Age of the Sea Circle, July 1st, 1477
64 years before the Egghead Incident
Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago
Grove 13, Finn's Rip-off Bar
It was late at night inside Finn's Rip-off Bar. Finn leaned against the counter, quietly watching the usual crowd.
Most of the customers were pirates, a few slave traders, and the occasional rich merchants who lived in the area.
Finn was only eighteen years old. He stood at 2.2 meters tall, lean and muscular, with fair skin, long blond hair, narrow blue eyes, prominent eyebrows, a straight nose, and well-defined lips.
He wore a burgundy double-breasted suit with gold buttons, matching trousers, black shoes, and black gloves.
As a native of Sabaody Archipelago, Finn had inherited the bar from his late parents. Thanks to that, he never had to worry about money.
Even though he was young and not particularly strong, no one had ever dared to cause trouble in his bar.
That was just how things worked in the One Piece world. Pirates dreamed of the sea and grand adventures. What would they gain from robbing a small bar or shaking down the owner for a few thousand berries?
Most of them actually enjoyed showing off their wealth by paying generously for their drinks.
What most people didn't know was that Finn was a transmigrator from Earth. He had been reborn in his mother's womb and only regained his memories of his previous life when he turned sixteen.
Even after remembering everything, nothing really changed. He still just wanted to live a lazy, peaceful life running his bar.
The main reason he lacked motivation was his own weakness. He had tried to change his fate once. For two whole years he followed the same brutal training regimen Koby had used, but the only thing that improved was his muscle definition. His actual strength barely moved from the pathetic 10 to 20 Doriki he started with.
It made no sense. Other people in this world trained hard and saw real results. For some reason, he seemed to be a special case.
He even had a system. Unfortunately, it was just as useless as his training. The "Character Script Controller System" had appeared two years ago, yet he had never received a single notification or benefit from it.
The system's job was simple: whenever an important character was about to experience a major event in their life, Finn could take control of that character's decisions during the event and earn rewards based on the choices he made. The character would stick to those decisions even after Finn lost control, though they would only regain the memories of what "they" had done after a full month.
The problem was that nothing important ever seemed to happen in this era. That was why Finn had long given up hope on the system.
'Sigh, the price of Rum is going up again. I'm basically selling it at a loss now,' he thought as the last customer finally walked out.
Finn locked the door, arranged the chairs, wiped down the tables, and then made himself a cup of coffee. He settled onto the sofa and picked up the newspaper again.
Suddenly, a transparent window appeared before his eyes, alongside a robotic voice.
His heart raced, knowing full well what it meant!
[An important event is about to start.]
[Event title: Loki's birth]
[Event Script details:
Queen Estrid, not having seen Harald for a long time, decided she needed to bind his heart more tightly. She took a shower, put on her finest clothes, and began seducing him secretly right there in the throne room.
Unable to resist his lust, Harald would carry Queen Estrid in front of his ministers and guards and take her to his chambers. In this event, Loki would be conceived…]
[Do you want to enter the script?]
[Yes / No]
Finn froze for a second after reading the details. 'Sigh, the first event you give me is something ridiculous like this? Well… I have nothing to lose anyway.'
He chose [Yes] in his heart.
The next instant, he felt his soul being pulled away, traveling hundreds of kilometers in a single second until he arrived at Elbaph.
-x-X-x-
New World, Elbaph
Aurust Castle, Throne Room
King Harald sat on his throne, recounting the events of his latest journey to the gathered giants. Raideen, Jorul, Jarul, Wolf, Regent, and several elders listened attentively.
Queen Estrid stood not far away from the throne in her finest clothes, occasionally sending small, flirty hints toward Harald that no one else seemed to notice.
Finn's soul appeared invisibly beside Estrid. No one could see or sense him.
A new system window appeared in front of him.
[Sub_Script_L001 is starting. Please choose the decision that Harald needs to make.]
[Estrid just winked at you, sending you signals that clearly understand, What should you do?]
[Decision_1: Suppress your desire for now and carry her to your chambers once the meeting is nearly over.
Reward: Loki will be born from you and Estrid. Elbaph will gain a future powerhouse, Elbaph will be safe from your hands 64 years later when you lose control, Finn will gain 1000 Doriki for helping you.]
[Decision_2: In front of everyone, release the anger and helplessness in your heart for not being allowed to marry Ida. Put all the blame on Estrid.
Reward: Loki may not be born from you. Elbaph may lose a future powerhouse, Elbaph will face crises at your hands 64 years later when you lose control, Finn will gain 500 Doriki and beginner-level Six Powers (Rokushiki) for helping you.]
Finn looked at the two options. Without his interference, Harald would clearly have chosen the first one.
Both rewards looked good for Finn and for Elbaph. But deep down, Finn didn't want any faction to become too powerful, even if it brought him no direct benefit.
He still held a quiet hope that one day he might rise to the top himself.
If he ever became King of the World, he didn't want to have to appease Elbaph because of some powerful prince named Loki. A strong daughter would have been different, he might have married her to keep the peace, but he wasn't about to bow to a man.
So he chose Decision_2 without hesitation.
The moment he selected it, power surged into his body and soul. A flood of knowledge about the Navy's Six Powers poured into his mind and muscles. Even though he was currently in soul form, he could clearly feel the changes happening to his real body back in Sabaody.
Meanwhile, in the throne room, Harald had been pleased by his wife's flirty behavior at first. Then, suddenly, uncontrollable anger surged up from nowhere. Memories and suspicions he had never consciously held flooded his mind, fueling the rage even more.
"I say, Estrid," Harald boomed as he stood up, pointing his finger at her, "do you always have nothing better to do? What is a woman like you doing in the throne room, mixing with us men? Why can't you be more like Ida? Gentle, minding her own business, not greedy, not constantly seeking power…"
He continued without pause, his voice echoing through the silent hall. "Look at you, arrogant, greedy for wealth, hungry for power, conspiring with your brother every day or finding ways to shame Ida behind the scenes. I've only been patient with you to keep these ignorant elders from undermining my authority!"
The throne room fell completely silent. Estrid's face turned deathly pale from shock and fury. Even Jorul and Jarul's mouths hung open in disbelief.
After five long seconds, Estrid's pale face flushed red with rage.
"Harald, you bastard! Do you even know what you're saying? Am I arrogant and greedy in your eyes? You want me to be like Ida? Patient with your foolish peace ideals? When did I ever conspire against you or Ida? Who was managing this country while you were off with your mistress or wandering outside Elbaph? You're not just a fool, you're ungrateful and ignorant!"
The giants were stunned again by her sharp reply, but her words made sense, some of them even nodded in agreement.
But before Harald could answer, time itself seemed to stop.