One Piece: Start by Saving Roger, I Was Invited to Join the Crew

Grand Line Calendar, Year 1498, September 1st.

The square in Loguetown, East Blue, was packed with people, the air buzzing with excited chatter.

"Where the hell am I?"

Reid frowned. The last thing he remembered was staring at the brightest star in the night sky.

"Holy shit! Looking at how these people are dressed… Did I just transmigrate? Why are there so many people here? Ugh, it stinks—why do they all smell so bad?!"

Pinching his nose, Reid scanned his surroundings, utterly confused. Then, his gaze followed the crowd's focus—and a strange sense of familiarity washed over him.

"Huh? That guy kneeling up there… why does he look so familiar?"

Reid pondered, still stunned but growing more curious about what was about to happen.

"Look! The legendary Pirate King is about to be executed!"

"Treasure… The Pirate King found the ultimate treasure…"

"The Marines chose to execute him in his hometown—they're making an example of him!"

"What a shame… If only I could get my hands on his treasure…"

"Hmph! Even a great pirate like Gold Roger can't escape the justice of the Marines!"

Hearing the crowd's words, Reid's mind exploded with realization.

"What?! The Pirate King, Gold Roger?! I transmigrated into the world of One Piece?! No wonder he looked familiar—that's the Pirate King from the manga, Gold Roger!"

Shock and excitement surged through him. He was a hardcore fan of One Piece!

"Wait… Hold on. They called him 'Gold Roger,' not 'Gol D. Roger.' Right, the World Government is trying to erase the 'D.' They're scared of people figuring out what it means."

As this thought crossed his mind, Reid stared at the execution platform, suddenly recalling the epic clash between Roger and Whitebeard—their Haki reaching its peak, their weapons clashing before their Conqueror's Haki collided in a world-shattering burst!

Snapping out of his thoughts, Reid gritted his teeth.

"Damn it! I was already upset when I read about Roger's execution in the manga—now I have to witness it in person?! If only I could stop it!"

On the platform, Roger was grinning, completely unfazed by his impending death.

Just as Reid was seething in frustration, a voice echoed in his mind:

[Detected intense spiritual fluctuations of the Child of Destiny. The Divine Illustrated Collection System has been successfully activated. Acquired: Divine Healing Ability.]

"Huh? Who said that?"

Before he could process it, a flood of information surged into his brain.

Reid silently recited the system's rules:

"The Divine Illustrated Collection System—whatever I see is automatically recorded in the system's catalog, allowing me to instantly master its full abilities. But there's a limit: the strength of Haki depends on my own training."

His entire body trembled with excitement.

"Holy shit… I was just a nobody, but now… Am I about to rise from the gutter? No—not just rise, I'm gonna dominate!"

"Then… can I save Roger?"

As Reid was hyping himself up, floating cards suddenly appeared in his vision.

The system's voice chimed again:

[Ordinary Citizen. Level: 1]

"This… this is the catalog? Right, the system said that just by looking at something, I can master its abilities."

Reid checked the system's records, thrilled—but then his excitement dimmed.

"Too bad… Everyone here is just a normal person. If only there were some OP characters around…"

He sighed. Even with this overpowered system, he still couldn't save Roger.

"Roger's about to die. I need to think of something fast."

He turned his gaze back to the execution platform.

[Gol D. Roger: Captain of the Roger Pirates. Top-tier mastery of all three Haki types. Weapon: Supreme Grade Blade—Ace. Signature Move: Divine Departure. Level: King]

"King-level strength… Impressive. But he's still gonna die. Wait—does this mean I now have Roger's abilities? Alright, let's try activating them!"

A few seconds passed. Nothing happened.

"No reaction? Is the system lying to me? Or am I using it wrong?"

Growing anxious, Reid glanced around.

"Right! There were a few other notable figures here at the time. Maybe I can try them."

He racked his brain, recalling:

"Buggy the Clown, Red-Haired Shanks, Dracule Mihawk, Dragon, Donquixote Doflamingo, Crocodile, Gecko Moria, and Marine Captain Smoker."

"Buggy and Shanks are just kids right now… The others… Damn it, none of them are at their peak yet. Whatever, I'll check anyway."

Pushing through the crowd, Reid searched—

"Is that Buggy?"

A card floated into his vision as the system announced:

[Buggy the Clown: User of the Chop-Chop Fruit. Level: Unranked]

"Unranked?

"Unknown? Well, yeah, Buggy's only 15 right now—just a snot-nosed kid. But in the future, he becomes one of the Four Emperors… What a sneaky bastard."

Reid couldn't help but marvel at the irony.

"Wait, if I've got Buggy's ability now… That means I have the power of the Chop-Chop Fruit! Even if my body gets sliced into pieces, I won't die! But… that's still just passive defense. It won't help me save Roger."

His mind raced. He needed something more—something offensive.

"Dracule Mihawk. Where is he?"

In Reid's estimation, Mihawk's strength was already close to Emperor-level, even at this point.

"There! That's him—Hawkeyes!"

With just a single glance, the system logged Mihawk's data.

[Dracule Mihawk: Title—Hawkeyes, the World's Strongest Swordsman. Future Warlord of the Sea. Weapons: Dagger; Black Blade Yoru. Abilities: Supreme Swordsmanship, Armament Haki. Level: Top-Tier Warlord.]

"Future Warlord? So the Warlord system was only established after Roger's death by Fleet Admiral Sengoku... I didn't expect the system to have predictive capabilities!" Reid was stunned by the system's ability to foresee future characters. That alone was impressive—he had already thought harvesting powers from others was extraordinary.

"Too bad Mihawk is still too young right now. Otherwise, based on the system's description, he'd be much stronger. If I try to save Roger, Mihawk might even get in my way." Just then, Mihawk suddenly turned to look at Reid.

Reid panicked and quickly looked away, pretending to observe something else.

"That guy was looking at me just now... just some ordinary person," Mihawk thought, then lost interest.

"That was close," Reid sighed, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. "I better not stare at people so obviously anymore."

He looked away helplessly.

"Even if I know who's here, unless someone can overpower the Navy, Roger can't be saved anyway." Reid felt powerless.

"Well, it's all Oda's plot, after all. Even if I've crossed into the world of One Piece, it's not going to be easy to change the ending."

With nothing else to do for now, Reid scanned the crowd for others.

"Why doesn't the system show prophecies for everyone here? Is it random?" Reid wondered aloud.

"Forget it. For now, I have to make sure Shanks doesn't lose his arm in the future. That alone will help clean up Oda's mess."

The system then displayed a new profile:

[Donquixote Doflamingo: Future Warlord. Thread-Thread Fruit ability. Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki. Rank: Top-tier Warlord]

[Sand Crocodile: Future Warlord. Sand-Sand Fruit ability. Rank: Mid-tier Warlord]

"Mid-tier? Looks like the ranking is based on their future potential. But why is Shanks only ranked Level 2? And Crocodile's rank seems too low... I guess the system isn't omniscient. Then again, Crocodile did lose simply because he appeared too early."

[Gecko Moria: Future Warlord. Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability. Rank: Low-tier Warlord]

"Even Moria should have Armament Haki, right? Why doesn't the system mention it? Does he not have it at this time?" Reid shook his head and moved on.

[Smoker: Future Navy Captain. Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability and Armament Haki. Rank: Top Navy Captain]

"Whoa, another future prediction... I'm about 12 years old at this time. He doesn't become a Vice Admiral until after the war."

[Monkey D. Dragon: Future Revolutionary Army Leader. Ability: Unknown. Rank: Unknown]

"Of course... Dragon is always so mysterious." Reid's curiosity deepened.

Suddenly, shouting interrupted his thoughts:

"Hey! Pirate King! Where did you hide the One Piece treasure? Tell us!"

"Yeah, you're dying anyway. Don't be so selfish! Tell us where it is!"

The crowd's voices grew louder and more excited. The square buzzed with anticipation and desire, people sweating nervously, hearts pounding.

"Is the One Piece real? The legendary treasure—he must've hidden it!"

Reid's heart clenched.

"No... is this the moment Roger gets executed?" he realized, pulse quickening. He was about to witness the moment that would change everything.

"Hahaha! You want my treasure? Yes, I hid it! If you want it, go find it! I left it all at that place—go sail and search!" Roger shouted, smiling fearlessly.

Even facing death, he looked more alive than ever.

"What a tragedy... Roger dying like this," Reid murmured, shaking his head.

Just then, a card appeared in front of his eyes:

[Baroric Redfield: Also known as the Red Earl. Future ability: Bat-Bat Fruit, Mythical Zoan - Vampire form. Master of swordsmanship, physical combat, top-tier Haki. Rank: Emperor-level]

"Huh? Red Earl? Where? He must be here if the system showed him..." Reid scanned the crowd.

"Wait—the executioners are about to strike. Redfield is incredibly powerful; he could definitely save Roger. Come on, system! Awaken my power!"

Reid's pupils contracted. He launched himself toward the execution platform.

"Who's that?!" a Navy soldier yelled.

Reid roared,

"Roger is the symbol of hope for One Piece fans—I won't let you do this!"And in his heart, he shouted, "System! Unleash my Conqueror's Haki!"

A powerful burst of energy erupted. The surrounding people collapsed instantly, fainting before they could react.

Reid jumped onto the execution platform, placing a hand on Roger's shoulder. His eyes lit up.

"It worked! The system should also have healing abilities... Let's try it. Heal!"

He focused on Roger. "Brother Roger, I'm here to save you. How do you feel?"

Roger looked stunned.

"You came to save me? I don't feel sick anymore... Did you heal me?"

He was both excited and shocked—he had resigned himself to death, having turned himself in knowing he was terminally ill.

"Yes, Brother Roger," Reid confirmed.

Roger laughed heartily. "You saved me—then we are now brothers for life! Want to join my crew?"

He stared in amazement at the young man who had just changed everything.