Chapter 1: Transmigrated into the One Piece World
Raging gales, torrential rain pouring down relentlessly, surging undercurrents...
And a figure wearing a bubble-like round helmet...
Unknown memories slowly surged forth, fear spreading uncontrollably in his heart.
"Ha… ha…"
Yan Qing jolted awake, gasping for air as he clutched his chest. (A random name anyway—used once and tossed.)
"A nightmare!?"
Yan Qing instinctively glanced around, only to freeze in shock. "This… where the hell is this?"
It was a narrow wooden space that kept rocking unsteadily. One thing was certain—this was definitely not his home!
Who's playing a prank on me?
"Ugh…"
Yan Qing frowned. Before he could think further, strange images flashed in his mind again.
"What the heck is that?"
"Why are there all these weird things in my head?"
Creak!
With a light sound, the door opened.
Still not fully grasping the situation, Yan Qing focused his gaze and saw an orange-haired girl walk in.
"You're awake," the orange-haired girl said.
"Huh?"
Yan Qing blanked out for a second before nodding instinctively.
"You look a lot better now. I fished you out and saved your life, so I'll take that bracelet on you as thanks."
The orange-haired girl held up a golden bracelet embedded with a red gem, gripping it tightly as she spoke in an unquestionable tone.
"What bracelet!?"
Yan Qing was stunned and asked reflexively. As an ordinary person, when had he ever owned something like that?
"Not yours?"
The orange-haired girl narrowed her eyes.
"In that case, I won't hold back."
She quickly tucked the bracelet away and walked out.
"Weird…"
Yan Qing was completely baffled.
He carefully examined himself. His arms seemed much stronger and noticeably paler, and the clothes he was wearing clearly weren't his own.
Turning his head, through the glass, he could clearly see a vast expanse of blue.
"The sea?"
The realization hit him.
BOOM!
Like a thunderclap, the fragmented images in his mind connected. Yan Qing's expression darkened instantly.
Cold sweat dripped down one drop after another.
"This place is…"
His heart pounded violently. Yan Qing raised his hands. Visibly, his arms rapidly turned blue, muscles bulging.
In the past, he'd often fantasized about transmigration, but he never imagined it would actually happen to him.
"The world of One Piece!"
"I've transmigrated!?"
"This is… unbelievable…"
...
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Yan Qing—now known as Harut—was following behind Nami as her lackey, a jutte tucked at his waist and a large bundle on his back.
Harut had thought he already knew the One Piece world quite well, but the moment he stepped ashore, he was dumbfounded.
He had no understanding of prices, no money, and didn't know anyone. He was basically starting with nothing. Naturally, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and go find the orange-haired girl who had "extorted" him.
After all, she was the first person he'd met.
After some persistent pestering, Harut successfully upgraded to official lackey status.
Now, Harut knew the orange-haired girl's identity—Nami!
When he first found out, Harut was shocked. He hadn't expected to run into her so soon.
Right now, Nami was only 16 years old. According to Harut's memories, the main story was still two years away. So… should he join her crew?
Harut couldn't help but ponder.
The world of One Piece was filled with all sorts of magical islands. Since he'd come to this world, wouldn't it be a waste not to explore it properly?
Otherwise, what was the point of coming here…
After all, he had quite a few advantages.
"Harut, what are you spacing out for? If you drop and break it, you'll owe me ten million berries!"
At that moment, Nami suddenly spoke up playfully.
"(⊙⊙)!"
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Harut's forehead. "But Nami, didn't you say earlier it was only worth one or two million berries? Why ten million now?"
"Huh!"
Nami tilted her head, pretending to be confused. "It's obviously ten million, right?"
Too bad Harut wasn't some lovesick cook—he wasn't falling for it.
"No, no, no…"
Harut looked at Nami seriously. "A person should be honest."
"Honesty? How much is that worth?" —said the girl whose eyes were full of berries.
Harut: "…"
They walked for over half an hour before reaching the seaside.
Even with the large bundle on his back, it was nothing to Harut's current physique.
This body was truly strong.
According to Harut's memories, this body was only seventeen this year, yet he was already 1.8 meters tall. Breaking 1.9 meters in the future didn't seem impossible.
As for physical strength, while he hadn't trained much, it was still more than three times that of an ordinary person.
Huge potential!
Although Harut had decided to set sail, he wasn't in a rush to train right now.
He knew very well that reckless training wouldn't yield good results. He was clearly a novice; haphazard exercise could easily injure himself.
Just look at high-intensity military training—most veterans end up with various hidden injuries that require careful recovery.
Over this past month, while learning the common knowledge of this world, Harut had also been collecting books on physical training and some medical knowledge.
What?
Where'd the money come from?
Heh, don't forget about Nami!
Of course, Harut didn't get it for free. Under all sorts of pretexts—"lackey fee," "hardship fee," etc.—Nami had him rack up over a million berries in debt in no time.
Truly ruthless.
But our protagonist wasn't an idiot either. He started paying it back by fending off pursuers.
With strength far beyond normal, dealing with ordinary people was too easy. Just his three-times-normal power let him handle five or six unarmed guys at once.
Yet repelling enemies only counted as paying back ten thousand berries each time, making Harut inwardly curse her greed.
In the end, Nami kept finding ways to inflate the "debt" even more.
After all, how could she easily let go of such a good free bodyguard?
"Alright, let's head to the next town and sell it."
Nami took the bundle and carefully placed it on the boat.
Opening it revealed an exquisite porcelain vase with golden patterns.
"Great! This gets me one step closer!"
Nami clenched her fist in delight.
She was that much nearer to her 100 million berry goal.
"There they are!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out, followed by a series of footsteps.
"Eh!"
Harut's expression turned serious instantly.
He spotted a 1.9-meter-tall burly man running out from the woods just fifty meters away, a sword at his waist.
Instinct told him this was an opponent who could actually threaten him.
Right after, six more people came running out.
"Run!"
Nami didn't hesitate—she hurriedly tried to push off the boat to escape.
Harut quickly stepped forward to help, shoving the boat and preparing to board.
"Hmph!"
At that moment, the burly man saw Nami's move. With a burst of speed and a leap, he closed the distance rapidly, drew his sword, and slashed toward Nami.
Seeing this, Nami immediately pulled out her staff and assumed a defensive stance.
"Crap!"
Cold sweat poured from Harut's forehead as he swiftly drew his jutte. Clang! He blocked the attack.
"Nice one!"
Nami actually praised him for once.
"Huh?"
The burly man let out a surprised sound and immediately took Harut seriously. That strike had used seventy percent of his strength, yet this unassuming guy had blocked it.
"Interesting!"
The burly man's gaze sharpened. "With that kind of strength, you could easily make a living, but you guys are actually thieves! And you stole from my boss—no need to be polite then!"
Even as he spoke, his hands didn't slow. He swung a horizontal slash straight at Harut.
Harut understood perfectly: with his strength, he could easily find work at the docks or something. But since he knew this was the One Piece world and had run into Nami, how could he settle for mediocrity?
Blocking the attack again, this time Harut's three-times-normal strength came into play, forcing the burly man back a step.
"What immense power!"
The burly man was quite shocked. His own strength was already far above average, yet the opponent's was even greater.
Raw power wouldn't work. The burly man immediately switched to technique.
He moved nimbly, never clashing head-on with Harut's jutte strikes. Each collision deflected seventy percent of the force.
In an instant, Harut started struggling, looking quite battered, with cuts opening up here and there.
With this delay, the others quickly caught up.
"Harut!"
Nami cried out in alarm, her face pale.
"You guys grab her!" the burly man immediately ordered.
Harut panicked for a moment.