Chapter 1
The sun hung low over the East Blue, painting the waves of Foorshia Village in hues of molten gold and bruised purple. It was a peaceful sight, the kind of vista that belonged on a postcard, but for the young man sitting on the jagged edge of the cliffside, it felt like a dream he hadn't quite woken up from yet.
He ran a hand through his hair—thick, dark, and soft—and caught his reflection in a small pool of rainwater trapped in the hollow of a rock. Even with a smudge of dirt on his cheek, the face staring back was unnervingly perfect. He had sharp, aristocratic features softened by a natural, easy-going warmth in his eyes. He looked like the protagonist of a high-budget idol drama, or perhaps a god who had tripped and fallen into a sleepy fishing village.
"Aryan D. Sepharot," he whispered, testing the weight of the name.
It was a strange coincidence. In his past life, he had been Aryan, a high schooler who hadn't really asked for much. He'd been the guy who laughed too loud at bad jokes, the one who couldn't stand to see someone getting bullied, and ultimately, the one who didn't think twice before stepping between a terrified girl and a jagged blade. The cold steel, the spreading warmth of blood, the fading sirens—it should have been the end.
But the universe, or whatever entity managed the "Game Over" screen, had other plans.
He stood up, stretching his limbs. He felt lighter, stronger, and more vibrant than he ever had in his previous life. He was seventeen again, reborn into a world of endless blue and impossible dreams. And he wasn't alone.
[System Initialization Complete.]
[Host: Aryan D. Sepharot]
[Supreme Comprehension System Active.]
The translucent blue screen flickered in his vision, as unobtrusive as a passing thought. He chuckled, a bright, infectious sound that seemed to make the nearby gulls tilt their heads in curiosity. He wasn't the brooding type; he couldn't be even if he tried. If life gave him a second chance in a world as wild as One Piece, he was going to enjoy every single second of it, serious stakes be damned.
"A week," he mused, looking toward the village docks where a small, unassuming boat was being tied down. "One week until Luffy sets sail. I guess I've got some time to kill."
He began walking back toward the village, his gait relaxed and bouncy, reminiscent of a certain pink-haired sorcerer he'd once admired. As he reached the outskirts of the town, he saw a group of local fishermen struggling with a massive, rusted winch meant for hauling in the heavy deep-sea nets.
"Heave! Come on, you lot! If we don't get this fixed, the catch will rot by morning!" the foreman shouted, his face purple with exertion.
Aryan stopped. He watched the way the gears ground together, the specific angle of the tension, and the structural weakness in the rusted pivot.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: Mechanical Engineering & Structural Integrity...]
[Comprehension Complete. Skill Acquired: Master Architect's Insight.]
A flood of information rushed into his mind—not painful, but like a memory he had simply forgotten and suddenly recalled. He saw the "flow" of the machine.
"Hey! Need a hand?" Aryan called out, jogging over with a wide, friendly grin.
The fishermen looked up, momentarily dazed by the sheer radiance of the young man's appearance. "Uh, kid, stay back. This thing is liable to snap and—"
Aryan didn't wait. He stepped forward, placing his hands on a specific joint of the winch. He didn't use brute strength; he used the "nothing" between the friction. With a sharp, precise jerk and a slight adjustment of the internal locking pin—a move that looked like magic to the untrained eye—the winch let out a rhythmic clack-clack-clack and began to spin smoothly.
The foreman blinked. "How did you...?"
"Just a lucky guess!" Aryan laughed, waving a hand dismissively as he continued walking. "Have a good catch, old man!"
He left them standing there in stunned silence. He wasn't trying to be arrogant; he genuinely just liked being helpful. But the System was already buzzing again.
He wandered toward the center of the village, nearing Partys Bar. The scent of roasted meat and cheap ale wafted through the air. As he turned the corner, he saw a familiar silhouette sitting on the docks, staring out at the sea. Red vest, straw hat, and an aura of pure, unadulterated ambition.
Monkey D. Luffy.
Aryan slowed his pace. This was it. The nexus of this world's history. He felt a thrill of excitement, but he didn't approach with awe. To him, Luffy wasn't just a legend; he was a person—someone who, like him, just wanted to be free.
As he walked past a training clearing near the woods, he saw a group of local militia practicing with wooden swords. They were clumsy, their form lacking any real intent. Aryan paused to watch.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: The Concept of the Blade...]
[Tracing the Origin of the Sword...]
[Comprehension Complete. Skill Acquired: Sword God's Essence (Level 1).]
The world shifted. The wooden sticks in the men's hands weren't just wood anymore; Aryan saw the lines of force they should have been following. He felt a phantom weight in his right hand, the muscle memory of a thousand lifetimes of mastery settling into his marrow.
"Too stiff," Aryan muttered under his breath, his voice still cheerful.
One of the militia members, a burly man named Galt, heard him. He turned, wiping sweat from his brow. "You got something to say, pretty boy? Swordplay isn't as easy as looking good in a mirror."
Aryan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, no, I didn't mean to be rude! It's just... if you relax your shoulder and pivot your back foot, the swing becomes much more natural. Like this."
He picked up a discarded, notched wooden sword from the grass. The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, the atmosphere changed. The "cheerful kid" was still there, but there was a sudden, terrifying stillness to him.
He swung. It wasn't a complex move—just a simple vertical strike.
SHING.
The air itself seemed to whistle in protest. The wooden sword didn't hit anything, but the sheer pressure of the swing sent a gust of wind forward that knocked over a row of practice dummies twenty feet away.
Aryan blinked, the intensity vanishing instantly as he looked at the wooden toy in his hand. "Oops. Maybe a bit too much 'relaxing'?"
Galt and the others were frozen. They looked at the dummies, then back at Aryan, who was currently trying to figure out how to stand the dummies back up while apologizing profusely.
"Who... who are you?" Galt stammered.
"I'm Aryan!" he replied brightly. "Just a guy passing through. Anyway, don't mind me! Keep practicing!"
He jogged away before they could ask more questions. He needed to find food. His stomach let out a roar that rivaled a Sea King's. The downside of supreme comprehension, it seemed, was a supreme appetite.
He made his way to Partys Bar and pushed the doors open. The bell chimed, and the chatter inside died down for a split second as everyone took in the newcomer. Makino, behind the bar, gave a soft gasp, her cheeks tinting slightly pink.
"Welcome," she said, recovering her composure with a warm smile. "I haven't seen you around here before."
"Just moved in down the coast!" Aryan lied easily, taking a seat at the bar. He saw Luffy a few stools down, buried in a plate of fried rice. "I'll have whatever smells that good, please. And maybe three more plates of it?"
"Coming right up," Makino giggled.
Luffy looked up, rice sticking to his cheek. He stared at Aryan with that blunt, piercing gaze of his. "You're the guy from the docks. The one who fixed the winch."
Aryan turned, flashing a toothy grin. "And you're the guy who wants to be King of the Pirates. I'm Aryan D. Sepharot. Nice to meet ya, Luffy."
Luffy paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. "How do you know my name? And you have a 'D' too?"
"Word travels fast in a small village," Aryan shrugged, leaning back. "And the 'D'? Yeah, I guess we're part of the same troublesome club."
Luffy grinned then—a wide, face-stretching expression of pure joy. "Shishishi! I like you! You want some of my meat?"
He held out a charred bone with a scrap of gristle on it. For Luffy, this was the equivalent of offering a kingdom.
Aryan didn't hesitate. He took the bone and bit into it. "Thanks! Don't mind if I do."
For the next hour, the two of them talked—or rather, Luffy talked about his dreams, Shanks, and the "Gomu Gomu no Mi," while Aryan listened, offering the kind of genuine, easy-going encouragement that Luffy usually only got from his closest friends. Aryan didn't try to lecture him or show off his "system" powers. He just acted like a friend.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the door to the bar swung open again. A group of rowdy travelers entered—not pirates, but rough-looking mercenaries from a passing merchant ship. They were loud, arrogant, and looking for trouble.
One of them, a man with a scarred lip, slammed his fist on the bar next to Aryan. "Hey, lady! Clear these brats out. We want this spot."
Makino looked worried. "Sir, there are plenty of other tables—"
"I said clear them out," the man growled, reaching out to grab Aryan's shoulder to shove him off the stool.
Aryan didn't move. He didn't even look up from his fresh plate of rice. But inside his mind, the System clicked.
[Ding! Hostility detected.]
[Comprehending: The Nature of Conflict and Intimidation...]
[Observation: The 'Void' within the shadow...]
[Comprehension Complete. Skill Acquired: Void God's Presence (Passive - Hidden).]
The man's hand froze inches from Aryan's shoulder. He suddenly felt a cold sweat break out across his neck. It was as if he were standing on the edge of a bottomless abyss, and if he touched the boy, he would fall forever.
Aryan turned his head slightly, his expression still cheerful, but his eyes were unnervingly calm. "Hey there. We were just finishing up. No need to be pushy, right?"
The mercenary swallowed hard, his bravado evaporating. He stepped back, tripping over his own feet. "I... uh... yeah. Sure."
Luffy looked between the mercenary and Aryan, his eyes narrowing. "That was weird. You did something, didn't you, Sepharot?"
Aryan laughed, sticking a piece of meat in his mouth. "Who, me? I'm just a handsome face, Luffy. Nothing more."
Luffy didn't look convinced, but he laughed anyway. "Shishishi! You're funny! Hey, I'm leaving in a week. I'm gonna get a crew and find the One Piece. You should come!"
Aryan looked at the boy who would change the world. He thought about his past life—the mundane halls of high school, the gray pavement where he'd died. Then he looked at the vibrant, chaotic, beautiful world outside the bar windows.
"A crew, huh?" Aryan mused. "Well, I don't really want to be a captain. Too much paperwork. But being the guy who sees everything? The one who reaches the top of the world just to see what the view is like?"
He stood up, stretching. "Tell you what, Luffy. If you can get past that Sea King in the harbor next week, maybe I'll follow you for a bit. See if you're as interesting as you say you are."
Luffy slammed his fist into his palm. "I'm gonna beat that monster with one punch! Just watch!"
"I'll be watching," Aryan smiled.
As he walked out of the bar and into the cool night air, Aryan looked up at the stars. He felt a strange tug in his chest—a connection to the world that went beyond the System. He wasn't just a player in a game; he was Aryan D. Sepharot. And he was going to become the God of this world, not through tyranny, but through understanding everything it had to offer.
He wandered toward the outskirts of the village, finding a quiet spot under a massive, ancient oak tree. He sat down and closed his eyes, sinking into a meditative state.
System, he thought. Show me the 'Void God' thought again.
[Accessing Concept: The Void...]
[The Void is not emptiness. It is the potential for all things. To understand the Void is to understand that 'Nothing' is the ultimate 'Everything'.]
Aryan let his consciousness drift. He began to comprehend the air around him, the vibration of the leaves, the distant heartbeat of the village. He wasn't just learning; he was absorbing the very essence of existence.
Suddenly, a notification flashed red.
[Warning: High-level energy signature detected nearby.]
[Proximity: 50 meters.]
[Entity: Unknown. Source: Ancient.]
Aryan opened his eyes. The cheerful mask didn't slip, but his posture shifted into something more alert. He looked toward the deep shadows of the forest.
A figure stepped out. It wasn't a person, but a lingering wisp of something—a remnant of a soul, perhaps? Or a manifestation of the island's memory? It looked like a tattered cloak made of starlight.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: The Boundary of Life and Death...]
[Tracing the Shadow Monarch...]
Aryan watched as the spirit drifted closer. He didn't feel fear. He felt a strange, melancholy curiosity. He reached out a hand.
"Are you lost?" he asked softly.
The spirit touched his fingertips, and for a fleeting second, Aryan saw a thousand battlefields. He saw a throne of bones and a sea of shadows bowing to a lone king. He saw the end of all things.
[Comprehension Complete. Skill Acquired: Shadow Monarch's Authority (Locked - Requires 10% Soul Integration).]
[Current Integration: 0.1%]
The spirit vanished, leaving behind nothing but a cold chill. Aryan looked at his hand, which was now faintly traced with glowing purple veins that quickly faded into his skin.
"Well," he whispered, a small, wry smile playing on his lips. "This week is going to be a lot busier than I thought."
He lay back against the tree, folding his arms behind his head. He had a week to prepare. A week to understand the wind, the sea, and the power dormant in his own soul. He wasn't going to be a hero like before—at least, not the kind that died on a sidewalk. He was going to be something much, much bigger.
The journey had only just begun.
The next morning, the village was abuzz. Luffy was already at the shore, shouting at the ocean and practicing his "Gomu Gomu no Pistol," which currently resulted in him mostly hitting himself in the face.
Aryan sat on a nearby crate, peeling an orange. He watched Luffy with a mix of amusement and genuine fondness. He could see the potential in the boy—the raw, chaotic energy of a storm waiting to happen.
"Luffy! You're leaking power!" Aryan called out.
Luffy stopped, his arm stretched out behind him. "Leaking? What do you mean, Sepharot?"
"Your spirit," Aryan said, tossing a slice of orange into his mouth. "You're trying to force the fruit to work. Don't think of your arm as rubber. Think of the rubber as you. There's no difference between your skin and the stretch. It's all one 'thought'."
Luffy tilted his head, looking like he was trying to solve a complex math equation with his nose. "Uh... so, I'm the rubber?"
"Exactly. Don't fight the snap. Enjoy it."
Luffy closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and threw his arm back again. This time, instead of the erratic, wobbling motion, the limb moved with a focused, singular intent.
BOOM!
The fist slammed into a distant rock, shattering the top half into pebbles.
Luffy's eyes went wide. "WHOA! That was huge! How did you know that?"
Aryan stood up, dusting his pants. "I just have a knack for seeing how things work. Come on, Pirate King. If you want to beat that Sea King, you're gonna need to do that ten more times before lunch."
"Yosh! Ten times! No, a hundred times!"
As Luffy went back to training with renewed vigor, Aryan turned his gaze toward the horizon. He could feel it—the world was shifting. Somewhere out there, empires were falling, and new ones were being born in the dreams of fools.
And him? He was just going to comprehend it all, one piece at a time.
[Total Progress: 1,000 / 4,000 words]
(Continuing immediately...)
The rest of the morning passed in a blur of salt spray and the sound of breaking wood. Aryan didn't just sit and watch; he used the time to test his own limits. He walked along the shoreline, his eyes darting from the movement of the crabs in the sand to the way the sunlight refracted through the crests of the waves.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: Hydrodynamics & Oceanic Currents...]
[Comprehension Complete. Skill Acquired: Sea-Sense (Passive).]
Suddenly, the ocean wasn't just a mass of water to him. He could feel the weight of it, the hidden thermals, the way the tide was being pulled by the moon. He felt like he could step onto the water and know exactly where it would support him and where it would swallow him whole.
"Aryan! Help me with this!" Luffy shouted. He had somehow managed to get himself tangled in his own limbs, his legs wrapped three times around a palm tree.
Aryan jogged over, chuckling. "You really are a handful, aren't you?"
"I'm gonna be the freest man on the sea!" Luffy declared, hanging upside down while his face turned slightly red.
"Hard to be free when you're tied to a tree, buddy." Aryan reached out, and instead of untying the knots, he simply tapped a specific pressure point on Luffy's rubbery leg.
[Ding! Comprehending: Biological Elasticity & Nerve Manipulation...]
Luffy's muscles relaxed instantly, and he unraveled like a spring, landing on his feet with a confused blink. "How do you do that? You're like a doctor or something!"
"Something like that," Aryan said. "By the way, Luffy... why do you want to be King? Is it just for the treasure?"
Luffy adjusted his straw hat, his expression becoming uncharacteristically serious for a moment. "Treasure is fine. But the King of the Pirates is the person with the most freedom in the whole ocean! No one can tell him what to do!"
Aryan nodded. "Freedom. Yeah. I can get behind that."
In his previous life, Aryan had been bound by rules, by expectations, by the literal physical limits of a human body. Here, those limits didn't exist. He looked at his status window.
[Host: Aryan D. Sepharot]
[Title: The One Who Comprehends]
[Skills: Sword God's Essence (Lvl 1), Master Architect's Insight, Sea-Sense, Void God's Presence (Passive), Shadow Monarch's Authority (Locked).]
He was already stronger than most East Blue pirates, and he hadn't even picked up a real weapon yet. But he knew that the Grand Line was a different beast entirely. There were monsters there who could split islands and men who could turn into light or magma.
"Hey, Luffy," Aryan said, his tone casual. "If I join you... I'm not gonna be a regular pirate. I'm gonna be the guy who finds out the truth of everything. The Void Century, the Ancient Weapons, the nature of the Fruits... all of it."
Luffy grinned. "Sounds boring! But if that's what you want, then do it! As long as you're on my ship, you're my nakama!"
The word nakama hit Aryan with a surprising weight. He had friends back home, sure, but the way Luffy said it made it sound like a sacred vow.
"Nakama," Aryan repeated. "I like the sound of that."
The week continued to fly by. Aryan spent his nights meditating under the oak tree, diving deeper into the "Void God" thought. He discovered that the more he understood the nothingness, the more he could manipulate the "somethingness" around him. He practiced "Blinking"—a movement technique where he comprehended the distance between two points so perfectly that he could simply omit the space between them.
[Ding! Comprehending: Spatial Displacement...]
[Skill Acquired: Void Step.]
It wasn't teleportation, not exactly. It was more like the world moved out of his way because he understood it didn't really need to be there.
On the fourth day, he saw Garp's marine ship on the horizon, but the old Vice Admiral didn't stop. Aryan watched the ship move with his Sea-Sense, comprehending the sheer power radiating from the vessel.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: Haki (Dormant)...]
[Analyzing: Armament, Observation, Conqueror's...]
[Progress: 2%... 5%... 12%...]
"So that's Haki," Aryan whispered. "The power of will made manifest. Interesting."
He didn't unlock it immediately—Haki required a level of spiritual refinement that even his system couldn't bypass instantly—but the seeds were planted. He understood the how. Now he just needed the why.
By the sixth day, the entire village was preparing for Luffy's departure. Makino had packed enough food to feed a small army, though everyone knew it would probably only last Luffy three days.
Aryan sat on the roof of the bar, looking down at the quiet street. He felt a presence behind him. He didn't turn around.
"You're not from around here, are you, Aryan?" Makino asked, climbing up the ladder with a tray of drinks.
Aryan smiled, looking at her. She was a kind soul, the heart of this village. "Is it that obvious?"
"You look like a prince from a fairy tale," she teased, sitting down beside him. "And you have eyes that look like they've seen things no seventeen-year-old should see."
Aryan took a glass of juice. "I've just got a good imagination, Makino-san."
"Luffy needs someone like you," she said softly. "He's all heart and no head. You... you're different. You see the world for what it is."
"I try," Aryan said. "But sometimes, seeing everything makes it hard to focus on what's right in front of you."
"Just look after him," she said, placing a hand on his. "And look after yourself, too."
Aryan felt a pang of warmth. "I promise."
The morning of the departure arrived. The sky was a brilliant, clear blue, and the seagulls were screaming their lungs out. The entire village had gathered at the docks.
Luffy stood in his small dinghy, looking out at the sea. He had his straw hat pulled low. He looked small in that boat, but the aura he projected was massive.
Aryan walked down the pier, his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a simple white shirt, black trousers, and a dark blue cloak he'd bought from a traveling merchant. He didn't carry a bag; he had already comprehended a "Void Pocket"—a small ripple in space where he could store his belongings.
"You ready, Luffy?" Aryan asked, stepping onto the edge of the pier.
"Yeah!" Luffy shouted. "Let's go!"
"Wait! Luffy!" The mayor shouted. "Are you really going? This is madness!"
Luffy just laughed. "I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
As the boat began to drift away from the dock, a massive ripple appeared in the water. The sea suddenly hummed with a primal, predatory energy. The villagers gasped, backing away from the edge.
From the depths, a colossal, serpent-like head erupted. The Lord of the Coast. The same beast that had taken Shanks' arm years ago. It towered over Luffy's tiny boat, its eyes glowing with a mindless hunger.
"IT'S THE SEA KING!" someone screamed.
Luffy didn't flinch. He stood up, balancing perfectly on the swaying wood.
Aryan, standing on the pier, watched the beast.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: Sea King Physiology...]
[Comprehending: Killing Intent...]
Don't just watch, Aryan, he told himself. This is the start.
Luffy wound up his arm. "GOMU GOMU NO...!"
But Aryan decided to give him a little assist. He didn't move a muscle, but he focused his Void God's Presence and funneled it through his gaze, aiming it directly at the Sea King's mind.
Sit down, Aryan thought.
The Sea King, which had been about to lung, suddenly froze. A wave of pure, primordial terror washed over it. It looked past Luffy, its pupils shrinking as it saw the handsome boy on the pier. To the beast, Aryan didn't look like a human; he looked like a black hole wearing a smile.
The monster's momentum broke. It hesitated for just a fraction of a second—long enough for Luffy to finish his move.
"PISTOL!"
Luffy's fist flew forward, fueled by years of training and a will that could move mountains. It connected squarely with the Sea King's snout.
CRACK.
The massive creature was sent flying backward, its eyes rolling into its head as it crashed into the sea with a mountainous splash. It didn't resurface.
"SHISHISHI! I TOLD YOU!" Luffy yelled, pumping his fist in the air.
Aryan laughed, his heart racing. He didn't care that he'd helped; seeing Luffy's joy was worth it. With a graceful leap, Aryan cleared the distance from the pier to the boat, landing softly next to Luffy. The small dinghy rocked, but didn't capsize.
"Nice hit, Captain," Aryan said, patting Luffy on the back.
Luffy looked at him, then back at the village. "Did you see that, Makino?! Mayor?! I did it!"
The villagers cheered and waved as the current took the small boat further out into the East Blue. Foorshia Village began to shrink, turning into a green speck against the horizon.
"So," Aryan said, leaning back against the mast of the tiny sail. "Where to first?"
"I don't know!" Luffy said honestly, sitting down and picking his nose. "Wherever the wind blows!"
Aryan chuckled. "Spoken like a true leader. Well, according to my Sea-Sense, there's a storm brewing about twenty miles north. If we head slightly east, we might hit an island before the rain starts."
Luffy looked at him with wide eyes. "You can feel the weather? That's so cool! You're like a human compass!"
"I just pay attention," Aryan said, closing his eyes to feel the vibrations of the sea.
[Ding! Quest Started: The Beginning of the Legend.]
[Objective: Reach the first island and recruit a swordsman.]
[Reward: 5% Soul Integration with Shadow Monarch's Authority.]
Aryan's smile widened. A swordsman, huh? He knew exactly who that was. Roronoa Zoro. The man who wanted to be the greatest in the world.
I wonder, Aryan thought, how much I'll comprehend when I see his Three-Sword Style?
As they drifted into the vast, open ocean, Aryan felt a sense of peace he'd never known. This was why he was reborn. Not to be a student, not to be a victim, but to be a traveler in a world of wonders.
"Hey, Aryan," Luffy said suddenly, looking at the horizon. "Are you strong?"
Aryan opened one eye. "Stronger than I look. Why?"
"I want to fight you later!" Luffy grinned. "After I eat!"
"Deal," Aryan said. "But you're paying for the food."
"EHHHH?! But I don't have any money!"
"Then you better start catching some fish, Captain."
The two of them laughed, their voices carrying over the waves. The Golden Age of Piracy was in full swing, and a new player had just entered the board. He wasn't a pirate, he wasn't a marine, and he wasn't a revolutionary.
He was Aryan D. Sepharot, the man who would comprehend the world until there was nothing left to learn.
The first few days at sea were... educational.
Aryan quickly realized that while his Supreme Comprehension System made him a god of theory and skill, it didn't change the fact that Luffy was a disaster as a sailor. Within forty-eight hours, they had almost run out of fresh water because Luffy tried to wash his hat with it, and their food supplies were dwindling fast.
"Luffy, if you eat that last piece of jerky, I'm going to use my 'Void Step' to kick you into the ocean," Aryan said, his voice perfectly cheerful despite the threat.
Luffy paused, the jerky hovering an inch from his open mouth. He looked at Aryan's smiling face and felt a strange shiver. "You're scary sometimes, Sepharot." He reluctantly put the jerky back.
Aryan sighed, looking at the horizon. "We need a real ship. And a cook. And a navigator. My Sea-Sense is great, but I'd rather not spend my whole life staring at waves."
He stood up and began to pace the narrow deck of the dinghy. He needed to accelerate his growth. The Shadow Monarch power was still locked, and he knew that witnessing death was the key to unlocking it. He didn't want people to die, but in this world, death followed the "D" name like a shadow.
[Ding! Host's desire for growth detected.]
[Analyzing Environment...]
[Potential Threat Detected: Alvida's Pirate Crew.]
[Direction: 12 o'clock. Distance: 5 miles.]
"Speak of the devil," Aryan muttered. He looked ahead and saw a pink-tinted ship with a heart-shaped figurehead appearing on the horizon.
"OI! LUFFY! LOOK!" Aryan pointed. "A ship! And I bet they have tons of food."
Luffy's eyes instantly turned into meat shapes. "FOOD! LET'S GO!"
As they drew closer, the sound of shouting and the smell of gunpowder drifted toward them. It seemed Alvida's crew was currently raiding a small passenger vessel.
"Okay, here's the plan," Aryan said, his mind already calculating a dozen different outcomes. "You go for the captain. I'll handle the grunts and see if there's anyone worth saving."
"Got it!" Luffy yelled, already standing on the prow of the dinghy.
As the two ships collided, Luffy used his "Gomu Gomu no Rocket" to launch himself onto Alvida's deck. Aryan, however, didn't need to be so loud. He stepped off the dinghy and into the air.
[Void Step.]
In the blink of an eye, he vanished and reappeared on the top of the enemy's mast. He sat there, legs dangling, watching the chaos unfold below.
Luffy was doing what he did best—causing absolute mayhem. He was bouncing around like a pinball, knocking pirates left and right. Meanwhile, a large, unattractive woman with a massive iron mace was screaming at her subordinates.
"WHO IS THIS BRAT?! KILL HIM!" Alvida roared.
Aryan looked down and saw a small, pink-haired boy cowering behind a barrel. Coby.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: Human Potential & The 'Shell' of Fear...]
Aryan hopped down from the mast, landing silently behind Coby. The boy jumped nearly a foot into the air.
"AHH! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" Coby sobbed.
"Relax, kid," Aryan said, his voice smooth and comforting. "I'm not here to kill you. You look like you're having a bad day."
Coby looked up, his eyes widening as he took in Aryan's appearance. "You... you're so... who are you?"
"I'm Aryan. I'm with the rubber guy over there," he pointed to Luffy, who was currently tying two pirates together by their own belts.
"You're pirates?!" Coby gasped.
"In training," Aryan shrugged. "So, why are you helping these losers? You don't look like the pillaging type."
Coby hung his head. "I was caught by mistake... I've been their chore boy for two years. I want to be a Marine, but... I'm too cowardly. I'll never be able to do it."
Aryan looked at him, his Supreme Comprehension seeing right through the boy's insecurities. He saw the latent willpower buried under layers of trauma.
"You know," Aryan said, leaning against the railing as a pirate rushed at him with a cutlass. Without looking, Aryan caught the blade between two fingers.
[Ding! Comprehending: Weapon Stress Points...]
Snap.
The steel blade shattered like glass. The pirate stared at his broken hilt, then at Aryan, and promptly turned around and ran away.
"Being a Marine isn't about not being afraid," Aryan continued, looking back at Coby. "It's about doing what's right even when you're shaking in your boots. If you want to change, you have to say it out loud. Otherwise, you're just a ghost in your own life."
Coby stared at him, his breath hitching.
On the other side of the deck, Alvida had finally cornered Luffy. "You! Brat! Who is the most beautiful woman on all the seas?!"
Luffy paused, looking her up and down with brutal honesty. "Who's this fat old lady?"
The entire deck went silent. Even the seagulls seemed to stop squawking.
Alvida's face turned a shade of crimson that shouldn't be biologically possible. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
She swung her iron mace with enough force to shatter stone. Luffy didn't move. He took the hit right to the head—and the mace simply bounced off.
"I'm rubber," Luffy grinned. "That doesn't work on me."
Aryan watched the interaction, his System recording everything.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: Blunt Force Dispersion...]
[Comprehending: Iron Mace Mastery...]
"Luffy! Give her the big one!" Aryan shouted.
"Yosh! GOMU GOMU NO... BAZOOKA!"
Luffy's arms flew back, then snapped forward, hitting Alvida in the stomach and sending her flying across the ocean like a pink comet.
The remaining pirates immediately dropped their weapons and fell to their knees. "WE SURRENDER! PLEASE DON'T HURT US!"
Luffy laughed, rubbing his nose. "Shishishi! That was fun!"
Aryan walked over to him, Coby trailing behind like a lost puppy. "Nice work, Captain. Now, let's see what they have in the kitchen."
As they raided the pantry, Coby watched them with a mix of awe and terror. Finally, he spoke up. "Um... Mr. Luffy? Mr. Aryan? Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Because you're a good guy," Luffy said through a mouthful of ham.
"And because you've got a dream," Aryan added, tossing an apple to Coby. "Even if it's a boring one like being a Marine."
"I... I REALLY AM GOING TO DO IT!" Coby suddenly shouted, tears streaming down his face. "I'm going to join the Marines and capture bad people like Alvida!"
Luffy grinned. "Good! Then we'll be enemies later. That'll be fun!"
Aryan leaned back, watching the interaction. He felt a notification pop up.
[Ding! Minor Event Completed: The Coward's Awakening.]
[Reward: Comprehension Speed increased by 10% for 24 hours.]
"Hey, Coby," Aryan said. "We're heading to the nearest Marine base to drop you off. I think there's someone there we need to meet anyway."
"The base at Shells Town?" Coby asked, wiping his eyes. "But... that's where Captain Morgan is. And the 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro!"
Luffy's ears perked up. "Pirate Hunter? Is he strong?"
"He's a demon!" Coby squeaked. "He's been tied up at the base for weeks without food or water! They say he's a monster!"
Luffy's grin reached his ears. "A monster, huh? Sounds like he'd be a great nakama!"
Aryan looked out at the sea, his eyes glowing with a faint purple light for a split second. He could feel the threads of fate pulling them toward Shells Town.
"Zoro," Aryan whispered. "The man who would become the King of Hell. I can't wait to see what he can teach me."
They spent the next day on a small lifeboat they'd 'borrowed' from Alvida's ship, filled to the brim with supplies. Coby navigated while Luffy slept and Aryan practiced his Void God thoughts.
He was beginning to realize that "Comprehension" wasn't just about gaining skills. It was about changing the way he interacted with reality. He could now feel the "nothingness" between atoms, the tiny gaps in the fabric of the world. If he focused hard enough, he could move his hand through solid wood as if it were water.
[Ding! Comprehending: Intangibility (Partial)...]
[Warning: High Soul Strain. Integration required.]
"Slow and steady," Aryan told himself. "No point in becoming a god if I burn my soul out before I reach the Grand Line."
As the sun began to set on the second day, the silhouette of Shells Town appeared on the horizon. A massive Marine tower dominated the skyline, a symbol of "Justice" that Aryan knew was currently being twisted by a man with an axe for a hand.
"We're here," Coby said, his voice trembling.
Luffy jumped up, energetic as ever. "ALRIGHT! Let's find that three-sword guy!"
Aryan stood up, his dark cloak billowing in the breeze. He looked like the picture of calm, but inside, his System was already scanning the island.
[Ding! Multiple high-level targets detected.]
[Target 1: Roronoa Zoro (Potential Nakama).]
[Target 2: 'Axe-Hand' Morgan (Hostile).]
[Target 3: Helmeppo (Insignificant).]
"Let's go, boys," Aryan said, a confident smirk on his face. "Time to show this town what real freedom looks like."
As they stepped onto the docks of Shells Town, the atmosphere was heavy. The townspeople were skittish, avoiding the Marines and whispering in hushed tones.
"Everyone seems so scared," Coby whispered.
"That's because they're being ruled by fear, not law," Aryan said, his eyes scanning the architecture of the town. He was already comprehending the layout, the guard rotations, and the structural weaknesses of the Marine base.
They walked toward the central plaza, where a high wall surrounded the execution grounds. Luffy, impatient as always, climbed the wall to look over.
"There he is!" Luffy shouted.
Aryan and Coby joined him. In the center of the dusty yard, tied to a wooden cross, was a man. He had cropped green hair, a torn white shirt, and three katanas tucked into a green haramaki around his waist. Even covered in dirt and suffering from dehydration, he radiated an aura of lethal intent.
Roronoa Zoro.
[Ding! Observation triggered.]
[Comprehending: The Path of the Shura...]
[Tracing the Spirit of the Swordsman...]
[Progress: 5%... 15%... 30%...]
Aryan felt the Sword God's Essence in his own soul resonating with Zoro's spirit. It was like two tuning forks vibrating at the same frequency.
"Hey! You!" Luffy yelled from the wall.
Zoro slowly lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot but sharp as daggers. "Go away, kid. You're in the way of the sun."
"I'm Luffy! I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
Zoro let out a dry, raspy chuckle. "Pirate King, huh? You're a crazy one."
Aryan stepped up beside Luffy, looking down at Zoro with a friendly smile. "You've been here for twenty days, haven't you? Impressive. Most men would have died on day ten."
Zoro's gaze shifted to Aryan. He paused, his eyes narrowing. "You... you're not a normal brat. Your footsteps... I didn't even hear you move."
"I'm Aryan," he replied. "And we're here to get you out."
"Forget it," Zoro grunted. "I made a deal with that idiot Helmeppo. If I survive a month, he lets me go."
"A deal with a coward is just a lie you haven't realized yet," Aryan said softly.
Just then, the gate opened, and a flamboyant young man with a "bowl" haircut and an expensive suit strutted in, followed by two Marine guards. Helmeppo.
"Oh, look! The demon is still alive!" Helmeppo laughed, kicking dirt at Zoro's feet. "Too bad I'm going to execute you tomorrow anyway. I lied about the month! Ahahaha!"
Coby gasped. "That's horrible!"
Luffy's face went dark. The playful energy vanished, replaced by a cold, simmering rage. "You... you're a bad guy."
Aryan placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder. "Wait for the signal, Captain. Let's do this properly."
"I'm gonna punch him," Luffy said flatly.
"I know," Aryan smiled. "But let me handle the guards first. I want to try something."
Aryan stepped off the wall. Instead of falling, he seemed to slide through the air, landing perfectly between Helmeppo and the guards.
"Who are you?!" Helmeppo shrieked, stumbling back. "Guards! Arrest him!"
The two Marines rushed forward with their bayonets. Aryan didn't draw a weapon. He didn't even raise his hands. He simply closed his eyes and tapped into the Void God thought.
[Skill Activation: Void Pulse.]
A ripple of invisible energy expanded from Aryan's body. It wasn't a physical blow, but a sudden, overwhelming realization of 'nothingness' that hit the guards' minds. They didn't even scream; their eyes just rolled back, and they collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
Helmeppo turned pale. "What... what did you do?!"
"I just showed them the truth," Aryan said, his voice calm and cheerful. "Now, run along and tell your dad that the pirates are here. We wouldn't want to start the party without him."
Helmeppo didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled away, screaming for his father.
Aryan turned to Zoro and pulled out a small knife. With a flick of his wrist, the heavy ropes binding the swordsman fell away.
Zoro collapsed forward, but Aryan caught him before he hit the ground. "Easy there. You need water and your swords."
Zoro looked at him, confused and wary. "Why help me?"
"Because the world needs a better view," Aryan said. "And I think you're going to be part of it."
Luffy jumped down, grinning. "See? I told you he was cool! Now, where are your swords, Zoro?"
"In the base... the top floor," Zoro wheezed.
"I'll get them!" Luffy shouted, already sprinting toward the main building.
Aryan helped Zoro sit against the wooden post. "Stay here, Coby. Look after him. I'm going to make sure the Marines stay busy."
"Wait, Aryan!" Coby called out. "There are hundreds of them!"
Aryan looked back over his shoulder, his dark cloak swirling around him. The sun was setting, casting long, dramatic shadows across the yard. In that light, Aryan didn't look like a high schooler anymore. He looked like something ancient and powerful.
"Good," Aryan said, his smile widening. "The more there are, the more I can comprehend."
Aryan didn't run. He walked.
He approached the main entrance of the Marine base just as the alarms began to blare. A squad of fifty Marines poured out, rifles raised and bayonets gleaming. At the top of the stairs stood 'Axe-Hand' Morgan, a towering man with a literal axe head fused to his right arm.
"WHO IS THE FOOL DEFYING MY AUTHORITY?!" Morgan roared, his voice echoing off the stone walls.
Aryan stopped at the base of the stairs. He looked up at the sea of white uniforms, his hands tucked casually in his pockets.
[Ding! Massive Observation Event triggered.]
[Comprehending: Military Formations...]
[Comprehending: The Weight of Corrupt Authority...]
[System Note: Host is entering a 'State of Flow'. Comprehension speed tripled.]
"Hey, big guy," Aryan called out, his voice carrying easily over the din. "You've got a lot of people here following orders. I wonder... how many of them actually believe in your 'Justice'?"
"Justice is ME!" Morgan screamed. "I am the law of this island! I am the one who built this base! I am GREAT!"
Aryan tilted his head. "Great? No. You're just a man who's afraid of his own shadow. That's why you need a statue of yourself to feel tall."
Morgan's face twisted in fury. "FIRE! KILL HIM!"
The Marines hesitated for a split second—Aryan's presence was unnervingly calm—but their training took over. BANG! BANG! BANG!
A volley of lead whistled through the air toward the young man.
Aryan didn't flinch. To his eyes, the bullets were moving in slow motion. He could see the spin of the lead, the heat of the friction, the exact trajectory of every projectile.
[Ding! Comprehending: Ballistics...]
[Skill Acquired: Bullet-Time Perception (Passive).]
Aryan moved. It wasn't a blur of speed; it was a series of precise, minimal adjustments. He leaned an inch to the left, ducked his head a fraction, and stepped forward. The bullets passed through the space he had occupied a millisecond before.
He walked through the hail of gunfire like he was strolling through a spring rain. Not a single bullet touched his cloak.
The Marines stopped firing, their mouths agape. "He... he dodged them all? Without even looking?"
Aryan reached the first line of Marines. He didn't punch them. He didn't kick them. He reached out and tapped the barrel of a rifle.
[Ding! Comprehending: Kinetic Vibration...]
The rifle shattered into iron dust. The Marine holding it fell over, not from pain, but from the sheer shock of the vibration. Aryan continued his path, moving through the crowd like a ghost. Everywhere he touched, weapons broke and armor cracked.
He was like a living anomaly, a glitch in the reality of the Marine base.
"MOVE! GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Morgan pushed through his own men, raising his massive axe-arm. "I'll cleave you in two!"
He swung. The axe head, heavy enough to split a boulder, came whistling down toward Aryan's shoulder.
Aryan didn't dodge this time. He raised his right hand, two fingers extended.
CLANG.
The sound of metal hitting metal rang out, but it wasn't the sound of an axe hitting bone. It was the sound of the axe hitting a barrier of pure, compressed "nothingness."
Aryan held the edge of the massive blade between his index and middle fingers. The force of the blow cracked the stone tiles beneath his feet, but his arm didn't even tremble.
[Ding! Comprehending: The Essence of the Axe...]
[Skill Acquired: Heavy Weapon Parry.]
"Is that it?" Aryan asked, looking up at Morgan with an innocent, curious expression. "I expected more from a Captain."
Morgan's eyes bulged. "Impossible... No one can stop my axe with two fingers! NO ONE!"
"The problem is," Aryan said, his voice dropping an octave, "you think the axe makes you strong. But the axe is just metal. And metal... is mostly empty space."
Aryan's fingers glowed with a faint, void-like purple light. He flicked his wrist.
CRACK.
The massive iron axe-head shattered into a thousand pieces. The recoil sent Morgan stumbling back, his arm vibrating with a pain he'd never felt before.
Just then, a loud "SHISHISHI!" erupted from the roof. Luffy crashed through the ceiling of the main hall, landing right next to Aryan. He was carrying three katanas wrapped in a green sash.
"Found 'em!" Luffy cheered. "Hey, Aryan! You're having fun without me!"
"Just keeping them occupied, Captain," Aryan smiled, the purple glow fading from his fingers.
Luffy tossed the swords toward the yard. "ZORO! CATCH!"
Zoro, who had been struggling to his feet with Coby's help, looked up. He caught the swords mid-air, the familiar weight of the hilts bringing a predatory grin to his face. He drew all three—one in each hand, and one in his mouth.
The air around the execution ground seemed to chill. The "Demon" was back.
"Alright," Zoro said, his voice muffled by the blade in his teeth. "Let's finish this."
The Marines, seeing Zoro armed and Morgan's axe destroyed, began to retreat. They weren't fighting for justice anymore; they were just trying to survive.
Morgan, driven by madness, pulled a pistol from his belt with his left hand. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL! I AM A MARINE CAPTAIN!"
But he never got the chance to fire.
Luffy moved like a streak of red. "GOMU GOMU NO... MUCCHEE!"
He whipped his leg around, slamming his foot into Morgan's jaw with the force of a wrecking ball. The Captain was sent flying through his own statue, shattering the stone image of himself before crashing into the base of the tower. He didn't move again.
Silence fell over Shells Town.
The Marines looked at their fallen leader, then at the three strange young men standing in the center of the plaza. Then, slowly, one by one, they threw their hats into the air and cheered.
"HE'S DEFEATED! WE'RE FREE!"
Aryan leaned against a pillar, watching the celebration. He felt a deep sense of satisfaction, not just from the victory, but from the data his System was processing.
[Ding! Major Event Completed: The Fall of the Tyrant.]
[Rewards:]
[1. 10% Soul Integration with Shadow Monarch's Authority (Total: 10.1%).]
[2. Skill Evolution: Sword God's Essence -> Sword God's Domain (Lvl 1).]
[3. New Concept Unlocked: The Breath of All Things.]
Aryan felt a sudden, sharp clarity. He looked at a nearby leaf falling from a tree. He could hear it "breathing." He could hear the "breath" of the stone, the steel, and the people around him. This was the secret to cutting everything—or cutting nothing.
[Shadow Monarch's Authority: Skill Unlocked: Shadow Extraction (Limit: 1 use per day).]
Aryan's heart skipped a beat. Shadow Extraction. The power to pull the shadows of the fallen and turn them into loyal soldiers. He looked toward the unconscious body of Morgan, then shook his head. No. Not him. He's not worthy of being in my shadow.
Zoro walked over, sheathing two of his swords. He looked at Luffy, then at Aryan. "So. You're looking for a crew, right?"
"Yeah!" Luffy said, grinning.
"I'm a pirate hunter," Zoro said. "And if I join you, it means I'm a pirate. But let me make one thing clear... I have a dream. To be the greatest swordsman in the world. If you ever get in the way of that, I'll kill you."
Luffy's grin only got wider. "Greatest swordsman? That's perfect! The King of the Pirates needs nothing less!"
Zoro turned to Aryan. "And you. What's your dream? You're too strong to just be a follower."
Aryan looked up at the stars, which were beginning to peek through the twilight. "Me? I'm the guy who's going to comprehend the stars, Zoro. I want to see the end of the world and understand why it started. And maybe along the way, I'll make sure my friends get exactly what they want."
Zoro grunted, a small, rare smile touching his lips. "A weirdo. Fine. I can work with that."
The next morning, the town threw a massive feast for their rescuers. Aryan, Luffy, and Zoro ate enough to drain the town's reserves, though the people didn't mind. Even Coby was celebrated, as the Marines agreed to let him enlist despite his association with the "pirates."
As they prepared to leave, Coby stood on the docks, saluting them with tears in his eyes. "LUFFY-SAN! ARYAN-SAN! I'LL BECOME A GREAT MARINE! WATCH ME!"
"WE WILL!" Luffy shouted, waving frantically.
Aryan stood at the back of their new, slightly larger boat—a small caravel they'd been gifted by the town. He looked at his two companions. Luffy was already trying to fish with his bare hands, and Zoro was napping against the mast.
[Ding! Crew Composition Detected.]
[The Trio of Fate: The Sun, The Blade, and The Void.]
Aryan smiled, closing his eyes. He could feel the Grand Line calling to him—a place of impossible physics, ancient mysteries, and the strongest souls in existence.
System, he thought. What's our next destination?
[Calculated Path: Orange Town.]
[Warning: High Probability of encountering a 'Thief' and a 'Clown'.]
"A thief and a clown," Aryan chuckled. "Sounds like a party."
He sat down, crossing his legs and entering a meditative state. He had 10% integration now. He could feel a cold, dark power swirling deep within his soul, waiting to be shaped. He wasn't just a boy with a system anymore; he was becoming a force of nature.
"Hey, Zoro," Aryan said without opening his eyes.
"Yeah?" the swordsman muttered, one eye cracked open.
"I'll teach you how to cut steel whenever you're ready. My treat."
Zoro sat bolt upright, his hand going to his hilt. "You... you know how?"
"I comprehended it while you were tied to that post," Aryan said with a wink. "It's all about the breath, buddy. All about the breath."
Zoro stared at him for a long time, then let out a short, bark-like laugh. "This really is going to be a hell of a trip."
As the boat sailed into the setting sun, Aryan D. Sepharot looked at the horizon. He was Aryan in his past life—a boy who died for a stranger. But in this life, he was the Void, the Shadow, and the Friend. And he was going to make sure this story was the biggest the world had ever seen.