I washed ashore as the sun began to set.
The waves carried me the last few dozen meters, depositing me onto wet sand like a piece of flotsam. I lay there for a long time, face down, tasting salt and grit, too exhausted to move. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest. My lungs burned. My heart pounded like it was trying to escape my chest.
But I was alive. Somehow, impossibly, I was still alive.
When I finally found the strength to roll over, I stared up at the orange and pink sky, watching the clouds drift past. Pretty. Peaceful. A strange contrast to the horror I'd just escaped.
Captain Harkon. Tomas. All of them, dead. Slaughtered like animals.
The memory made my stomach lurch. I turned my head and vomited seawater onto the sand, my body convulsing with the effort. When the heaving finally stopped, I felt even weaker than before.
"System," I croaked. "Status."
[YANG ENERGY: 1/100 - CRITICAL]
[BODY DEGRADATION: 31%]
[TIME REMAINING: 139 HOURS]
[WARNING: DEGRADATION RATE CONTINUES TO ACCELERATE]
[FIND COMPATIBLE PARTNER IMMEDIATELY]
Thirty-one percent degradation. I'd lost three percent just from swimming to shore. At this rate, I'd be dead in days even without the countdown.
Get up. Move. Find people. Find women.
I forced myself to sit up. The world spun violently, and I had to brace my hands against the sand to keep from toppling over. Deep breaths. In and out. Waiting for the dizziness to pass.
When I could finally see straight, I looked around properly for the first time.
The beach stretched in both directions, curving around a natural harbor. Beyond the sand, a town rose up against the hillside. Wooden buildings with thatched roofs. Cobblestone streets winding between them. Lanterns beginning to flicker to life as evening approached.
Civilization. People. Hope.
I climbed to my feet, swaying like a drunk. My legs felt like they were made of rubber, threatening to collapse with every step. But I forced them to move anyway, stumbling up the beach toward the town.
One foot in front of the other. That's all you have to do. One foot in front of the other.
The town was called Shells Town, according to a sign near the harbor.
The name triggered a memory from my past life. This was where Luffy first met Zoro, where a corrupt Marine captain named Morgan ruled with an iron fist. Which meant I was early in the timeline, before the Straw Hats had even formed.
Useful information, maybe. But not immediately helpful.
The streets were busy despite the late hour. Fishermen hauling in their catches. Merchants closing up their stalls. Housewives hurrying home with baskets of groceries. Marines in white uniforms patrolling in pairs, hands resting on their swords.
And women. Plenty of women.
"System. Scan for compatible partners."
[SCANNING...]
[COMPATIBLE PARTNER DETECTED: 34% - NOT RECOMMENDED]
[COMPATIBLE PARTNER DETECTED: 29% - NOT RECOMMENDED]
[COMPATIBLE PARTNER DETECTED: 41% - BELOW MINIMUM THRESHOLD]
The numbers floated in my vision, appearing briefly above each woman I passed. Low thirties. High twenties. Occasional forties. Nothing even close to the 60% minimum the system had mentioned.
I kept walking, scanning everyone I passed. A baker's wife kneading dough through a shop window. 33%. A young woman haggling with a fishmonger. 38%. A pair of girls giggling together near a fountain. 31% and 27%.
Come on. There has to be someone.
But the numbers stayed stubbornly low. After an hour of wandering, the highest compatibility I'd found was 47%. A middle-aged woman running a textile shop. Not bad looking, but the system had been clear. Below 60%, the energy transfer would be too weak to stabilize my condition.
I needed someone higher. Much higher.
The weakness was getting worse. By the time full darkness fell, I could barely stay upright. My vision kept blurring at the edges. My thoughts felt sluggish and disconnected, like my brain was running on fumes.
I found a cheap inn near the docks and traded one of the few coins I'd salvaged from my original clothes for a room. It was tiny and grimy, with a lumpy mattress and a window that didn't quite close. But it was shelter.
I collapsed onto the bed without undressing, asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Morning came too soon.
I woke to sunlight streaming through the dirty window, my body aching in places I didn't know could ache. For a moment I just lay there, staring at the water-stained ceiling, trying to gather the strength to move.
"System. Status."
[YANG ENERGY: 1/100 - CRITICAL]
[BODY DEGRADATION: 36%]
[TIME REMAINING: 131 HOURS]
Five percent degradation overnight, just from sleeping. The numbers were getting worse faster than I'd expected.
Five and a half days left. And my body is already more than a third destroyed.
I forced myself out of bed. Every joint protested, every muscle screaming. The weakness had settled deep into my bones now, making even simple movements feel like monumental efforts.
But I couldn't rest. Couldn't wait. Every hour I spent lying around was another hour closer to death.
I stumbled out of the inn and into the morning streets.
The second day was worse than the first.
I walked through Shells Town for hours, scanning every woman I passed. The system worked tirelessly, flashing numbers above heads like a twisted video game.
32%. 41%. 28%. 45%. 37%. 39%.
Hundreds of women. None above 50%.
What's wrong with this town? Is everyone here just fundamentally incompatible with me?
By midday, the exhaustion was overwhelming. I found a bench in the town square and collapsed onto it, breathing hard from the simple exertion of walking. People passed by without a second glance. Just another tired stranger in a town full of them.
A commotion near the Marine base caught my attention. A crowd had gathered, murmuring and pointing. I was too tired to go investigate, but snippets of conversation drifted over.
"...Roronoa Zoro, they say..."
"...tied up for three weeks without food or water..."
"...Morgan's son accused him, but everyone knows the truth..."
Zoro. The pirate hunter who would become one of Luffy's first crewmates. So he was already captured, waiting for Luffy to come free him.
Which means Luffy will arrive soon. And with Luffy comes Nami.
The thought sparked a tiny flame of hope in my chest. Nami was one of the most beautiful women in One Piece. Smart, cunning, driven. If anyone would have high compatibility, it would be her.
But when would she arrive? The timeline in my memories was fuzzy. Days? Weeks? I didn't have weeks. I barely had days.
Can't count on maybes. Need to find someone now.
I pushed myself up from the bench and resumed my search.
By evening, I'd covered most of the town twice over. The highest compatibility I'd found was 52%. A young widow who ran a small bakery near the edge of town. Pretty enough, with sad eyes and flour-dusted hands.
52% wasn't enough. The system had been clear. Below 60%, the energy transfer would be insufficient to halt the degradation. I might buy myself a few extra hours, but it wouldn't save me.
I needed someone better. Someone special.
But there was no one.
I trudged back to the inn as darkness fell, my body screaming with every step. The innkeeper gave me a strange look as I passed. I probably looked like death warmed over. Pale, sweating, barely able to walk straight.
Because that's exactly what I am. Death, slowly warming over.
I made it to my room and collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to remove my shoes. The ceiling swam above me, the water stains seeming to move and shift like living things.
"System," I whispered. "Status."
[YANG ENERGY: 1/100 - CRITICAL]
[BODY DEGRADATION: 41%]
[TIME REMAINING: 123 HOURS]
[WARNING: HOST APPROACHING MOBILITY THRESHOLD]
[AT 50% DEGRADATION, PHYSICAL MOVEMENT WILL BECOME SEVERELY LIMITED]
[FIND COMPATIBLE PARTNER IMMEDIATELY]
Forty-one percent. Almost halfway to complete failure. And the warning about mobility was new. At fifty percent, I'd barely be able to move.
Which means I have maybe one more day of searching before I'm bedridden. One day to find someone compatible enough to save my life.
Sleep came hard that night. When it finally took me, it was filled with nightmares of drowning and burning ships and dead men with empty eyes.
The third day.
I woke feeling worse than ever. The degradation had climbed to 44% overnight. Three percent in one night of sleep. The rate was definitely accelerating.
Getting out of bed took almost ten minutes. My body felt like it was made of lead, every limb heavy and unresponsive. The walk down the stairs nearly killed me. I had to stop twice, clinging to the railing, waiting for the dizziness to pass.
One more day. That's all I have. One more day before I can't move at all.
The streets of Shells Town seemed different this morning. Busier, maybe. More tense. Marines moved in larger groups, their hands on their weapons. Townspeople hurried past with their heads down, avoiding eye contact.
Something was happening. Something big.
I didn't have the energy to care. All that mattered was the search. One more sweep of the town. One last desperate attempt to find someone who could save me.
The system scanned automatically as I walked, numbers flashing through my vision.
33%. 38%. 29%. 44%. 41%. 36%.
Nothing. No one. The same low numbers I'd seen for two days straight.
Maybe I should try the bakery woman. 52% might not be enough, but it's better than nothing. Better than dying without trying.
I was halfway to her shop when the system suddenly flared with a new alert.
[ALERT: HIGH COMPATIBILITY PARTNER DETECTED]
[DISTANCE: 200 METERS EAST]
[COMPATIBILITY: CALCULATING...]
My heart lurched. High compatibility? Here? Now?
I turned east, ignoring the protest of my exhausted body. 200 meters. I could make it 200 meters.
Where? Who?
[DISTANCE: 150 METERS]
[COMPATIBILITY: 92%]
Ninety-two percent. The number blazed in my vision like a beacon of hope. That was incredible. Far above the minimum threshold. Far above anything I'd seen in this town.
I pushed through the crowd, stumbling and weaving between people. 100 meters. 50 meters. My legs threatened to give out with every step, but I forced them to keep moving.
And then I saw her.
Orange hair, bright as sunset, tied back in a loose ponytail. A fitted blue shirt that hugged her curves. A short skirt that showed off long, toned legs. Sharp brown eyes scanning the street with predatory awareness.
She was walking out of an alley, a bulging bag tucked under her arm. Stolen goods, probably. Her movements were confident, practiced. A professional at work.
Nami.
She was here. In Shells Town. Right now, right in front of me.
The system confirmed what I already knew.
[COMPATIBLE PARTNER IDENTIFIED]
[NAME: UNKNOWN - SCANNING...]
[COMPATIBILITY: 92%]
[YIN ENERGY RESERVES: HIGH]
[RECOMMENDATION: INITIATE CONTACT IMMEDIATELY]
Ninety-two percent. High yin energy reserves. She was exactly what I needed.
I took one step toward her.
My legs finally gave out.
The cobblestones rushed up to meet me, and I barely got my arms up in time to break my fall. Pain shot through my wrists and knees. My vision blurred, darkened at the edges.
No. Not now. Not when I'm so close.
I tried to push myself up. Failed. Tried again. My arms trembled and collapsed.
Footsteps approached. A shadow fell over me.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
Her voice. Sharp and wary, but with an undercurrent of something else. Concern, maybe. Or curiosity.
I managed to raise my head just enough to see her face. She was crouched beside me, her expression a mixture of suspicion and reluctant interest.
"Help," I croaked. "Please. I'm dying."
Her eyes narrowed. "Dying? You don't look sick. You look..."
She trailed off, studying me more closely. Whatever she saw made her frown deepen.
"You look like death warmed over," she finished. "What happened to you?"
I opened my mouth to respond.
Darkness swallowed me whole.