Since being accepted as a volunteer, Ginro had imagined countless possibilities for the secret realm he was about to enter.
But no matter how wild his guesses became, he never once dared to imagine that it would be an anime world he had watched in his previous life—
One Piece.
Wait.
If this really was One Piece, then something felt… off.
[Strategy Completion Inference:
Become the Pirate King, or prevent the birth of a new Pirate King]
[Map Reconstruction:
According to explored intelligence, the Navy & Pirates Secret Realm is divided into four seas—East, South, West, and North—converging at the center into the Grand Line.
The treasure of the previous Pirate King lies on one of the islands along the Grand Line.
After entering the secret realm, all explorers will be randomly teleported to an island.
In the first two explorations, all teleportation points were islands in the East Blue.
The Pirate King Gol D. Roger also set sail from an island in the East Blue.
It can therefore be inferred that the East Blue is the key region, and the most prosperous of the four seas.]
Ginro's expression didn't change.
A small mistake—normal, totally normal.
The East Blue wasn't the strongest sea.
It was the weakest.
[The East Blue is home to a pirate overlord named Kurikku.
During the first exploration, military personnel tested Kurikku's strength and evaluated him at mid–blue tier.
From this, it is inferred that pirates of the Grand Line are mostly high–blue tier to low–purple tier, not exceeding high–purple tier.
Thus, the overall difficulty of the secret realm is assessed as purple.
The pinnacle of pirates in this era are known as the "Four Emperors"—four great pirates closest to the title of Pirate King.
Explorers are advised to accumulate strength in the East Blue, master the secret realm's power systems, defeat Kurikku, then enter the Grand Line.
There, they may seek opportunities to probe the strength of the Four Emperors, gathering more detailed intelligence for future explorers.]
Ginro frowned slightly.
You've already graduated elementary school—maybe it's time to try a millennium-level problem?
[Regarding the power system of the secret realm: technology and individual combat strength coexist.
Firearms possess tremendous power, but individual strength can be trained to the level of dodging bullets or shattering rock with bare fists.
Swordsmanship is also a popular combat path.
After entering the secret realm, the natural limits of the human body will be adjusted to the realm's average standard.
With training, steady improvement is guaranteed.
Special note: within the secret realm exists a miraculous fruit known as the Devil Fruit.
These fruits are extremely rare. Consuming one grants extraordinary power, but curses the user with weakness to seawater, causing total fatigue upon contact.
Each person may only consume one Devil Fruit.
If ten or more Devil Fruits can be collected and distributed by the team leader, there may be a chance to defeat a Four Emperor and challenge the Pirate King's throne…
This inference requires verification. Explorers are advised to proceed cautiously.]
What…?
Ginro almost lost his composure.
Is this really a matter of "caution"?!
He quickly continued reading.
Known Devil Fruit types.
Figures and factions requiring attention.
Key islands.
The overarching presence of the World Government…
It wasn't completely useless—
—but it was riddled with errors.
In the first two explorations, explorers never even left the East Blue.
Everything about the Grand Line was speculation.
All of it was pieced together from newspapers.
They didn't even mention the "New World" or "Haki"!
Kurikku?
What kind of bottom-tier trash was Kurikku, that his strength was being used to estimate the Four Emperors?
Yes—this was what felt wrong.
If Purple Secret Realm No. 605 truly corresponded to the One Piece world Ginro knew,
and Kurikku was only rated mid–blue tier—
then the One Piece world absolutely should not be a mere purple-difficulty secret realm.
Doflamingo alone had the power to destroy nations.
Let alone the Four Emperors and the Admirals—walking natural disasters.
Their strength could never be described as "shattering rocks or breaking rivers."
At minimum—
It should be Red-tier Purgatory.
Or even—
Golden Legend.
Whoever analyzed this intelligence deserved a court-martial.
The initial excitement Ginro felt upon realizing this was the One Piece world slowly faded.
This wasn't an easy world to survive in.
He steadied his emotions and began reading more carefully.
Though more than half of the document conflicted with his knowledge,
there was still usable information—at least within the East Blue.
Two explorations.
Two hundred explorers.
Random teleportation across the East Blue.
Their footprints covered nearly half of the region's islands.
Yet in the anime itself, fewer than ten East Blue islands were ever named.
The traits and events of these islands were what Ginro needed to memorize most.
Time passed quietly.
The military transport carrying the four of them gradually merged with other vehicles and led the convoy out of Tiger City.
When the mist that perpetually shrouded Mist Star enveloped the convoy,
the four explorers—who had been silently reading intelligence for over an hour—lifted their heads at the same time.
"Finished reading?" the soldier driving asked.
"We'll reach the secret realm entrance shortly. Any questions?"
The four exchanged glances.
Marcus Zhang, the weathered middle-aged man, spoke first.
"Sir… this secret realm—piracy seems like a common profession.
If we become pirates, we might end up looting, maybe even killing or burning things down.
After leaving the realm… will we be held accountable?"
"That's a scary way to put it—killing and arson…"
Setsuna Jiang's face paled slightly.
"Sir, are the pirates in the secret realm… very brutal?
If we get captured—"
"Don't call me 'sir.'
My name is Lt. Kael."
"Yes," Lt. Kael continued calmly.
"The outcome wouldn't be good. Female explorers in particular must be cautious.
As for the first question—the answer is 'moderation.'
Within the secret realm, unavoidable events, battles, and casualties may occur.
But you must never treat the secret realm as a game to indulge dark impulses or slaughter civilians.
If such actions are discovered, you will be isolated and imprisoned upon exiting the realm."
Marcus Zhang smiled.
"Understood, sir. Just asking."
Lt. Kael didn't correct him again.
His gaze shifted in the rearview mirror, landing on Ginro and Yoru Blaze.
"And you two?"
"I'm good!"
Yoru Blaze looked impatient, itching to charge in and show his strength.
Ginro thought for a moment, then asked:
"If we defeat the pirate overlord Kurikku inside the realm,
can we obtain a secret sigil when we leave?"
"Yes.
You'll receive a white-grade sigil.
That alone is enough to elevate an ordinary person to a one-sigil warrior—
Punching power nearing a thousand pounds,
a 100-meter dash in under nine seconds,
barely stepping beyond normal human limits."
Ginro nodded slightly.
He now had a rough idea of how secret sigils were obtained—
Possess sufficient strength.
Create an event with meaningful impact.
Then receive a sigil as a reward.
But a one-sigil warrior…
That was far from enough.
Marcus Zhang sighed.
"Young people really have drive.
East Blue pirate overlord, mid–blue tier—doesn't sound easy at all."
Setsuna Jiang brushed her hair aside and added softly:
"Little Ginro's young, but he's got guts…"
"No further questions?" Lt. Kael asked again.
"Then listen carefully to the additional precautions for this expedition."
All four immediately focused.
"First.
This Purple No. 605 exploration includes ninety-nine participants—
Three team leaders,
Ninety-six volunteer explorers,
Divided into nineteen teams of four."
The four exchanged looks again.
Lt. Kael nodded.
"You are Team One.
I hope you take first place in this exploration as well.
Shortly, the four of you will enter the secret realm channel simultaneously.
Doing so will place your teleportation zones closer together.
If you encounter each other inside, look out for one another.
Do not kill your compatriots without cause."
Without cause?
Ginro caught the ambiguous phrasing, but wasn't surprised.
Hometown allies stabbing each other in the back.
A foreign world.
Conflicting interests.
Perfectly normal.
"Second.
Remember this address—
407 Loguetown, East Blue.
The three team leaders will secure ownership of the residence as quickly as possible.
After one month inside the realm,
if you've established yourselves,
send letters there to help construct the explorer intelligence network.
If you can include your Den Den Mushi number, even better.
Every useful piece of intelligence will be converted into money and benefits after the expedition,
distributed to you and your families.
You were all informed of this before volunteering."
"But remember this!"
Lt. Kael's tone suddenly dropped.
"Do not reveal anything about our world in your letters.
Do not proactively disclose even the slightest detail to anyone inside the secret realm.
If you violate this rule—
a sudden catastrophe will occur within the realm and erase you completely.
Death is guaranteed."
Feels like a main-god space, Ginro thought.
Setsuna Jiang stammered:
"C-catastrophe? What kind?"
"Who knows? Lightning? Man-made disaster?"
Lt. Kael shook his head.
"You only need to remember the rule.
The secret realm is conscious. Otherwise, it wouldn't reward us with sigils after completion.
At the same time, it grants us its greatest convenience—
language.
After entering, you'll naturally be able to understand and speak the realm's language."
"Finally—the third, and most important point."
Lt. Kael slammed the brakes and turned around.
"Survive.
Come back alive.
Nothing matters more than that."
They had arrived.
The secret realm entrance.
Lt. Kael exited the vehicle and opened the doors for the four.
Behind them, the other transport vehicles remained parked in a line, doors unopened.
As Ginro stepped down, he noticed that even the windshield of the vehicle behind them was covered by a thin film—
He couldn't see inside.
Not the vehicle.
Not the people.
Do they wait until we enter before letting the second team out?
This level of caution—
Explorers didn't even know what other explorers looked like outside their team.
Oh right.
My dad's a demon.
Yeah.
Caution made sense.
Ginro felt he could understand everything now.
He turned back, awe flickering across his face.
High above the sky—
A golden light.
Under its radiance, the mist parted like fragile silk, effortlessly melted away.
A colossal vortex appeared, spinning slowly—its boundaries impossible to measure with the naked eye.
Along its edges flowed blazing runes, like liquid fire forming a passageway.
"That," Lt. Kael announced loudly,
"is the secret realm channel."
"Team One—move out!"
Yoru Blaze stepped forward eagerly.
Setsuna Jiang's expression was bitter as she moved step by step.
Marcus Zhang walked on her left, a faint, inexplicable smile on his face.
Ginro walked on her right, solemn and focused.
One after another, the four entered the channel.
Only then did a tall, thin soldier step down from the second transport vehicle.
He walked over, smiling.
"So, Lt. Kael—how's Team One?"
"Please address me properly, Deputy Leader Zhou."
"Alright, alright—Leader, Leader.
But answer me—how are they?"
"Just like the background checks," Lt. Kael said.
"Not a single one is simple.
But exploration also depends on luck.
Let's hope they gain something."
(Let me know what you think of this novel in the comments!)
Every 10 powerstones I'll post 1 extra chapter!