Darren slowly opened his eyes.
A high nose bridge, deep-set eyes, sharp sword-like brows, and short, slightly messy black hair gave him a striking, commanding presence.
He sat up from the bed. His bare upper body was crisscrossed with vicious scars, and the rugged lines of his muscles carried a raw, untamed wildness.
In short—he was very handsome.
He glanced at the woman still sleeping beside him and smiled faintly.
A noblewoman from the Yadis Kingdom…
Tsk, tsk.
The taste was indeed excellent.
Darren shook his head, casually picked up the freshly delivered newspaper, and flipped it open out of habit.
> "Great Pirate 'World Destroyer' Douglas Bullet Sinks a World Government Ship! The World Nobles—Celestial Dragons—Enraged! Bounty Raised to 200,000,000 Berries! Bullet May Become the Government's Greatest Threat!"
"Gol D. Roger Sets Sail Again!! Latest Confirmed Sightings in the 'Weakest Sea,' East Blue!!"
"Golden Lion Shiki Recruiting in the New World, Attempting to Form the World's Largest Pirate Fleet!!"
"Kaido and Charlotte Linlin Clash in the New World—A Small Island Completely Flattened!!"
One shocking headline after another leapt into Darren's eyes, making him narrow them instinctively.
"…What a lively era."
He folded the newspaper, took a sip of whiskey, and lit a premium cigar decorated with gilded patterns.
The strong tobacco burned his throat, waking his senses and drawing him into thought.
That's right—Darren was a transmigrator.
But unlike the typical ones, he didn't have some chosen-one system or cheat ability. His only advantage was that after his soul fused with this body, his perception and control over himself became far more precise than that of an ordinary person.
He had transmigrated into this pirate-filled world five years ago, and only after clawing his way upward had he reached his current position.
North Blue—though outside the Grand Line—was the most chaotic, brutal, and crime-ridden of the four seas.
It lacked the relative peace of the "weakest sea," East Blue,
the commercial prosperity of West Blue,
and the stability of sparsely populated South Blue…
North Blue was filled with gang warfare, underground power struggles, endless conflicts between kingdoms, and pirates running rampant.
It was a nightmare for countless Marine administrations.
And precisely because the environment was so dangerous and volatile, Darren had adopted a highly indulgent attitude toward life.
After all, this was Sea Calendar 1492.
Several years after the God Valley Incident, the world order was still in utter chaos—
Gol D. Roger had yet to complete his great voyage and become the Pirate King;
Golden Lion Shiki had not yet stormed Marine Headquarters and thrown his life away, still dreaming of ruling the seas;
Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, was still gathering "sons" across the oceans, his golden, crown-like hair vibrant and full;
Kaido had not yet become the infamous "Strongest Creature" of later generations, still stubbornly seeking death by challenging the Marines from time to time;
Charlotte Linlin had not yet become the mountain-like "BIG MOM," still maintaining a good figure while searching the seas for suitable partners;
Red-Haired Shanks was still an apprentice, Buggy was far from becoming an Emperor, and Monkey D. Luffy hadn't even been born yet…
There were no Four Emperors dividing the New World.
No Seven Warlords of the Sea system.
There was only chaos—and slaughter.
In an era ravaged by pirates,
an era where great pirates and great heroes roamed freely,
even becoming a Marine—considered by many transmigrators the safest path—meant gambling with one's life.
Darren himself couldn't say when he might die on the battlefield.
So naturally, he intended to live without regrets.
After going through the trouble of transmigrating, why wouldn't he want a thrilling life?
Even as a Marine, he refused to live miserably.
Drink the finest wine.
Smoke the strongest cigars.
Sleep with the most beautiful women.
That was his philosophy.
Whether others called it decadence or corruption didn't matter.
He wasn't a pirate—what use did he have for reputation?
The Marines of North Blue never relied on "good image" to get promoted.
Besides, his former superiors—Borsalino and Sakazuki—were also from North Blue.
Their reputations weren't exactly spotless either.
And yet, after going to Marine Headquarters and graduating from the Marine Training Camp, hadn't they steadily risen through the ranks, becoming the "future Admirals" everyone talked about?
Of course, while Darren indulged himself, his standards for training and improving his strength were just as strict as his standards for choosing women.
Thinking of this, he adjusted his breathing, gradually focused his mind, and immersed himself in the perception of his own physical state.
The soul fusion from transmigration had granted him a miraculous talent—his awareness of his own body was precise to an almost unbelievable degree.
After years of exploration, he found a way to roughly visualize this sensation. By using numbers as units and comparing them to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, whom he had personally seen, he constructed a "Personal Attribute Chart."
It sounded absurd.
But since transmigration itself was already absurd, he found it acceptable.
Body Strength: 58.103
Strength: 53.831
Speed: 57.539
Devil Fruit: 71.345
Body Strength represented defense, vitality, and endurance.
Strength was pure physical power and explosive force.
Speed covered movement speed and short-range bursts.
Devil Fruit referred to his level of control over his Devil Fruit ability.
All values had concrete reference points, with 100 as the upper limit.
For Body Strength, the benchmark was naturally Kaido of the Beasts—the "strongest creature on land, sea, and air."
Based on Kaido's terrifying defense—something that couldn't be damaged without advanced Armament—Darren estimated Kaido's Body Strength to be around 90.
"…Body Strength really did increase by 0.03."
Darren carefully sensed his physical state, a satisfied smile forming on his lips.
His accidental discovery had been confirmed.
After two full hours of "conquest" the previous night, he felt refreshed upon waking—and his Body Strength had indeed grown.
Perfectly reasonable.
According to the physiological knowledge from his previous life, moderate "exercise" increased testosterone levels and released large amounts of dopamine, promoting muscle growth.
0.03 might seem insignificant, but every bit added up.
This was exactly how Darren had made use of his talent over the past few years.
Through precise self-perception and data-like feedback, he could identify the most efficient training methods for himself—and steadily grow stronger.
Just then—
Whoosh!
A sharp sword light sliced through the air, and the room door was cleaved open.
A tall, slender figure with long black hair strode in, her expression icy with fury.
"Colonel Darren! As a Marine officer, you're doing—doing something this outrageous inside a Marine base… this is far too much!"
Gion, gripping a golden Meito, glanced at the terrified woman curled beneath the blanket on the bed. Her eyes were practically shooting flames as she spoke words that left the Kaji standing behind her completely dumbstruck:
"This woman is the Governor's wife of the Yadis Kingdom!!"
...
...
...
...
Author's Note:
Because this story spans a very long timeline—from the era of Gol D. Roger all the way to the Paramount War—the opening takes place extremely early, and many characters are still very young.
They lack experience, are still naïve, and haven't yet formed the beliefs we're familiar with from the original story.
In this novel, you'll see a young Monkey D. Dragon, a Gion who still firmly upholds pure justice, an innocent Kaji, an Aokiji who still believes in "Burning Justice," and an ambitious Crocodile.
Please trust my writing. As time passes, each character will grow and gradually move closer to their canonical selves.