Excellent direction 🌊 — you want Chapter 1 rewritten in the narrative style of a high-quality Webnovel like Shadow Slave: rich inner monologue, cinematic tone, short rhythmic sentences for tension, and de
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Chapter 1: The Sims System? Simulated Death Is Still Death
Orange Town.
A small pirate haven that smelled of salt, sweat, and greed.
At the heart of it all sat a man with blue hair, lounging on a creaking wooden chair like a king on a throne of sand. Treasure glimmered before him, gold reflecting in eyes that had seen both the mundane world of college exams and the madness of the Grand Line.
His name was Buggy the Clown.
But inside… he was Ethan — a man reborn from another world.
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A life cut short.
He had been normal once. A senior student counting the days to graduation. A young man with plans — a job, an apartment, maybe a dog.
That night had changed everything.
A little girl had run into the road.
Headlights.
Instinct.
Impact.
Darkness.
Then — light again. But the world was wrong. The air was salty, the sea stretched forever, and his hands… were painted white and gloved.
The first time he looked in a mirror, he almost screamed.
The infamous pirate Buggy stared back.
Only… not quite.
The ridiculous red nose was gone, replaced by a sharp, normal bridge.
His eyes were human again — smaller, deeper, edged with something sharp.
The clown's face had been refined, tempered, almost handsome.
It was Buggy… reborn.
And Ethan realized — his soul had fused with one of the luckiest, strangest pirates alive.
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Luck.
That was what Buggy had always had in spades.
While others died, he survived.
When monsters fought, he slipped through the cracks.
He was the man who fell from the sky and somehow landed on gold.
In the world of pirates, luck was a form of power.
And Buggy had been born under the cruel smile of fate itself.
Now, as Ethan sat in Buggy's body, a shiver ran down his spine.
> Do I still have it?
That ridiculous, impossible luck of Buggy the Clown? Or did it die with the old me?
Because without it… the seas of this world would swallow him whole.
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"Captain Buggy! Here's our treasure haul!" shouted Mohji, the beast tamer, perched proudly atop his lion Richie.
Buggy looked up slowly. "How much?"
"Six million Berries in cash, and another thirteen million in valuables!"
"So over twenty million in total…"
He waved his hand lazily — and the treasure simply vanished.
Gasps filled the room. Eyes widened. But no one spoke.
Their captain had always been strange. Maybe this was just a new quirk of his Devil Fruit power.
Then, a clear, mechanical voice echoed in Buggy's mind.
> [Ding! Recharge successful. Current balance: 20,000,000 Berries.]
[Would you like to use the Life Simulator? Each use costs 1,000,000 Berries.]
Ethan's heart leapt.
It works.
His cheat system had crossed worlds with him.
"Yes," he thought.
> [Age 37 — You disbanded most of your subordinates to save money, turning the Buggy Pirates into a small elite group.]
[A month later, you were defeated by a rookie named Monkey D. Luffy. Your body scattered.]
[A week later, you accidentally fell into the sea and drowned.]
[Simulation complete. Choose one reward to keep:]
[1. Devil Fruit ability at 37
2. Physical skills at 37
3. Mental strength at 37]
"…I died again?" Buggy muttered. "Only a month in? Pathetic."
He snorted and picked Option 3.
If he couldn't survive long enough to use his powers, he might as well sharpen his mind.
A wave of clarity flooded through him. His thoughts became crisp, like wind slicing through fog.
"Hmm… my head feels clearer," he murmured. "Could this boost my Haki someday?"
Nineteen million Berries left.
Nineteen tries to claw his way to power.
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He stood abruptly.
His crew straightened. Dozens of faces — greasy, loud, familiar — turned toward him.
Ethan Buggy looked at them, and for the first time, felt something he hadn't expected.
Exhaustion.
They were loyal in a half-hearted way. Greedy. Lazy. Always eating, drinking, wasting his money.
The old Buggy might have tolerated them — laughing, shouting, pretending to be the fool.
But Ethan had seen enough of the world to know what dead weight meant.
A pirate crew without strength was a coffin waiting to sink.
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"Except for Mohji, Cabaji, the navigator, and the cook," Buggy said coolly, "everyone else takes ten thousand Berries and leaves."
"H-huh? Captain?" one stammered.
Buggy's eyes turned cold. "You're fired. From now on, the Buggy Pirates don't feed trash. If you don't have skills, get out of my sight."
The silence was heavy. Fear replaced confusion.
They knew their captain's mood could swing like the tide — but this was different. His presence… it felt stronger.
As the dismissed men hesitated, Buggy turned his back on them.
"Mohji, Cabaji. We're leaving."
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That night, the Big Top set sail under a silver moon.
The waves whispered around the hull.
After a while, the navigator asked softly, "Captain, where are we heading?"
Buggy didn't answer. His eyes were on the horizon — but his thoughts were inward.
He had watched too many weak men die in this world.
The Grand Line was not a place for fools or for friends one couldn't defend.
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He opened the system again.
> [Would you like to use the Life Simulator? Cost: 1,000,000 Berries.]
"Yes."
> [Age 37 — You leave Orange Town with a few loyal subordinates.]
[A week later, Smoker ambushes you in Loguetown and captures you. You are imprisoned in Impel Down.]
[Three months later, you die in Crimson Hell, bleeding to death from countless cuts.]
[Simulation complete. Choose one reward:]
[1. Devil Fruit ability at 37
2. Physical skills at 37
3. Mental strength at 37]
"Number three again," Buggy muttered darkly.
Another death. Another failure.
He clenched his fists. "In the original timeline, Buggy survived Impel Down because no one knew his Chop-Chop power. I exposed it too early… they must've used seastone cuffs."
He exhaled sharply. "Not this time. This time, I'll be ready."
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> [Simulation start.]
[A week later, you ask Mohji to leave you on an uninhabited island to train.]
[Three months later, your navigator and cook are captured by Marines. They betray you for leniency.]
[You kill all pursuing Marines and steal their warship — but with no sailing skills, you're swallowed by a tsunami and drown.]
Buggy's jaw tightened. "…This system should be called A Thousand Ways for Buggy to Die."
Still, he chose Option 2.
A rush of vitality coursed through his limbs. His body felt denser, his steps heavier.
"Not bad," he murmured. "I guess I'm not talentless. The old Buggy just never trained."
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Once more.
> [A week later, you kill your remaining subordinates, sink your ship, and train in solitude.]
[After one year, your strength grows immensely. You leave the island aboard a merchant vessel.]
[A month later, you rebuild your pirate crew and sail for the Grand Line. Your ship is struck by the whale Laboon. You drown.]
[Simulation complete. Choose one reward:]
[1. Devil Fruit ability at 38
2. Physical strength at 38
3. Mental strength at 38]
Buggy grinned. "Number two. Always two."
Power. That was what he needed.
Strength first. Luck later.
The sea would test him again and again — but now, at least, he had a way to fight back.
He looked toward the endless horizon, the wind tugging at his blue hair.
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