A young man walked through the crowded street, his shoulders slightly slumped, his steps slow and heavy.
His name was Yuta.
At first glance, he looked ordinary—nothing about him stood out in a crowd. He had short black hair, slightly messy as if he rarely bothered to fix it properly. His dark eyes carried a constant trace of fatigue, with faint shadows beneath them from countless sleepless nights. His body was lean, not from training, but from irregular meals and exhaustion. His clothes were simple—plain shirt, worn jacket, and slacks that had seen better days.
He wasn't weak.
But he wasn't strong either.
Just… someone worn down by life.
Yuta lived as a salesman.
Though in truth, it wasn't much of a "life."
Every day followed the same pattern.
Wake up early.
Rush to work.
Talk endlessly.
Force a smile.
Get rejected.
Repeat.
He worked himself to the bone—not because he wanted success, not because he had dreams of climbing higher—
But simply to survive.
To earn enough money to eat.
To pay rent.
To keep going one more day.
Life was hard.
There was no one waiting for him at home. No friends calling him out. No family depending on him. Just an empty room and silence.
And yet—
There was one thing he looked forward to.
Anime.
After a long day of work, when his body felt like it could collapse at any moment, he would lie down and watch stories unfold on his screen.
Worlds filled with adventure.
People who chased dreams without hesitation.
Pirates sailing freely across the sea, laughing in the face of danger.
"…That kind of life…"
Sometimes, he would mutter to himself.
"…must be nice…"
But that was all it was.
A thought.
A distant fantasy.
Because reality was different.
Reality didn't give people freedom.
It demanded sacrifice.
And so, Yuta endured.
Day after day.
Until one day—
His body reached its limit.
It was late at night.
The office was quiet, nearly empty, with only the faint buzzing of fluorescent lights breaking the silence.
Yuta sat at his desk, staring at his screen.
Unfinished work.
Unending work.
"…Just a little more…"
His voice was weak, barely above a whisper.
His fingers moved sluggishly across the keyboard, each motion feeling heavier than the last.
He hadn't eaten.
Again.
But he ignored it.
He always did.
His vision blurred slightly as he leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
"…After this… I'll go home…"
A pause.
"…maybe watch something…"
A faint, tired smile appeared on his face.
That small thought alone was enough to push him forward.
But—
Something felt wrong.
A tightness formed in his chest.
At first, it was mild.
Easy to ignore.
So he ignored it.
"…I'm just tired…"
He muttered, closing his eyes briefly.
But the tightness didn't go away.
It grew.
Slowly.
Then suddenly—
Pain.
A sharp, crushing pain exploded in his chest.
"…Ah—!"
His body jerked forward violently, knocking his chair over as he collapsed onto the floor.
Papers scattered.
His breathing became erratic.
His hands trembled as they pressed against the ground, as if trying to hold himself together.
"…What… is… this…"
He struggled to breathe.
Each inhale felt like drowning.
His vision darkened at the edges.
For the first time in a long while—
Yuta felt fear.
Not the quiet anxiety of daily life.
But raw, undeniable fear.
"…No…"
He didn't want to die.
Not like this.
Not alone.
His fingers clawed weakly at the floor.
His thoughts became scattered, slipping away from him.
The ceiling lights blurred.
The room faded.
And in those final moments—
A single thought surfaced.
I didn't… live at all…
Regret.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Then—
Darkness.
…
...
...…
A sound reached him.
Soft.
Rhythmic.
Waves.
"…Mm…"
A faint groan escaped his lips.
His body felt… different.
Light.
Warm.
Not the heavy, exhausted body he remembered.
His eyes slowly opened.
Bright light flooded his vision, forcing him to squint.
Above him—
A vast blue sky stretched endlessly.
"…Huh…?"
His voice was hoarse, filled with confusion.
He blinked repeatedly before slowly sitting up.
Sand.
Warm sand beneath his hands.
He could feel every grain as it slipped between his fingers.
"…What…?"
He looked around.
An ocean spread out before him, endless and shimmering under the sunlight. Waves gently rolled toward the shore, creating that soft, rhythmic sound he had heard.
Behind him—
A small island.
Trees.
Rocks.
No buildings.
No people.
"…Where am I…?"
His heart began to beat faster.
This wasn't a hospital.
This wasn't his room.
This wasn't anywhere he recognized.
"…I died…"
The memory came back clearly.
The pain.
The collapse.
The darkness.
And yet—
He was alive.
He looked down at his hands.
They were familiar, yet different.
Cleaner.
Healthier.
Stronger.
Not the hands of someone who had been slowly breaking down.
"…This doesn't make sense…"
He stood up slowly, his legs slightly unsteady.
But there was no weakness.
No exhaustion.
His body felt… normal.
No—
Better than before.
"…A dream…?"
He muttered.
But the wind felt real.
The heat of the sun felt real.
The sound of the ocean felt real.
Everything—
Was real.
"…Then where…"
His gaze swept across the island once more.
Something about it felt familiar.
Not the place itself—
But the atmosphere.
The scenery.
The feeling.
His mind began to connect the pieces.
Ocean.
Island.
No civilization.
A strange sense of adventure lingering in the air.
"…No way…"
He froze.
Then slowly turned back toward the sea.
"…This looks like…"
He hesitated.
"…the world of One Piece…"
The words sounded ridiculous.
Impossible.
And yet—
Nothing else made sense.
He let out a dry laugh, running a hand through his hair.
"…You've got to be kidding me…"
If this was true—
Then his old life…
Was truly over.
No more offices.
No more endless work.
No more empty nights.
Yuta stared at the horizon.
For the first time—
He wasn't watching from a screen.
He was here.
Standing in that world.
"…So…"
His voice steadied slightly.
"…what do I do now?"
No answer came.
Only the sound of waves.
But this time—
It didn't feel suffocating.
Instead—
It felt open.
Endless.
"…Freedom…"
He whispered.
The word felt unfamiliar.
But not unpleasant.
Yuta took a step forward on the sand, facing the ocean.
Confusion still filled his mind.
Uncertainty still gripped his heart.
But beneath it all—
There was something new.
Something he had never truly felt before.
Possibility.
His new life had begun.
And this time—
Yuta would not live just to survive.