"Ugh, my head... it hurts so bad!"
A weak voice came from Leo as he struggled to open his dry eyes, looking up at the wooden ceiling above. He appeared confused, slowly sitting up and rubbing his aching head. At that moment, a salty scent from the sea filled his nose.
"Wait… is this me? Why am I so small?!"
Supporting his aching back, Leo climbed out of bed and caught sight of his much younger self in the mirror. He rubbed his eyes hard, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Creak—"
Pushing the door open, a salty sea breeze rushed over him, making him freeze in shock.
"This… this is the sea?! That doesn't make sense. I clearly remember staying up late, struggling to achieve my glorious fifteen-game losing streak in Honor!?"
"What's going on? Did I transmigrate? Start off on a ship and have to rely on salvaging all my gear?"
"Don't tell me this is a deserted island survival scenario! No way! I don't have any survival skills!"
Staring at the endless ocean before him, Leo fell into despair. As a die-hard otaku, he couldn't swim at all—if he fell into the sea, he'd be as good as dead.
"Yo, kid, you're awake."
Just then, a calm voice rang beside his ear. Leo turned to see a face that felt both familiar and strange.
He froze, shocked.
"Roger?! Is this some kind of cosplay? It looks way too real!"
Leo's dark eyes stared intently at the man before him. He looked exactly like Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King from the One Piece world.
Even more realistic than Oda's drawings!
"You know me, kid?" Roger narrowed his eyes at Leo. Though he'd heard some strange words, Leo's stunned expression didn't seem fake.
It was the year 1493 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Years had passed since the God Valley Incident. The Roger Pirates had become a force to be reckoned with, drawing the full attention of both the World Government and the Navy. Vice Admiral Garp, known as the strongest in the Navy, was relentlessly pursuing Roger in an attempt to capture him.
This was also the year Roger learned he had a terminal illness. To complete his final voyage, he sailed into this sea and invited Crocus to join as the ship's doctor, promising to help him search for the Rumbar Pirates.
Leo was someone Roger had casually salvaged during that journey while looking for Crocus.
"Uh… n-no, I don't— I mean, I do! I actually went out to sea because of you!"
Leo quickly changed his words mid-sentence. As a former otaku, he had just spotted two people—Rayleigh and Jabba, Roger's left and right hands in One Piece.
"I really transmigrated?! And into the One Piece world at that?!"
Leo was now sure of it. For some unknown reason, he had come to this turbulent, passionate, and brutally unforgiving world of pirates—a place where the strong could do whatever they pleased.
"Hahaha! Really now? That's amazing! Looks like we were fated to meet, kid!"
Roger clearly noticed Leo's shift in expression just now, but he didn't care. In Roger's eyes, the change was probably just fear from an ordinary child encountering pirates.
After all, to most civilians, he was a notorious and ruthless pirate.
"I want to join the Roger Pirates."
Leo looked up, his black eyes filled with bright determination and longing. Right now, joining the Roger Pirates seemed like his only way to survive. At just ten years old, there was no way he could live safely on the seas alone.
"Boy, have you really thought this through? The world of pirates is far more brutal than you imagine."
Roger's tone turned serious.
After all, the Roger Pirates were not only being hunted by the World Government and the Navy, but were also seen as powerful rivals by other legendary pirates like Golden Lion and Whitebeard Newgate.
Every encounter was a life-or-death battle.
In Roger's eyes, Leo was just a cute, good-looking kid with no particular strengths—his frail body looked like it could be knocked over by a strong sea breeze at any moment.
"Yes, I've made up my mind. I want to join the Roger Pirates!" Leo replied with unwavering determination.
"Hahahaha! Well then, kid—welcome aboard!" Roger boomed with laughter.
"Hehe, nice to meet you, Captain! I'm Leo."
Behind Roger, Rayleigh and Jabba exchanged helpless glances and shrugged. Their captain was still as willful as ever. Now there was another mouth to feed on board.
Having two little brats was already enough of a headache, and now there was a third.
"Ding! Host has successfully joined the Roger Pirates. System activation complete. The Anime System is now online. Unit 007 at your service!"
"Anime System?! What kind of features does it have?"
Leo's little heart trembled as he quickly asked. After all, as a powerless ten-year-old in such a brutal world, he desperately needed some way to protect himself. The appearance of a system was just the solution he needed, and the once-calm Leo was now bubbling with excitement again.
"This system contains the abilities of all anime characters from the host's original world. The host can earn Anime Points by completing system tasks or by surprising anime characters. Anime Points can be used for exchanges or lucky draws!"
"Hiss… all the abilities from anime characters? That sounds amazing!"
"But System, I'm way too weak right now. Is there a newbie gift pack or something?"
"Of course there is! This system is highly professional," 007 replied once again.
"Would the host like to use the beginner's gift pack now?"
There really is a newbie gift! The author wasn't lying!
"Use it!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Wood Release (Full Jutsu Version) from the Naruto World."
"Wood Release?! ?(●′ω`●)?"
Leo's small body shuddered as he laughed wildly inside. This was the legendary Wood Release used by that silly Senju guy—the God of Shinobi in the Naruto world—Senju Hashirama, a man with absolutely overwhelming combat power!
The only question was whether his own Wood Release could reach Hashirama's level. Ideally, just clap his hands and summon whatever he wanted!
If that were the case, even the future Pirate King, Roger, in front of him wouldn't necessarily be unbeatable.
"System, open my character panel!"
"Yes, Host."
[Host: Leo]
[Age: 10]
[Skill: Wood Release (Fusion Level: 10%)]
[Passive: Handseal-less Healing – Possesses immense vitality and automatically heals bodily injuries]
[Weapon: None]
[Inventory: Empty]