Chapter 1
(Starting location: North Blue! North Blue! NORTH BLUE! The one that's literally half a world away from Marine Headquarters!)
"System, you son of a turtle, get your ass out here right now!"
Sea Circle Calendar 1520, May. North Blue – Kingdom of Cacinob. At a large harbor pier.
A black-haired young man with sharp brows, starry eyes, and handsome features—Lin Yu—was standing on the dock, cursing at the ocean with everything he had.
He had just graduated, successfully passed the provincial civil-service exam back home, and officially "made it ashore" as a government employee. The very day he received his appointment letter, that damn System kicked him straight into the One Piece world.
Why "kicked"? Because while he was walking down the stairs, something suddenly slammed into his back like a foot. He tumbled all the way down, and when he crawled back up—he was already in the world of One Piece.
Not only did he instantly master the local language, his body had been rolled back to eighteen years old. On top of that, he received a passive talent called "Hearts Connected as One" and a newbie gift package.
So he was 100 % sure—that kick came from the dog System!
He had finally landed a stable government job, life was perfect, he was ready to enjoy the spring breeze and admire all the flowers of the capital in a single day… And then he instantly fell off the horse and crashed into the absolute worst possible world. How could he possibly accept that?
"Seize that filthy commoner!" "Lord Celestial Dragon will arrive any moment!" "He's yelling and screaming over there—what kind of decorum is that?!" "Also, drive away every single peasant in the vicinity!"
Beside the pier, inside a luxurious carriage that had just arrived, a beautifully dressed noblewoman with stunning looks glared at Lin Yu in the distance with open disgust and rapidly issued orders to her guards.
Because the Celestial Dragon's visit was sudden, she hadn't had time to clear the area in advance. The only choice now was to hurriedly shoo everyone away.
"Yes, Princess Anna!"
The guards immediately charged toward Lin Yu.
Princess Anna of the Cacinob Kingdom began directing servants to decorate the pier and prepare the official welcome ceremony for the Celestial Dragon.
"Phew…"
Oblivious to the disaster heading his way, Lin Yu let out a long breath. After cursing everything out, he actually felt much better.
He wasn't the type to wallow in self-pity. The outburst was just to vent the extreme frustration.
He was already here, he had cursed, and that was that.
Time to properly experience the charm of the One Piece world. Ordered worlds have their perks, and chaotic worlds have theirs.
With his abilities, even without a System he could thrive here—let alone with the massive newbie gift waiting for him.
[Awakened Beginner Armament Haki, Beginner Observation Haki, Beginner Conqueror's Haki × 1 Top-Tier Swordsman Experience Card (3 uses) × 1 Devil Fruit]
When he opened the gift, a Devil Fruit and a rainbow-colored card instantly appeared in his hands, while knowledge of the three types of Haki flooded his mind.
"This experience card can be used three times, thirty minutes each…"
"And this is the legendary Devil Fruit, huh."
Lin Yu put the card away and examined the grape-like fruit in his hand with curiosity.
After thinking for a second, he plucked one of the purple-swirl-patterned "grapes" and popped it into his mouth.
System-made = guaranteed quality.
No matter what power it gave him, it would be enough to establish a foothold in the early stages.
And once he secured that foothold, Lin Yu was confident he could turn the entire One Piece world upside down and make it his personal backyard!
That's right—his backyard!
Groveling to the Straw Hats or anyone else? Never going to happen.
Making Nami, Robin, and Hancock grovel to him? Now that's the correct path!
[Ding! Detected host has consumed System-Series · Crew-Crew Fruit · Pirate Fleet Form. System automatically binding data… Host has obtained the following abilities: Scout, Ship Control…]
[Scout: View target information; used for crew recruitment]
[Ship Control: Freely control ships registered under your pirate fleet]
[…]
"A System-Series fruit? There's something like that?"
"No—this must be a special fruit produced by the System itself!"
Feeling the new flood of information, Lin Yu's lips curved upward.
The ability of his System-Series · Crew-Crew Fruit (Pirate Fleet Form) was simple:
Form a pirate crew. Recruit "special" crew members. Form "bonds" with them → permanently steal one of their abilities at random (talents, Devil Fruit powers, anything). Even without deep bonds, every special crew member provides passive EXP for their abilities every day.
For example, recruiting someone who has mastered all three Haki types would give him passive Haki EXP every hour—strength while lying down!
The fruit itself could also be upgraded once certain conditions were met, unlocking new functions and massive power boosts (just like Big Mom's homies).
[Current Pirate Crew Level: 1]
[Level-1 Crew: 3 combatants, 1 cook, 1 lookout, 1 navigator, 1 doctor, 2 miscellaneous → Total 9 slots]
[After filling all 9 slots and reaching a combined crew bounty of 100 million berries, upgrade to Level 2 → more slots + special rewards]
Lin Yu narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, then turned his attention to his innate talent.
[Hearts Connected as One · "Though the colorful phoenix has no wings to fly together, our hearts are linked with a single touch": Charm greatly increased; attraction toward opposite sex after "single touch" dramatically strengthened; stamina cost drastically reduced; cooldown drastically reduced…]
"…Why does this talent feel so villainous?"
"They really used the phrase "single touch" that way?!"
Looking at the System's extremely blunt description, Lin Yu was momentarily speechless.
This fruit + this talent—it was obviously pushing him toward the "three palaces, six courtyards, seventy-two concubines" route!
Perfect!
"Hurry! Grab him!"
A loud shout snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see several fully armored guards rushing at him, clearly intending to arrest him.
He hadn't done anything, yet they were coming for him—this made Lin Yu frown.
He was just about to use his beginner Armament and Observation Haki to teach them why flowers are red, when the guard captain quietly stepped forward and whispered:
"Don't resist. We'll let you go soon."
"The Celestial Dragon is arriving any second. If you offend them, you're dead."
"So please—just come with us for now."
After speaking, the captain stared at Lin Yu in silence. He could feel that the young man in front of him was no ordinary person.
If possible, the captain didn't want a fight. But the princess had ordered it, and he had a family to protect.
Lin Yu glanced at the captain, sensed the genuine goodwill in his eyes, and finally nodded.
He always respected people who showed him kindness, whether the situation was good or bad.
Besides—he actually wanted to see what these so-called Celestial Dragons looked like in person.
And so, Lin Yu followed the guards to a small building beside the pier and quietly waited.
There were other commoners inside the house who had been "invited" the same way.
Lin Yu walked alone to an empty second-floor window and waited for the Celestial Dragons to arrive.
Soon enough, an extravagantly ornate, gigantic ship appeared on the horizon.
The Celestial Dragons—had arrived!