East Sea.
Shimotsuki Village.
Isshin Dojo.
From the central dojo came a series of grunts and the hum of bamboo swords being swung forward.
On the lawn beneath the cherry blossom tree in the backyard, lay a silver-haired boy of about eleven years old.
A book, titled "The Logbook of an Unknown Navigator," covered his face.
The spring breeze blew, and cherry blossom petals danced in the air, glistening with unevaporated dew under the morning sunlight.
"Kouta, slacking off again?"
A girl of about ten, wearing a white t-shirt, baggy shorts, and with dark blue hair, ran out of the dojo holding a bamboo sword.
Her childish, slightly chubby cheeks puffed out, and her big, sparkling eyes, reflecting the dancing cherry blossoms, looked at the boy lying under the tree.
"It's time to train."
Kouta, who was enjoying the early morning sun under the tree, picked up the book covering his eyes, revealing a cute, delicate face beneath.
He squinted, looking up at the girl standing beside him, and yawned, shaking his head gently.
"It's Kuina! The weather is so nice, let me sleep a bit longer, just a little while."
The warm sunlight was so comfortable and pleasant that he couldn't help but squint his eyes again and roll over.
Seeing Kouta's lazy demeanor, Kuina rolled her eyes in exasperation, pouted, crouched down, and shook his hand.
"Kouta, get up! Why have you been so lazy lately? You used to train like your life depended on it."
He replied lazily without opening his eyes, "I don't know! Maybe it's my period! I just don't feel like moving."
"Kouta..." Kuina forcefully shook off Kouta's hand, clenched her fist, and gently hit him a few times.
"Can you speak some sense?"
"I've hit a bottleneck lately. Trying hard is useless. I asked Master, and he said I'll break through when I naturally achieve enlightenment, which is nonsense. I'm thinking about how to break through the bottleneck."
"So, Kouta, you'll reach the Swordsman realm soon? That's amazing!" Kuina looked at Kouta with a smile.
Then, as if thinking of something, her expression gradually changed from joy to worry.
"Hey! Kouta, when do you think I'll become a Swordsman? Father always says female swordsmen have flaws and can never become the strongest. I understand the flaws, but I'm not resigned to it!"
Feeling the hands gripping his arm tighten, Kouta turned his body and opened his eyes.
His pupils were a silvery-blue with a misty hue, surrounded by swirling nebulae, resembling the starry sky, making one inevitably fall into their depths.
His already unremarkable (by Louis Koo's standards) features, combined with these exceptionally beautiful eyes, made him look even more handsome.
Kouta's gentle eyes gazed at Kuina, and he reached out his right hand, smoothed her brows, and then placed his warm palm on her head, ruffling her hair. His voice was firm and powerful.
"Of course, Kuina will become the world's strongest female swordsman in the future. Promise me, Kuina."
"What..."
"Don't hesitate, don't be sad. You just need to have a firm will and move forward. With me here, you will definitely become the strongest."
Listening to Kouta's encouraging voice, Kuina leaned down, resting her head on Kouta's chest, listening to his slow and powerful heartbeat. Her confusion gradually subsided.
"Mhm... Kouta, it's so good to have you."
Then her voice grew firm.
"I promise."
Kouta squinted, looking up at the sun, his eyes filled with recollection.
It had been nearly five years since he came to this world. He still couldn't figure out how he had transmigrated.
He was originally an ordinary programmer on Earth, named Li Xiaokong. When he first arrived in this world, he couldn't understand the language and thought he had transmigrated to ancient Japan because everyone spoke Japanese.
Initially, Koushirou and Kuina didn't understand what he was saying either. When he said his name, they could only understand the character "Kong," so they called him that ever since.
A single character was fine. Later, he felt a single character wasn't pleasant, so he added "Tai" to it.
Having grown up in an orphanage, he was introverted and solitary, with few friends. Moreover, he became obsessed with anime during college, fully embracing the life of a happy otaku.
At the age of thirty, he had a car and a house, but no hair and no wife.
He was planning to make a strong effort and find a girlfriend when he woke up to find himself floating on the sea.
His Simmons mattress was gone, his 120-square-meter three-bedroom apartment was gone, and his body had transformed into that of a five-year-old child.
Who knew what he had felt at that time? He still shuddered at the memory.
Fortunately, he had the essential cheat for transmigration, which caused his body to mutate during the transfer.
It made his body seem like it was in a different dimension, with countless layers of space surrounding its surface, thus preventing the seawater from ever reaching him.
He floated on the sea for two days like this. Fortunately, he didn't encounter any man-eating marine beasts during that time.
Just as he was about to faint from hunger, he encountered Koushirou, who was on his way back from the island.
At first, he couldn't control his abilities freely.
No one could touch him; they would stop at a distance of one finger from his body.
Only when he willed it could others touch him.
About a year after arriving in this world, he gradually learned the local language and realized that this world was the world of One Piece. It was no wonder he felt like he had seen Koushirou somewhere before.
As for why his eyes and hair turned silver-white, he had a basic understanding.
Simply put, his body mutated during time-space transmigration. He called this mutated physique "Space Physique."
This physique constantly emitted layers of space, creating infinite layers of space around his body.
The closer one was to him, the more layers of space there were. Relatively speaking, the distance increased. It looked close, but it was a vast distance.
Only when he willed it could others overcome this infinite space and touch him. This was also why he didn't sink into the sea when he first transmigrated.
Over the next few years, he gradually gained control over a portion of this ability, allowing the infinite space around his body to become active.
This enabled him to expand outwards, creating a space similar to a spatial domain. Within this space, he could freeze time if he wished, depending on the target's strength.
Furthermore, the more layers there were, the greater his control, but also the more stamina and mental energy it consumed.
Due to his body's spatial transformation, he could see dense spatial nodes around him, allowing him to teleport by stepping on these nodes. This teleportation was as effortless as walking.
The mutation from transmigration had not only affected his body but also greatly strengthened his mind. Less than a year after arriving in this world, he awakened Kenbunshoku Haki.
This allowed his mind to imbue Kenbunshoku Haki, sensing the surrounding spatial nodes.
Therefore, he no longer needed to use his eyes to see the spatial nodes, as eyesight had limited range while the mind had no limits.
Although he seemed invincible in his current state, that was for defense. Without offense, he could only watch helplessly as enemies attacked, unable to protect those around him.
When he first learned this was the world of One Piece, he was very scared. Who knew what ability could kill him in this world?
Subsequent discoveries gradually eased his anxiety.
He discovered that his body was constantly growing stronger, likely due to the infinite space surrounding it, and this change was increasing as he grew.
Coupled with his strenuous training, he believed he would soon reach the stage of awakening Busoshoku Haki.
This feeling of continuous growth made him more confident. He believed he would surely stand at the pinnacle of this world.
"Kuina," Koushirou's voice called from the dojo.
"Coming," Kuina, who was kneeling beside him, replied, quickly standing up and walking towards the dojo.
Kouta snapped back to reality.
He turned to look at Kuina's retreating back, the sounds of activity from the dojo and the childish, unique challenges reaching his ears. A strange smile slowly appeared on his face.
He slowly stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, bent down, and picked up the bamboo sword and book leaning against the tree.
He inserted the bamboo sword into the nearby sword rack, holding the book in his left hand and resting his head on his right hand as he walked towards the dojo.
Interesting people had arrived.