The vast ocean stretched endlessly into the horizon.
A small sailboat rocked gently upon the waves.
"Hey, Ron! Look, the sea restaurant Baratie!"
A clear voice broke the stillness.
On the small boat stood two figures swaying with the tide.
One was a young woman with bright orange hair, around one meter sixty-two.
She pointed toward the large ship anchored beside the floating restaurant.
"Over there! That's a ship!" she exclaimed.
"Mhm."
The handsome young man beside her nodded calmly. This was Ron, the man she had called to.
From his sharp features, he looked about twenty years old.
Short black hair framed his face, his expression alert and confident.
He stood half a head taller than the girl, close to one meter eighty, with a frame suggesting he might grow even more in the years to come.
"But…" she hesitated, her tone wary.
"From the flag, that looks like the Krieg Pirates' warship!"
Ron smiled faintly. "And what of it?"
"That's Don Krieg, the tyrant of the East Blue!" she snapped, stomping her foot in frustration. "Those men are ruthless killers. We can't just approach them!"
Under normal circumstances, Nami would never go near such a dangerous crew.
But Ron's relaxed grin didn't waver.
"Hahaha!" He burst out laughing. "Nami, trust your big brother Ron. Just sail in."
He deliberately mimicked the exaggerated tone of a dramatic adventurer, making Nami stifle a laugh despite herself.
"Alright, fine," she said finally.
There was something in his voice, a firm and unshakable confidence, that made her want to believe him.
After days of traveling together, she had realized this man was far from ordinary.
So she adjusted the sails according to his instructions, and their small boat began gliding toward the floating restaurant.
A few days earlier, Nami had been sailing alone toward Orange Town, intent on stealing the treasure hoarded there by Buggy the Clown and his crew. That treasure might finally buy back her home village, Cocoyasi, from Arlong's grip.
But on the way, she had fished a man out of the sea. That man was Ron.
When she mentioned her destination, she was stunned to learn that he shared the same target. They agreed to travel together until reaching Orange Town, then part ways.
Yet fate has a strange sense of humor.
When Nami sneaked into Buggy's camp to steal his treasure, Ron suddenly appeared like a ghost.
He announced himself as a bounty hunter, declaring that the entire Buggy Pirates crew was surrounded by him alone.
Nami almost thought she'd misheard.
Surrounded?
By one man?
How in the world does one person surround an entire crew?
She silently wondered if he'd lost his mind.
But what happened next shattered everything she thought she knew.
Ron moved like a beast unleashed.
Blades and bullets bounced harmlessly off his skin.
Every punch sent pirates flying like insects.
No matter how many charged at him, they couldn't even scratch him.
"Baka! Baka!" they shouted in panic, but to no avail, each one swatted aside like flies.
A single blow from him left men screaming in agony, some even knocked out cold on the spot.
Even Buggy's proudest weapon, the Buggy Ball, was reduced to nothing before his strength.
He picked one up, squeezed lightly, and it exploded in his hand.
The cannon that fired it was crushed to scrap with the same casual ease.
Before this godlike force, the Buggy Pirates crumbled instantly.
Buggy himself fled in terror, howling as he ran for his life.
When the dust settled, Ron scooped up the treasure and spotted Nami hiding behind the crates.
He offered her a share of the loot as thanks for saving his life.
But Nami, clever as she was, knew perfectly well he hadn't needed any saving.
Just as she was about to politely refuse, Ron made another proposal.
Serve as his navigator across the East Blue, and the treasure would be her reward.
It was an offer too good to ignore.
Her funds were depleted, and she needed supplies.
And unlike pirates, this man, this bounty hunter, didn't give her that same bitter taste of disgust.
So she agreed.
Their first stop was the floating restaurant Baratie.
Now, as the restaurant drew near, Ron's expression shifted into one of playful mischief.
He gazed toward the towering battleship beside Baratie, then glanced past it at another familiar ship flying a straw hat flag.
The Going Merry.
"So, Luffy didn't sail with Nami this time, yet he still ends up here," he muttered with a wry smile. "Guess some parts of the story can't be avoided."
He sighed softly, his eyes distant.
Because the truth was, Ron didn't belong to this world.
Just a few days ago, an inexplicable phenomenon had transported him into the world of One Piece.
But he wasn't panicked.
From the moment he arrived, he had drawn a royal flush in fate's deck.
Ding!
"Congratulations, Host! You've entered the world of One Piece!"
"Congratulations, Host! You've acquired a Divine Talent!"
At first, he didn't know what it meant.
But after a few tests, the answer was clear.
He possessed a body comparable to Big Mom's, the physique of a born destroyer.
Iron Bones. Elephant Strength.
He hadn't earned a nickname yet, mainly because he hadn't needed to fight anyone worth naming him after.
When he first arrived in Orange Town, penniless, he had no hesitation in targeting Buggy's crew.
A short battle later, they were all lying at his feet.
With such an overwhelming start, Ron knew that even in the East Blue, or even across the first half of the Grand Line, he could run wild without resistance.
The Krieg Pirates? In his eyes, just walking experience.
As for why he had chosen Baratie as his first stop, the answer was simple: for the food.
In Ron's heart, life had three great pleasures: beautiful women, fine food, and good wine. And food ranked second only to beauty.
The treasure he had taken from Buggy didn't bother his conscience in the least. After all, stealing from pirates hardly counts as a crime.
He knew the story, of course, but this world was vast, unpredictable, and full of mysteries. He wanted to see every inch of it.
There was just one problem. He was hopeless with navigation.
Which made Nami the perfect companion.
Whether or not he was stealing Luffy's spotlight didn't matter to him.
As he pondered this, their small sailboat drifted closer to Baratie.
Ignoring the beaten remnants of the Krieg Pirates floating nearby, the two stepped into the restaurant.
There stood Don Krieg, clad in golden armor, his heavy boot pressing down on Sanji's chest.
His voice thundered across the dining hall.
"This restaurant is mine! The ship is mine! Everything here belongs to me!"
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