One Piece: I Awakened the Ninja Template System - Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Arlong Pirates
The deeper Jack walked into the forest, the more oppressive it became.
Enormous trees towered above him, their interwoven branches blocking most of the sunlight. Only thin golden rays slipped through the canopy, illuminating patches of moss and tangled roots. Vines as thick as his wrist hung from the trees, while broad leaves brushed against his shoulders whenever he passed.
Everything was unnaturally large.
The forest never became silent. Insects buzzed from every direction. Leaves rustled even when there was no wind, and distant footsteps occasionally made the earth tremble beneath Jack’s feet.
Then a roar erupted somewhere in the darkness.
Jack stopped instantly.
The sound rolled through the forest like thunder. Birds burst from the surrounding trees, and something heavy crashed through the undergrowth in the distance.
Every hair on Jack’s body stood on end.
“What was that?”
He tightened his grip on the piece of driftwood he had brought from the beach. Moments ago, it had seemed like a reasonable weapon. Now it looked like a brittle twig.
Another sound came from the bushes to his right.
Jack spun toward it, raising the driftwood with both hands.
Two long ears emerged from behind a fern.
A rabbit hopped into view.
Jack almost laughed at his own nervousness—until the entire creature stepped out of the bushes.
The rabbit was nearly as large as a wolf.
Its hind legs were packed with muscle, and its front teeth looked capable of biting through bone. It stopped several metres away and stared at Jack while chewing a mouthful of grass.
Neither of them moved.
“You’re a rabbit,” Jack whispered. “Please behave like one.”
The creature’s nose twitched.
Jack slowly stepped back.
Fortunately, the giant rabbit seemed more interested in its meal than him. It turned away and disappeared into the vegetation with several powerful leaps.
Jack released the breath he had been holding.
“If rabbits are that big, what happens when I meet a lion?”
He didn’t want to discover the answer.
Jack began moving again, keeping his ears alert for the slightest sound. Every shadow now looked like a predator waiting to strike. He avoided thick bushes and made as little noise as possible, but the tangled terrain forced him to move slowly.
At his current level, even an ordinary wild animal could kill him.
He had gained immense potential from the Ninja Template System, but potential didn’t sharpen the useless piece of wood in his hands.
For nearly half an hour, Jack wandered without finding water, fruit, or any indication of civilization. He had no idea whether he was travelling deeper inland or moving in circles.
Then he noticed something unusual between the trees.
The ground ahead was clear.
Jack hurried toward it and found a narrow road passing through the forest. It wasn’t paved with stone or concrete. It was simply a long path of compacted sand and earth, but the absence of plants proved that people regularly used it.
Relief washed over him.
“Finally.”
A road meant civilization.
Civilization meant food, water, information, and perhaps protection from the monsters inhabiting this forest.
Jack stepped onto the path and examined both directions. He couldn’t see any footprints clearly enough to determine which way led toward a settlement, so he chose the direction where the vegetation appeared thinner.
He increased his pace.
The road was far easier to cross than the forest floor. With no roots or bushes obstructing him, Jack covered the distance quickly. After several minutes, he noticed brighter sunlight ahead and heard voices.
He immediately slowed down.
Something about those voices felt wrong.
They weren’t the relaxed sounds of villagers working or travellers speaking with one another. Jack heard frightened whispers, muffled crying, and one harsh voice barking orders.
He left the road and moved behind the trees.
Crouching low, he approached the source of the commotion until the forest opened into a broad clearing.
The sight awaiting him made his blood run cold.
Several dozen people were kneeling on the ground.
There were men, women, and children among them. Most wore simple clothes, and their faces showed the exhaustion of people who had lived under constant fear. A few children cried silently while their parents held them close.
Walking among the kneeling villagers were humanoid creatures.
They possessed arms and legs like humans, but their skin came in unnatural shades of blue and grey. Some had fins protruding from their bodies. Others displayed sharp teeth, gills, or webbed hands.
Fish-men.
Jack stared at them from behind a tree.
The creatures carried sacks filled with coins. They moved from one family to another, demanding payments and threatening anyone who hesitated.
A tall, thin Fish-Man stood at the centre of the group. His light-blue skin and round eyes gave him a deceptively foolish appearance, but his mouth extended forward like that of a fish.
Jack’s attention shifted toward the space above the creature’s head.
A faint number floated there.
Level 24
Jack blinked.
The number remained.
He looked at another Fish-Man.
Level 14
Another was level seventeen. None of the Fish-Men present were below level ten.
Jack turned his attention toward the kneeling villagers.
Their levels were terrifyingly low.
One.
Two.
Three.
He couldn’t find anyone above level three.
The difference between the two groups was overwhelming. Even if every villager attacked together, the Fish-Men could probably massacre them without difficulty.
Jack’s new ability to observe levels must have come with the system.
His own level was two.
That meant he was among the weakest people in the clearing.
“Next family!” one of the Fish-Men shouted.
A middle-aged man knelt beside his wife and teenage daughter. His clothes were torn, and there were deep shadows beneath his eyes.
The Fish-Man standing before him extended a webbed hand.
“Pay up.”
The man lowered his head. “Please give us more time. The harvest was poor, and we already gave you everything we had last month.”
The other Fish-Men laughed.
The level-24 Fish-Man turned toward the family, his strange mouth curling into a cruel smile.
“No money?”
“We’ll pay,” the man said quickly. “I promise. Just give me another week.”
“You know Captain Arlong’s rules. Every adult human has to pay one hundred thousand berries. Every child costs fifty thousand.” The Fish-Man leaned closer. “If you can’t pay, then you’re no longer useful as livestock.”
The woman wrapped both arms around her daughter.
The Fish-Man’s smile widened.
“You’ll have to give us one member of your family as food. Otherwise, Captain Arlong might decide to eat all of you.”
The entire family trembled.
Several villagers looked away, but no one dared to intervene. They had clearly witnessed this situation before. Some of them might have lost members of their own families in the same way.
The kneeling man clenched his fists.
For several seconds, he struggled to speak. Then he abruptly stood and moved in front of his wife and daughter.
“Take me.”
His wife grabbed the back of his shirt.
“No!”
“Father, don’t!” the girl cried.
The man looked down at them. Fear filled his face, but he didn’t step aside.
“Take me and leave them alone.”
The Fish-Men burst into louder laughter.
The level-24 Fish-Man placed one hand on the man’s shoulder. His long mouth opened, displaying rows of sharp teeth.
“What a brave little human.”
The man flinched beneath his grip.
Unfortunately, the Fish-Man shoved him aside.
“But I don’t feel like eating tough male meat today.” His gaze moved toward the man’s wife. “We want something softer.”
The woman’s face turned pale.
Two Fish-Men approached her.
Her husband lunged forward, but another creature kicked him in the stomach before he could take a second step. The man collapsed, gasping for air.
“Stop!”
A young woman came running from the road on the opposite side of the clearing.
She had blue hair, sun-tanned skin, and a tattoo on her upper arm. She didn’t slow down despite the terrified villagers urging her to remain silent.
Jack frowned.
There was something familiar about her.
The blue-haired woman placed herself between the Fish-Men and the kneeling family.
“Give them more time,” she said. “They’ll find the money.”
The Fish-Man tilted his head.
“Did we ask for your opinion?”
“No, but you’ve already collected enough from this village. If you take away the people who work in the fields, there’ll be even less money next month.”
Her voice remained firm, but Jack noticed the tension in her shoulders. She was afraid. She simply refused to let the Fish-Men see it.
The leader stepped closer until his face was only inches from hers.
“You’ve become bold, Nojiko.”
The name struck Jack like lightning.
Nojiko.
He knew that name.
The Fish-Man continued, “You think you can speak to us like this because your precious little sister works for Captain Arlong?”
Nojiko held his gaze. “This has nothing to do with Nami.”
“It has everything to do with her.” The creature grinned. “If Nami weren’t useful to us, we would’ve eaten you a long time ago.”
Some of the Fish-Men laughed.
Nojiko’s hands curled into fists, but she didn’t respond.
Behind the tree, Jack’s heart pounded.
Arlong.
Fish-Men.
Nami.
Nojiko.
There could no longer be any doubt.
He had been reincarnated into the world of One Piece.
This island had to be Conomi Islands, and the people before him were residents of one of the villages controlled by the Arlong Pirates.
The discovery should have excited him. One Piece was a world filled with incredible adventures, mysterious islands, Devil Fruits, Haki, and treasures beyond imagination.
But Jack couldn’t feel happy while watching a family being selected as food.
He was standing in one of the darkest periods of Nami’s life.
Arlong and his crew had conquered the region years ago. They treated the human population like livestock, collecting money in exchange for allowing them to live. Anyone unable to pay was eaten.
Nami had been forced to work for Arlong since childhood, drawing maps while secretly stealing money from pirates. She believed she could eventually purchase the freedom of her village.
If Nojiko looked this old, the current timeline had to be close to the beginning of the main story.
Somewhere in the East Blue, Monkey D. Luffy had either begun his journey or was about to begin it.
Jack’s thoughts were interrupted when the level-24 Fish-Man seized Nojiko’s shoulder and pushed her aside.
“We’re collecting the payment today,” he said. “Your sister’s position won’t change the rules.”
The other Fish-Men grabbed the kneeling woman.
Her daughter screamed.
The husband dragged himself up from the ground. His face twisted with desperation as he reached for a farming tool lying nearby.
Jack’s grip tightened around the driftwood.
Anger burned through him.
He wanted to help.
Every part of him demanded that he step into the clearing and stop them, but the floating levels above the Fish-Men’s heads crushed that impulse.
He was level two.
Even the weakest enemy was more than five times his level, while their leader had already crossed the system’s minimum threshold for a Genin.
If Jack attacked, he wouldn’t save anyone.
He would simply die beside them.
Nojiko shoved one of the Fish-Men away from the woman.
“Leave her!”
The leader raised his hand, preparing to strike Nojiko.
Jack shifted behind the tree without thinking.
A branch snapped beneath his foot.
The sound was quiet, but the Fish-Man’s head immediately turned in his direction.
Their eyes met.
Jack stopped breathing.
The Fish-Man stared at him for a second before pointing.
“Who are you?”
Every face in the clearing turned toward Jack.
He stood half-hidden behind the tree, holding a piece of driftwood while dozens of villagers knelt at the feet of armed Fish-Men.
The leader’s eyes narrowed.
“And why aren’t you kneeling?”
Jack made his decision instantly.
He turned around and ran.
“Catch him!” the Fish-Man shouted.
Jack rushed between the trees as fast as his legs could carry him.
Behind him, the level-24 Fish-Man inhaled deeply.
His cheeks expanded.
Jack glanced over his shoulder and saw the Fish-Man thrusting his head forward.
A drop of water shot from his mouth.
It struck the tree beside Jack.
The trunk exploded.
Wooden fragments flew through the air, and the entire tree shuddered from the impact. Jack ducked instinctively as splinters sliced across his cheek.
His eyes widened.
That wasn’t an ordinary spray of water.
It carried more power than a bullet and struck with the force of a cannon.
Another shot tore through the vegetation beside him.
Jack changed direction.
A third projectile passed through the space where his head had been less than a second earlier and punched a hole through another tree.
He began running in an erratic zigzag pattern.
There was no strategy behind it. He simply refused to move in a straight line long enough for the Fish-Man to aim.
Water bullets tore through branches and shattered trunks around him. Leaves rained from the canopy, and frightened animals fled through the undergrowth.
Jack stumbled over a root but managed to remain upright.
One shot skimmed past his shoulder so closely that the pressure spun him halfway around. He regained his balance and continued running without checking for an injury.
Pure luck kept him alive.
Back in the clearing, the level-24 Fish-Man clicked his tongue in frustration.
It was Chew, one of Arlong’s senior officers and a member of the crew that had terrorized the islands for years.
He turned toward the villagers.
“That human must be with you.”
“No,” one villager said quickly. “We’ve never seen him before.”
“Liar!”
Chew struck the man across the face, knocking him to the ground.
Nojiko stared toward the forest where Jack had disappeared. Confusion filled her eyes. His clothing was unfamiliar, and she knew almost everyone living under Arlong’s control.
Chew pointed at several Fish-Men.
“Find him! If he’s spying on us, Captain Arlong will want his head.”
The Fish-Men abandoned their tax collection and rushed into the forest.
Jack heard them coming.
He wanted to return to the beach. The open ground would make running easier, and he already knew the path leading there.
However, he immediately rejected the idea.
Leading Fish-Men toward the sea would be idiotic.
Their strength increased dramatically near water. They could outswim any boat and attack with the full advantage of their natural environment. If Jack reached the beach, they could circle around through the water and trap him.
His only chance was to go deeper into the forest.
Fish-Men possessed superior physical strength, but most of their senses weren’t particularly impressive on land. In thick vegetation, Jack might be able to lose them.
He forced his way through a curtain of vines.
His lungs burned.
Jack had already exercised extensively before discovering the road. Now he was sprinting across uneven ground while branches struck his body from every direction.
“At least I know where I am,” he gasped. “Assuming they don’t kill me.”
Shouts echoed behind him.
“Spread out!”
“Find the human!”
Jack ducked beneath a fallen trunk and slid down a steep slope. Loose dirt collapsed beneath his feet, carrying him to the bottom. He struck the ground hard, rolled onto his side, and immediately forced himself up again.
He bitterly regretted not learning any jutsu.
Shadow Clone could have created a distraction.
Transformation Jutsu might have allowed him to hide as an animal or even impersonate one of the villagers.
The system had placed information about compatible techniques inside his mind, but Jack hadn’t possessed chakra at the time. After reaching level one, he had become so absorbed in testing templates that he never stopped to learn a basic skill.
Now that mistake might cost him his life.
His CP continued falling.
The system treated chakra as the combination of physical and spiritual energy. It powered jutsu, but it was also closely connected to his stamina. As Jack exhausted himself, his available chakra drained alongside his physical strength.
CP: 7/10
His breathing became ragged.
The Ten-Tails template improved his recovery, but not quickly enough to compensate for a full sprint.
He pushed forward.
CP: 4/10
The forest blurred around him.
His foot struck another root, and this time he fell. The driftwood flew from his hand as Jack landed on his palms.
He tried to rise, but his arms trembled.
CP: 1/10
The Fish-Men were still searching behind him.
Jack crawled toward a nearby tree and used its trunk to pull himself up. His vision darkened at the edges.
Then he remembered one of the Ten-Tails’ most fundamental abilities.
Absorption.
The Ten-Tails was not merely a giant monster. Its true form was connected to the Divine Tree—a living entity capable of absorbing energy and nutrients from the world.
Jack placed both palms against the trunk.
“Please work.”
He closed his eyes and focused on the strange instinct carried by the template.
At first, nothing happened.
Then a weak current entered his hands.
Jack’s eyes snapped open.
The leaves above him began turning brown. The bark beneath his palms lost its colour, and cracks spread across the trunk as moisture and vitality flowed out of it.
At the same time, his chakra started recovering.
CP: 3/10
CP: 6/10
CP: 10/10
Jack pulled his hands away.
The once-healthy tree now looked as if it had endured months of drought. Most of its leaves had withered, and several branches drooped lifelessly.
The ability resembled the power used by Aramaki, the Marine admiral known as Ryokugyu. He could drain nutrients from living creatures through his plants and use that energy to sustain himself.
Jack’s version had limitations.
The absorbed vitality restored his chakra and stamina, but it did not provide experience points. Otherwise, he could have levelled rapidly by draining an entire forest.
Perhaps that restriction was for the best.
He had no desire to destroy the ecosystem simply to become stronger.
With his stamina restored, Jack began running again.
He pushed deeper into the forest, changing direction several times to make his trail difficult to follow. Whenever his chakra neared exhaustion, he stopped briefly and absorbed a small amount of vitality from another tree.
The voices behind him gradually became fainter.
Eventually, he could no longer hear them at all.
Jack didn’t stop immediately. He continued for several more minutes before climbing onto a rocky ridge overlooking the surrounding forest. From there, he watched the trees and waited.
No Fish-Men appeared.
Only when he was certain that he had escaped, did Jack collapse beside a boulder.
Two notifications sounded inside his mind.
[Experience requirement fulfilled.]
[Level increased.]
[Experience requirement fulfilled.]
[Level increased.]
Jack stared at the messages.
The desperate chase had counted as physical training. Running across the forest, climbing slopes, dodging obstacles, and repeatedly pushing his body to exhaustion had earned him thirty experience points.
The system panel appeared.
—
Template: Ten-Tails
Ability: Sage Body Lv. 10, Sage Spirit Lv. 10, Wood Release Lv10
Level: 4 (14/15)
Status: Ninja Academy Student
…
HP: 40/40 [Recovers 10% per minute]
CP: 20/20 [Recovers 10% per minute]
…
Skill: None
—
The effects of the level increase spread through him.
His breathing stabilized. The burning in his lungs disappeared, and the heaviness vanished from his legs. Even the small cuts caused by branches began closing at a visible rate.
Jack flexed his fingers.
“A full recovery whenever I level up.”
That was another important benefit of the system. If used correctly, levelling up during a battle could instantly restore his condition and give him a chance to reverse the situation.
But he couldn’t depend on that now.
Even at level four, he was nowhere near strong enough to confront Chew or the other Fish-Men.
Jack sat with his back against the boulder and organized everything he had learned.
Arlong still controlled the villages, which meant Luffy had not yet arrived to defeat him. Nami was already working for the Arlong Pirates, and judging by Nojiko’s age, Jack had most likely entered this world around the same time Luffy began his journey.
That gave him a rough timeline.
Within one or two months, Luffy should arrive in this region. He would destroy Arlong Park, defeat Arlong, and free the villages.
After that, the Straw Hat Pirates would prepare for the Grand Line.
Jack considered the strength of the enemies he had just encountered.
The Fish-Man who fired pressurized water had almost certainly been Chew. His strange mouth, blue skin, and signature attack matched perfectly.
Chew was level 24.
If one of Arlong’s officers had only recently crossed the Genin threshold, Arlong himself might be somewhere around level sixty.
Jack couldn’t defeat an enemy like that.
Not now.
Waiting for Luffy was the safest option. Once Arlong fell, Jack could approach the Straw Hats and attempt to join their crew.
Travelling with them would be dangerous. In fact, it might be one of the most dangerous paths he could choose in this world.
But it would also be an adventure unlike anything he had experienced before.
More importantly, the Straw Hats would never betray one of their own.
Until they arrived, Jack needed to survive, increase his level, and learn several useful jutsu. Shadow Clone, Transformation, and Substitution could protect him in emergencies. Once his chakra reserve grew large enough, Wood Release would give him a genuine combat ability.
He also needed shelter, food, and a safe method of monitoring the villages without letting Arlong’s forces discover him.
Sitting alone on the rocky ridge, surrounded by an unfamiliar forest and enemies strong enough to kill him effortlessly, Jack planned.