Light footsteps echoed through the dark corridor.
A lone figure entered the room.
Buzz!
The lamp suddenly lit up.
Wayne looked at the few remaining pieces of dry biscuits on the table and sighed to himself.
"My god… looks like I'll spend the rest of this month hungry again."
Marine Headquarters in Marineford was usually noisy, but his small room was strangely quiet.
As he raised a biscuit to his mouth—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The door was pounded violently.
"Who's there?!"
Wayne quickly opened the door after hurriedly swallowing the biscuit.
Standing in front of him was his friend and fellow marine soldier, Milo, panting heavily.
"Hurry! What are you doing here?!"
Wayne frowned.
"What's going on?"
Milo said anxiously:
"A pirate has escaped!"
Wayne froze in place.
"What?!"
This was the Marine Headquarters at Marineford—the greatest fortress guarding the Grand Line.
How could a pirate possibly escape from here?
After a moment, Wayne said:
"What pirate could even do that?"
Milo replied quickly:
"The great pirate… Macy Zanbo!"
Wayne frowned.
"Zanbo? Who's that? I've never heard of him."
Milo shook his head nervously.
"There are tons of pirates imprisoned here! Do you expect to remember all of them?! Hurry! If we delay any longer, Admiral Akainu will get angry again!"
Before Wayne could reply, Milo grabbed his arm and started dragging him out of the room.
At that moment—
A massive alarm blared throughout Marine Headquarters.
"Stop him!!"
"Don't let him escape!!"
"Take him down!!"
The entire place was in chaos.
On the high command platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood watching the commotion below, shaking his head worriedly.
Suddenly—
A man surrounded by terrifying heat appeared.
Admiral Akainu — Sakazuki.
He said coldly:
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku… how did that pirate manage to escape? It seems the prison security requires a serious investigation."
Sengoku replied calmly:
"Don't worry. Magellan has already taken action. It won't be long before he's captured."
Akainu sighed slightly.
"Hmm… in any case, I'll go take a look myself."
Then he disappeared in a flash.
At the battlefield.
A massive poisonous dragon lunged toward a man dressed in black.
That was Magellan.
Zanbo leapt high into the air, dodging the poisonous dragon, while a sphere of black energy formed in his hand.
He then launched it toward Magellan.
BOOOOM!!
A huge explosion blasted open a large crater in the ground as black flames erupted around it.
Magellan roared angrily:
"Zanbo!! Return to prison immediately!"
He was furious.
How dare a pirate challenge the justice of the Marines?
At that moment, Wayne and Milo arrived at the battlefield.
Wayne's eyes widened.
"My god… that's Zanbo?!"
Then he muttered to himself with envy:
"Damn it… why did I even become a marine soldier? I should've become a pirate!"
In fact, if Wayne hadn't landed in Marine territory the moment he crossed over, he would probably be a pirate now!
Suddenly—
A black shadow appeared in front of him.
In the next moment, Wayne felt his body being violently pulled.
When he opened his eyes—
He found himself standing directly in front of Magellan.
At the same moment—
He felt something cold against his neck.
Zanbo was holding him hostage.
Wayne's eyes widened.
"What the hell is this?!"
Zanbo shouted coldly:
"Back off, Magellan. If you don't let me leave today… I'll kill this soldier."
Wayne swallowed.
"Man… just a moment ago I was admiring you!"
"And now you've taken me hostage?!"
But suddenly—
The sky ignited with a dark crimson glow.
A terrifying heat rose into the air.
Wayne's body stiffened.
Someone else had arrived.
An arm transformed into molten magma.
Admiral Akainu.
He said with deadly coldness:
"For the sake of justice…"
"The Navy will remember this soldier's sacrifice."
Wayne's eyes widened.
"Wait—!!!"
But Akainu didn't stop.
He raised his arm.
"Great Eruption!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
In a single instant, the sky over Marineford turned completely red.
Zanbo fled in terror.
Meanwhile Wayne remained standing in place, staring at the gigantic mass of magma falling toward him.
"WAAAYNE!!!"
It was Milo's voice screaming.
Wayne clenched his teeth.
"Damn you, Akainu!!"
"If I survive this… I'll kill you someday!"
But when he looked at the falling magma—
Despair filled him.
"Is this how it ends…?"
"I transmigrated into the world of One Piece…"
"And I die before even becoming a pirate?"
Suddenly—
Ding!
A sound rang deep within his mind.
His eyes widened.
The entire world… stopped.
Everything turned gray.
Akainu froze midair.
Milo knelt on the ground, crying.
And the magma… was suspended directly above Wayne's head.
"What is this…?"
Then a cold voice appeared in his mind.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host."
"The Optimal Choice System has been successfully activated."
"The host is facing a life-threatening danger. Please choose:"
Option One:
Accept death.
The system will arrange for the host to transmigrate to another world.
Option Two:
Stand bravely and confront Akainu, calling him an idiot.
Reward:
Obtain the Aurora Fruit.
Wayne was silent for two seconds.
Then a smile suddenly spread across his face.
"So this is… the traveler's system!"
Without hesitation he said:
"I choose option two!"
"In any world… I want to live!"
"And defeat that red dog!"
Ding!
"Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Aurora Fruit."
The world resumed moving.
Wayne suddenly stood up.
He looked at the magma sphere above his head—
Then shouted at the top of his lungs:
"AKAINU!!!"
"YOU BIG IDIOT!!!"
His voice spread throughout all of Marineford.
And in the next moment—
His body turned into a flash of light and vanished before everyone's eyes.
Before disappearing completely, he shouted:
"You stupid red dog!"
"I'LL BECOME A PIRATE!!!"