Setting sail

"The hymn of humanity is a hymn to courage! Humanity's greatness is the greatness of courage!"

Lind stood on the shore and shouted at the sea.

"Waiting for a ship really was a dead end. In the end, I had to build one myself to set sail!"

"Conquering the sea takes courage, and I've got plenty! So what if I'm sailing alone? Luffy had the guts, so why shouldn't I? Let's do this!"

"Besides, I'm way better prepared than Luffy. I spent two years building this ship. What does he have that can compare? This ship definitely won't capsize. You have my word!"

Looking at the masterpiece he had spent two grueling years creating, Lind nodded in satisfaction and declared confidently.

More than two years had passed since Lind had last mutated a coconut into one that could awaken telekinesis.

Before he knew it, Lind had spent two and a half years in this world. This body had also turned seventeen, just the right age to set sail here.

For some unknown reason, he had never encountered another ship, and Lind was growing impatient.

So, over the course of two years, Lind had successfully built a seagoing vessel with his bare hands.

Although Lind had no intention of roaming the seas and only wanted to find a suitable island to lie low on, this island simply wasn't a good place to grow stronger.

Lind had no system, either. Becoming invincible while hiding away on such a tiny island was far too difficult, and he couldn't stand the loneliness.

Finally, two and a half years after arriving in this world, with nearly everything ready, Lind decided to leave this deserted island and seek out other people.

Over those two and a half years, Lind had mutated plants of every size on the island countless times. Although he hadn't produced any more plants as powerful as the Dragon Banana and Divine Dragon Coconut—names he had come up with himself—

He had still produced plenty that were only slightly less impressive.

For instance, there were durians that replenished stamina, durians that restored mental energy, durians that toughened the skin, and durians that healed injuries. They were all highly practical fruits.

There were also enormous blades of grass that could be stitched into sails, exceptionally hard giant trees, an unidentified resin that sealed better than rubber, flowers similar to a Log Pose, and a whole range of other miraculous plants.

Most notably, the flower that functioned as a Log Pose worked throughout the entire Grand Line.

It could even be used directly in the New World. The flower resembled a sunflower, except instead of facing the sun, it pointed toward the next island.

Only with this flower and a whole collection of useful plants did Lind dare to sail alone in an environment as extreme as the New World.

Of course, Lind's own strength was his greatest source of confidence. After all, he could now fly on a sword.

If he hadn't wanted to play it safe, Lind could have simply held the compass flower and ridden a large wooden board out to sea.

He could even have skipped the board and flown on a pillar like Mercenary Tao.

It wasn't as though Lind hadn't tried, either. It was just that by the time the compass flower bloomed, his ship was already nearly finished.

Besides, Lind had already flown several circuits around the surrounding area in his spare time, but he hadn't found any inhabited islands.

That was why Lind decided to play it safe and build a ship to set sail.

Only now, after two and a half years, had Lind fully prepared on every front.

"I'll set sail tomorrow. Today, I'll take one last good look at what I need. As for everything on the island, I'll leave it as a gift for whoever comes after me."

"I wonder which lucky soul will receive this gift from nature."

Soon, Lind had gathered seeds from every valuable plant or plant with an unusual function and put them aboard the ship.

Over those two and a half years, Lind had also tried growing the mutated plants. To his delight, he discovered that the mutations seemed to directly alter their genes and could be inherited.

Although their effects might not match those of the first generation, they were still quite good.

Even if Lind himself had little use for them, they would be excellent for training his future underlings.

After all, every protagonist in a farming story had a whole crew of powerful underlings. He certainly had to prepare for that in advance.

"There's water and food, too. Good thing I mutated that preservative resin earlier. Otherwise, the fruit alone would spoil in no time."

"As for meat, I can just fish at sea. Shame that after two and a half years of mutations, I still haven't produced a single plant like rice or millet. I'll have to buy some seeds to mutate once I reach an inhabited island."

"And water... My Fountain of Life! I can't take it with me. That hurts."

Lind checked the supplies he needed for the voyage, grumbling all the while.

The so-called Fountain of Life had originally been a pool formed by rainwater collecting on the island. One day, on a whim, Lind had decided to see whether water could be mutated.

Not only had the water mutated, but the pool itself had turned into a special structure, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for Lind.

Since the mutated pool could continuously produce spring water that healed injuries, Lind had named it the Fountain of Life.

Naming his mutated creations was one of the few forms of entertainment Lind had in his life on the deserted island.

Before long, the sun set and the moon rose.

Lind sat by the window, gazing at the sea outside with a wistful feeling.

After more than nine hundred days of work, his once crude shelter had become a lovely little cabin.

Using his powerful telekinesis, Lind had also crafted all sorts of fine furniture, piece by piece, and placed them throughout the wooden cabin.

"I've wanted to leave all this time, but now that I'm about to go, I'm actually a little reluctant. These two and a half years feel more fulfilling than the twenty-odd years before them."

"Ah, who knows when I'll come back next? Will this little house still be here when I do? Will someone else have moved in?"

"Maybe retiring here when I'm old wouldn't be so bad."

"Enough thinking! Time for bed! Tomorrow is a fresh start!"

After spending so long alone on a deserted island, he had developed a habit of talking to himself and letting his thoughts wander, especially before bed.

The thought of setting sail tomorrow left Lind too excited to sleep. His mind kept wandering until, in the end, he didn't even know how he had fallen asleep.

"Ah! I actually forgot something this important!"

When Lind woke early the next morning and looked at the ship he had built, he suddenly realized something was missing!

"What should I name the ship? Should I carve the name into it? Back when I watched One Piece in my previous life, did the ships have their names carved on them?"

"And a flag. If I'm not going to be a pirate, should I paint something on the sail?"

"Might as well do it all. Following this world's style, I'll call it the Leishierni—in other words, the Wanderer."

"As for the flag, how about a Roc, just like the figurehead?"

Lind got straight to work. Using a red resin, he quickly painted the ship's name on its side, then painted a lifelike Roc on its sail.

"Everything's ready. Absolutely perfect!"

Lind stood on the shore, looking at his masterpiece with great excitement.

"Set sail!"

Lind used his telekinesis to place the ship on the sea, then stood on the bow and shouted, waving his hand.

With another thought, the anchor rose automatically and the sails unfurled according to Lind's wishes. The ship slowly began moving in the direction the compass flower pointed.

There was no denying how useful telekinesis was. So many troublesome tasks could be handled effortlessly just by unleashing it.

To have mutated a fruit as overpowered as the Divine Dragon Coconut, Lind must have saved the galaxy two lifetimes ago to deserve such luck.

Standing on the bow, Lind watched the sea, calm for the moment, as countless thoughts swirled through his mind. He had no idea how this voyage would turn out.

Although he had been brimming with confidence before leaving, now that he was actually underway, he couldn't help worrying whether his telekinesis could contend with the New World's insane weather.

Just how strong am I, really?

Can I stand up to those powerful, evil pirates in the New World?

"Here's hoping for smooth sailing. I'm not asking for much. Just an inhabited little island where I can lie low and grow stronger."

"It'd be even better if I had a way to get news of the outside world and somewhere to learn swordsmanship."

"Although I've already learned the Sword-Flight Technique through telekinesis, forget a Flying Slash-I can't even unleash sword energy. I'd be embarrassed to call myself a swordsman out there."

"I don't understand swordsmanship at all. All I know is the Breath of All Things. That guy Oda definitely doesn't understand swordsmanship. Sword energy, Flying Slashes-he left some massive gaps there!"

"I have to find somewhere to learn the basics. Otherwise, I'll have to stick to taking an enemy's head from a kilometer away and be a good marksman in this world where swordsmen are all powerful mages."

"Just like Di Renjie, except he uses flying cards, and I use flying swords!"

Sailing alone was incredibly boring. For the moment, Lind didn't feel like training his body or telekinesis, so all he could do was let his mind wander aboard the ship and stare blankly at the sea.

Occasionally, he would also use telekinesis to catch a bird from the sky or a fish from the sea and unleash his mutation ability on it, to see which lucky fish might become a chosen one.

He had kept this up for more than two years. As for the consequences, and what impact it might have on the sea?

Lind couldn't have cared less. Perhaps that was simply the nature of someone who lived for amusement.