"Blegh!~"
After a violent wave of dizziness, Uzumaki Naruto appeared in an unfamiliar place. The first thing he did upon landing was retch violently onto the ground.
Before he could even recover, a translucent system interface appeared before his eyes.
Current World: One Piece Location: Latter half of the Grand Line — Wano Country
World Synopsis: This is the Great Pirate Era. In order to find the legendary treasure ONE PIECE, left behind by the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, countless pirates have set sail, crossing the seas in pursuit of ambition and dreams.
Life Goal: Survive Goal Deadline: One month
Naruto hadn't even finished reading when the system screen flickered. The words one month silently changed into three days.
Of course, Naruto didn't notice.
He hadn't even really read the content.
"One Piece? Grand Line?"
After finally shaking off the dizziness from his first transmigration, Naruto glanced over the information briefly. With a thought, he closed the system panel and looked around at his surroundings, his face lighting up with excitement.
"So this is another world? That's amazing!"
In reality, he was standing on an ordinary beach—an endless ocean stretched out before him, while a dense forest loomed behind. There was nothing particularly amazing about it. As for the Life Goal the system had given him, it had already been completely pushed to the back of his mind.
Right now, Naruto was filled with nothing but curiosity and the urge to explore.
"Huh? What's that?"
Just as he was about to head off, Naruto noticed something drifting toward the shore from the sea. Squinting, he realized it looked like… a person.
He hurried closer and confirmed that it really was someone. Without hesitation, Naruto rushed forward and dragged the person out of the water.
"Huh… this person…"
Panting slightly, Naruto pulled the figure onto the shore. It was a girl wearing a kimono, seemingly a bit older than him.
But that wasn't the important part.
What caught Naruto's attention was the pair of red horns growing from her head.
How could a human have horns? Was she a monster?
"Could they be decorations?"
Curious, Naruto squatted down and poked the girl's round belly. Then he reached out toward her horns, planning to check if they were real—
Suddenly, the girl snapped her eyes open.
"Wah!?"
Startled, Naruto fell backward onto the sand with a thud. At the same time, a jet of water shot out of the girl's mouth like a fountain.
The horned girl's "mouth fountain" lasted for a full minute. The mist even formed a small rainbow in the sunlight, making Naruto stare in awe.
"How amazing…"
"Ah—I'm alive!"
After finally coughing up all the seawater, the girl sat up and patted her chest, her face full of lingering fear.
"That was close! I thought I was going to die!~"
She then looked at Naruto.
"Did you save me?"
Standing up, she brushed the sand off her clothes and extended a hand toward him.
"My name's Yamato. What's yours?"
"So tall…"
Only when she stood did Naruto realize she was nearly half a body taller than him, even though she didn't look much older.
Six-year-old Naruto was just over a meter tall, while Yamato was already close to one and a half meters.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Naruto stare blankly without responding, Yamato bent down and waved a hand in front of his face.
"Why aren't you talking? Are you mute?"
"I'm not mute! My name's Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto snapped out of it and shouted irritably. After stating his name, he tilted his head and asked curiously,
"I pulled you out of the water, but why were you floating in the sea?"
"Hmm… thank you for saving me, Uzumaki Naruto."
Yamato thanked him seriously, then scratched her head sheepishly and grinned.
"Kaido wouldn't let me watch Kouzuki Oden's execution, so he locked me up on Onigashima. Hmph! He thought that would stop me? I snuck out and swam all the way from Onigashima—but I ran out of strength halfway…"
She laughed proudly.
"But I still made it! Big success! Hahahaha!~"
"…"
Naruto stared at her, completely speechless.
He really wanted to tell her that this was not a success at all—if he hadn't pulled her out, she would've drowned.
But seeing her bright, carefree smile, Naruto couldn't bring himself to say it. Besides, he didn't really understand why she would risk her life just to watch someone else's execution.
What he did understand was curiosity.
"Um… are those horns on your head real?"
"Of course they're real!"
Yamato reached up and touched them, nodding confidently.
"Want to touch them?"
"I can?!"
Naruto's eyes lit up instantly.
"Of course! You're my savior!"
Yamato puffed out her chest proudly, then bent down and brought her head closer.
"Go on."
"Thanks!~"
Naruto eagerly reached out and grabbed her horns, tugging them gently—then harder—to make sure they were really growing from her head.
"They're real! They actually grew on her head! That's so cool!"
"Hey, don't pull so hard."
Yamato shook her head, slipping free of his grip.
"It doesn't hurt, but it feels really weird."
"Sorry."
Naruto apologized, then couldn't help asking,
"But how can a human grow horns?"
"How should I know? Kaido has them too, so maybe it's just like that…"
Halfway through her sentence, Yamato suddenly froze. Her expression changed.
"Oh no! Kouzuki Oden's execution is about to start! I've got to hurry!"
She grabbed Naruto's hand and immediately started running.
After only a few steps, she stopped abruptly. Standing there for a moment, she turned back to Naruto with a confused look.
"Uh… Uzumaki Naruto, do you know which way the Flower Capital is?"
"…"
Naruto was silent for a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't know. I just got here."
He had only just transmigrated—he didn't even know where he was, let alone the direction of the Flower Capital.
"It's over!~"
Yamato froze, then grabbed her head and cried out in despair.
"I don't know the way! What am I supposed to do?!"
Roar!~
Suddenly, a beast resembling a stone lion leapt out from the forest, baring its fangs as it roared at them.
"Mo—monster!"
Naruto jumped in fright and instinctively moved to pull Yamato away.
But she was staring at the beast with a bright, surprised smile.
"I figured it out!"
She grinned.
"That's how we get to the Flower Capital—hehe!~"