"What a monotonous life…" sighed Kuroda Sora as he threw himself onto the bed. Performing the same tasks repeatedly, without variation, makes activities predictable and uninteresting.
Kuroda Sora was an ordinary young man in Japan. His life was divided between school, a part-time job, and a constant search for stimuli that would break the monotony of daily life. At sixteen years old, attending high school, he was already fully aware that the school routine bored him profoundly. For Sora, school was just a space full of unnecessary rules, tired teachers, and young people trying to seem more important than they really were.
Outside the school environment, his life gained more color. Sora worked part-time not out of extreme obligations, but for independence. The money allowed him to live the way he liked, without having to explain himself to anyone. The work was repetitive and uninteresting, but it served its purpose well: financing his desires and keeping his freedom intact.
Unlike many boys his age, Sora enjoyed excitement. He couldn't stand the idea of a predictable life. He liked to feel his heart race, whether in a risky situation, an unexpected fight, or a casual encounter. He was naturally charismatic and knew how to use it to his advantage. Flirting came easily, and relationships never lasted long. Not for lack of interest, but because Sora never liked feeling trapped.
Another of his great passions was martial arts. For him, fighting wasn't just a sport, but a direct form of self-expression. Boxing, karate, jiu-jitsu—the style mattered little. The impact of strikes, extreme exhaustion, and pain after training were concrete proof that he was alive.
Whenever he could, he trained alone or watched fights, analyzing movements and imagining himself in the fighters' place. He didn't seek titles or recognition; what he wanted was the raw sensation of fighting, without filters or idealizations.
Despite leading an apparently light and carefree life, there was something troubling about Sora. A constant feeling that this still wasn't enough. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, he just knew he didn't want an ordinary life. Excitement, intensity, and movement were the only certainties he carried with him—and, sooner or later, this lifestyle would exact its price.
"Whatever… It's not like I care about it." Sora murmured as he dozed off, unaware that this was his last day.
Awakening from what seemed like a strangely heavy sleep, Kuroda Sora stretched for a few moments before opening his eyes. The next second, his entire body stiffened.
Something was wrong.
"What the hell...?" he murmured, as his eyes scanned the environment. Around the recently deceased young man, everything was absolute white.
There was no floor, walls, or visible sky; just an infinite, silent, and empty space. In all directions, the same endless white extended. Before him, a large panel floated, motionless, as if it had always been there.
Apart from that, Sora was fully certain of one thing: he was alone.
Before he could move or shout, a voice echoed through the dimension.
[Congratulations, you have been chosen as the reincarnator from your world.]
The voice was robotic, cold, completely devoid of emotion. It didn't seem to come from any specific place, it simply existed. After a brief pause, it continued:
[Before you is a panel. Read it and follow the instructions.]
As soon as it finished speaking, the voice simply ceased, allowing absolute silence to return.
Shock was the only word capable of describing Sora's state at that moment.
He had just awakened and, with disturbing clarity, realized this wasn't a dream. No matter how absurd the situation was, his instinct screamed that everything was real.
Forcing himself to calm down, Sora did the only thing he could do at the moment: read the panel.
—
[Reincarnation World: One Piece]
Benefit 1: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 2: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 3: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 4: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 5: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 6: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 7: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 8: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 9: (Click to spin the lottery)
Benefit 10: (Click to spin the lottery)
Bonus: (Click to spin the lottery)
(The bonus varies according to your Karma, and may grant more than one lottery item. Warning: the type of Karma—good or bad—does not interfere.)
—
Staring at the panel before him, Sora found that this closely resembled the fiction stories he used to read countless times during his most banal moments of the day, especially when he was alone in the bathroom.
"One Piece… a pirate anime I used to watch with my younger brother," he murmured, while a strange mixture of emotions began to surge in his chest. "I always thought that anime was too drawn out…"
On one hand, it was impossible to deny the nostalgia. The work had marked his childhood, bringing simple and sincere memories of a lighter time. On the other hand, the almost cruel amount of episodes needed just for the protagonist to land a single punch on his enemy always made him lose patience. Still, ignoring these excesses, Sora couldn't deny: it was a masterpiece—at least, in his opinion.
"A world where pirates sail across a sea that covers almost the entire planet… far from this modern, monotonous, and dull life," he muttered in a low voice.
Extending his arm toward the floating panel, Sora realized he was daydreaming. His heart beat a little faster, and a familiar sensation of adrenaline coursed through his body. He didn't know what awaited him, but, for the first time since awakening in that strange place, he felt something beyond confusion.
Anticipation.
[Spinning the first lottery]
[Congratulations, you have received —Supernatural Willpower]
It wasn't exactly a bad prize. Still, as much as he enjoyed excitement and adrenaline, he was still just a teenager, with few years remaining before completing high school. Sora wasn't arrogant enough to claim he could compare to the willpower of many One Piece characters. In the end, he was just an ordinary student.
He had never experienced situations involving death or something that truly required unwavering determination. No, just some very typical teenage fights—nothing that compared to being pierced to the point of having a huge hole in your body or being beaten to the brink of death.
Sora knew this. He knew he wasn't someone special in that regard.
He didn't believe he could remain firm in the face of death, much less confront something worse than it. At least, not with the person he had been until that moment.
Clicking again, the roulette began to spin once more. Before his eyes, a countless number of possibilities passed rapidly, too fast for Sora to distinguish any content. The options blended into a constant blur, impossible to follow.
[Congratulations, you have received —All Types of Haki]
"This is… incredible," murmured Sora, amazed.
He had been worried about the possibility that, by not being a "native" of that world, he wouldn't be able to use Haki—which would place him at a great disadvantage if he faced someone capable of using it. The idea had always been troubling, even before fully accepting that absurd situation.
"Now I can forget one of my concerns," he added, letting out a relieved sigh.
With a slight tightness in his chest, Sora clicked once more.
[Congratulations, you have received —Race: Progenitor Vampire]
"Another thing that makes me uneasy… looks like I won't be human in my next life," lamented Sora.
The idea left him conflicted. Losing his humanity—something he had lived with his entire life—wasn't something simple to accept. Still, in exchange, he would gain immense power. Vampires had always been portrayed as noble and feared beings in fiction.
Sora didn't know exactly how to feel. There was discomfort, but also a curiosity impossible to ignore.
In the end, that contradiction reflected well who he was: someone who hesitated before loss, but couldn't turn his back on the promise of something greater.
Pushing aside his thoughts, Sora clicked again.
[Congratulations, you have received —Rokushiki Knowledge]
A martial art composed of a set of six styles and techniques, used primarily as a training method for elite World Government agents and the highest-ranking marines.
At least, that's how Sora remembered it. To be honest, his memory wasn't the best on this point; he had stopped following the work quite some time ago, since he started working.
Sora recalled a popular theory among fans, which said that this martial art could be a derivative of Haki, though he was never sure if this had been confirmed. Still, regardless of hypotheses or speculation, the technique would be useful. At least it would give him a real chance to survive in a battle against opponents who didn't use Haki.
Satisfied with this, Sora set the matter aside and clicked the button to spin the lottery once more.
[Congratulations, you have received —Gojo Satoru Template (JJK)]
"Gojo Satoru Template? Who's that...? The name seems familiar," murmured Sora.
He had the feeling he'd heard that name before. Thinking better about it, it wasn't surprising. Gojo Satoru was a name quite discussed in anime forums, mainly because of his absurd power, appearance, personality, his mentality and, of course, the countless KitKat memes that mocked the death of the strongest sorcerer of the modern era.
Although he didn't have in-depth knowledge about the anime or its characters, at least he possessed basic information about the most famous ones in the work.
In any case, it was an extremely powerful character within Jujutsu Kaisen. Still, Sora didn't know if that template would really be useful in the One Piece world. Gojo Satoru's powers were based on cursed energy, something that probably didn't even exist in that universe. And, even if it could be used somehow, a doubt remained: would an attack with the Honored One's abilities be capable of hitting a Haki user or someone who possessed a Logia-type Devil Fruit?
Deciding to worry about that later, Sora continued.
[Congratulations, you have received —Puppet/Avatar Creation]
"Seems like an interesting ability, though I don't know the details of what it's capable of," murmured Sora, thoughtfully.
The general function of that ability seemed self-explanatory, but the panel didn't display detailed information about the prizes. It wasn't possible to know if it was something similar to Sasori's techniques from Naruto, or a more unique and impressive ability, with more versatile and useful applications.
Still, if it were similar to Sasori's abilities, it would already be extremely useful on its own.
Next.
[Congratulations, you have received —Ability Copy]
"Urgh… I'm gaining so many extremely useful abilities that, honestly, I'm starting to think there's some catch. This is getting too overpowered," murmured Sora.
Just the fact of gaining the [Gojo Satoru Template] would already be, by itself, enough to make him almost untouchable. Still, the uncertainty remained: he didn't know if those abilities would really be capable of causing damage or even defending against Haki users or Logia-type Devil Fruit users.
He had received too many benefits. So many even exaggeratedly powerful protagonists from fiction stories would probably envy that amount. Still, Sora couldn't understand the reason. Why so many privileges? What did that panel really want? And, more importantly, why him?
Everything seemed too right. Too good.
Just the fact of receiving the [Race: Progenitor Vampire] would already be enough to place him at the top of the world someday—at least considering how vampires are usually portrayed in fiction. Characters like Alucard from Hellsing, the vampires from Castlevania, Strike the Blood, My Three Wives Are Beautiful Vampires and so many others had always been marked as existences above the ordinary.
Sora knew this. And perhaps it was exactly because of this that that uncomfortable feeling wouldn't leave him in peace.
"It doesn't matter… I'm not in a position to worry about this. It won't change anything, even if it's frustrating," murmured Sora.
In the end, all he needed to consider was his own pleasure—the search for excitement. He didn't know if this was a victory or a curse, but that wasn't very important. This was his chance to have freedom, to live without constraints and be exactly what he wanted.
Next.
[Congratulations, you have received —Power Bestowal]
"Oh, an ability capable of transferring one of my abilities to another person… how ironic," murmured Sora, in a sarcastic tone.
There wasn't much to comment about that benefit. Although it didn't strengthen Sora individually, the utility was clear. Should he decide to form a crew or even his own organization, there would hardly be a better ability to amplify the characteristics, power, and utility of those who came to join him.
[Congratulations, you have received —Ryomen Sukuna Meguna Template (JJK)]
"Another template from a Jujutsu Kaisen character… and on top of that, the enemy and killer of my previous template—the strongest of the modern era alongside the strongest in history," murmured Sora.
Still, knowing only fragments about Jujutsu Kaisen—since he had never watched the anime nor read the manga—Sora didn't immediately understand the meaning of "Meguna." The term meant nothing to him.
"What the hell is Meguna? A different version of the King of Curses or something like that?" he questioned, frowning slightly.
Next.
[Congratulations, you have received —Yami Sukehiro Template (Black Clover)]
"I like this one. One of the best characters from Black Clover," commented Sora. "It would be amazing to have his abilities… too bad I never managed to finish the manga. It really was a wonderful work."
After starting to watch One Piece, Sora became increasingly interested in Japanese culture, especially anime and manga. This led him to discover even more fantastic stories and memorable characters, experiences that, little by little, helped shape who he was.
Even after starting to work part-time—and dividing the little free time between martial arts training and occasional participation in championships—Sora always found a moment to read one or two chapters of manga that sparked his interest. Black Clover was one of them.
The captain of the Black Bull squad was, without a doubt, one of his favorite characters, alongside Mereoleona Vermillion.
Therefore, Sora was incredibly excited, to the point of feeling a slight tremor run through his entire body.
Feeling quite satisfied and excited, Sora advanced to the last lottery on the panel: the "bonus."
Apparently, the quality and quantity of what he could gain in that bonus depended entirely on his Karma—regardless of whether it was something good or bad. Still, Sora couldn't help but wonder: what kind of Karma could a sixteen-year-old boy have?
Karma could involve many things. Past lives, small forgotten actions, or even a trivial help offered to someone in need, which in the future could end up changing the world in some way, for better or worse. Even so, Sora didn't feel very confident about it.
[Congratulations, you have received —Ten Thousand Demon Core and Dark Summoning]
"Ok… apparently I gained two lottery items, but I have no idea what they are. They could be something good or bad," murmured Sora.
He cast another glance at the panel, feeling slight confusion forming. "The [Dark Summoning] is self-explanatory in the name, but still… I have no idea what exactly it can summon."
Shaking his head slightly, Sora remained thoughtful.
"And the [Ten Thousand Demon Core]… does this mean having a core with ten thousand demons inside?" murmured Sora.
He had never seen anything similar. He didn't remember any similar ability in anime, manga, or light novels he had read. The name, by itself, was too strange to fit into any clear reference he knew.
The panel, as usual, didn't offer additional explanations or descriptions. Without answers and without clues, only one option remained: discover the true meaning of that ability when the time came.
Sora watched the panel before him dissolve into particles of light, only for another to form shortly after. This time, however, it no longer displayed benefits or rewards, but rather a question.
[Benefits distributed. Do you wish to choose the era, location, and family to make your reincarnation more comfortable, or do you prefer to keep the random option?]
Seeing this, Sora couldn't help but smile. Staring at the panel attentively, he slowly opened his mouth.
"But of course…"