A Providential Boat
The next morning, I walked along the coast with one goal in mind: find a means of transportation. Forty kilometers on foot was doable, but long. Very long. And above all, inefficient.
My clothes had dried during the night, which I had spent sleeping under a fruit tree. Well, "sleeping" was a big word. I had closed my eyes, but sleep never really came. Strangely, I didn't feel tired because of it. Just... awake. Perfectly awake.
[SYMBIOSIS: 48%]
[PHYSIOLOGICAL MODIFICATION IN PROGRESS]
"Yeah, I feel it," I muttered, massaging my neck.
That's when I saw it: a small wooden boat, stranded on the sand, half-hidden by seaweed and driftwood. It had apparently been abandoned there for some time, but it still seemed seaworthy.
"Jackpot."
I approached and inspected the craft. A few planks were cracked, but nothing critical. The hull held firm. There was even an oar stuck under a bench.
"Well, let's say this is a long-term loan," I said, starting to push it toward the water.
It took time. More than expected. The boat was heavy, the sand sank under my feet, and my muscles protested with each effort. But gradually, centimeter by centimeter, I slid it toward the waves.
As I was pushing one last time, my foot slipped on a sharp part of the hull. An old broken plank, whose edge had been eaten away by salt and time.
"Ouch, damn!"
I stopped abruptly, grimacing. That had hurt. A real hit. I rolled up my pants to inspect the damage and...
I blinked.
A white line crossed my foot. Clean. Precise. Like a fresh scar, but without any trace of blood. Not a drop. Not even redness.
I ran my finger over it. The skin was smooth, intact, just... white in that spot.
"What the...?"
[SYMBIOSIS: 49%]
[ACCELERATED CELLULAR REGENERATION DETECTED]
[OPTIMIZED BLOOD FLOW]
[REINFORCED EPIDERMAL TISSUE]
I touched the white line again, then pressed firmly. No pain. As if the wound had never existed. Or rather, as if my body had repaired it instantly, but differently.
"The Fountain of Youth..." I murmured. "It doesn't just rejuvenate me. It rebuilds me."
A shiver ran down my spine. It wasn't fear. It was excitement. Hope. With this power, I could really survive in this world.
I finished pushing the boat into the water, climbed in, and grabbed the oar.
"System, direction?"
[HEADING: NORTHEAST]
[MAINTAIN THIS TRAJECTORY FOR 6-8 HOURS]
[SHELLS TOWN WILL BE VISIBLE ON THE HORIZON]
"Six to eight hours of rowing... Great." I sighed and started rowing. "At least it's calm around here."
East Blue: The Calmest of Oceans
And calm it was.
Compared to the stories I knew about the Grand Line – with its apocalyptic storms appearing out of nowhere, its titanic Sea Kings, its flying islands and its weather phenomena defying all logic – East Blue was almost boring.
Almost.
The water was clear, a deep and soothing blue. The sky was clear, with just a few white clouds drifting lazily. No monstrous waves. No marine creature trying to devour me. Just... the sea.
And me.
I rowed at a steady rhythm, my muscles working in synchronization. In my previous life, the one I still kept some vague memories of, I had grown up in a family of fishermen. My father, my uncles, my cousins... all had spent their lives on the water.
Those memories were coming back now, clear and precise. How to read currents. How to spot schools of fish. How to navigate with just the sun and stars.
"At least these skills aren't lost," I muttered, adjusting my trajectory.
[SYMBIOSIS: 50%]
I stopped rowing for a moment, feeling a slight tingling run through my body. Fifty percent. I was halfway to complete synchronization.
"How do I feel?" I asked myself aloud.
Physically? In great shape. Better than great shape, even. My muscles didn't burn despite the constant effort. My breathing was calm, regular. My heart beat at a stable and powerful rhythm.
But something else was strange.
I wasn't hungry.
Not since I woke up on the beach. I had eaten some fruit last night by reflex, but without real appetite. And this morning? Nothing. No desire to eat. My stomach wasn't growling. No cramps. No weakness.
"Is that normal?"
[METABOLIC MODIFICATION IN PROGRESS]
[STANDARD NUTRITIONAL NEEDS DECREASING]
[INCREASED ENERGY AUTONOMY]
"In other words?"
[YOU NEED TO EAT LESS AND LESS.]
"Huh." I resumed rowing, thoughtful. "Convenient for long missions, I suppose. But weird."
The hours passed slowly. The sun rose in the sky, reached its zenith, then began its descent. I rowed, again and again, following the system's indications.
At one point, I spotted a school of fish beneath the surface. Big silver fish, probably edible. By fisherman's reflex, I mentally assessed how to catch them – a net would be ideal, or a line with good bait.
But I was neither hungry nor had the time.
"Later," I decided. "First, find Luffy."
Shells Town on the Horizon
The sun was beginning to decline when I finally saw it: an island on the horizon. Small at first, just a dark spot on the line between sky and sea, it gradually grew as I rowed.
[SHELLS TOWN CONFIRMED]
[DISTANCE: 2 KILOMETERS]
[SYMBIOSIS: 52%]
"Finally!"
I redoubled my efforts, my arms rowing with renewed vigor. My muscles should have been screaming with fatigue after eight hours of continuous effort, but no. They functioned as if lubricated by a perfectly oiled machine.
The town gradually became clearer. Wooden and stone buildings. A port with several moored ships. And above all, dominating everything from a hill: an immense Marine base, with its white walls and blue-and-white flag floating in the wind.
"Where there's Marines, there's Luffy causing trouble," I murmured with a knowing smile.
I beached my boat on a small beach away from the main port. No need to attract attention upon arrival. I jumped into the shallow water and pulled the craft onto the sand.
[ARRIVAL AT SHELLS TOWN]
[NO ANOMALY DETECTED WITHIN 50 METERS]
"Normal, we just arrived." I stretched, cracking my joints. "Well, now I have to find a boy in a straw hat who walks around saying he's going to become Pirate King."
I looked at the town before me, then the Marine base on the hill.
"Something tells me I'll find him up there. Probably challenging a Marine captain or something like that."
[PROBABILITY: 87%]
I laughed despite myself. "Obviously."
I pulled up my collar, adjusted my still slightly damp clothes, and began walking toward the town. My steps were light, confident. The synchronization with SCP-006 was progressing well. My body was becoming stronger, more resistant.
Immortal.
"Alright," I said, entering the first streets of Shells Town, "let's go meet the future Pirate King. And incidentally, start hunting anomalies."
Somewhere in this town, my destiny was going to cross paths with Monkey D. Luffy's.
And nothing would ever be the same.
[END OF CHAPTER 2]
[ANOMALIES CAPTURED: 1/???]
[CURRENT LOCATION: SHELLS TOWN]
[SCP-006 SYMBIOSIS: 52%]
[NEXT OBJECTIVE: MEET MONKEY D. LUFFY]