"What a meaningless existence..." Lucius thought as he collected more coconuts from the beach to store in his makeshift shelter.
Lucius was a 28-year-old man who had always been passionate about teaching agriculture. After growing up on a farm, he decided to become a teacher at a rural school to pass on his knowledge to the next generation of farmers. Life was simple but fulfilling, even if it wasn't the most exciting.
Until one day, while checking moisture levels in a grain silo at Walker's Farm, he slipped on the metal ladder. The fall didn't kill him - it was the avalanche of corn that followed, slowly suffocating him as it filled his lungs. A rather undignified way to go, but at least it was quick.
Fortunately or unfortunately for Lucius, that wasn't the end. Instead of passing on to whatever afterlife he might have expected, he found himself washed up on what appeared to be a tropical island. Nothing but palm trees, white sand beaches, and an old abandoned shack as far as the eye could see.
For the first few days, he was hopeful that someone would find him. He made signal fires, wrote "HELP" in large letters on the beach, and kept watch for passing ships. But as the days turned into weeks with no sign of rescue, that hope began to fade.
Today marked his third week on the island, and Lucius was starting to question his sanity.
[System Installation Complete...]
[Initiating Primary Functions...]
Lucius nearly dropped his coconuts when these messages appeared floating in front of him!
"Oh God, I must have hit my head," he muttered, remembering the time he'd caught one of his students reading something called "Milf System" on his phone during class. He'd confiscated the device immediately after seeing inappropriate content about supernatural powers and harems.
[Sensei System Activated]
[Introduction: The host has been selected to utilize the Sensei System, a teaching-focused power system. The host will serve as a guide to worthy students, demonstrating and teaching various abilities while being unable to fully use them personally.]
[The host can use Sensei Points to teach techniques. Any treasure or currency found in this world can be converted to Sensei Points at a rate of 100 units for 0.1 Sensei Points. The more valuable the treasure, the more points it will provide. Additionally, when students reach certain loyalty levels, the host will receive Sensei Points as rewards. The more potential a student has, the greater these rewards will be. When a student reaches 100% loyalty, the host will receive a complete rebate of all points spent on that student, plus additional points based on any abilities the student already possessed.]
After reading this, Lucius had mixed feelings. On one hand, he was relieved it wasn't some perverted system like what his student had been reading. On the other hand, being told he could only teach abilities but not use them himself seemed like a cruel joke.
Looking around his shabby shelter, Lucius noticed it had transformed into a proper wooden dojo! The building seemed to have materialized out of nowhere, complete with training equipment and smooth bamboo floors.
"This can't be real," Lucius said to himself, but when he touched the wooden walls, they felt solid enough.
Opening the system interface again, Lucius saw several categories.
===============
[Internal Techniques]
[Talk no Jutsu (10,000 SP)]
[Chakra (75,000 SP)]
[Ki (100,000 SP)]
===============
[External Techniques]
[Fireball Jutsu (5,000 SP) Requirement: Chakra]
[Spirit Gun (10,000 SP) Requirement: Spiritual Energy]
[Wuxi Finger Hold (25,000 SP) Requirement: None]
===============
"What in the world?" Lucius muttered, scanning the strange names. "Talk no... Jutsu? Chakra? Are these Japanese words? And what's a Wuxi?" He'd never heard such bizarre terms in his life.
[System Message: Some external techniques require specific internal techniques to be taught first. These techniques build upon the foundation of internal energy systems. Other techniques can be taught immediately as they rely solely on physical ability.]
"So some of these need prerequisites... just like my agriculture classes," Lucius mused, trying to make sense of it all. "Can't learn about crop rotation without understanding basic soil science first."
Even though he searched through hundreds of options, most were far beyond his current 300 Sensei Points. However, at the bottom of the list, he found something interesting:
[Basic Six Powers Training - 200 SP]
[Description: Fundamental superhuman techniques which Includes Paper Art, Iron Body, Moon Walk, Finger Pistol, Tempest Kick, Shave. This is perfect for beginners.]
"At least these names make some kind of sense," Lucius said. "Though I'm not sure how paper art is supposed to be superhuman..."
While examining these options, Lucius suddenly heard voices coming from the jungle.
"Nami, are you sure this is the right way?" a nasally voice complained.
"Of course I'm sure! My navigation skills are perfect!" a female voice responded angrily.
"Ooh! Maybe there's meat on this island!" This voice sounded younger and more energetic.
"Luffy, you just ate an hour ago!" the first voice protested.
Through the palm trees emerged four figures. An orange-haired girl who seemed to be the leader, a boy with an unusually long nose, another boy wearing a straw hat, and a blue-haired girl wearing elegant clothes.
Lucius waved to them immediately. "Thank goodness you're here! I've been stuck on this island for weeks. Do you have a radio? Can you call for help?"
The group tensed at his sudden appearance, except for the boy in the straw hat who just grinned widely.
"What's a radio?" the straw hat boy asked, tilting his head.
"You know, for communication? To call a rescue helicopter?" Lucius explained, growing confused.
"I think he means an Electric Transmitter Snail," the orange-haired girl said thoughtfully.
"A what now?" Lucius blinked. "A snail for... communication?"
"Haven't you ever seen a Den Den Mushi before?" the long-nosed boy asked suspiciously.
"A den-den... what?" Lucius felt like he was having a stroke. "Look, I just need to contact the coast guard or-"
"Coast... guard?" the blue-haired girl asked politely. "Do you mean the Marines?"
"No, I mean- wait, what year is it?" Lucius asked suddenly.
The four strangers exchanged confused looks.
"Who are you?" the long-nosed boy demanded, his legs shaking slightly. "And have you seen our friends? One has green hair, and the other's blonde with a swirly eyebrow?"
"I'm Lucius Matthews, and no, you're the first people I've seen since..." he tried to explain about the grain silo and his death, but the words wouldn't come out. It was as if something was physically preventing him from mentioning his previous life.
"Since what?" the blue-haired girl asked kindly.
"Since... I woke up here," he finished lamely. "I honestly don't know how I got here. I thought I was somewhere in the Caribbean, but nothing makes sense anymore."
"The Grand Line can be confusing for newcomers," the blue-haired girl said sympathetically. "I'm Vivi, by the way."
The straw hat boy bounded forward, extending his hand. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Want to join my crew?"
"Luffy!" the orange-haired girl snapped. "You can't just recruit every random person we meet! I'm Nami, and this is Usopp," she added, gesturing to the long-nosed boy.
"But Nami, he looks interesting! And what's that cool building behind him?"
"That's right, where did this dojo come from?" Usopp asked suspiciously. "It wasn't here when we passed by earlier!"
Just then, new system messages appeared in Lucius's vision.
[First Potential Students Detected]
[Monkey D. Luffy - Potential Rating 5 star]
[Nami - Potential Rating 3 star]
[Usopp - Potential Rating 4 star]
[Vivi - Potential Rating 3 star]
[Warning: Follow the system or return to the dead]
Looking at his meager 300 Sensei Points, Lucius made a quick decision. He selected the Basic Six Powers Training package, watching his points drop to 100.
"Actually," he said with a smile, "this is my dojo. I'm a teacher, and I could show you some interesting techniques if you're willing to learn."
The straw hat boy's eyes lit up like stars. "Cooool! Can it make me stronger?"
"Luffy, we're supposed to be looking for Zoro and Sanji!" Usopp protested.
"But Usopp, getting stronger means we can find them faster!"
"He has a point," Nami mused. "And something about this feels... different from the usual suspicious characters we meet."
"I assure you I mean no harm," Lucius said, falling back into his teacher voice. "And while I can't explain exactly how I got here, I might be able to offer you something valuable in return for your help."
"Something valuable?" Nami's eyes suddenly gleamed with interest.
"Not treasure," Lucius clarified quickly, watching her excitement fade. "But knowledge. Special techniques that could make you stronger."
"Techniques? Like what?" Usopp asked skeptically.
Lucius smiled mysteriously, remembering the system's warning about returning to the dead. He couldn't reveal too much, but he needed to hook their interest. "Let's just say I've learned some... interesting abilities during my time here. Things that might seem impossible."
"COOL!" Luffy's eyes sparkled. "Like mystery powers? Show us!"
"It doesn't work that way," Lucius said carefully. "I can only teach. But if you're willing to learn..."
[Tutorial Quest Activated: Teach your first technique to earn bonus Sensei Points]
Looking at the eager face of the straw hat boy and the curious expressions of his companions, Lucius felt something he hadn't experienced since arriving on this strange island: hope.
Maybe dying and ending up here wasn't such a bad thing after all. He was still a teacher - just with some very unusual subjects to teach.