Chapter 1: Am I Red-Haired?
"Transmigrated?"
Staring at the unfamiliar face reflected on the water, then at the striking red hair, the katana at his side, and the straw hat lying under a tree not far away, the man was sure of it—he had transmigrated.
"Red hair? A katana?"
He looked again at the reflection, and a figure instantly surfaced in his mind—Red-Hair Shanks.
"No way… I transmigrated into the world of One Piece and became Shanks?"
In the next instant, he sensed a strange power within his body. He immediately calmed his mind, and that inexplicable force spread outward.
His vision seemed to expand as well, and every living thing within a one-kilometer radius was observed.
In that same instant, he confirmed his identity.
"Observation Haki? I really became Shanks?"
As a transmigrator, he accepted Shanks's identity quickly—whether he wanted to or not. But Shanks himself was completely stunned.
Just a second ago, he was complaining to his friends that the further One Piece went, the more the plot felt like a pile of crap. And the next second, he became Shanks.
No warning at all. Retribution couldn't possibly be this fast, right?
But his appearance, that feeling just now, and the straw hat on the ground nearby—though a little different from his impression—had all the key elements.
He had truly transmigrated and become Shanks.
"Now I need to confirm the timeline. My Observation Haki doesn't seem weak, but there's another power in my body that I don't know how to use."
"Shanks doesn't have a Devil Fruit, but his swordsmanship and Haki are top-tier in the entire world.
But right now, I can't even use Conqueror's Haki or Armament Haki…"
Shanks touched his face. There wasn't a trace of stubble, which meant he was young now.
Maybe he had only been off the ship for a short time.
Shanks walked over and picked up the straw hat from the ground. That hat meant a lot, yet the original owner had casually tossed it aside.
Then again, if it was Shanks, being that carefree was normal.
After putting the hat on, Shanks looked into the distance.
The whole forest was filled with towering trees, completely different from his past life—far larger and denser than any so-called primeval forest.
The world of One Piece.
An ordinary person would have a hard time surviving in this world. Even as Shanks, it would still be hard to live in a world like this.
Because there were too many dangers here.
Pirates, Marines, Sea Kings… and even strange beasts on the islands could take his life.
"It's dangerous, but with my talent, I only need some time to grow stronger. Once I fully master Haki, I'll at least have some ability to protect myself."
Shanks sighed.
He wasn't the protagonist. Luffy was. Luffy could set out to sea in a tiny boat without hesitation.
"Judging by this point in time, Roger should have just died. The World Government is searching for the crew of Roger's ship, so it's best not to show myself casually."
With that thought, Shanks could only steady himself.
As a transmigrator, caution was essential.
What a joke—he didn't have any cheat ability. Being a pirate couldn't mean sailing on pure luck.
Fortunately, even though he didn't have Shanks's memories, the body's foundation was still there.
"I'll settle here for a while first, and only go out to sea after I've trained enough."
Being able to train was a good thing. Otherwise, if he truly had zero foundation, Shanks wouldn't know what to do besides working out his body.
Since this was the world of One Piece, Haki was the most important.
Of course, physical training couldn't be neglected either. In the world of One Piece, the upper limit of the human body was terrifying. As long as you believed in muscle and kept training, you could become stronger.
Thinking that, Shanks looked at a massive tree in the forest.
He didn't grip his sword—he clenched his fist.
"Hah!"
In the next moment, his muscles gathered strength, and an immense power surged through his body.
Bang!!
A fist carrying terrifying force slammed into the tree before him. The trunk—over three meters in diameter—instantly filled with cracks. The spot struck by his fist caved inward.
Crack.
Then the giant tree toppled with a thunderous crash.
Watching this, Shanks's lips curled up.
"My physical strength is terrifying too. No wonder this is the world of One Piece. But this alone isn't enough. Even if I'm at a certain level now, there's still room to push this body further."
"Next, let me try my swordsmanship."
Shanks picked up the katana. In his memory, Shanks's weapon was a Western-style saber, but since it was still early, that weapon wasn't in his hands.
He gripped the katana tightly, but he didn't feel the slightest familiarity.
"As expected, I don't know any swordsmanship at all. I'll have to start from scratch."
As Shanks swung down, that slash didn't even cut through a single tree.
"I'll train swordsmanship first."
Now Shanks knew his weakness. Everything else was fine, but his swordsmanship was absurdly bad.
After figuring things out, Shanks knew exactly what he needed to work on next.
Since he had no foundation at all, he started from the basics.
Thrust, split, and chop were enough for him right now.
Shanks could only feel helpless. To him, even those three motions were unfamiliar. He could only move forward step by step.
After a full day of practicing just those three movements, Shanks felt exhausted.
The good news was that by the end of the day, he had built a small wooden hut beside him. It looked crude, but Shanks didn't ask for much—if it could shelter a person, it was enough.
Feeling his progress over the day, Shanks was overjoyed. At least now he could properly hold his weapon.
"I'm starving. This kind of training does make some progress, but if I want to become strong, the road is a long one."
"Even though my talent is strong… when I think about how Luffy became an Emperor-level powerhouse in just a few years, the gap between people is unreal."
Shanks sighed. It took him nearly twenty years to become one of the Four Emperors—then look at Luffy.
A genius, sure, but the other guy was the protagonist. You couldn't compare.
"Let's eat first."
Shanks didn't want to overthink it. Thinking too much right now was pointless.
Before long, a fire was burning outside the hut, and Shanks started grilling fish.
There was a lake beside him, with plenty of fish—at least he wouldn't starve to death here.
As for the taste? As long as it was edible, Shanks wasn't picky at all.