the storm raged on.
…
On a remote island, a boy sat on the sand, staring at his small hands with wide eyes.
"…Why am I a kid?"
He tilted his head back toward the sky, utterly confused.
The island wasn't large. After circling the shoreline, he confirmed it was just a patch of land in the middle of nowhere. At its center lay a thick forest, but he didn't dare venture inside. For now, he scavenged along the beach for coconuts and shellfish.
Nearby, the wreck of a large ship lay stranded on the rocks. No other survivors could be found. He was completely alone.
The boy's name was Hals. When he had crossed over into this world, a set of foreign memories had embedded themselves in his mind.
In those memories, he was the son of a small noble family in the East Blue. His clan had provoked a notorious pirate, forcing them to flee their home. But their escape ended in disaster. Another pirate crew intercepted them, killing most of the passengers. By chance, a Marine vessel arrived, scaring off the attackers, but the Marines chose to chase the pirates instead of rescuing the wounded.
The survivors were left to fend for themselves. Then a storm struck. Ten people remained, but one by one they perished. Hals himself had been bedridden from wounds and fever, trapped in the cabin during the chaos.
Perhaps his original self had already died leaving room for him to take over.
"So… the others probably drowned?" Hals muttered. His mind spun in circles. "And those Marines… were they even real? Probably not."
He shook his head. "Forget it. What matters is staying alive. Wait don't I get a system? A golden cheat?"
As if on cue, a mechanical chime echoed in his head.
Ding. Your Negative Emotion System has been activated.
Relief washed over Hals. A system meant survival in this strange world wasn't impossible.
"Alright, what can you do?"
This system collects the negative emotions of living beings. These emotions may be exchanged for items in the system's store.
"Great. Is there a newbie gift pack?"
Newbie pack detected. Would you like to claim it?
"Yes, claim it!"
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: [Special Devil Fruit · Mythical Zoan · Arcane Dragon], and a system backpack.
A ten-square-meter gray space materialized in his mind, containing a single odd-looking fruit.
"A Mythical Zoan fruit… huh?"
At a thought, the fruit appeared in Hals's palm. Strange swirling patterns marked its skin. Without overthinking, he took a bite.
It wasn't awful. In fact, it tasted surprisingly decent. He quickly devoured the entire thing, leaving no scraps.
Every fan knew Devil Fruits were supposed to taste disgusting some joked it was like eating literal dung in exchange for power. But this fruit wasn't bad at all.
"Maybe it's different because it's special?" Hals wondered.
Then his stomach churned violently. Nausea gripped him, his tongue coated in the flavors of a thousand disgusting jelly beans at once. His whole body recoiled.
"…Seriously?" Hals gagged. "So the 'special' part is that it tricks you with a good start before hitting you with the worst aftertaste imaginable? Or are you just milking my negative emotions, system?"
Seconds later, the foul taste faded.
In its place, warmth spread from his chest, coursing through his limbs. His senses sharpened sight, strength, everything. He clenched his fists, convinced he could crush a boulder barehanded.
"Of course, that's just an illusion," he told himself. "No way it's that simple. But hey, there's a rock right here. Let's test it."
He raised his fist and struck.
Boom!
The stone exploded into fragments.
Hals froze.
"…So this fruit really is that strong?"
He narrowed his eyes. "System, you're messing with me. You just want to rile me up, collect my negative emotions, and then snatch this fruit for yourself. Right? Otherwise why give me something this overpowered?"
The system stayed silent.
"…Yeah, thought so." Hals smirked.
He inspected his knuckles. No bruising, no pain. He exhaled, satisfied
And then, three seconds later, pain screamed through his hand.
"OW OW OW OW damn it, I knew it! You're totally messing with me! The fruit's amazing, but you still made sure it hurts like hell just so I'd rage! Admit it you're farming my emotions!"
The system said nothing.
Hals gritted his teeth and waved his aching hand, glaring at the air as if the system were standing there with a smug face.
Somewhere deep inside, though, excitement stirred. The pain was real, but so was the power. He wasn't just a helpless castaway anymore. With this fruit, this system, and his own determination, maybe just maybe he could carve a place for himself in this dangerous sea.
For the first time since waking up on the beach, Hals laughed.
This world was about to get interesting.