It was two-thirty in the morning.
"Huh?"
"People are pirates, and I'm Roger's childhood friend."
"Nice name, let's take a look."
"Wait, are you kidding me? I just watched one episode of an anime and suddenly died and crossed over? Who would believe that!"
"Well, I certainly don't."
"Hmm? Wasn't I reading a novel? Did I fall asleep??"
As consciousness slowly returned, Kaito Sakamoto opened his eyes. The blinding sunlight nearly overwhelmed him with its brilliance.
"Damn it, who threw a flashbang!!!"
"My eyes! My eyes!!"
"Please remain calm!"
While Kaito was covering his eyes and shouting to "heal" himself, a strange voice suddenly emerged.
It sounded as if it was inside his head, and in fact, it was.
"Who!?"
Kaito asked immediately, refusing to open his eyes again. If this "flashbang" went off once more, he might never see again.
"I am System No. 000."
"I am the system that manages all systems."
A cold mechanical voice introduced itself.
"System?"
"Did I really cross over?"
"Where am I? What world is this??"
Kaito never expected that just a moment after complaining about crossing over, he would actually do so. What kind of absurdity was this? Be careful what you wish for!
"This is the world of 'One Piece,' where the main character is Monkey D. Luffy."
"You didn't believe in crossing over before, did you?"
"Do you believe it now?"
The mechanical voice maintained its tone, almost implying, "How dare you question me?"
Kaito was dumbfounded. "So you really brought me here just because I made a joke about it? Is it really that casual?!"
The system didn't respond.
"Let's not talk about that for now. Am I stuck here forever?"
Kaito inquired.
"If nothing unexpected happens, yes."
The system answered curtly.
While the system was straightforward, Kaito felt utterly speechless, silently cursing it and its ancestors, even if they didn't exist.
Since that was the case, Kaito could only comfort himself with the thought of accepting his fate. After all, in his own world, he was an orphan with nothing to miss. He might as well let go and embrace his new life.
It took a moment to come to terms with it, but eventually, he did.
"Since you brought me here, you must be my cheat system?"
"What did you say your name was again? The management system?"
"Quite the audacious thing to say considering how ugly you are."
"I am the system that manages all systems. If I were to serve just you, it would throw everything into chaos!"
The system replied with a hint of mockery in its cold voice.
Kaito really wanted to reach through the screen and slap that "person" on the other side.
"So what's the plan? You bring me here and then just leave me to fend for myself?"
Kaito asked, annoyed. It seemed pretty unethical to just dump someone in a new world and walk away.
"...."
Silence. A three-second pause.
It was as if Kaito had guessed what the system was thinking.
"You can't be serious…"
"Of course not!!"
"I will randomly grant you three abilities so that you can survive in the pirate world."
The system immediately countered, insisting that it would indeed provide what was necessary.
"Three abilities?"
"What abilities?"
"Since you said it was random, why are you even asking!"
"...."
Kaito now agreed that artificial intelligence shouldn't have feelings; he just couldn't argue with it at all.
"Cough! Alright, let's begin drawing abilities."
The system cleared its throat and officially began the ability draw. Kaito wondered why a system would even need to cough.
In an instant, golden light burst forth, and somehow, even with his eyes closed, Kaito felt as though he was dreaming as images flashed in his mind.
"Three beams of golden light?"
"Is this the jackpot? A golden legend?"
Kaito murmured to himself, and the system ignored him. But the next second, Kaito coughed up blood—real, physical blood.
"Congratulations! You have obtained the ability 'Sickly Weak' (initial incomplete version)!"
(Just to clarify, because many readers might think that being sickly weak in the pirate world is useless. Kaito's Replication Fruit allows him to easily replicate others' abilities, including Haki, which would normally take a lot of training to master. So, in a way, this ability significantly mitigates his initial weakness. Once he replicates the Haki of characters like Rayleigh and Garp, he basically won't be weak anymore. Given that Kaito hasn't exercised for years, once he sets sail, he won't seem weak anymore. Why would he need to train if he can replicate abilities?)
The system's mechanical voice rang out, and Kaito felt as though he had just been struck by a boulder to the chest. He coughed up blood, embracing the sunlight.
Kaito was too exhausted to even curse the system.
"You call this golden? And this ability? Can't you keep that to yourself!!!"
"Also, what do you mean 'incomplete version'? Is there a complete version of sickly weak? Why not just take me with it?"
Kaito mentally cursed the system again and questioned its versioning system. But the system ignored him and continued to announce.
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Devil Fruit: Paramecia-type Replication Fruit."
"This fruit allows you to replicate the abilities of others and their techniques."
"This fruit has another true name, which awakens to restore the true name... for... beep～～"
The second draw granted him a Devil Fruit, which was indeed a local ability.
But as the system spoke, its voice began to glitch, like a phone with a poor signal, before abruptly cutting off with a beep.
"What the heck?"
Kaito was utterly confused. What was happening? Was it infected by a virus?
But the next second, he felt weightless and plummeted freely through the air.
This time, he couldn't keep his eyes shut.
Kaito suddenly opened his eyes wide.
It turned out he had been lying in mid-air, and now he was greeted by the blue sky and white clouds, with the sun playing hide-and-seek behind the clouds, drifting slowly like a white sea.
It was beautiful, but if Kaito weren't in free fall, he might have appreciated it more!
"Damn it!!!"
A loud shout expressed Kaito's feelings, much like the disappointment of ice cream falling to the ground before he could even take a bite.