Klein brushed his ponytail. His hair wasn't as long as Spark Jabba's, but he'd been growing it for years.
Ka-cha— Ka-cha—
"Eh— This donut's really good. Thanks, Long-Hair Guy." Garp laughed heartily, clearly pleased with the donut.
Creak—
The dorm room door opened.
"Afro?!"
"Goddamn Garp?!"
Garp and Sengoku locked eyes, glaring at each other with so much intensity it was as if sparks were flying between them.
"Seriously, why the hell am I sharing a room with you?!" Sengoku's eyebrows shot up. He walked straight to the bed across from Klein, visibly annoyed.
"This one's mine."
Getting placed in the same room? You can thank me for that.
Klein smiled and said, "Sengoku, I guess we're roommates now. Name's Klein."
"Hmph." Sengoku nodded, but his face was still sour.
He laid down on his bed, only to be immediately annoyed by the sound of Garp munching away on donuts.
"Hey— Garp, you bastard! Can you eat without making that damn noise?!"
"They're really good though. Want one?" Garp grinned, offering Sengoku the bag.
Sengoku, already fuming, was thrown off by the sudden gesture of goodwill. He turned away awkwardly. "No!"
"Hurry up and eat, and stop keeping me awake."
Soon, the final member of the Iron Triangle, Zephyr, arrived. He and Klein chatted for a while to get acquainted, and then everyone settled down for bed.
"Today… really was a day to remember."
Lying in bed, Klein couldn't help but think—his innate talent meant he'd never become truly strong. Unless he could get his hands on a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
Only that could change his fate. Break through the shackles of his physical limitations.
Mythical Zoan fruits—those things were rarer than Logia-types in the early anime. Later on? Practically everywhere.
Still...
Getting one of those fruits? Harder than winning the lottery.
The only slightly realistic chance was the pink Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit Vegapunk made. But that wouldn't exist for many, many years.
'My whole life's path feels like it's already been laid out…'
Klein felt a wave of melancholy. Even though he'd taken the first step with Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr, his strength would never compare to theirs.
So...
Living a safe, peaceful life—marrying seven or eight beautiful women and living like a landowning noble in a branch office—maybe that wasn't so bad.
Just as that thought passed, a ding rang out in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Pirate Idle Game Loaded. Tap to enter.]
"????"
For a second, Klein thought he was dreaming. But the game interface was crystal clear in his mind, like a 4K projection directly onto his brain.
"Is this real?"
"Are you screwing with me?"
"Couldn't you show up earlier? Scared the crap out of me. I thought I saw a ghost."
Late, but it showed up.
Disbelief lasted only a moment—then came pure joy!
You wanna get strong as an average person?
Then you need cheats!!
And now…
Here it is!!!
Klein felt like he'd just chugged pure Kun Blood—he wanted to jump out of bed and bust out a full-on song, dance, rap, and basketball routine right in the dorm.
Right now, he was basically channeling Charlotte on stage, pumping his fists and shouting "HELL YEAH!" to vent his excitement.
But he knew...
He couldn't!
There were others in the dorm. Klein had to bottle up his overwhelming excitement. Still, he couldn't stop his body from trembling.
Inside, he was screaming: I GOT A CHEAT!!!
HELL YEAH!!!
Punching Admirals! Kicking Emperors! It's all possible now!!!
Don't look down on a broke rookie—18 years East Side, 18 years West Side!
...
It took a while for Klein to calm himself. He was almost in tears. Only he knew how hard these past fifteen years had been.
Training wasn't just physical—it was mental too.
A minute on the stage takes ten years of work behind the scenes. Sure, his test scores today were just average, but that took over ten years of effort.
And even so, he'd probably end up a disposable grunt. If he got unlucky and ran into some wolf-in-sheep's-clothing pirate—or a criminal sneak attack—he'd be done for.
"Okay, don't celebrate too early. Let's check out this system first. Don't want to laugh too loud and cry later… not like I've got anywhere to cry in this dorm," Klein muttered, turning to the game screen in his mind.
The first thing that stood out? The name of the game.
Next? The 'Enter Game' button.
Beneath that—those familiar 'Healthy Gaming Guidelines':
Resist bad games, reject piracy.
Protect yourself, beware of scams.
Moderate gaming is good for the brain, addiction harms the body.
Manage your time wisely and enjoy a healthy life.
"This game… reeks of low-budget." Klein was skeptical. Even with a cheat, this felt suspicious.
It looked like some shady little dev team slapped together a 'cash grab' game just to milk some money and disappear.
Even the UI and icons looked like bottom-tier assets.
"Whatever. Big or small, I'll find out once I unzip. This might be the only shot I have at changing my fate and becoming strong."
With a thought, Klein tapped the 'Enter Game' button. The screen shifted to a familiar loading page.
The loading speed wasn't bad, which gave him some relief. "Phew, good thing it doesn't need internet. Where the hell am I supposed to find Wi-Fi in this world?"
Once loading finished, the game moved to the character creation screen.
The UI was super cartoonish.
Big-headed chibi avatars with sparkly oversized eyes, basic shorts and tees. Gender, hairstyle, face patterns...
It looked like a knockoff version of MapleStory—just a bit more polished and cutesy.
[Enter Character Name:]
[Imu's Dad]
[Gender: Male]
[Character Created Successfully. Entering Game…]
The screen changed again—to the iconic scene of Pirate King Roger's execution in Loguetown.
"The man who had it all—wealth, fame, and power—Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates…"
"The Great Pirate Era…"
Klein could practically recite the whole monologue. The moment the 'Skip' button appeared, he hit it without hesitation.
Besides...
Roger hadn't even set sail yet. He was probably still some punk kid in East Blue.
Skip.
The screen shifted to an island filled with all kinds of buildings and icons.
A ton of red dots lit up across the interface.
"Perfect. Now this is the vibe. Time for the newbie tutorial!" Klein had played his fair share of games. He knew the drill.
"That sweet, sweet domestic game feel."
"I'm home!"