One Piece: I Awakened the Ninja Template System - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Gamble

Genzo waited until morning before visiting Bell-mère’s house.

The celebration had finally ended, leaving Cocoyasi Village unusually quiet. Empty bottles, overturned cups and abandoned plates remained scattered between the houses. Most villagers were still asleep after three days of drinking, eating and celebrating their freedom.

Nami was already awake.

She sat beside a half-packed travelling bag, checking her maps for the third time. Her injured hand remained bandaged, while a fresh covering protected the altered tattoo on her shoulder. Despite the exhaustion beneath her eyes, she seemed eager to return to the sea.

When Genzo entered, she immediately noticed the stiffness in his posture.

“What happened?”

Genzo took a folded letter from inside his coat.

“This is for you.”

Nami frowned. “From whom?”

Instead of answering, Genzo handed it to her.

She recognized Nojiko’s handwriting before opening the letter.

Her confusion deepened as she read the first few lines. Then her eyes widened. Her fingers tightened around the paper, nearly tearing it.

“That bitch!”

Nami shot to her feet so quickly that the chair behind her fell over.

“Nami—”

She ran past Genzo before he could stop her.

Nami raced through the village and towards the beach. Several villagers called after her, but she ignored them. Her sandals struck the sandy path rapidly as panic tightened around her chest.

She reached the coast and stared across the sea.

For one desperate second, she saw nothing.

Then she spotted a large ship far beyond the shallows. Its sails were open, catching a favourable wind as it travelled away from Conomi Islands. A crude black flag flew above the deck, marked with a white skull shaped like a tree.

“Nojiko!”

Her voice carried across the water, but the ship was already too far away.

“Nami?”

She turned to find Luffy running towards her, followed by Zoro, Sanji and Usopp. Their injuries slowed them, but the sight of Nami rushing through the village in panic had been enough to bring all of them.

Sanji reached her first.

“Nami-san! Are you hurt? Did someone attack you? Tell me who it was, and I’ll—”

“She left.”

Sanji blinked. “Who?”

Nami raised the crumpled letter. “Nojiko. She left the island with Jack.”

“What?” Usopp cried.

Luffy snatched the letter from her hand.

He held it sideways, turned it upside down and stared at the writing with absolute concentration.

Everyone waited.

Finally, Luffy declared, “I can’t read this.”

“You’ve been holding it upside down,” Usopp said.

“I tried it the other way too.”

Zoro took the letter from him. His eyes moved across the page as he read aloud.

“‘Nami, I’m sorry for leaving without telling you. I know you’ll be angry, but this is something I have to do. For eight years, you carried the burden of saving our village. Even when you were younger than me, you went out to sea while I stayed here and waited for you to succeed.’”

Nami stared towards the distant ship.

Zoro continued.

“‘I love our home, but I don’t want to spend my entire life wondering what exists beyond this island. I don’t want to follow you because I’m your sister or become another person you have to protect. I want to find my own path.’”

Nami’s anger didn’t disappear, but something inside her expression softened.

“‘Don’t worry about me. Jack is strange, reckless and probably much more stupid than he appears, but he’s strong. We have food, water, maps and a ship. I took one million berries from Arlong’s remaining treasure as emergency money. Consider it payment for eight years of unpaid suffering.’”

“That was my money to calculate,” Nami muttered.

Usopp looked at her. “That’s the part you’re angry about?”

“I can be angry about several things at once.”

Zoro reached the final section.

“The handwriting changes here.”

“That must be Jack’s message,” Genzo said as he arrived behind them.

Zoro’s eyes hardened before he read it.

“‘Luffy, I’m leaving your crew. From now on, we’re rivals. And wait for it—maybe I’ll find One Piece faster than you.’”

Silence fell across the beach.

Luffy’s mouth dropped open.

Then he thrust both fists into the air.

“Betrayal!”

Sanji’s reaction was even louder.

“That bastard left the crew to travel alone with such a beautiful woman!”

Usopp stared at him. “That is your problem with this?”

“Of course it’s my problem! He joined us, stole Nami-san’s sister and escaped before I could stop him!”

“He didn’t steal her,” Nami snapped. “Nojiko made her own decision.”

“That makes it worse!”

Zoro lowered the letter.

Unlike the others, he didn’t shout.

His gaze remained fixed on Jack’s distant ship, and his fingers tightened around the paper until it crumpled.

Leaving a crew immediately after accepting its captain was not a joke. A pirate crew survived through trust. Every person aboard placed their life in the hands of the others during storms, battles and shortages.

If anyone could abandon their promise whenever something more interesting appeared, the crew wouldn’t last.

Loyalty was more important than strength.

Zoro glanced towards Luffy. If their captain forgave every betrayal without consequence, others might eventually mistake his kindness for weakness.

He said nothing, but he made a decision.

The next time they met Jack, Zoro would teach him exactly what it meant to swear loyalty to a captain and then walk away.

Luffy suddenly began laughing.

The sound made everyone look at him.

“He thinks he can find One Piece before me!”

Nami stared at him. “Did you miss the part where he betrayed you?”

“Yeah. That hurt.”

Luffy stopped laughing for approximately two seconds.

“But now we’re rivals!”

His grin returned even wider than before.

“He’s more interesting than I thought!”

Nami looked back towards the sea. The Tree Pirates’ ship had become little more than a dark shape against the horizon.

She had travelled across the East Blue. She had encountered pirates, violent weather, corrupt Marines and creatures large enough to destroy small boats. Even experienced sailors could die because of one wrong decision.

Nojiko had only limited navigation knowledge.

Jack knew even less.

“They’re going to get themselves killed,” Nami whispered.

Luffy placed his straw hat firmly on his head.

“Then we’ll catch them.”

He turned towards the village and raised one arm.

“Everyone, get on the ship! We’re setting sail!”

Usopp flinched. “Right now? We haven’t finished loading everything!”

“We’ll finish quickly!”

Zoro rested one hand on his swords. “Good.”

Sanji lit a cigarette. “The moment I see Jack, I’m kicking him into the sea.”

“You’re not kicking anyone until your leg heals,” Nami said.

“I’ll heal through love, Nami-san!”

Within the hour, the Going Merry was prepared.

The villagers gathered along the shore to say goodbye. Nami stood with Genzo for a final moment, anger and worry still fighting inside her.

“Why didn’t you stop her?” she asked.

“I tried to make sure she was prepared.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

Genzo looked towards the horizon. “She needed to make her own choice, just as you did.”

Nami lowered her gaze.

Then she embraced him.

When she boarded the Going Merry, Luffy leaned over the railing and grinned at her.

“Nami! You’re our navigator, right?”

Nami looked at the crew waiting on deck.

Luffy was smiling as if her answer had never been in doubt. Usopp looked nervous but hopeful. Sanji had somehow surrounded himself with floating hearts, while Zoro waited with his arms crossed.

Nami smiled.

“Yes. From now on, I’m officially your navigator.”

The Straw Hat Pirates cheered.

Their sails opened, and the Going Merry left Conomi Islands behind.

Luffy stood on the figurehead and pointed towards the open sea.

“Find Jack! Then we’ll beat him to One Piece!”

“You can’t just point randomly and expect that to work!” Nami yelled.

…

Far ahead of them, the Tree Pirates had already discovered that exact problem.

Several days had passed since Jack and Nojiko left Conomi Islands.

They were completely lost.

Nojiko stood over three different maps spread across a table in the captain’s cabin. She shifted one map, compared its coastline to another and then looked through the window at the endless water surrounding them.

Nothing matched.

“Do you see any landmarks?” she called.

One of Jack’s Wood Shadow Clones answered from the deck.

“Water!”

Nojiko closed her eyes. “Anything else?”

“More water!”

She pressed both palms against the table.

Their first day had gone reasonably well. They had followed the current and maintained a steady direction. On the second day, the wind shifted. Nojiko had attempted to compensate, but without proper navigation instruments or enough experience, she had lost track of their position.

By the third day, she wasn’t even certain which direction would take them back to Conomi Islands.

They had been fortunate enough to avoid storms. Unfortunately, avoiding storms didn’t mean they were travelling towards anything useful.

At least they had no shortage of supplies.

Jack’s Wood Release gave them an almost unlimited supply of fruit. He could grow oranges, apples, and different fruits. Whenever their food stores ran low, and the juice helped solve their drinking-water problem. He could also produce wooden branches for cooking fires and repair small damage to the ship.

Starvation and thirst were not immediate dangers.

The problem was that they had no idea where they were going.

Nojiko emerged from the cabin and found Jack exercising in the middle of the deck.

He lowered himself towards the wood, completed another push-up and began counting.

“Ninety-eight… ninety-nine… one hundred.”

He rolled onto his back and moved directly into sit-ups.

Nojiko stared at him. “We’re lost.”

“One.”

“We might have been sailing in circles for two days.”

“Two.”

“We could continue in the wrong direction until we reach the Calm Belt or fall off the edge of the world.”

“Three.”

“Are you listening?”

Jack paused. “The world is round.”

“That isn’t the important part!”

Jack returned to his sit-ups.

He couldn’t complete the full Saitama routine aboard the ship because running ten kilometres was impossible without repeatedly circling the deck. Instead, he focused on push-ups, squats and sit-ups.

While Nojiko worried about their direction, Jack treated their accidental voyage as an extended training period.

After several hours of watching him exercise every day, Nojiko became bored enough to join him.

At first, she struggled to complete even a small portion of his routine. Jack created simple wooden weights suited to her strength, then gradually increased their weight as she adapted.

“Keep your back straight,” he instructed.

Nojiko attempted another squat while holding a wooden bar across her shoulders.

“If you make this thing heavier again, I’ll hit you with it.”

“That means you still have energy.”

“It means I have anger.”

“Anger is useful during training.”

Nojiko forced herself upright.

Something about the people of this world continued to surprise Jack. Their bodies possessed limits far beyond those of ordinary humans on Earth. With enough willpower, food and consistent effort, they could improve at an incredible speed.

After only a few days of training, Jack’s appraisal of Nojiko changed.

She had reached Level 1.

According to Jack’s rough comparison between levels and the East Blue’s bounty scale, that was approximately the foundation expected from someone worth one million berries. It did not mean she could immediately defeat every pirate with that bounty—experience and abilities still mattered—but she was no longer at the level of a completely untrained civilian.

When Jack told her, Nojiko nearly dropped her weight.

“You think I’m as strong as a pirate worth one million berries?”

“Approximately.”

“How do you know?”

Jack realised he had said too much.

“Intuition.”

Nojiko stared at him suspiciously.

“My intuition is very accurate.”

“You’re hiding something.”

“I’m a pirate. It’s part of the profession.”

Nojiko promised herself she would force the truth out of him eventually.

Jack’s own training had also changed.

He was no longer using the Ten-Tails template.

After his experience with Luffy’s unconscious Haki, Jack had started thinking about the limitations of his Naruto-derived abilities inside the One Piece world. Observation Haki could sense living beings, emotions and hostile intent. Advanced users could even glimpse the future.

Jack didn’t know whether someone from another world with a chakra system could genuinely awaken Haki. Their spiritual foundations might be compatible, or they might be fundamentally different.

Until he found the answer, he intended to imitate Observation Haki using something he already understood.

For that purpose, he had selected Karin’s template.

Karin possessed the Mind’s Eye of Kagura, an advanced sensory ability connected to her Uzumaki bloodline. By closing her physical eyes and opening her mind’s eye, she could detect chakra across distances of several dozen kilometres.

With enough focus, she could identify a specific person’s location, movements and chakra characteristics. She could detect unusual chakra activity and even notice fluctuations caused when someone moulded chakra, lied or fell under a genjutsu.

It lacked Observation Haki’s ability to glimpse the future, but its tracking range and detail were extraordinary.

If Jack combined it with the Sharingan, he could create something almost as useful as Observation Haki. The Mind’s Eye would locate threats beyond his vision, while the Sharingan would analyse movements once they came within sight.

There was only one problem.

He hadn’t fully merged with the ability.

—

Template: Karin Uzumaki

Ability Integration: Mind’s Eye of Kagura — 43%

—

Jack sat cross-legged near the mast and released his chakra slowly.

Instead of keeping it within his chakra network, he expanded a thin layer of it beyond his body. The process felt like trying to transform smoke into a second skin and then stretch that skin across the surrounding area.

His awareness spread through the ship.

He sensed the wooden clones because each carried a large portion of his chakra. Their signatures were familiar—almost identical echoes of himself.

Then he found Nojiko.

Her energy felt smaller and less defined because she possessed no chakra network of her own. Even so, Karin’s template allowed Jack to perceive the vitality inside her body and the faint spiritual pressure created by her presence.

He could sense her moving across the deck without opening his eyes.

Currently, his maximum reliable range was only one hundred metres.

Karin could sense targets across several dozen kilometres.

The difference was humiliating.

Jack continued practising.

His awareness brushed against the ocean, but the sheer movement of the water created countless useless impressions. He tried to separate the ship, the fish beneath them and Nojiko’s footsteps from the surrounding noise.

“Are you sleeping again?” Nojiko asked.

“I’m training.”

“You always say that when your eyes are closed.”

“I can sense you standing behind me.”

Nojiko moved silently to his left.

Jack pointed at her correctly.

She shifted to his right.

He pointed again.

Nojiko picked up a wooden weight.

Jack opened his eyes. “And now you’re thinking about hitting me.”

“That part was obvious.”

Before she could test whether he could sense an actual attack, one of the Wood Shadow Clones shouted from the top of the mast.

“Island!”

Jack and Nojiko froze.

The clone pointed towards the horizon.

“I can see the outline of an island!”

They rushed to the front of the ship.

A dark shape rose in the distance, partially hidden by sea mist. After days of seeing nothing but water, even the faint coastline looked beautiful.

Nojiko grabbed the wheel.

“Adjust the sail! We’re heading towards it.”

Jack sent his clones to the ropes.

Nojiko kept her eyes fixed on the island. “The first thing we do after arriving is find a navigator.”

“I thought you were our navigator.”

“I know enough to understand that we’re lost. That is my greatest achievement so far.”

“We survived.”

“Because the weather took pity on us.” Nojiko pointed towards the growing island. “We’re not even dreaming about entering the Grand Line until we recruit someone who actually knows navigation.”

After the last several days, Jack didn’t argue.

“And I need equipment,” Nojiko continued. “Something for brewing alcohol. If I spend another week exercising and staring at water, I’ll throw myself overboard.”

“You could make juice.”

“I want alcohol.”

Jack nodded solemnly. “Then finding brewing equipment is our second priority.”

As they approached, the island revealed a sprawling port filled with brightly coloured buildings. Music drifted across the water despite the daylight. Tall signs decorated the waterfront, and dozens of ships occupied the harbour.

Several flew pirate flags openly.

No one fired at them or sounded an alarm when the Tree Pirates entered the port.

A uniformed harbour worker approached the moment they secured their ship.

“Docking fee is ten thousand berries.”

Nojiko flinched. “Ten thousand?”

“Pay it or leave.”

She reluctantly counted out the money from their emergency fund.

Jack looked at the nearby vessels. Pirate crews walked openly along the docks, some heavily armed. Merchant ships and luxurious passenger vessels were mixed among them.

“What island is this?” he asked.

The worker pocketed the payment. “Pleasure Island.”

Jack waited for more.

The man grinned. “Whatever gives you pleasure, you’ll find it here. Food, alcohol, gambling, women, men, slaves—anything, if you have enough money.”

Nojiko’s expression hardened at the mention of slaves.

“Who controls this place?”

“Pleasure Island falls under the Grand Kingdom. Their army keeps order here. Cause trouble inside the entertainment districts and you’ll answer to them.”

He walked away to collect money from another arriving vessel.

Jack and Nojiko entered the city.

Pleasure Island was unlike anything either of them had seen.

Restaurants filled the streets with the smell of roasted meat and unfamiliar spices. Musicians performed on raised platforms. Crowds surrounded fighting pits where contestants struck one another for cheering spectators. People drank beneath colourful lanterns even though sunset was hours away.

Casinos occupied some of the largest buildings. Their doors were guarded by armed men, while servants invited wealthy visitors inside.

Pirates walked everywhere, yet the streets remained surprisingly controlled. Soldiers wearing the Grand Kingdom’s emblem patrolled in organised groups. Whenever a drunken pirate drew a weapon, guards surrounded him before the situation could spread.

Jack quietly studied the people around them.

The system displayed levels ranging from ordinary civilians to experienced fighters. Some pirates reached the twenties, while a handful of soldiers approached Level 30.

None appeared stronger than Jack.

That was not particularly surprising. Pirates more powerful than Arlong were rare in the East Blue. Luffy’s new thirty-million-berry bounty would make him the highest-bounty pirate in the sea once news spread.

Jack had already reached Level 34.

He still lacked experience, but very few people on the island could challenge him in raw development.

Nojiko was interested in a different set of numbers.

“This costs fifty thousand berries,” she said, staring at a brewing container displayed in a shop. “It isn’t even the complete equipment.”

“You took a million.”

“Everything here costs five times what it should! Maps, tools, medicine—at this rate, our money won’t last a week.”

Jack looked across the street.

A large golden sign hung above the entrance of a casino.

He smiled.

“We’ll go to the gambling house.”

“No.”

“One hour.”

“No.”

“We need money.”

“We still have money.”

“We need more money.”

Nojiko caught his sleeve. “You don’t know how to gamble.”

Jack activated the Karin template’s sensory ability and felt the emotional fluctuations of the people entering the casino.

“I know when people are lying.”

That was enough to make Nojiko hesitate.

An hour later, nearly their entire emergency fund sat on a gambling table.

Jack began cautiously.

He lost several small bets on purpose while learning how the games worked. Once he understood the rules, he focused on the dealer and other gamblers.

The incomplete Mind’s Eye of Kagura couldn’t see through cards or predict where a freely spinning ball would land. It could, however, sense subtle changes in the dealer’s energy, breathing and muscles. When opponents lied about their confidence, their inner fluctuations betrayed them.

Jack folded when others held strong hands and raised the stakes whenever he sensed fear hidden beneath their expressions.

He occasionally lost small amounts to avoid making his advantage obvious.

But whenever the bets became large, he won.

One million berries became three million.

Three became eight.

Eight became seventeen.

A crowd gathered around the table.

Nojiko guarded their growing pile with both arms, her earlier objections forgotten.

When Jack won another enormous round, the dealer slowly placed his cards down.

Thirty-four million berries rested before them.

Nojiko stared at the money.

Her sister had spent eight years stealing from pirates to gather one hundred million. Jack had somehow acquired more than a third of that amount in an hour.

“Getting money is this easy?” she whispered.

“No,” Jack said. “If it were easy, they wouldn’t look so angry.”

The dealer stood.

“You’re cheating.”

Jack leaned back in his chair. “Can you prove it?”

The dealer answered with a punch.

Jack tilted his head, allowing the fist to pass beside his face. He stood and drove one chakra-enhanced punch into the man’s stomach.

The dealer flew backwards and crashed through another table.

For one second, the gambling house became silent.

Then everyone attacked.

Several security men rushed from the walls, while gamblers who had lost money joined them. Chairs overturned, cards scattered and people scrambled away from the fight.

“Nojiko!” Jack shouted. “Take care of the money!”

She swept bundles of berries into their bags.

Jack closed his eyes for a fraction of a second and expanded his sensory field. Nojiko’s presence remained clear behind him. Every time someone tried to move towards her, Jack intercepted them.

He ducked beneath a bottle, caught the attacker’s wrist and threw him across the room. A second man charged with a knife. Jack avoided the blade and struck his jaw with an open palm.

Two more attacked from behind.

Jack sensed them before they entered his vision.

He spun, kicked one into a gambling table and blocked the other’s fist with his forearm. Wood spread across his skin to soften the impact. He answered with a punch that sent the man rolling across the floor.

More guards came.

They were strong compared to ordinary civilians, but none possessed Arlong’s power or durability. After fighting Fish-Men, their movements felt slow.

Within minutes, unconscious bodies covered the gambling floor.

Nojiko lifted two bulging bags. “I have the money!”

Whistles sounded outside.

Jack sensed numerous soldiers approaching the casino from several directions. Some carried rifles, and at least two possessed energy far stronger than the defeated guards.

“That’s our signal to leave.”

“The door is blocked!”

Jack grabbed both bags in one hand and Nojiko around the waist with the other.

“What are you doing?”

“Fastest exit.”

He ran towards a window.

Nojiko saw the glass approaching. “Jack, don’t—”

They crashed through it.

Wooden armour covered them as they burst into the street and landed among shocked pedestrians. Behind them, kingdom guards poured into the gambling house.

“There they are!” someone shouted.

Jack placed Nojiko back on her feet and handed her one of the bags.

The soldiers began chasing them.

Jack and Nojiko ran away.