c1: The Book of Knowledge
Baldigo, the island of white soil.
The sky is shrouded in a perpetual veil of sand and dust, rendering the island virtually hidden from the world few know that this barren, wind-ravaged land is the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army, the most clandestine force opposing the World Government.
Baldigo is more than just a command center, it is also a self-sustaining community where the families of revolutionaries reside, along with specialists and orphans gathered from across the seas, all trained in both physical discipline and ideological conviction.
On a sun-scorched street, Rhode stood in line to receive the day's dispatch before getting his hands on the latest edition of the World Economy News Paper.
He glanced at the front page and saw the bold headline: "Fire Fist Ace Makes Waves in the New World May Clash with Whitebeard!"
"Ace, Whitebeard…"
Rhode's gaze narrowed he recalled Ace's duel with Jinbei, a test before being acknowledged by the man known as the world's strongest Edward Newgate, Whitebeard who would later name Ace as the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
It had been three months since Rhode arrived in this world reading the newspaper once again to keep pace with current events, he felt a mounting sense of urgency burning inside him.
It was now late autumn in the year 1520 of the Sea Circle Calendar a little more than a year remained before Monkey D. Luffy would set sail from Foosha Village and launch the era-defining journey of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Rhode had once been a medical college student on Earth, fresh from his internship. One night, after staying up late to clear a particularly tough world boss in a game, he blinked and inexplicably awoke in this new world, possessing the body of a sixteen-year-old boy who shared his name.
At first, he was disoriented, uncertain of where he was.
But in conversations overheard from neighbors, he caught legendary names"Whitebeard the Yonko," "Pirate King Roger" and it gradually became undeniable: this was the world of One Piece.
What's more, he had awakened on Baldigo the island of white soil, the hidden base of the Revolutionary Army led by the enigmatic Monkey D. Dragon.
Thankfully, his identity here was that of a medical apprentice a profession aligned perfectly with his prior life.
Using his advanced knowledge of modern medicine, Rhode quickly established himself within the Revolutionary Army's inner circles and earned their trust.
His thoughts drifting, Rhode eventually made his way to a broad training square.
There, standing with perfect posture under the waning sun, was a petite, sharply dressed girl.
"Kerla."
Seeing her, Rhode quickened his steps and waved the newspaper. "Here's this week's edition."
This was Kerla a former slave freed by Fisher Tiger and later trained by Hack. She now oversaw the physical training of the orphans brought in by the Revolutionary Army.
She was around nineteen this year, standing barely 160 centimeters tall in a world where giants walk the earth, her stature was undoubtedly small, though her proportions remained consistent with the stylized reality of this world.
Those exaggerated curves often made Rhode worry absurdly wondering how her slim waist could possibly support them.
Kerla accepted the paper, glanced over the headline, and smiled. "Thanks, Rhode."
"Training with your sword again today?"
"Yeah."
Rhode gave a curt nod.
The world of One Piece, as seen through the lens of Luffy and his crew, was vibrant, adventurous, and full of freedom but from a broader view, it was a realm of systemic violence, exploitation, and suffering.
The so-called Pirate Era was, in truth, an age of upheaval.
Titans rose in every corner of the world powerful men and women clashing for supremacy while the weak and voiceless were left to survive amid the chaos.
Rhode's physical talents were unremarkable his body naturally frail, his strength no match even for many girls his age.
But as a transmigrator armed with knowledge from another world, Rhode refused to resign himself to weakness.
This is the world of pirates as long as he envisions those mysterious and reality-defying Devil Fruits, and the awe-inspiring sight of a master swordsman cleaving a mountain with a single stroke of his blade, his blood burns with passion and his heart surges with longing.
Coming to such a world how could he remain ordinary!
Pity.
The talent of this body is painfully average even with Rhodes throwing himself into training with a fervor rivaling the madness of students cramming for the Earth's national college entrance exams, the results remained meager and disappointing.
At this pace, he'd end up as mere cannon fodder a background extra swept away by any pirate with a bounty of over 100 million berries, which was deeply frustrating for Rhodes.
Fortunately.
During a sparring demonstration by a one-armed swordsman likely Bartholomew Kuma's former instructor or perhaps an old Revolutionary Army veteran Rhodes witnessed a surge of sword energy erupt from a slash, and in that instant, something deep inside him resonated.
...
Slowly lifting the dull-edged practice sword, Rhodes narrowed his eyes, and with a slight shift in consciousness, a translucent, glowing space opened up in front of him something only he could perceive.
Within that ethereal void, a weathered, floating tome hovered silently in the air.
This was the mysterious gift Rhodes awakened shortly after arriving a mythical-seeming book, the likes of which belonged more in legends than in pirate logbooks and it lived up to its mystical appearance.
As Rhodes focused his will, a semi-transparent display resembling a character stat screen materialized before him.
Tier 1: Book of Knowledge (promotion requirements unmet)
Attribute: Intelligence +1
Talent: Swordsmanship Specialization the union of blade and soul, drastically enhancing comprehension of swordsmanship!
Energy: 100/100
"What's missing here? The energy bar's full why won't it level up?"
Rhodes frowned slightly as he stared at the floating interface.
There was no guiding system voice no AI, no helper, just the silent, ancient book. He had to fumble through its secrets alone.
Energy, as he'd come to understand, could be gained through combat or intense training.
Starting from zero, Rhodes had diligently trained for three months. Every spar, every cut, every drop of sweat fed the book, until it brimmed with one hundred energy points. He had imagined this was it his moment to ascend, to begin a path that led to punching Yonko like Kaido and Big Mom, toppling Shichibukai like Doflamingo, and challenging the likes of Admirals and even the Five Elders.
But unexpectedly, a vague requirement for advancement appeared instead completely unprompted, completely unexplained.
Rhode instinctively felt that once he passed this threshold, he would truly possess the qualifications to become a formidable figure in this turbulent era.
Yet for now, that next step remained hidden, which left him mildly frustrated.
But
Despite the unclear promotion trigger, the passive benefits from the Book of Knowledge were already extraordinary.
The Intelligence +1 boost had confused Rhodes at first. It seemed underwhelming just one point?
His own IQ on Earth wasn't particularly exceptional somewhere slightly above average, in the 100s.
But then he realized this wasn't Earth this was game logic. Here, a single attribute point was equivalent to a 1.5x multiplier!
That simple bonus increased his processing speed, sharpened his learning curve, and heightened his perception.
More importantly, he found himself recalling vast chunks of medical knowledge from his past life techniques, theories, terminology allowing his skills to surge far ahead of local healers and even outstrip many veteran doctors of the Revolutionary Army, earning him significant recognition in Baldigo.
As for the Swordsmanship Specialization talent it was even more remarkable.
Swordsmanship in the pirate world followed a brutal simplicity cut, slash, refine, repeat. Legends like Dracule Mihawk spent decades honing their craft, training until their blades could cut steel or sense the "breath of all things."
Rhodes, however, bypassed years of toil.
Thanks to the talent gifted by the Book of Knowledge, he compressed years of understanding into weeks.
In under three months, he had grown into a competent swordsman.
If only his physical body weren't so underwhelming his swordsmanship would be terrifying!
Shhhhk!
The wooden blade hissed through the air, tracing a fluid arc before landing with a solid thwack against the training stake.
Though he used only modest force and with a mere wooden practice sword the stake bore a deep, visible notch.
"What exactly is the Breath of All Things?"
As he delved deeper into his sword training, Rhodes' focus sharpened to a razor's edge his heart empty of all but the blade.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The strikes fell in a flurry, echoing against the wood.
His sword flashed like a stream, his figure flowing around the stakes with seamless precision.
There was grace in every step each movement crisp and balanced his blade slicing at perfect angles, a harmony of beauty and violence.
Standing nearby, Kerla silently observed and nodded in quiet approval.
"His body's still weak but this swordsmanship alone qualifies him for the reserves. I'll recommend him for the next assessment."
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