Waking up in East Blue

The sound of waves lapping gently against the shore was the first thing I noticed when I woke up. For a moment, I lay there, feeling the sun warming my face and the gentle breeze carrying the salty scent of the ocean. It was… nice. Peaceful even. And then I remembered—oh yeah, I died.

With a groan, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and blinked at my surroundings. I was on a beach, soft golden sand beneath me and the endless blue of the sea stretching out in front. A few scraggly palm trees dotted the area, and not far off, I could see a small village. It looked like the kind of place where people spent their days fishing and drinking beer. Not bad, actually.

"Well, this is new," I muttered, trying to rub my eyes, only to feel the cold and hard surface of a mask. Taking it off, I couldn't help myself from whispering with a smile, "Nice", before putting it back on. My voice sounded a little different—a little higher-pitched, softer, and… more Haku-like, I guess.

I looked down at myself. Sure enough, I was dressed in Haku's usual ninja gear. The pale blue kimono with the black sleeveless vest, tied off with a white sash. The geta sandals felt weird on the sand. But the kicker? My hands were smaller, more delicate and surprisingly younger-looking. Definitely not the engineering-student hands I used to have. I'd estimate my age to be in the mid-to-late teens.

I stood up, brushing the sand off my legs. "Okay, so I'm Haku now. Or, like, a weird Haku-me hybrid." The memories of the conference room meeting with ROB and Haku flooded back. Reincarnation. One Piece world. Ninjas. Pirates. Devil Fruits. Snow powers. All of it hit me at once, and honestly, the only logical response I had was a deep breath and a long sigh.

I was supposed to have Devil Fruit powers, right? A Logia-type, just like ROB had mentioned. Tentatively, I held out my hand and concentrated. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, a small flurry of snowflakes formed in my palm, swirling lazily before dissipating into the air.

"Huh," I said, impressed with myself. "That's… actually pretty cool."

Right on cue, a tiny, indignant chirp interrupted my snow-based admiration. I turned to see Chibi, my trusty little sparrow, perched on a nearby rock. Her tiny black eyes locked onto mine as if to say, "You've been reincarnated as a ninja and the first thing you do is play with snow?" She hopped over to me, fluttering her wings for dramatic effect.

[A/N: She looks like Nero from Black Clover.]

"Oh, right. Sorry about that, Chibi," I chuckled, extending my hand. She hopped onto my palm, still looking at me with her signature disapproving glare. I scratched the back of my head. "Guess I'm still getting used to all this. You doing okay?" 

Chibi gave me another chirp, which I decided to interpret as "Could be worse."

With Chibi settled comfortably on my head, I scanned the area again. The village wasn't far, and my stomach growled in agreement that finding food should be my next move. After all, I was no longer in the world of instant ramen and vending machines. I'd have to figure out the logistics of survival in this world pretty fast.

"Well, looks like it's time for adventure," I said, more to Chibi than to myself, starting to walk toward the village. "Who knows what kind of cool pirate stuff we'll run into? Treasure maps, Devil Fruits, weirdos with weird powers…"

Chibi's eyes narrowed. I could practically hear her internal voice. "Or you could focus on not starving first."

We trudged up the sandy path toward the village. As we got closer, I could see the small marketplace bustling with activity. A few fishermen were hauling in nets, kids were chasing each other around, and I could smell something delicious wafting from a stall selling grilled fish skewers.

Perfect.

I approached the food stall, trying to look as casual as possible. The old lady running the stand gave me a smile. "Morning, dearie! You look like a traveller. Care for some breakfast?"

"Yeah, uh, I'd love a couple of those skewers," I said, patting the pockets of my kimono for any money. Of course, nothing. ROB didn't exactly send me into this world with a pouch of Berries.

The old lady handed me the skewers, and I took them gratefully, but when she held out her hand for payment, I froze. "Uh… right, about that."

Before I could try to explain my lack of funds, Chibi fluttered down from my shoulder and landed on the counter, giving the old lady the biggest, most adorable bird eyes you'd ever seen.

The woman's expression softened instantly. "Oh, what a sweet little bird! Is she yours?"

"Yeah, this is Chibi," I said, relieved that my feathered companion had better negotiation skills than I did.

"Well, tell you what," the woman said with a warm smile. "I'll give you the skewers for free, just for being such a kind young man with such a cute bird."

"Thank you so much!" I grinned, handing one of the skewers to Chibi. She pecked at it happily, while I took a big bite of mine. "You're the best, Chibi."

With breakfast taken care of and Chibi sufficiently charmed by her fish skewer, we continued wandering through the village. It seemed like a quiet place, peaceful, which was nice but… also kind of boring. There wasn't a single pirate in sight. No bounties on walls, no shady characters lurking around. Maybe I was just expecting too much from a random village in East Blue. It didn't take long before we found a tavern to rest in. We entered and settled at a table near the corner, away from prying eyes. After a quick order of some water with a follow-up 'broke boy' stare from the waitress, I started focusing on the conversations from the people in the tavern. 

At first, it was nothing special: news about the recent haul, light-hearted jokes shared between friends, someone getting pregnant not knowing who the father (I actually perked up when hearing that. Tea is Tea wherever you go). That is, until I overheard a couple of fishermen gossiping nearby.

"Did you hear about the new pirate crew causing trouble near Shells Town?" one of them said, his voice low and conspiratorial. "Heard they took out a Marine patrol last week."

"Yeah," his friend replied. "Some upstart captain, Scarface I think his name was, says he's gonna rule the seas. The Marines are already looking to put a stop to him. I heard his bounty is set at 3 million."

"The seas keep getting more and more dangerous since Roger's death, that bastard."

I stopped in my tracks, my heart skipping a beat. Pirates. Real, actual pirates. And trouble with the Marines?

Chibi tilted her head, sensing my excitement. I gave her a wide grin. "Sounds like our first big adventure, Chibi. What do you think?"

She chirped in response, probably something along the lines of "This sounds like a terrible idea."

Right on queue, a commotion could be heard from outside. Disgruntled voices and wild laughter were getting louder until a large figure busted through the tavern doors. There stood a man with a dishevelled beard and an ugly scar through his face. He looked like a boot-leg version of Barbarossa from 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. There was a gun strapped on one side of his waste with a sword still covered in dried blood tied on the other. He waltzed in with his crew of about 15 men, who looked equally as dirty and mediocre.

However, contrary to my estimations and judging by the silence permeating the tavern, the surrounding crowd were thinking otherwise. I could hear the fishermen from before whispering to each other.

"That's Scarface! What is likes of him doing here? Isn't he scared of the Marines stationed nearby?"

"Keep quiet! The last thing we need is attracting his attention. Just keep your mouth shut and your head low, we'll wait until he leaves." 

The group settled in, ordered a round of drinks, and continued laughing without a care in the world while recounting their encounter with the marines in quite vivid detail. After a few minutes the waitress came back with their drinks and was about to leave, only for the captain to grab her hand.

"Hey gorgeous, why the sudden rush? I've had a long week and feel very tired. Mind accompanying this fine gentleman for the night? I don't bite, I promise."

That resulted in a chorus of laughter from his crew. This scene made my blood turn cold. Their fates sealed in my mind. I quietly repositioning my seat to face the group while simultaneously creating a kunai made of hardened snow in my palm. I was only waiting for an opportunity to strike. 

The barkeep got furious and shouted, "This a tavern, not a brothel! If you want to cause a commotion, pay for your drink and leave!"

Scraface and the crew got silent, the atmosphere got tense. The captain released the girl and stood up facing the barkeep with his back towards me.

"It's brave of you to assume we're paying for anything. I am Scarface with a bounty of 3 million Berry! If you want to live another day, I suggest you shut up and keep doing your job! Or I don't mind setting an example for the rest of these lovely spectators."

With that, he took out his pistol and aimed it at the barkeep. The crowd got silent, with sounds of involuntary gulps and shaking legs adding to the tension.

"You really ruined my mood, old man. I was thinking, maybe a 3 million bounty is a but too low for my taste. I'm sure massacring a tavern full of innocent villagers would add some valour to my name. Why don't we find this out together?"

As he was about to pull the trigger, a knife pierced his hand making him drop the gun. What followed was his scream as the rest of the crew drew their weapons in surprise, facing my way with confused and fearful faces.

"You wastes are too noisy... Just die."

Before they could react, a wave of snow rushed out, the air seemed to freeze around us. I kept my focus on the power within me, letting it flow as naturally as breathing. The snow moved with precision, swirling in a cold, relentless wave, trapping Scarface and his crew in an icy grip before they had a chance to retaliate. Their panicked faces were almost amusing—if not for the fact that they'd been ready to kill for sport moments earlier.

Snow Burial

The words left my lips with a calm finality, and within seconds, the group of pirates were encased in a shimmering prison of snow and ice. They were frozen mid-motion, faces contorted in fear, eyes wide. The tavern, which had been so tense just moments ago, was now silent as death.

I approached Scarface, his body partially buried in snow, leaving just enough space on his head for me to deliver the final blow. His neck was turning blue at an alarming rate due to hypothermia. His eyes, wide with pain and confusion, glared up at me, as if he couldn't believe that someone so unassuming had taken him down.

"You think you're something special?" he spat, voice trembling. His breath turned into a visible mist in the cold air. "A bounty hunter? The Marines? They don't care about people like you. You'll just be another corpse in—"

I cut him off with a swift slash of another snow-formed kunai. His words stopped, replaced by a final gasp before his head rolled off his shoulders and into the snow with a dull thud. Much to my delight, there was no 'fountain of blood' that I expected to witness with that move. His neck now looked 'powderised' in a mess of congealed blood and snow crystals. The crew followed suit—lifeless, frozen solid by the unrelenting cold.

I bent down and grabbed Scarface's severed head by the hair, his scarred face frozen in a permanent grimace. "Three million berries," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. Chibi chirped softly on my shoulder as if agreeing with me. I made sure to hide the head in some cloth, not wanting to traumatised the rest of the crowd even more.

Turning back to the tavern, I noticed the stunned, silent faces of the patrons. Some were trembling, others were gaping in awe or disbelief. I wasn't sure if it was the sheer brutality of my attack or the eeriness of using snow to kill that had them frozen in place. I made sure to dig through the crew's belongings and found about 10000 berries in cash. My mask hid a slight grin, Not so broke anymore!

I walked toward the barkeep, who was still standing behind the counter, his knuckles white from gripping the edge of the bar. His eyes flicked from me to the head in my hand, a mixture of fear and gratitude on his face.

"Sorry about the mess," I said, tossing half of my new-found cash onto the counter. "This is for the disturbance I've caused. I'll be needing some directions to nearest Marine Base and a meal for myself and Chibi."

The barkeep swallowed hard, nodding quickly. "Of—of course," he stammered, already motioning toward the back kitchen. "I'll get you something right away. It's the least I can do after what you did."

I took a seat at the bar, resting my elbows on the counter as I let my body relax. I hadn't realised how much tension I'd been holding in. My new powers felt natural, but I was still learning to control them, especially in moments like this.

Chibi fluttered off my shoulder and onto the counter, pecking at some stray crumbs as I watched the barkeep hurriedly prepare something in the back. A few minutes later, he returned with a plate of steaming food—a simple meal of fish, bread, and a small dish of seeds for Chibi. He placed the plate in front of me with shaky hands.

"Thank you for… dealing with them," he muttered, avoiding my gaze. "The nearest base is in Shells Town, just follow the main road out of town to the north. It's about half a day's journey by foot. The Marines there should be happy to take that bounty off your hands."

I nodded, finishing the meal in silence. Chibi chirped happily as she nibbled on the seeds, her small beak tapping rhythmically against the wooden counter. Once we were done, I stood, stretching slightly before grabbing Scarface's head again. I thanked the barkeep, who gave me a nervous smile in return, and stepped outside. The warm sun contrasted sharply with the cold scene I'd left behind in the tavern, but I wasn't bothered. 

The road to Shells Town was long, but uneventful. The dirt path wound through thick forests and rolling hills, with the occasional glimpse of the sea to my right. Chibi flew ahead, scouting the path before circling back to perch on my head.

When I finally arrived at Shells Town, the Marine base loomed in the distance—tall, imposing, and heavily fortified. I made my way to the gate, the head of Scarface still in hand, and called out to the guards.

They were quick to respond, recognising the bounty immediately. I guess their latest endeavour was still fresh in their minds. I was led inside to a small office where a Marine officer, a grizzled man with a cigar between his lips, assessed the head with a grunt of approval.

"Scarface, huh?" he muttered, flipping through a file. "Three million berries. Not bad for a pirate hunter."

He handed over the bounty reward in a bag of neatly tied bills. "Word of advice, kid," he added as I turned to leave. "Watch yourself. The seas are getting rougher. Even a pirate hunter like you might find yourself in over your head if you're not careful."

I nodded in acknowledgement and left the base, feeling the weight of the bounty money in my hand. It was a good start.

As I walked through the town, I looked around for a place to rest and eat. The streets were busy, people bustling about their business, but one small tavern caught my eye. The sign above the door read The Seagull's Nest—a quaint, homely name that promised a warm meal and a quiet place to think.

I stepped inside, the smell of cooking food greeting me instantly. The tavern was cozy, with wooden beams lining the ceiling and a fireplace crackling in the corner. Behind the bar stood a woman with kind eyes and a no-nonsense attitude. She glanced up as I entered, her eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of my ninja garb and mask, but she said nothing.

I took a seat at the bar, setting the bounty money beside me. Chibi fluttered down to rest on the counter, earning a soft smile from the woman.

"What can I get you?" she asked, her tone friendly but cautious.

"Just some food and water," I replied. "And some seeds for Chibi, if that's ok?"

"Sure thing, hun."

She set about preparing a meal, placing a fresh bowl of seeds for Chibi alongside a plate of stew and bread for me. As I ate, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation nearby.

"Have you heard about that pirate hunter, Zoro?" one of the patrons was saying to his friend. "They say he's the real deal. Just took down another crew not far from here."

The name Zoro caught my attention. So, he was already making a name for himself. I couldn't help but smirk slightly under my mask. This was good—Zoro was close. If he was already gaining fame, then I wasn't far behind in meeting him.

As I finished my meal, I turned to the woman behind the bar. "Zoro, the pirate hunter—how long has he been around here?"

The woman shrugged. "Not long, but his name's spread fast. He's a bit of a mystery, but folks say he's strong. Real strong. If you're looking to meet him, you'll have to move quick. Men like him don't stay in one place for long."

I nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks for the information. By the way, do you provide lodging by any chance?"

"Of course, we have a few rooms available. There is one with a sea-side view if that interests your companion."

I smiled and scratched Chibi's head, "Thank you, I'm sure Chibi would appreciate that. Could I rent the room for 3 years then?" 

That took the matron by surprise as she stammered a bit while answering, "S-Sure, that would be...55000 berries." 

I quickly took out the cash, and after settling my bill, getting my keys and thanking her, I stepped outside into the fading light. Chibi chirped softly on my head, and I stroked her feathers gently as I started walking toward the edge of town.

"Zoro's already making waves," I murmured, more to myself than anyone. "That leaves me with about two to three years, give or take, before Luffy starts his adventure. I still don't know if I want to join his crew or not, but I'll definitely need to get stronger if I want to be ready for what's coming."

Chibi chirped in agreement, her small head nuzzling against my cheek. The world of One Piece was vast, and the challenges ahead were daunting. But for now, I had a clear path. Get stronger, and eventually, prepare for the day Luffy set sail.

"Come on, Chibi. We've got work to do."