The sea was a lot bigger when you were alone.
You'd always known that, intellectually. You'd read it. Seen it in panels, episodes, sweeping shots of endless blue. But standing on a small boat with only the wind and your thoughts for company was different.
It was quiet.
No Luffy shouting about food.
No Ace scoffing at danger.
No Dadan yelling about broken furniture.
Just the creak of wood beneath your feet and the steady slap of waves against the hull.
You adjusted the sail, squinting at the horizon. "Okay… note to self. Boats are less cooperative without a crew."
The system flickered faintly, like it had been waiting for you to complain.
[Main Quest Active: Find Red-Haired Shanks]
[Subquest Unlocked: Survive the Sea (Beginner)]
Requirements:
• Navigate independently
• Dock at a non-hostile island
• Avoid Marine capture
You snorted. "You make it sound so easy."
By the third day, you were sore, sunburnt, and running dangerously low on patience.
Steering required constant correction. Sleeping came in short, uncomfortable bursts. Eating was mostly dried rations that tasted like regret. And every shadow beneath the waves made your heart skip.
Still, you adapted.
Your body moved differently now — lighter, springier. Rubber muscles absorbed strain better than they had years ago. When the mast swayed too violently, you anchored yourself with stretched limbs. When you slipped, you bounced instead of falling.
[Passive Skill Progress: Gomu Gomu Control Lv. 4 → Lv. 5]
You smiled faintly. "Guess you like the sea too, huh."
At night, you lay on your back and stared at the stars.
Ace would be out there somewhere, carving his name into the world with fire.
Luffy would still be training, still dreaming, still laughing.
And Sabo—
You closed your eyes.
Alive.
You knew he was alive.
That knowledge sat in your chest like a sealed box. Heavy, but steady.
Land appeared on the horizon on the fifth day.
A small island — rocky, green, with a single port town hugging its shoreline. No Marine flags. No obvious pirate banners either. Neutral ground.
You docked carefully, tying your boat with hands that shook just a little. Your legs wobbled when you stepped onto solid ground.
"Never taking dirt for granted again," you muttered.
The town was quiet but lived-in. Fishermen mended nets. Vendors sold fruit and grilled meat. You blended in easily — just another teenager with a pack and tired eyes.
You bought food first. Always food.
As you ate, you listened.
Pirate rumors.
Bounty posters.
Whispers of the New World.
And then—
"—Red-Haired Shanks was spotted months ago near the Grand Line entrance."
Your head snapped up.
"Say that again?" you asked, turning toward the speakers — two sailors at a nearby table.
One shrugged. "That's what I heard. Big red-haired pirate. His crew caused a stir, then vanished."
Your heart kicked into a faster rhythm.
Not close.
But not nowhere either.
[Quest Update: Shanks' Trail — Lead Acquired]
Progress: 12%
You exhaled slowly. "So he's moving… good."
That night, You slept on your boat, anchored just offshore. The sea was calmer here, the waves gentler.
As you drifted toward sleep, something tugged at your awareness.
A pressure.
Not hostile. Not friendly.
Just… present.
You frowned, sitting up.
"System?" you whispered.
It didn't answer.
The feeling lingered — a subtle tension in the air, like the moment before a storm or the silence right before someone speaks your name.
Instinctively, you focused inward. Breathing slow. Senses open.
The world sharpened.
You could feel the island — the movement of people, the pulse of life, the space between things.
Your eyes snapped open.
[Hidden Stat Reacting: WIS]
[Phenomenon Detected: Dormant Haki Sensitivity]
Status: Untrained — Unnamed
You swallowed.
"…So that's how it starts."
You lay back down, staring at the sky, heart steady but alert.
Shanks wasn't just a man you were searching for anymore.
He was a gate.
And beyond him lay a world far more dangerous than the one you'd originally been in.
You smiled anyway.
"Good," you murmured. "I was getting bored."
The boat rocked gently beneath you as the sea carried you onward — toward stronger foes.