Chapter 1: The Age of Great Exploration
"Do you want my treasure? You can have it all if you want—go find it! I left everything in that place!"
On the execution platform, the man known as the "Pirate King" shouted loudly. Before the echo of his voice faded, he was pierced by two long naginatas. His final words ignited an era that would shape the next few decades and launch the Age of Great Exploration.
'I can't believe this really is the world of One Piece. What am I supposed to do now?' thought Darren Eric uneasily, a boy who appeared only five years old.
A month ago, Wang Tao, a programmer who died suddenly from staying up too late, had his soul transferred into the body of a five-year-old boy named Darren Eric who had survived a shipwreck. He floated on a barrel and was rescued by a passing ship, eventually ending up in an orphanage in Loguetown.
After several days of mental turmoil, Eric managed to collect himself and started wondering exactly where he had ended up. It wasn't until he saw the newspaper headline—"Pirate King Gol D. Roger to be executed in Loguetown in one month!"—that he realized he had landed in the world of One Piece.
At the time, he had a sudden realization: no wonder everyone here looked so distinctive.
How could he survive in this world where the strong preyed on the weak? That was what Eric most urgently wanted to know now.
As someone who often commented on "Some Point Orphanage" novels in a certain app, Eric sighed, "I've become part of the 'orphanage' too."
The execution of the legendary Pirate King was drawing countless spectators. To prevent any disturbance during the event, the Marines imposed martial law, prompting the orphanage director to place the orphanage under temporary lockdown. But to witness the historic moment that would spark the Age of Exploration—or perhaps just to see a living legend—Eric had no hesitation in crawling through a secret hole in the orphanage wall and slipping out.
At the moment the Pirate King was executed, Eric was overwhelmed with emotion: 'To conquer the Grand Line and march into death with the posture of a king—he truly is the Pirate King!'
After witnessing Gol D. Roger's death and experiencing the moment that began the Age of Exploration, Eric , soaked by pouring rain, rushed back to the orphanage. He thought about how several future Warlords of the Sea were probably here today. He had only glimpsed the largest among them—Gecko Moria, whose fierce face was far from the shut-in otaku vibe he'd show when meeting Luffy in the future.
He didn't know where the future world's greatest swordsman and dagger-wielding educator, Dracule Mihawk—who would one day slice an iceberg in half—was now.
Nor could he locate the prematurely introduced Crocodile, a man with a one-word-title ego, who could fight anyone evenly, yet spent ages unemployed after being "unlocked" early due to Luffy.
And what about the future underworld broker, double-dealing schemer, manipulative mastermind, and champion of maniacal laughter known as 'Joker'—Donquixote Doflamingo?
But if weak little me showed up in front of them now, wouldn't I just be asking to be killed?
And then there was Shanks, the man with the Face-Fruit powers, Straw Hat keeper, and future mentor to the Pirate King—and Buggy, the luck god with both the Chop-Chop Fruit and the Crazy Lucky Fruit, who interpreted everything he heard like a clown. Those two were probably hiding somewhere sobbing.
Upon returning to the orphanage, as expected, the gentle but strict director noticed Eric had sneaked out and punished him with a month of floor-sweeping duty.
"I remember it was '100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10 km run every day, and no air conditioning no matter how hot it is' that turned Saitama into One Punch Man." While sweeping the floor, Eric began planning his training regimen.
"Too bad I'll go bald, but whatever." Having already accepted his hair loss as a programmer, Eric wasn't too concerned.
Three years later—
'Something's not right. Why haven't I gotten stronger? Why isn't my hair falling out?' Eric , who was brutally harsh on his own hair, was still completely unaware and continued his One Punch Man training every day for three whole years. Hoping to become the next Saitama, he foolishly challenged the orphanage's 12-year-old king of the kids, Hoss, and got beaten so badly even the director couldn't recognize his swollen head.
Because of his unique training style, Eric didn't fit in with the other kids and was labeled the orphanage's "weirdo."
Another five years passed.
Now 13 in appearance but mentally much older, Eric had long given up on becoming the bald battle god. Still, he had never abandoned his desire to grow stronger and trained even harder every day.
By this time, more children had joined the orphanage—victims of pirate attacks who lost their families and now trained to become Marines for revenge.
But Eric had no intention of becoming a pawn of the World Government. If he ever ran into those idiotic, evil Celestial Dragons, he'd be doing well just not to punch them in the face—protecting them was out of the question.
Since they had different goals, and Eric never intended to reveal his thoughts, he didn't grow close to those kids. They were simply sparring partners, using wooden swords to push each other to train harder.
"Shave" was a technique involving stepping on the ground dozens of times in 0.36 seconds, generating explosive recoil to move at high speed. To an enemy, it looked like teleportation.
'But wait, how does force stack like that? Are the laws of physics really okay with this?' Even as Eric practiced the technique, he couldn't help but question it, but he had no choice but to follow the method.
In this pirate world ruled by strength, Eric could only train desperately to grow stronger and expand his influence—to become an Emperor of the Sea! Wealth, women, power—he would gather it all!
In the year 1510 of the Sea Calendar, 12 years after the Age of Exploration began, countless men boarded ships in search of the legendary One Piece. Pirate activity had grown more rampant, and criminal incidents continued to rise. Eric had been here for twelve years now.
"Eric , you're an adult now. Though you never quite fit in at the orphanage, you've always had a good heart." (In his spare time, the protagonist would capture pirates and beat up thugs, acting as a part-time bounty hunter to support the orphanage.) "I hope you take care of yourself and stay true to your path after you leave," the director said as she handed him a bundle.
"There are two sets of clean clothes and 50,000 Berries in here. Be sure to take care of yourself," she reminded him again.
"Got it, naggy. Once I leave, you need to take care of your own health too. Don't overwork yourself caring for the kids." As Eric took the bundle, he hugged the director, holding back his tears. He turned away and waved with a forced smile. But the moment he stepped through the orphanage gates, the tears poured uncontrollably down his face.
Not wanting anyone to see him break down, he spent half an hour crouching by a wall to collect himself. The salty bitterness of tears and snot mixed together as he wiped them all on a store's promotion board, only to be chased for thirty minutes by the furious shopkeeper.
"Damn it! You're a store owner—shouldn't you be practicing your sales pitch a smile instead of training your body to run like a damn calf?!"
After an all-out sprint to finally shake off the Ironman-level shopkeeper, Eric stepped into a weapons store.
"Boss, I want to buy a short-barreled flintlock and a blade. Show me what you've got," he said the moment he entered.
"Sure, this way, sir. What do you think of this one?"
As someone who never haggled, Eric decisively bought the first weapon that looked decent.
"Thank you for your business."
Having played the part of a bounty hunter before, Eric had practiced using the weapons he'd taken from pirates he defeated. Though he wasn't great at maintenance at first—breaking several pistols and blades—he gradually figured out how to properly care for his weapons.
To date, Eric had captured one pirate with a 4-million-Berry bounty, two with 3 million, and more than a dozen worth hundreds of thousands. Although he gave most of the money to the orphanage, he kept a bit for himself to buy gear.
[Beep beep...]
[System activated.]
"Hey! I prayed for twelve years and you show up now? Isn't this way too late?!"
[System shutting down...]
"Wait a damn minute!"
(END CHAPTER)
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