East Blue.
Goa Kingdom.
Waters near Koto Island.
The vast, boundless blue sea stretched beneath a cloudless sky.
A lavish banquet was underway aboard a luxury yacht, lively and extravagant.
The crowd bustled about as the guests clinked glasses, chatted, and laughed.
It was a splendid scene, like the pleasure quarters of the Celestial Empire's imperial capital.
A young man with green hair was chatting animatedly with a pretty girl with short orange hair.
One moment, he made exaggerated, witty faces; the next, he raised his glass and toasted her with a flirtatious smile.
At that moment, as though they had reached some amusing topic, the orange-haired woman covered her face and laughed.
It was a lovely, romantic scene, suffused with pink.
Meanwhile, a burly sailor was working hard to haul up a barrel drifting aimlessly across the sea.
A smile spread across his face, as though he'd found a treasure.
The barrel might hold something valuable.
Fine wine, perhaps? It might even contain gold and silver.
The idea was absurd, but you had to have dreams. What if one came true?
A windfall might come like a storm, without warning.
A seagull rode the breeze, gliding leisurely over the yacht.
Just then,
a watery ripple appeared in the empty air above the green-haired young man and the pretty orange-haired woman.
Bang!
A short-haired man wearing a white T-shirt and black casual trousers fell out of the phantom ripple in midair.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Moya cursed under his breath in the finest Celestial Empire fashion, thoroughly bewildered.
Rubbing his sore, numb lower back, Moya looked around.
His eyes widened, and shock seized him.
All around him, people with brightly colored hair were pointing at him and speaking in a language whose sounds reminded him of some island nation.
Had he stumbled into a gathering of the Fashionable Hair Kingdom?
Moya quickly composed himself, forcing himself to joke about it.
He tried to piece together what had happened. He'd been on a rooftop, wanting to see the rare celestial spectacle known as the Great Conjunction of Nine Planets.
Some news outlets and self-proclaimed media personalities had been hyping the once-in-a-millennium wonder nonstop. It was practically an information bombardment.
Still, they'd managed to pique Moya's curiosity, so he'd gone up to the rooftop to see the so-called spectacle.
But without any astronomical equipment, he'd ended up seeing absolutely nothing.
Then he'd noticed something unreal appear in front of him. Thinking he'd watched too much anime and television and played too many games, he'd assumed his eyes were playing tricks on him and reached out to touch it.
And then... there was no then. He'd just abruptly fallen into this place.
There'd been no eerie black hole, no thunderous crash from the sky, no lightning, and no getting struck by it.
He hadn't been hit by a car or flushed away in a toilet, and there certainly hadn't been any dazzling special effects.
Had he transmigrated?
Was this a transmigration within his own world?
Or had he ended up in another world?
Couldn't they at least give him a little scientific explanation?!
A wormhole? A space jump?
Or was it just, "When in doubt, blame quantum mechanics"?
Moya's thoughts returned to the present.
Looking at the chattering crowd of Fashionable Hair nobles, he felt as if he were witnessing the glorious heyday of the Celestial Empire's post-nineties generation.
Ignoring the crowd, Moya sat upright, slowly pressed his hands together, and closed his eyes. His expression was reverent, almost saintly.
Inside, however, he was desperately calling for help, panicking like crazy.
"Is the God of Transmigration there?"
"Is there a wise old soul in my head?"
"Is my cheat code here?"
"Is the system there? Could you send me a beginner's transmigration pack?"
"If anyone's there, please answer... Jade Emperor, the Heavenly Master, Buddha, God, Allah—anyone!"
Everyone, Moya included, stood there stunned for a long while, but nothing seemed to happen.
It was as if a flock of crows were slowly flying past through the air.
An awkward silence began to spread.
Moya was mortified. The worst part was that even the language was completely incomprehensible!
How was he supposed to get by? Damn it! He wanted to go home, go home!
The green-haired man stared at him in confusion and shouted, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Where did you come from?"
But to Moya, that high-minded triple question sounded like nothing but "#￥%#￥@..."—a jumble of noise.
He could only ask the heavens for help.
As Moya wondered how he might bluff his way through, he suddenly noticed the familiar-looking face of the orange-haired beauty beside him.
He stared at the pretty orange-haired woman in surprise and asked, "Are you Nami?"
The orange-haired woman's pupils contracted. Though Moya's pronunciation of Nami, in the Celestial Empire accent, sounded a little different from the name as pronounced in this world, Nami was clever enough to guess that he might have recognized her.
Nami didn't want the people aboard the ship to learn who she was. After all, she was one of Arlong's Fish-Man Pirates, nicknamed the Cat Burglar!
Figuring it was best to strike first, Nami quickly stepped forward and aimed a kick between Moya's legs, hoping to take him down in one blow.
At the same time, she shouted slyly, "This guy's the pervert who tried to assault me earlier!"
Seeing Nami's hostile expression and her charge, Moya knew he was in trouble.
Had he mistaken her? Was this not the world of One Piece?
But his body didn't just stand there like an idiot. As the beautiful woman who looked so much like Nami kicked at his most precious asset, Moya panicked, hopping backward again and again to dodge her blow. He was about to curse her out when—
Boom! Bang!
Suddenly, explosions and splintering wood rang out outside. The entire yacht rocked from side to side, and dishes, bowls, and cups clattered to the floor.
Only then did Moya realize he was aboard a ship.
A moment later, a sailor outside screamed, "Pirates are attacking! Get your weapons! Guards! Guards, assemble!"
The banquet descended into chaos. The Fashionable Hair crowd scattered in every direction, and the green-haired man fell to the ground, trembling as he said, "Everyone, please stay calm! Stay calm!"
As he spoke, the green-haired man himself started running around in a panic, disappearing somewhere into the crowd.
Moya couldn't understand what they were shouting, but one look at the disorderly crowd was enough.
He didn't need a brain to know something serious had happened.
Then he saw the woman who looked like Nami take the opportunity to run off.
Moya didn't bother with her. He couldn't do anything about it anyway. He couldn't even understand the language, and he didn't seem to be a match for her in a fight.
He hurriedly looked around, then ran with the crowd, like a headless fly.
He hadn't just stumbled into a terrorist attack, had he? Where the hell had he transmigrated to?!
Was this some island nation's tourist ship passing through Somali waters?
Surely no tourist ship could be that stupid. Who would sail around in a pirate haven?
And was that orange-haired girl really Nami? Was this really the world of One Piece?
There'd been too little time, too much happening, and his thoughts were a mess. He couldn't understand the language.
Moya's mind was a blur. He couldn't think straight; his brain felt completely blank.
Before you continue