"How… how… why does Blackbeard's mother look like Robin?" Jack muttered, staring at his screen. "I can't accept this!"
It had been half an hour, and Jack was still glued to the latest chapter of One Piece.
"I hate this man… but his character is so tragic," Jack said, tears streaming down his face. "Damn you, Garling. You... ugh! It's so frustrating to read this!"
With a frustrated grunt, he tossed his phone into the corner of his bed and tried to sleep.
But—ba-dum, ba-dum— his heart was pounding too fast.
Then came the sharp buzz of a notification on his smartwatch.
Heart rate too high: 140 BPM
"What should I do? I'm getting angry. I just want to sleep, to calm down!" Jack groaned.
He stumbled to his drawer, grabbed a towel, and headed for a cold shower.
Ten minutes later, he emerged, dripping wet. He quickly dried himself off, but something still felt wrong.
He reached for his blood pressure monitor.
Tap… tap…
Blood Pressure:
190 mmHg systolic
80 mmHg diastolic
"This is bad," Jack whispered. "I've got hypertension… just from thinking about Garling and Blackbeard."
Panic prickled through him. He grabbed his phone, ready to call a taxi to the nearest emergency hospital. His best friend had suffered a hypertension crisis once, and Jack knew how dangerous it could get.
Suddenly—ping!—an email notification appeared.
"Huh? What is this?"
He opened it.
Subject: Congratulations, Jack F. Corrie
Content: We noticed your blood pressure spiked due to anger after using our latest blood pressure monitor. Would you like to help the One Piece universe?
Jack froze.
"Wait… what?" he muttered. "Help the One Piece universe? Is this a joke?"
Another notification popped up on his screen.
[Accept] or [Decline]
Jack laughed nervously. "No way… this feels like some cheap anime plot. Next thing you know, I'll wake up in the world government's prison ship or something."
His heart was still pounding, though... partly from fear, partly from curiosity.
"Hah… screw it. If this is a scam, at least it's creative," Jack said and tapped Accept.
The screen flashed white.
Suddenly, the room around him dissolved.... his bed, his walls, even the soft hum of the night fan.... gone. He was standing on a wooden deck, the salty breeze stinging his nose.
"What the.... where am I?" Jack muttered, sitting up. He was lying on rough, splintered wood, and something wet dripped onto his hand.
He looked down. Blood.
Not his.
The entire deck was a mess .... overturned barrels, ropes scattered everywhere, groaning pirates lying unconscious.
And then he saw her.
A terrifying fat woman are being thrown off to the sky.
Just a few steps away stood Monkey D. Luffy himself, straw hat tipped low, smiling as if he had just done nothing more than swat a fly.
Jack's jaw dropped.
"No way… no freaking way… I'm in One Piece?!"
Luffy turned his head slightly, finally noticing Jack.
"Eh? Who are you?" Luffy asked, tilting his head with his trademark innocent grin.
Jack froze, his brain short-circuiting.
Say something smart. Say something cool. Don't freak out—
"I—uh—I'm nobody! Just a guy! Don't kill me!" Jack blurted, throwing his hands up.
Luffy blinked. "Kill you? Why would I do that?"
Before Jack could respond, a loud ding! echoed in his ears.
A blue, glowing panel appeared in midair — like a hologram straight out of a video game.
[Template System Detected]
Condition: Join the Straw Hat Crew.
Reward: Template System Activation.
Bonus: Every "Justice" you delivered grants you a gold coin to be used in the [Mall].
Warning: If you fail to become luffy crew, you will return to your world.
Jack stared at the screen, his mouth hanging open.
"A system? Are you kidding me? I… I have a system?!" he whispered, his pulse skyrocketing again.
Heart Rate: 155 BPM
Calm down before you pass out.
"Oh great, even my smartwatch came with me," Jack groaned.
Suddenly the light shone to him, he can feel something changed. The original body is just flesh, fat and bones but this time his body changed become muscular.
His bare body replaced with a new clothes that he only saw it from the movie eternal. Even his smartwatch and towel are gone, not just that even his body become a bit muscular.
Luffy was still staring at him, his eyes shone with star looking amused now. "You're funny. You wanna come with me?"
Jack blinked. "Wait… just like that? You're not gonna punch me first or something?"
Luffy shrugged. "If i invited you do I need to punch you? I really wanna invite you, you are very interesting person, come join my crew."
Another ding! popped up.
Mission Update:
Join Luffy's Crew.
Failure: Return to your world, uninstall template.
Jack's face went pale. "Return?! Okay, okay, I get it, no pressure!"
He swallowed hard, then turned back to Luffy.
"I… I want to join," Jack said, his voice shaking but determined.
Luffy's grin widened. "Shishishi! Okay then. You're in!"
Ding!
Mission Complete.
Template System Activated.
Another screen appeared, displaying a simple interface:
[Template System Menu]
1st template: Sprite - The Conjurer of Illusions
2nd template: Locked
3rd template: Locked
Add more original member or someone important to straw hat crew: 1 unlocked character
He looked at the holographic menu infront of him, then after knowing what power he got.
Jack tapped "Mall" instinctively. A holographic mall appeared before him... rows of stalls selling basic t-shirts, bread, instant noodles, bottled water, even portable fans.
"…This is literally just a shopping mall," Jack muttered.
"Oi, what are you staring at?" Luffy asked, peering at nothing... apparently unable to see the interface.
"Nothing! Just… uh… imagining what the crew will be called?," replied Jack.
"Of course it will be the great monkey d luffy pirate crewl!" Luffy laughed, grabbing Jack by the arm.
And just like that, Jack.... a normal guy who had nearly given himself hypertension over a manga chapter... was pulled into the legendary adventure of the Straw Hats.