Mora Lee… that was the name he had chosen in one of those online Choose Your Own Adventure forms. He had thought it harmless fun and the form was very generous. For the costs which it set, he made himself a quite strong character, broken even. It was all in good fun, a way to pass the time in his boring, ordinary life but as soon as he had downloaded his sheet -for later use, or perhaps just because he fancied doing so-, everything went black. He heard a voice, far away and through a sort of filter, so that he could only hear bits and pieces, "Mora Lee, we the… therefore you will be granted a second… you shall have many adventures and… so enjoy… second life to its fullest"
"What? What do you mean, second life? I don't know what the fuck you are talking- Argh!" a white hot pain shot through his chest and slowly crept its way through his body. Every nerve, blood vessel and muscle in his body was destroyed and rebuilt, over and over again, as if working towards a desired transformation. Looking down at his hands, they were bubbling and morphing, like putty being boiled. His hands grew stronger, sturdier, bigger but at the same time, it hurt. It hurt like all hell. Every nerve was burning and every cell was working in overtime. It took what felt like hours, though it likely was only a few minutes but when it was done, he felt stronger than he ever had. He had never been one to go to the gym but he had experienced a runner's high before and this? This felt like he had a constant runners high, like he could do anything and nothing could stop him anymore.
He was standing on a beach, long blonde hair swaying in the wind. Besides him were many types of equipment. He recognised them, those were the items he had chosen in the CYOA, a wanderer's cloak, able to keep him comfortable at any temperature, no matter how extreme and able to hide his presence from normal eyes that weren't actively looking for him, a fox mask which increased haki and devil fruit proficiency by a small amount, a sea charm, able to make him breathe underwater for up to 30 minutes a day, a big stack of belly, his vivre card, a map which automatically filled itself and could zoom in and out, a magical spyglass, five senzu beans, able to recover him from near death, ten rumble balls, able to push his devil fruit abilities for a short time, a devil fruit encyclopedia which was somewhat sentient, a bag of holding, able to hold way more than it looks like it should whilst being completely weightless and a big, kanabo, black metal glimmering in the sun. All of which enchanted to not be able to be stolen.
These were exactly the things he had chosen in the CYOA, which could only mean one thing…
he had crossed over!
Which also meant… he flexed his fingers and they turned into metal, liquid metal. The logia fruit which he had chosen, the Tetsu Tetsu no mi and, searching his mind, he found the ways of how to use his new powers. Suddenly he was glad that that CYOA had been so generous. He liked being overpowered. Who cares about balancing in real life. Sure, people liked reading about struggle but no one actually wanted to struggle IRL. Sure, he wasn't the pinnacle of strength. He was no yonko, not even a yonko commander but in the east blue and in paradise, he would have no problem. Now he had to think, think whether he wanted to join Luffy or form his own crew… oh who was he kidding, he liked the adorable goofball too much, plus as soon as he struck out on his own, his knowledge would become useless.
Laying low? Not an option, not with the two drawbacks he had chosen. A bounty on his head and… he looked to his chest. Right over his heart was branded the hoof of the celestial dragons. He was marked. If he really wanted to, he could just live off the grid but where was the fun in that? He was in the one piece world! Not going on an adventure fully negated that which made this interesting in the first place.
Lee donned the cloak, sea charm, took out the self filling sea map and the Kanabo, everything else, he placed in his bag of holding. He looked at the map. Half a mile in every direction was mapped out. He saw that he was on Goat island, the island where Koby found Luffy in that barrel in the manga. If he remembered it right, in the anime, he was found on the ship but in the manga it was on this island. Walking over a hill, he saw the Alvida Pirate's hideout, their flag raised high above. He took out his spyglass and looked from a distance. Koby was hauling in a barrel. Right at the start of canon, just as the CYOA had been chosen. He donned his cloak's hood and walked over. He was still there but the people around, their mind simply overlooked him. It was like that, that he got within five metres of Koby and Luffy in the barrel, which he was rolling away.
"What's that, Koby?" one of the pirates of the Alvida crew asked, eying the barrel greedily, "booze, just washed up on the beach? Jackpot!", he looked around warily, as if thinking danger was near, "Captain Alvida isn't anywhere near. Let's just drink it!"
"Yeah, great Idea Bob", another pirate with a monstrous overbite said.
Koby, small, frightened Koby waved his hands around, as if trying to dispel a mirage, "Y- you can't! What if she finds out? S- she will have our heads for that!"
"She'll never find out", the pirate with the overbite grinned, "just us three here, just Bob, me and you Koby. You ain't seen nothing. If you don't tell her about this, we might even let you take a swig or two!"
"R- right! I- I ain't seen nothin'! He he he… please don't hit me"
Lee sighed from the sidelines. Koby would become a great marine but right now, he was just a scared little kid and it showed. No spine to speak of.
The two of the adult pirates walked over to the barrel, only for Luffy to smash out the top of it, "That was a great nap!", the black haired boy with the straw hat exclaimed, "Looks like I survived somehow- that constant rolling made me feel like I was gonna barf"
Just on que, Alvida rushed in, smashing everyone with her iron mace. For a human of earth, it might've been superhuman but in this world of devil fruits and monsters, she was small fry. With his observation haki, he could clock in that she was decisively weaker than Luffy, "You lazy assholes! You dare defy me?"
Bob stuttered, "O- of course not! Never! Not in a million-"
"Don't play dumb with me! I could hear you talking all the way from the ship! Now which of you had such a 'Great nap'?!"
"Captain, we have an intruder! Koby brought in a stranger, he was who said all of that!"
"A bounty hunter perhaps? Perhaps even Roronoa Zoro could be after me! I am, after all the most beautiful and dangerous pirate in the east blue! I am sure he-"
"Ni Hi Hi Hi Hi", Lee wasn't even able to keep his composure. His laughter revealed his location.
"What are you laughing about, boy?", Alvida strutted over, iron mace in hand, "You don't look like Roronoa Zoro to me"
"Oh- I am not Zoro", he snickered, removing his hood, "but I still find it funny, you know? You, the most beautiful? It is downright comical"
"You are so dead", the pirate with underbite whispered.
"I. Am. The. Most. Beautiful!", Alvida screamed as she repeatedly swung at Lee, yet with each swing, she only damaged her own weapon. When she noticed that her precious iron mace was damaged, she stared at him, "h- how? I hit you and my mace indents? What are you made out of?"
"I ate the tetsu tetsu no mi, I am a metal man", Lee spoke with certainty, knowing very well that no one here could hurt him, "The name is Mora Lee and I will become the world's strongest man, even surpassing Whitebeard himself!"
"M- mora Lee?!" Bob sweat dropped, pulling a couple of wanted posters out of his pocket, before showing, Lee's poster.
"Fifteen million berry?!", Alvida stared. Her own five million seemed so very small now and she stared at the man in front of her, really taking him in for the first time. Long, blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, a muscular build and all in all a very attractive man, just over two meters tall, taller than even her. For the first time in a long time, she felt fear, not the thrill of battle but fear. The way that those blue eyes stared at her like she was nothing more than an ant standing in front of a lion. It should've made her angry but all she felt was despair. The world's strongest man? Stronger than whitebeard? Ludicrous, she knew but still, it was hiding a shard of the truth. Perhaps he wasn't there yet but he might very well reach those heights one day, "N- now- How about we just talk and-"
"No", Lee pulled back his arm and threw a punch. No haki, no devil fruit and yet everyone heard the cracking of bones as Alvida was launched into the horizon, "I despise monsters like you"
"Suge!!!", Luffy shouted from the sidelines, standing next to a stunned Koby, rushing over, "You are really strong! Join my crew!"
"And you are?", Lee asked, barely hiding his joy.
"The name is Monkey D. Luffy and I'm gonna be king of the pirates! I just have to have the future strongest man in the world as my nakama!", He grinned.
"Are you crazy?" Bob asked, "He just sent lady Alvida flying without any effort, he has a bounty of 15 million berry! Do you really think that-"
"Sure, why not"
The surrounding pirates were stunned. They couldn't imagine it. That monster, the man who had taken lady Alvida's hit, not only surviving it but also indenting her weapon… was agreeing just like that?
When his attention snapped to them, they froze in fear, "get us a boat. We'll be leaving"
"O- Of course"
"Well, captain. Good to be working with you… and who is that?" Lee pointed at Koby.
"I- I- I-"
"That's Koby, he wants to join the marines. A good dream", Luffy nodded once and didn't further explain. Oh Luffy… such a simple man…
"Well then, Koby", Lee said and Koby immediately froze up, as if expecting to be flung into the distance, like his former captain, "I think the nearest marine branch should be the 153rd in… shells town? Is that right? I heard that the bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro is held captive there", he turned to Luffy, "strong from what I heard. Could be worth recruiting"
"Zoro is a bounty hunter", Koby stared at him with wide eyes, "they say, he is a demon given human form"
"He sounds cool… if he is a good person, I'd have no problem inviting him to the crew!" Luffy smiled broadly.
"Aren't you listening? He is a bounty hunter! His nickname is literally 'Pirate Hunter Zoro'! Why would you think he'd join your crew, or any pirate crew for that matter?" Koby whined.
"Things aren't as black and white as that", Lee smiled, "there is a lot of grey scales around and even some colors, if you know where to look"
"Off to Shells town then! For Koby to join the marines and for us to scout that pirate hunter fellow!"