[New Fanfic!! Great Novel!! With A Ton Of Chapters!!~]
"Eden Ragnell!!, get up! Didn't you agree to go fishing with us today? Or are you trying to slack off again?"
A fat man kept knocking on Eden's door, making a loud thumping noise.
"Stupid fatso, stop knocking! You're going to break the door down!"
Lying in bed, Eden threw off the blanket and got up quickly. He sighed lightly; it had been more than half a year since he arrived in this world.
From initial resistance to now reluctantly accepting it, Eden felt quite lost about his future.
At first, when he heard the village kids talking about the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, Eden thought he was dreaming or that everyone here was a One Piece fan.
Otherwise, why would those kids' innocent eyes be filled with such fanatic admiration when they talked about the Pirate King? There was even a hint of madness, like crazy devotees, which made Eden's heart tremble.
From the fishermen who saved him, Eden learned that he had been drifting alone at sea and had fallen unconscious. If the fishermen hadn't found him while fishing nearby, he would have ended up buried in the ocean.
Since then, to survive, Eden had learned to become a fisherman, constantly practicing his fishing skills.
Half a year later, he had become a well-known fisherman in the fishing village.
Many people would invite Eden to join them when they went out to fish, as this would help them catch more fish.
At first, Eden thought about planting some vegetables in the village and living a leisurely life as a farmer. But the village's land was extremely barren. Not to mention vegetables, even a single blade of grass couldn't survive. Therefore, the villagers relied on fishing for their livelihood.
During this half-year, Eden had fish for every meal, but he didn't mind much. The nearby sea had an unusually rich variety of fish. Every day, and even every meal, the fish he ate were different, with varied tastes, which was quite a treat for him.
After all, back on Earth, there weren't as many types of fish. But in this world of One Piece, there were many fish that couldn't be found on Earth.
For example, the snowflake fish Eden ate the day before yesterday. Even after steaming, it remained cold. No matter how much you heated it, it stayed as cold as an ice stick, with soft, fragrant, boneless meat. Eating this fish in the scorching summer was incredibly refreshing.
It's unlucky. According to those novels, the protagonists who transmigrate usually gain various powerful abilities. Why am I still an ordinary person?
Eden thought angrily as he followed the fat man toward the shore.
On the way, many villagers greeted Eden kindly, and he saw quite a few children playing a game of navy catching pirates.
"Today, it's my turn to play the great pirate Whitebeard. You can play the navy lieutenant trying to catch me."
"Idiot! Whitebeard is known as the strongest man in the world, a super pirate. How could a mere navy lieutenant dare to catch Whitebeard? At least an admiral is needed."
Hearing the children's conversation, the fat man beside Eden sighed with nostalgia. "Youth is wonderful. I used to dream of becoming a famous pirate, finding the legendary One Piece, and becoming the Pirate King. But in the end, I gave up."
Looking at the fat man's disheartened expression, Eden thought to himself: With your skills, fatso, you wouldn't even make it to the Grand Line before being taken out by a pirate like Buggy the Clown.
"Do you know why I gave up?" the fat man asked Eden.
"Why?" Eden asked, prompting the fat man to look sad. "Back then, I set out ambitiously to sea, but soon after, my ship was overturned by a giant sea king. If I hadn't been rescued, I wouldn't be alive today."
Hearing the fat man's story, Eden felt embarrassed. He had forgotten that in this world's seas, large sea kings were everywhere. With the fat man's skills, he wouldn't need to meet another pirate; a sea king could take him out.
"Who saved you? No one in our village can handle a large sea king," Eden asked, curious.
"I don't know. It was a strange old man. He said he happened to be swimming nearby and saved me. Though I think he was exaggerating, saying he swam from one island to another. But he was indeed strong. He knocked out the sea king with a small stone," the fat man explained.
Eden was stunned. Could it be that the person who saved him was Silvers Rayleigh?
"Did the old man have a scar on his right eye?" Eden asked urgently.
"Yes, how did you know?" the fat man responded, surprised.
"I just guessed," Eden replied, puzzled about why Rayleigh would be in the East Blue. According to the fat man, he was saved by Rayleigh a year ago. Why would Rayleigh be in the weakest sea then?
Eden, being a fan of One Piece, had watched it many times. He didn't remember any plot where Rayleigh appeared in the East Blue the year before Luffy set out. Could this be another hint from Oda?
A crazy thought crossed Eden's mind.
"Hey, what are you daydreaming about? It's time to go fishing," the fat man called out as he boarded the fishing boat, seeing Eden still lost in thought.
Eden snapped back to reality, quickly boarded the fishing boat, and resumed his busy fishing life.
...
Two hours later, Eden and the fat man looked at their catch with satisfaction. Ten full baskets of fish, enough to last for a while.
Just as they were about to head back, a massive wave rose, nearly capsizing their small fishing boat.
"Uh-oh, it's a sea king!" The fat man looked at the giant creature emerging from the sea, scared to the point of almost wetting himself.
Damn, is this a real sea king?
Eden looked up at the creature with a horse-like face, lantern-like eyes, and an octopus-like body. Its size was at least twenty times larger than their small fishing boat.
"Why is a sea king here? There shouldn't be any in these waters," the fat man asked Eden in a panic.
"Stop asking and row quickly!" Eden, drenched by the splashing seawater, hurriedly found the oars and started rowing with all his might.
At this moment, Eden missed the motorboats on Earth. He wouldn't have to struggle like this, rowing until his hands cramped, and still not getting far.
"Roar!"
The sea king opened its huge mouth, aiming to swallow Eden and the boat whole.
As the sea king's mouth got closer, Eden smelled its fishy breath and fell into despair. Is this the end for me?
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
Just as Eden was about to close his eyes and accept his fate, he heard a spirited voice. The words sounded familiar.
Eden opened his eyes to see a long arm flying over his head, followed by a bang as the giant sea king was sent flying.
"Awesome, this guy looks delicious," a boy with a straw hat and a small scar under his left eye jumped onto their boat, grabbed the bow with his long arm, and flew over, eyes shining as he looked at the sea king he had just knocked out.
"A monster! His arm stretched!" The fat man turned pale at the sight of the straw-hatted boy.
"Wow, there are so many fish here. They all look delicious," the straw-hatted boy said, quickly noticing the fish in their baskets, drooling.
"Monkey D. Luffy!" Eden didn't know what to feel—excited or nervous. The character he had only seen in manga and on screen was now alive in front of him and had saved his life.
"How do you know my name? Have we met before?" Luffy asked, puzzled by Eden's recognition.
"But it's not surprising that you know my name because I'm the man who will become the Pirate King! Hahaha!" Luffy laughed heartily, his infectious confidence shining through.
The fat man, already shaken, fainted on the spot at Luffy's bold declaration.
Eden didn't know what to say. Seeing Luffy eyeing the fish hungrily, he thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you come back to our village? Let us treat you to a big meal to repay you for saving our lives."
"Really? That's great! I'm starving," Luffy said happily, then suddenly remembered something and ran to the boat's edge. "Where's my boat?"
"Is it that one? It's drifted far away," Eden pointed to a small boat floating in the distance.
"That's my boat!" Luffy saw it immediately and shouted, "Come back! Don't you want to be the future Pirate King's ship?"
Eden watched Luffy, speechless. This guy really was a simple-minded person.
"This is a problem. Without a boat, I can't set out to sea," Luffy said, distressed.
"If you don't mind, I can lend you this fishing boat," Eden suggested, thinking it would be cool if the future Pirate King set sail on his fishing boat.
"You're really a good person," Luffy said, smiling brightly. "How about it? You're a man, right? Come with me to the sea and become a free pirate!"