Sea Calendar Year 1484, God Valley.
A group of people in white short-sleeved shirts, each marked with a "target" pattern on their backs, ran frantically through the dense forest. Terror and helplessness were written on every face, as though some horrifying monster pursued them.
"Run ! They're gaining on us!"
"Don't block the way! I just want to live!"
"Bang bang!"
"Ah!!!"
The sound of gunfire echoed behind them. One by one, people dropped to the ground. The fleeing crowd grew more chaotic with each volley.
In the midst of the panic, four children stuck close together — even when the crowds surged and shifted, they remained united. Three of them were boys, the fourth a girl. One boy was unusually large for his age, but despite his size, his face remained soft and childlike.
That large boy's strength clearly outmatched the others', yet he always stayed behind them, using his broad back as a living shield. An arrow was buried deep in the "target" mark on his shirt, but he gritted his teeth and refused to cry out or slow his pace.
The little girl looked back, panic in her tear-filled eyes. She blurted:
"Kuma-chan! Please go ahead of us! You're too big — if you stay back, you'll get hurt!"
The big boy forced a gentle smile, his voice trembling, "Ginny, don't worry about me. I'm okay. As long as you three are safe, that's enough."
Though he spoke bravely, his tone was weak, and his face was pale — it was clear he was badly hurt.
The other two boys glanced at the giant child. One, with an afro, stared at the arrow in his back, and said quietly, "Lloyd, we have to find a hiding spot. Kuma's bleeding badly. Those bastards …"
Lloyd, who wore a white long-sleeved coat instead of the target-pattern shirt, looked calm. His messy black hair framed a handsome but young face. His eyes — dark and firm — held more maturity than his years.
His voice was steady, "Nowhere's truly safe. We can't stop. Just hold on a little longer. The sun's almost down — when night comes, they might stop chasing."
"But — "
"Run! If we stay, it's a dead end!"
Finally, Kuma spoke up. "Ivan, Lloyd, you're right. I can't … I might not last much longer. But don't worry about me. Just run — promise me you'll run."
At just nine years old, he made the heartbreaking decision to risk his life for them.
Tears streamed down Ginny's cheeks. She sobbed, "No, Kuma-chan, I'll never leave you!"
Lloyd's resolve tightened, but despite his strength, his steps faltered. The chase slowed, almost imperceptibly, as though their pursuers were tiring.
Less than an hour later, the gunshots behind them petered out. They stopped completely.
Lloyd kept running a little further, until they reached the edge of a small pond. Then the four of them collapsed — exhaustion weighed on them like stones. Kuma, wounded, lay flat, spread-eagle on the ground.
Once Lloyd was certain they were safe, he sat by the pond's edge and stared at his own reflection in the water. His breathing was ragged, his mind racing.
It had been a week of constant running.
Lloyd had transmigrated.
Before this, he was an orphan on Earth, scrabbling through part-time jobs just to survive as he finished university. And orphans — he knew — were a high-risk group for transmigration.
He remembered the night vividly: his graduation celebration, too much drink, laughter fading into darkness. He leaned against a wall, tried to stand, his legs gave way — and then blackness.
When he awoke, he was no longer eighteen. He was nine again, and stranded on a deserted island.
He only really remembered two things about his prior life: his name had also been Lloyd (or something very close).
He figured out where he was because of the others. When he first met Ginny, Kuma, and Ivan , they were fleeing too. Lloyd recognized their names immediately: they weren't random kids — they were characters from the world of One Piece.
Kuma was that legendary two-meter-tall child, Ginny the little girl, Ivan the boy with the afro. Lloyd had read the manga; he knew these names, their stories.
Soon enough, those three took him in. They became a quartet — running together, bonding, protecting one another.
And now, Lloyd understood: they were on God Valley, the infamous slave-hunting grounds of the Celestial Dragons.
He knew the legends: this was where the God Valley Incident would unfold — the clash between the Rocks Pirates, the Marines, God's Knights, and even the Roger Pirates.
He knew of Rocks D. Xebec, the Celestial Dragons' cruelty, and how this place had been erased from maps after the war.
He knew that at God Valley, a cruel "Native Hunting Competition" took place, where slaves were hunted for sport by World Nobles.
He understood the risk — here, at any moment, a Celestial Dragon could shoot him.
His heart pounded. This was more than a story from a manga now — this was his life.
Fear coiled in him, but also something fierier: defiance.
Clenching his fists, Lloyd whispered through gritted teeth, "If I make it out of here alive … none of the Celestial Dragons will have a peaceful day in their lives."
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This is something I've been working on for a while now.... please support me.