Chapter 2: A Mixed Bag of Dragons and Snakes
Everything was pitch black before his eyes. After an unknown amount of time, Su Xiao suddenly opened his eyes.
Whoosh...
The sound of howling wind reached Su Xiao's ears. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw blue skies and white clouds. Due to the lack of heavy pollution, the sky of the One Piece world was like a pure gem.
The scenery was beautiful, and the air was fresh. However... Su Xiao was in the middle of a free fall.
Mid-air, Su Xiao adjusted his posture to face downward. Looking into the distance, he could vaguely see an island with towering trees, their crowns forming a vast canopy—that was the Sabaody Archipelago.
According to the Reincarnation Paradise prompt, Su Xiao had been teleported to a position at least ten nautical miles from the Sabaody Archipelago. Now, he could see it in the distance, which indicated just how high he was.
He shifted his gaze to the sea below. The ocean was a vast expanse of blue. However, falling from a certain height, hitting the sea surface was no different from hitting concrete. No, the sea was even more dangerous. Concrete was just a flat surface, but when the sea surface was impacted, the moment it contacted a human body, it would transform from concrete into gravel road, causing horrific injuries.
Su Xiao didn't care about landing on the sea. As a Fifth Rank Contractor, his team space stored over a hundred parachutes—one of their standard supplies.
Bubu Wang, Amu, and Beini were all near Su Xiao, also in free fall. Among them, Bubu Wang was the most conspicuous. The dog was wearing goggles, the soft flesh on both sides of its mouth flapping in the wind, its tail swaying left and right to adjust direction, looking mysteriously joyful.
Beini, on the other hand, had her cat face tense, staring silently at the sea below.
"Open parachutes at 1000 meters."
Su Xiao took out a parachute pack and strapped it on, leaning forward to accelerate his descent.
Soon, Su Xiao opened the parachute. A pulling sensation came from his shoulders, and his speed dropped sharply as he began to descend toward the sea.
The sea breeze blew, and Su Xiao immediately looked at Beini.
"Meow meow?"
Beini was surprised to find that she wasn't descending but drifting away into the distance. Her body was too small.
Plop, plop...
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu landed in the sea one after another, while Beini temporarily "lost contact," drifting off to who knows where.
Bubu Wang burst out of the sea, swimming in a breaststroke toward the distance. Yes, it wasn't using its "natural talent" of dog paddling.
Standing on the ice surface that Amu had frozen, Su Xiao began to check the world introduction.
[Hunter has entered the derivative world. This world has no anomalies. Total spacetime power consumed: 0.19 ounces...]
[Based on consumed spacetime power, the minimum comprehensive evaluation for the Hunter in this world must reach B+ (Fifth Rank). Fourth to Third Rank is C. Second to First Rank is D+.]
[World Contact Platform activating (public platform for all ranks).]
[Activated. Remaining speech count: 8/8.]
[Fifth Rank Contractors entering: 25. Locations: Sabaody Archipelago surrounding area, Impel Down, Amazon Lily.]
[Fourth Rank Contractors entering: 249. Location: Sabaody Archipelago.]
[Third Rank Contractors entering: 133. Location: Marine Headquarters surrounding area (relatively safe area).]
[Second Rank Contractors entering: 185. Location: Marine Headquarters surrounding islands (safe area).]
[First Rank Contractors entering: 97. Location: Marine Headquarters (awarded Marine positions).]
[Entering World: One Piece: Summit War Battlefield]
World Difficulty: LV.3～??
World Source: 0%
World Introduction: Wealth, fame, power...
Three Types of Haki (Conqueror's, Armament, Observation).
Devil Fruits: The secret treasures of the sea...
World Government: The largest organization in this world...
Marines: The largest armed force under the World Government...
Pirates: Adventurers of the sea, exploring the world, plundering and killing...
Time: Ten days before the Summit War.
Main Quest: Join a faction.
Hunt Quest: None (Summit War Battlefield is the highest reward event in the One Piece world. Violators have no permission to enter this world).
World, begin!
...
After reading the world introduction, Su Xiao realized that the Summit War Battlefield event was truly a mixed bag. Contractors from First to Fifth Rank were all present, but fortunately, there were no Sixth Rank Contractors.
Even First Rank Contractors could come to the Summit War Battlefield to play a supporting role. However, they were experiencing the world normally and couldn't trigger the plot events of the Summit War, greatly reducing their gains. Only those who had participated in the Battle of Dressrosa could trigger the Summit War plot events. Whether or not one could trigger plot events made a world of difference in rewards.
But even so, these low-rank contractors were willing to participate in the Summit War Battlefield. Although they might be casually eliminated, if they could obtain a scroll for one of the three types of Haki or a Devil Fruit, they could dominate the next few or even a dozen worlds. Of course, this was for low-rank contractors.
Fourth Rank Contractors were the backbone of the Summit War Battlefield. Most Fourth Rank Contractors who chose to enter had experienced the Battle of Dressrosa, so they would be more active. As for First to Third Rank, they would at most be on the battlefield's edge, finishing off enemies and seizing opportunities. Don't underestimate these low-rank contractors. Having the courage to participate in the Summit War already proved they weren't pushovers; at least, they weren't afraid of death.
There were still ten days until the Summit War. Su Xiao pondered for a moment, confirming the current timeline. The Straw Hat Pirates were still on the Sabaody Archipelago, and the Supernovas were there too. He wondered if Kizaru would come to thrash them.
[World synchronization complete. Detected that the Hunter has killed a Celestial Dragon, conflicting with the world progress of other contractors. Synchronizing...]
[The Hunter's killing of a Celestial Dragon event will interfere with the plot progress of all contractors. Event changing. The Celestial Dragon killing event has been moved to three days before the original timeline. Location changed.]
[Plot progress synchronization complete.]
Su Xiao closed the prompt. Clearly, his killing of a Celestial Dragon had a significant impact on the One Piece world and would interfere with the world progress of all contractors, so the event was altered.
That meant the Sabaody Archipelago was currently "peaceful," at least in Su Xiao's view. The timing of his assassination of the Celestial Dragon had been moved forward, but the subsequent effects remained unchanged, just not affecting other contractors.
From this deduction, the Straw Hat Pirates should be on the Sabaody Archipelago kidnapping the other three Celestial Dragons, after which Kizaru would arrive. After all, Su Xiao's individual progress couldn't influence all contractors in the One Piece world unless most of them had also assassinated those three Celestial Dragons.
This had no impact on Su Xiao. In fact, it was better. If the assassination time was forcibly moved forward by three days, the pursuit from the CP0 department would be much weaker. The current Sabaody Archipelago should still follow the original plot.
Perhaps, aside from Su Xiao, most contractors dared not disrupt the plot progress before the Summit War, fearing they would bring death upon themselves, whether from the World Government or other contractors.
A sheet of ice about ten meters in diameter floated on the sea. As Su Xiao was pondering which faction to join, Bubu Wang climbed onto the ice, carrying the drenched cat Beini in its mouth.
The immediate task was, of course, to reach the Sabaody Archipelago.
A few seagulls flew by. Just as Su Xiao was about to install a motor on the ice sheet, a ship with black sails approached from the distance, heading toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Amu, ask them for help."
As Su Xiao spoke, he lay down on the ice. His Charm Attribute, which was only 2 points, wouldn't allow him to make a plea for help—it would be completely ineffective. Bubu Wang asking for help would be too strange; who would trust a dog asking for help? As for Amu, it looked relatively honest, at least in the eyes of Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Beini.
"Moo~, help, me."
Amu was about to roar but felt it might not be appropriate, so it stiffly shouted the words "help me."
Half a minute later, the pirate ship with black sails made a sharp turn and sailed away without looking back, leaving Amu waving on the ice.
"Moo!!"
Amu was furious. It leaped off the ice, and as soon as its feet touched the seawater, the sea surface beneath it began to freeze.
Boom, boom, boom!
Ice shards and seawater splashed as Amu charged toward the pirate ship. Seeing Amu rushing toward them, the pirates by the railing stood dumbfounded.