A young man muttered to himself, his voice laced with impatience.
"Why haven't you come yet? If you don't hurry, Zoro's gonna starve to death. Is this guy even human? A whole week without food, and he's still breathing..."
Lock let out a long sigh, shifting the piece of grass between his lips. His short black hair swayed slightly in the breeze, and the knife strapped to his waist clanked lightly as he adjusted his stance.
"This reincarnation deal... why'd it have to be One Piece?"
He had been here for years now, but the absurdity of it all still hadn't fully settled in.
---
Once upon a time—well, in his past life—Lock had been an average guy. A car accident had sent him hurtling into this world, and for a brief, glorious moment, he had assumed he'd landed in some ancient era. Maybe he could play the wise scholar, climb the ranks, and live a life of luxury.
Then a newspaper crushed that dream into dust.
"Red-Haired Shanks, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido have been crowned as the Four Emperors of the New World!"
The sheer weight of those names had nearly knocked him out. The emotions that followed were a mess—disbelief, excitement, speechlessness, and finally... resignation.
This was the Great Pirate Era, a time when monsters roamed the seas, and the navy often served as little more than glorified scenery. The law wouldn't save him. If he wanted to survive, he needed power.
Luckily, he wasn't thrown into this world empty-handed. His golden finger—the [Breath of the Sun] technique from Demon Slayer—was proof of that.
He had trained relentlessly, perfecting it to a level akin to Tsugikuni Yoriichi himself. His blade could ignite with flames, his movements were honed to perfection...
And yet—compared to the true beasts of this world—he was still just a guy with a sword.
He couldn't cleave through the sky, couldn't split islands in half, couldn't manipulate celestial phenomena. His Observation Haki was decent, but his Armament Haki barely coated his hand. As for Conqueror's Haki? Not even a whisper of it.
For now, his livelihood came from hunting down small-time bounty heads. No one above a million berries—he wasn't suicidal. But the recent dry spell in pirate activity had left his pockets empty. No bounties meant no money. No money meant no cigarettes. Which explained why he was currently chewing on a piece of grass like a damn cow.
---
"Oi, kid. Hand over all your money, and we might let you walk away in one piece."
A rough voice cut through the silence behind him.
Lock didn't even bother turning around. He simply yawned.
"You deaf, brat? We're the One-Eyed Bandit Crew, and our leader, Leah, has a bounty of 800,000 berries!"
At that, Lock finally turned, his dark eyes gleaming with an unsettling light.
800,000 berries?
A dozen men surrounded him, guns raised, eager to flaunt their supposed superiority. Meanwhile, Lock looked at them like they were a bunch of long-lost relatives.
"800,000 berries..." He tapped his chin. "Tell you what, hand over one million, and I'll let you go."
Silence. Then—laughter.
Leah scoffed, shaking his head. "A lunatic, huh? Fine, kill him!"
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, but Lock tilted his head slightly, letting the bullet whistle past his ear. His expression remained unchanged.
"You don't recognize me, do you?" he said lazily. "The name's Lock, the Fire Blade. Bounty hunter."
One of his lackeys leaned in, whispering urgently, "Boss, that's Lock. He's been making a name for himself in the East Blue. They say he's strong—really strong."
"Tch. A bounty hunter, huh?" Leah (The Captain Of The Crew) spat. "You're trying to rob bandits? Where's the justice in that?"
Lock sighed. "You tried robbing me first. What, am I supposed to just take it?"
Leah's scowl deepened. "Kill him!"
More gunshots echoed.
Lock's blade flashed twice. Two bullets, sliced clean in half, fell harmlessly to the ground.
When the dust settled, Lock was already behind Leah, his sword resting against the bandit leader's neck. Leah stiffened, his reflection staring back at him in the blade's polished steel.
"Now," Lock said, voice dangerously calm. "Give me one million berries... or I take your head."
Cold sweat dripped down Leah's face. "B-Buddy, that's not how this works! Y-You're robbing us!"
Lock yawned, pressing the blade slightly forward.
Leah's whole body tensed. "W-Wait! I have the money! It's in my coat!"
Slowly, carefully, he pulled out a wad of cash. Lock snatched it, gave it a once-over—1.2 million berries—then sheathed his sword and turned away.
Leah let out a breath of relief.
"Buddy! You said one million! Leave me something!"
Lock paused for a second.
Then walked faster.
Leah collapsed to his knees, groaning. "You don't have ethics... We had a deal..."
---
That night, Lock sat atop a rooftop, enjoying a freshly bought cigarette.
He stared at the Marine base in the distance, watching a certain pink-haired recruit getting bullied by a blond idiot.
Bellamy—or whatever his name was—swaggered out, leaving destruction in his wake. The townspeople numbly swept up the mess, not even bothering to complain.
Lock exhaled a plume of smoke.
"Yeah... not getting involved in that. No amount of berries is worth being these guys' bodyguard."
He lay back, staring at the starry sky.
He had no interest in working under some corrupt marine. No desire to chase after justice or tyranny.
He was here, alive in this world again, and all he wanted was freedom.
A true adventure.
And who better to follow than the future King of the Pirates?
He closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he would meet Monkey D. Luffy.
---
"Coby! I'm hungry!"
Lock's eyes snapped open.
He sat up just in time to see a straw hat-wearing boy and a nervous pink-haired kid wandering into town. The sight made him pause.
That hat. That dumb, carefree grin.
So he's finally here.
Lock exhaled, then hopped off the rooftop, landing smoothly in front of them. Coby yelped, nearly jumping out of his skin, while the straw hat kid just blinked at him curiously.
Lock held up a package of food. "You look like you could use this."
The boy's face lit up instantly. "Whoa! Food!" He snatched the package without hesitation and tore into it, stuffing his face like he hadn't eaten in days.
Coby, still wary, adjusted his glasses. "Um… who are you?"
Lock smirked, watching as the straw hat kid devoured the meal. "Just a bounty hunter passing through." He turned his gaze back to the boy and asked, "What's your name?"
The kid gulped down his food before grinning wide. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Lock chuckled. This idiot really doesn't hold back, huh?
"Pirate, huh?" He tilted his head. "Sounds like fun."
Luffy kept eating, not even fazed. "It is! But first, I need a crew!"
Lock crossed his arms, thinking for a moment before nodding to himself.
"Then take me with you."
Luffy stopped mid-bite, staring at him. Coby looked like he was about to have a heart attack.
"Huh?" Luffy swallowed his food. "You wanna be a pirate?"
Lock shrugged. "More like I want an adventure. And you… You seem like the kind of guy who'd drag me into something interesting."
Luffy grinned, eyes practically sparkling.
"Alright! You're in!"
Coby nearly collapsed. That's it?! No questions? No tests?!
Lock smirked. "Just like that?"
Luffy nodded confidently. "You gave me food. That means you're a good guy."
Lock laughed. This guy's something else.
"Alright then, Captain," he said, rolling his shoulders. "Guess I'm a pirate now."
And just like that, his journey truly began.
---
(A/N: I Hope This Version Is Much Better Than The Previous One)