Chapter 1: Buy One Get One Free? Double the Surprise!
[Ding! Naruto System successfully activated!]
[Detecting host's current environment... Distributing Newbie Gift Pack.]
[Newbie Gift Pack distributed, please check.]
[Obtained: Single Tomoe Sharingan (Derived from Uchiha bloodline, perfectly fused).]
[Obtained: Chakra Refinement Technique (Basic Edition).][Obtained: Ninja Tool Pouch (Contains Kunai ×1, Explosive Tag ×3, Food Pill ×1).]
Darkness. Swaying.
Tatsuya snapped his eyes open, only to see pitch-black wooden planks.
"Transmigrated? System?"
Tatsuya felt a cool energy in his mind, followed by a burning sensation in his eyes.
He blinked in the darkness, and the originally dark, cramped space instantly became clearly visible.
Even the direction of a single wood grain was fully captured by his eyes.
Sharingan!
Before he could celebrate for long, a sudden, intense feeling of weightlessness hit him.
Thud!
It sounded like a heavy object hitting the ground.
Immediately after, strange noises came from nearby.
"Snore... snore... meat... I want to eat meat..."
The voice was muffled, as if coming through a layer of wood.
Tatsuya froze for a moment, then his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
That voice, those lines, and his current environment, which was most likely a "wine barrel"...
"Are you kidding me? I actually transmigrated as Luffy's 'barrel-mate'?"
...
Meanwhile, in a sunny stretch of sea in the East Sea.
On the deck of a large sailing ship flying a heart-shaped skull flag—the "Miss Love Duck."
Several wretched-looking pirates were surrounding two large wine barrels they had just fished up, their eyes gleaming.
"Hey! Koby! Hahaha! Your luck has finally turned for the better once!"
A pirate with a face full of scars "heavily" slapped the short, pink-haired boy wearing round glasses next to him.
"I thought it was empty, but I didn't expect it to be so heavy! This weight, it's definitely filled with top-quality red wine!"
"And there are two barrels!" another pirate said, rubbing his hands greedily, drool almost dripping to his chin.
"One barrel could sell for at least tens of thousands of Berries. If we make Lady Alvida happy, she might reward us with a good meal tonight!"
The boy named Koby shrunk his neck, his whole body trembling.
"Th-that, shouldn't we move them into the storage room first?"
"If Lady Alvida finds us sneakily drinking on deck, we'll be crushed by her iron mace..."
"Huh? Shut up! You coward!"
The scarred pirate spat impatiently.
"Such heavy barrels must be full! This weather is perfect for a drink. Let's open one and have a taste first. As long as you don't say anything, who will know?"
The other two pirates looked at each other and shared a knowing, wretched smile.
"Hehe, you're right! Open the one on the left first!"
The big man couldn't wait and raised his fist the size of a casserole, smashing it down hard onto the lid of the left barrel, which was covered in strange graffiti.
"Open up!!"
BOOM—!!!
There was no sound of a wooden lid breaking as expected.
On the contrary, as if an explosion had occurred inside the barrel, the entire lid along with the wooden splinters instantly burst outward.
The big man, who had leaned in to smell the wine, felt as if his jaw had been hit by a sledgehammer.
He flew backward like a broken kite, drawing a... not-so-graceful parabola in the air.
Finally, with a "thud," he slammed onto the deck several meters away, foaming at the mouth and fainting on the spot.
"Phew—! What a great sleep!!!"
Under the sunlight, a boy wearing a Straw Hat suddenly stood straight up from the broken wooden barrel.
His arms were spread wide in an exaggerated manner, and that unchanging, bright laugh was plastered on his face.
"The wind is really nice today!"
The remaining pirates were all dumbfounded, their cutlasses nearly falling onto their feet.
"A person... there's a person inside?"
"What kind of monster is this? He sent Jerry flying with one punch?"
Before the pirates could recover from their shock, the Straw Hat boy rubbed his empty stomach and turned to look at Koby, who was already paralyzed with fear on the ground.
"Hey, is there any food? I'm starving to death."
Veins popped on the pirates' foreheads: "..."
Oi! Oi! Oi!
Is this kid an idiot! Can't he read the room! We're pirates!
Just as everyone was about to attack this Straw Hat kid who didn't know his place—
Click.
The other barrel, which had been quiet all along, suddenly made a crisp sound of a latch breaking.
The pirates' nerves were already strained, and they instinctively turned their heads at the sound.
They saw the lid of the second barrel being gently pushed open by a slender hand.
Then, a handsome young man with black hair and black eyes slowly stood up.
Tatsuya had a calm expression as he gently brushed the wood chips off his shoulders, then looked up, revealing a slightly pale face.
Tatsuya stretched his back, his gaze sweeping over the startled pirates.
Finally, his gaze rested on Luffy, who was still blankly asking for food, and a playful smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
"Even though I expected it, this wake-up service is still a bit too noisy, Straw Hat-ya."
At this moment, within Tatsuya's eyes, the originally black pupils had at some point been dyed with a layer of eerie blood-red.
A black tomoe slowly rotated within the iris, emitting a heart-palpitating chill.
Single Tomoe Sharingan!
"Is this... a themed restaurant that provides free lunch?" Tatsuya asked humorously.
The deck fell into a deathly silence, with only the sound of the sea breeze blowing through the canvas.
Three seconds later, a roar of embarrassed rage erupted.
"One after another! Are you all kidding me!!"
The remaining pirates finally reacted, their faces turning red with anger.
"Where's our wine! Give us back our fine wine!"
"Kill these two brats who don't know the meaning of death!"
Three pirates raised their gleaming sabers, dividing the tasks clearly.
Two slashed at Luffy, who seemed more threatening, while the remaining bald pirate charged at Tatsuya with a sneer.
"Pretty boy! Die!"
"Hey! Watch out!"
Koby was so scared that he covered his eyes, not daring to watch the bloody scene that followed.
"Heehee." Luffy didn't move at all, just pulled his hat brim and showed a mouthful of white teeth.
On the other side, facing the sharp blade coming down on him, the tomoe in Tatsuya's eyes slowly rotated.
In his vision, the world slowed down.
The bald pirate's distorted expression was like a frame-by-frame playback.
He could clearly see the other's nostrils flaring due to the exertion.
He saw the small nick on the blade and even predicted the final trajectory of this strike.
Too slow.
Like an old lady crossing the street!
Tatsuya leaned slightly and moved only half a step to the left.
Whoosh!
The heavy blade slashed down past the tip of his nose, the wind it carried ruffling his bangs.
Finally, it slammed hard into the edge of the empty wine barrel, kicking up a spray of wood chips.
"Wh... what?!"
The bald pirate's eyes widened, his eyeballs nearly popping out.
He couldn't believe his surefire strike had been dodged?
And from such a close distance, dodged so effortlessly?
Just as his old strength was spent and new strength hadn't yet formed, with his body leaning forward due to inertia, Tatsuya moved.
His right hand, as if performing magic, instantly revealed a pitch-black Kunai.
His fingers spun it nimbly, gripping it in a reverse hold, then he closed the distance, the cold tip of the Kunai precisely pressing against the pirate's carotid artery.
"Don't move."
The cold metal touch caused the bald pirate to break out in a cold sweat instantly.
His legs went weak, and the blade in his hand fell to the ground with a "clang."
On the other side, two crisp "thud" sounds also came from Luffy's direction.
The two sabers struck him, but it was as if they hit a thick rubber tire, and they were bounced away by the massive reaction force.
"Eh?"
Luffy tilted his head, ignoring the people who attacked him.
Instead, he looked at the uninjured Tatsuya with a curious face, "You're pretty strong too!"
Tatsuya put away the Kunai and kicked the terrified pirate, sending him rolling away.
He turned around, his pair of crimson Single Tomoe Sharingan exceptionally striking under the sunlight.
He reached out his hand to Luffy, showing a mysterious smile.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Tatsuya, I'm a... magician."
Luffy's big eyes instantly turned into stars, and his mouth hung wide open.
"A magician? Are your red eyes magic too? Like a monkey! So cool!!"
"My name is Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!"
Monkey?
Tatsuya's mouth twitched, and he was about to retort.
"Who is it!! Who dares to cause trouble on my ship!!"
A fat woman with a face full of freckles, holding a giant iron mace, burst through the door in a rage.
Koby's face instantly turned deathly pale, and he held his head in despair: "It's... it's over... Lady Alvida is here..."