Yashiro ruffled his already messy hair in frustration. No matter how hard he tried to calm down, his thoughts kept circling back to one person—Hyūga Hanako's small, gentle face.
What's happening to Hanako now? Did that naked, rampaging Nine-Tails pervert chase her down? Ugh, this is driving me crazy…
With an annoyed grunt, Yashiro hopped off the rock he'd been brooding on and jogged to the shoreline. He splashed the icy seawater onto his face, forcing himself to breathe deeply and settle his nerves.
He had somehow crossed worlds again—without warning, without any time to prepare. And this time, he had no system, no cheats, no advantage whatsoever. Just a regular person dropped into a pirate world that was far more dangerous than the one he came from.
What made things worse was the realization he made after a few days here:People in this world were unbelievably strong. Physically, they were two or three times sturdier than people from the Naruto world.
And Yashiro had already been here for a week.
A week without chakra.A week with every bit of ninjutsu completely sealed away.A week of constant danger.
And the source of that danger?
A group of bratty kids.
It all started the day he stumbled across a quiet, cute little girl being bullied by three loudmouthed troublemakers. As someone who had, unfortunately, developed lolicon tendencies over too much anime consumption, there was no way he could simply walk by and watch the injustice unfold.
So, invoking the "iron fist of justice and love," Yashiro delivered a clean punch to the front-tooth-less brat whose face practically begged to be hit.
The kid flew.
Yashiro felt proud. Even without chakra, he had been an elite ninja. Three punk kids? How hard could it be?
Reality answered that question with a brutal, society-sponsored beatdown.
These brats were absurdly strong, freakishly fast, and absolutely merciless. Within seconds, Yashiro was pinned to the ground, arms and legs flailing helplessly as they pounded him.
"Bro, I was wrong…! Don't hit my face—please, not the face! I'm still young! I'll scar!!"
He curled up, desperately shielding his handsome face. If they hit him in the wrong place, he could die. So he committed all his strength to protecting his head and face.
In under ten minutes, the heroic savior had turned into a battered mess of regret and despair.
Why is this body so weak?And why is my chakra sealed?
And the strangest part—the seal felt familiar. Very familiar.It was unmistakably the soft fist sealing technique of Hyūga Hanako.
Yashiro wanted to cry.
If his body had time-traveled, why was he a child again?If it was only his soul, why did this body contain his chakra?And why was his chakra sealed?
The truth was unclear, but none of that mattered right now. He just needed to escape the fury of these three demonic toddlers.
"Hanako… you've killed your future husband…"
Tears welled in his eyes—his body hurt, his pride hurt, and his soul hurt twice as much.
Just then—
"Let him go."
The little girl, the silent victim he had tried to save, suddenly pressed her hands together. Instantly, multiple translucent arms sprouted from the bodies of the three bullies, twisting their joints and freezing them in impossible positions.
Yashiro finally exhaled a breath of pure relief.
The brats' bodies bent into shapes no human should be able to achieve.
"Gs＆hdkえd! (You monster—let us go!)"
The strongest of the brats struggled violently, horrified by the arms clinging to him.
The girl tightened her clasped hands.
With several crisp cracking sounds, the joints of the three kids popped out of place. They collapsed in a heap on the sand, paralyzed but still very much alive—and still cursing her nonstop.
She ignored them with practiced indifference.
Clutching a massive book nearly as big as her torso, she walked over to Yashiro and helped him sit up. Her soft black hair swayed as she tilted her head in curiosity.
Yashiro was bruised everywhere—but his face, thankfully, remained untouched.
"B-brother… don't hit my face… I rely on this face to survive…" he babbled in a language she didn't understand.
The girl suddenly let out a giggle. For someone so shy and quiet, it was a rare sound. Seeing this boy, who had jumped in to protect her despite being utterly incompetent, warmed her heart in a way she hadn't felt for a long time.
She looked him over, puzzled.
"You're not from our island, are you? I've never seen you before."
Yashiro froze.
A small girl. Straight black hair. A giant book. The ability to sprout hands from everything.
This was Nico Robin.From the world of One Piece.
Yashiro's mind erupted.
Not because this world was insanely dangerous.Not because Ohara would soon be destroyed.
But because—
The language here wasn't Naruto-world Japanese.
God, are you messing with me?
He barely passed English in college.He somehow learned Naruto-world language by trial and error.And now he had to learn another world's language!?
He tried using Japanese. No effect.He tried gestures. That only made Robin more confused.
Finally, after a series of desperate interpretive dances, Robin pieced together the idea that he'd been shipwrecked.
The understanding in her eyes made Yashiro weep internally.
Memories flashed back—his first transmigration into Konoha, when ninjas who couldn't understand him locked him in a house with mentally disabled children because they thought he was one of them.
Truly a dark age.