New World.
On an island somewhere in the latter half of the Grand Line.
Ding!
A crisp sound echoed!
A young man's eyes shot open abruptly.
"What's going on?"
He wasn't sure what had happened, only that his head was pounding as if it were going to explode.
"Ahhh!" he cried out in agony.
After a few seconds, the young man's eyes went blank and vacant.
"I am…." he murmured, confused.
"Monkey D. Luffy!"
"The Pirate King… Holy crap, I actually crossed over into another world!"
He scratched his head. Just a little while ago, he'd been laughing and drinking with his friends, clinking glasses, and celebrating the New Year.
But… somehow, he had started feeling unwell, then slowly blacked out. Now, as he reopened his eyes, he found himself here.
"This is the world of One Piece."
"And I've actually become Luffy?!"
He was processing this in utter disbelief. Once he gathered his scattered thoughts, he immediately understood.
This was the time period right after the War of the Best (Paramount War).
It hadn't been long since then.
"This is the place where Luffy trained during those two years."
After clearing his head, he started trying to adapt to his new body and surroundings.
One Piece.
In his former life, it was his all-time favorite anime.
He used to imagine what it would be like to live in the One Piece world.
And yet… here he was, for real, transmigrated into One Piece.
Not only had he crossed over; he'd even become the main character.
Monkey D. Luffy!
What a legendary name.
After two years of training, Luffy challenged and defeated Donquixote Doflamingo, the leader of the Donquixote Family and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Then he took down Katakuri of Big Mom's crew.
And… on Onigashima, he even defeated Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, ascending to the rank of a true powerhouse.
Afterward, he easily took on Admiral Kizaru. He was basking in endless glory.
Of course, as the main character, his future was bound to be thrilling.
In fact, no miracle would be too surprising.
Undoubtedly, Luffy was destined to reshape the world's order.
But… at this moment, he was utterly stunned.
Because… he had actually become Luffy.
How was he supposed to face the future?
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" he shouted, watching as his arm instantly stretched out.
Boom!
With one swift motion, he snapped a tree in two.
"Hmm!" He nodded in approval—the strength was pretty decent.
But… this was the training Luffy had done in his previous life.
If he wanted to keep progressing, he would need to take it to the next level, something he wasn't skilled at.
"I don't know the first thing about training," he muttered. "I'm just an ordinary guy, a regular working stiff. How am I supposed to handle this?"
"Maybe I should just give up?"
For some reason, he was actually considering quitting.
In his previous life, he had just been an average guy with a steady job, not particularly ambitious, just content with a simple life.
And now… he'd crossed over into Luffy's world, with all those high-stakes missions lying ahead.
"Ugh!" he sighed, shaking his head in frustration.
"No, I'm just going to find a quiet place to lay low."
"Hiding somewhere to peacefully live out my days has got to be a hundred times better than fighting all those world-class Entities. You lose in those fights, and it could cost you your life."
He muttered his plan to himself.
Despite…
Luffy's nearly limitless potential in his past life, he doubted he could replicate that same miracle here.
"I'm just a nobody," he admitted. "I'm not risking my life."
With a resigned sigh, he thought it might be best to live a different kind of life.
~---------------------------------------------------------
T/N:
The initial chapters of this novel are relatively short, but as the story progresses—especially after chapter 30—the word count will increase up to three times.
Access 30 chapters in advance on my Patreon: p@treon.com/dreamer20 (Replace @ with 'a')