"These Mist Village guys really know how to pick their timing," Jin said irritably.
On the way to the mission location, he had run into a small skirmish.
Although he'd wiped out the ninjas from the Land of Water, the ship he'd been riding was also destroyed in the fight, leaving him with no choice but to run the rest of the way.
Fortunately, as a mixed-blood descendant of the Uchiha and Senju clans, his chakra reserves were absurdly massive. Running all the way to the destination wasn't a problem at all.
"Once I get through this fog, it shouldn't be much farther."
"Hm?"
Hearing a faint noise, Jin came to a halt and turned to look behind him.
The area was completely shrouded in mist—nothing could be seen clearly. Only faint… strange sounds drifted through the air.
"Why does that sound like a train?"
"And those two lights…"
Don't tell me there's actually a train that can run on the sea?
That was impossible.
In the world of ninjas, technology hadn't advanced to that level yet.
Still, to avoid any potential danger, Jin chose to retreat, widening the distance so he could observe first.
Soon, a powerful gust of wind swept through, blowing away the thick fog and revealing the scene beyond.
With his Sharingan active, Jin finally saw what it was.
"It's really a train running on the sea?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "Since when can trains do that?!"
"Rumble—!"
A massive Sea Train charged in from the distance, throwing up towering sprays of water as it tore across the surface at astonishing speed.
"Damn… did I transmigrate again?!"
Huh?
Why did he say again?
...
"Chimney, are you okay?" Nami asked worriedly as she looked at the girl.
The little one had just been clinging to the outside of the Sea Train—she'd nearly been flung off and killed.
If she hadn't fallen over to Franky Family's side, the consequences would've been unimaginable.
"I… I thought I was going to die," Chimney said, sitting beside Luffy and sticking out her tongue.
"Yeah."
"You two, honestly…" Zoro didn't even know what to say anymore.
Luffy was one thing—he was always doing reckless stuff.
But what was with this little girl?
Sneaking aboard was bad enough, but she'd actually climbed onto the roof of the train?
"Forget it. Since she's already here," Nami said, rubbing her temples.
They were already on the Sea Train. There was no way to send her back now.
All they could do was make sure she stayed safe from here on.
"Whatever. Let's eat first."
After saying that, Luffy immediately started stuffing his face, leaving Barry and the others speechless.
He'd almost died outside just now, yet he still had the appetite to eat.
What a monstrous heart.
As expected of Straw Hat Luffy.
"Eh?"
"Wait a second…"
"Look outside—doesn't it look like someone's running on the sea?!" Barry suddenly stood up and pointed.
Zoro, who was about to complain, froze. He subconsciously stood and followed Barry's finger—his pupils shrank.
"There really is someone!"
Instinctively, Zoro placed his hand on his sword hilt.
He didn't know how someone could run across the sea.
He didn't know why this person had appeared here either.
But at a time like this, a stranger showing up was never a good sign.
Who knew if this guy was an enemy?
"Where?"
"Where?"
Luffy stood up with a huge meat leg in hand and leaned over next to Barry to look outside. He immediately spotted the figure sprinting across the ocean.
His eyes lit up.
"That's awesome! He can run on the sea!" Luffy said excitedly.
"Could it be those guys?" Nami said with a grim expression.
She clearly remembered that those people could fly—so running on the sea might not be that strange for them.
The figure was already quite close. They had to figure out who it was as soon as possible.
Suddenly, the silhouette vanished—like it had never existed at all.
Nami's face instantly turned pale.
Some things weren't scary.
But disappearing like that?
Could it be… a ghost?!
If she remembered correctly, there had still been some fog outside just now.
"Everyone, be careful!"
Zoro's gaze sharpened instantly, his muscles tensing.
At that moment, a man opened the window and said with a grin,
"Yo—hello there~"
The moment his voice sounded, everyone snapped their heads toward him.
Zoro immediately took a combat stance, ready to strike at any moment.
"Who are you?" Zoro demanded.
He carefully examined Jin and found his outfit extremely strange.
A green… vest?
A weird forehead protector with a leaf symbol on it.
And a long blade hanging at his waist.
What kind of bizarre getup was this?
A swordsman?
"Me?" After jumping in through the window, Jin rubbed his chin. "I'm just a passing ninja."
"Mind letting me hitch a ride?"
As he spoke, Jin swept his gaze across everyone in the carriage.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Chopper…
Though the others were unfamiliar faces, that alone was enough for him to understand exactly where he was.
This was the world of One Piece!!!
"So I really did transmigrate again…?"
That was something Jin had never expected. Who would've thought this thing could happen twice?
Unfortunately, he'd only watched up to the part where they were heading to Water 7 to repair the Going Merry. He had no idea how the plot developed afterward.
Thinking about that made his head ache.
If he'd known, he would've watched One Piece first.
"You're a ninja?!" Luffy said excitedly.
Even Chopper, who'd been lying on the floor, instantly jumped up.
A ninja!
"Yeah. A ninja," Jin nodded.
Seeing how excited Luffy and Chopper were, Jin felt a little puzzled.
Was it really that exciting?
"Were you able to run on the sea earlier because you're a ninja?" Barry asked.
"Mm. It's a special ninja ability."
"Ninja…" Granny Kokoro walked over from the driver's cabin, looking Jin up and down. "I've heard some rumors about ninjas before."
She just didn't know whether this strangely dressed young man matched what she had in mind.
"Granny Kokoro, you know about them?"
"Yes. I've heard that in the New World, in Wano Country, there are ninjas," she said, hesitating before asking, "You… are you from Wano Country?"
After all, she'd lived in Water 7 her whole life and had met many great figures—people like Roger himself. Knowing a bit about the New World wasn't strange.
"I don't know the place you're talking about," Jin said with a shrug. "But sorry—I'm not from there."
He hadn't expected ninjas to exist in this world too.
That was… surprisingly interesting.
Were they Devil Fruit users?
Or did this world also have other special power systems?
After all, Devil Fruits already defied common sense—so a few more strange things wouldn't be impossible.
"Then… can you use shadow clones?!" Luffy asked eagerly.
"And can you breathe fire?!" Chopper asked, waving his arms excitedly.
"And—and—"
"Hold on, hold on," Jin said, raising a hand. "I can do all of that. But in a place like this, I can only show you clones."
"The space is too small."
If he used Fire Release inside the carriage, everyone else would suffer. Fire Release wasn't something that couldn't kill people.
During the Second Ninja World War, plenty had died by his flames.
"Then show us clones!" Luffy said expectantly.
As he spoke, he didn't forget to take another bite of meat, making Jin's eyelid twitch.
As expected of Luffy.
"Clone!"
"Clone!"
"Wait," Zoro suddenly spoke up.
"What's wrong?"
Jin, who was about to demonstrate the Shadow Clone Technique, paused and looked at Zoro in confusion.
Zoro didn't answer him. Instead, he looked at Luffy.
"Hey, Luffy. At a sensitive time like this, someone suddenly shows up out of nowhere. Don't you think that's suspicious?"
"We don't even know his name."
Compared to seeing techniques, Zoro wanted to know who this guy really was. Just saying "ninja" wasn't enough to convince him.
Luffy blinked, then looked at Jin.
"What's your name?"
"Jin."
"Will you hurt us?"
"No."
Luffy nodded, then turned to Zoro with a wide grin—his big white teeth practically sparkling.
As if to say: see, I told you it's fine.
Zoro: "..."
Isn't this a bit too casual?!
"Go on, go on!" Luffy urged.
"Alright."
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Poof!"
A burst of white smoke exploded, and an identical clone appeared beside Jin.
"It's actually real…"
Nami stared at him in shock.
"So the stories in those books were true?"
"Well, the proof's right in front of us."
"Then it must be real."
"It's really a clone!" Chopper ran up and grabbed Jin's leg, then the clone's as well. Both were solid, making him jump with excitement.
What he didn't realize was that this action made Zoro extremely tense.
"Relax," Jin said to Zoro. "I won't do anything to you. If I really wanted to attack, you'd all be dead before you ever saw me."
Zoro didn't believe that at all.
Who was he looking down on?
Jin didn't mind. If there was a chance later, he could always let Zoro see his ninjutsu firsthand.
"So cool!"
Luffy swallowed the rest of his meat in one bite and rushed forward, poking and grabbing at Jin, causing the shadow clone to immediately form seals and dispel itself.
"Poof!"
The clone vanished, and Jin's expression changed.
"Hey—what are you doing?!" Jin stepped back.
"Why'd it disappear?" Luffy scratched his head. "Oh well."
"Jin, become my crewmate!"
A ninja was just way too cool!
"Eh?!"
"Hey, there's no way someone would agree that easily—"
"Sure."
"YOU ACTUALLY AGREED?!!"
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