Day 70 | Location: High Orbit -- Ocean Planet (Uncharted, XG-32)
Two days.
That's how long I've been parked in high orbit, staring at the ocean-covered world below like it's hiding a secret from me.
Because it is.
It's not dead---far from it. But it's quiet in a way that makes the skin behind my ears prickle.
Red Queen's scans were clear from the start: life detected. Tons of it. Rainforests, massive island chains, sprawling underwater ecosystems. Over a billion intelligent lifeforms, spread across the planet.
But... no satellites. No power grids. No radio waves. No signs of spaceflight, or even steam power.
Nothing.
If I hadn't upgraded Red Queen's multi-spectrum bioscanner last week, I might've mistaken this place for prehistoric.
"They're alive," I mutter, fingers drumming along the command rail. My heart-shaped tail flicks nervously behind me, betraying the anxiety I'm trying to mask. "But they're not advanced."
Red Queen's hologram materializes beside me, her silver hair catching the light from the blue world below. "Affirmative. No technological signatures detected. Cultural development appears pre-industrial, possibly divided by region. No unifying global system."
So. Primitive. But populated.
The contrast was... unnerving. Like finding a mansion with no lights on---but hearing music behind every door.
I lean forward in the captain's chair, studying the swirling cloud patterns. There's something hauntingly beautiful about this world---vast blue oceans broken by archipelagos and continent-sized islands. The sunlight glints off the water in ways that make my chest ache with an unexpected homesickness---not for Deviluke, but for Earth. For oceans I'd never actually seen in person, only through screens.
Morning Routine, Day 70
☑ Checked ship integrity ☑ Ran three passive bioscans ☑ Performed zero-g drills in the training room ☑ Added another MoéNova song to Red Queen's playlist (against her will)
"Captain," she deadpanned earlier, silver eyebrows raised in aristocratic disdain, "if I develop sentience, I'll delete that playlist first."
I grinned, not looking away from the viewport. "That's okay. I have backups."
"You would."
The gentle banter feels comforting---a small slice of normalcy as I hover above a world that might change everything.
I finally lean back in the captain's chair and fold my arms across my chest. The newly defined muscles there still feel strange---a physical reminder of how much I've changed since the crash.
"Alright. Let's go deep. Full surface scan. Everything: atmosphere, geography, oceanic mass, surface anomalies. If it breathes or floats, I want eyes on it."
"Initiating sweep," Red Queen says, her avatar's hands moving through holographic displays only she can see.
The display panels shift, forming a layered global map. Within seconds, Red Queen's voice returns---calmer than usual, but with an undercurrent of... is that awe?
"Visual anomalies detected. Displaying topographic data."
My jaw slackens.
A wall.
A vertical geological structure, wrapping around an entire hemisphere. Ten thousand meters tall. So tall it vanishes into the upper cloud layer.
Not a natural formation---no planetary tectonic model could explain it. The structure's perfect circumference suggests deliberate design, not geological accident.
"Formation classified: Non-natural. Structure is continuous. Lacks faultline support. Likely artificial in origin. Divides planetary landmasses into hemispheric halves."
My throat feels suddenly dry. "You're telling me they built this?"
Red Queen's expression remains neutral, but her eyes narrow slightly. "Not necessarily. No signs of active construction. This structure predates current biosignature activity by several centuries."
I don't say it out loud. Not yet.
Because the thought is still crystallizing.
The scan continues, revealing more impossible features. Each new discovery sends electric shivers down my spine.
"Second anomaly. Floating landmasses detected at altitudes ranging from 9,000 to 12,000 meters. Structures confirmed: wood, stone, and organic compounds. Several villages located."
"Floating islands..." I whisper, leaning forward until my nose nearly touches the display.
The map zooms in. Tiny wooden buildings. Windmills. Dirt roads... floating. Supported by nothing visible, suspended over endless ocean.
That pull in my chest? Stronger now. A suspicion blooming into certainty.
I grip the chair arm until my knuckles pale.
"Next anomaly," Red Queen says, her voice now carefully modulated. "Equatorial oceans are exhibiting near-total wind dead zones. Sea current behavior inconsistent with expected rotational drag. Region dense with megafauna."
"Sea Kings," I murmur automatically, the words falling from my lips before I can catch them.
Red Queen displays a swarm of images---beasts bigger than anything Devilukean records had ever shown. Whale-sized serpents. Tentacled giants. Leviathans that look straight out of an Earth monster movie marathon.
My heart hammers against my ribs. The memories from my first life are cascading now---pieces fitting together with dizzying speed.
And then...
"Final anomaly," Red Queen says, pausing. "Southern hemisphere. Mobile entity detected. Organic. Height: 35,200 meters. Quadrupedal. Surface ecosystem confirmed---vegetation, ruins, and possibly temples on dorsal plane."
"...Display it."
And there it is.
Walking on the ocean.
Massive legs stretching deep into mist.
A living mountain with trees and temples on its back.
I lean forward until my nose nearly touches the screen, breath fogging the display. The creature moves with impossible grace for its size, each step covering kilometers yet barely disturbing the water's surface.
"Analysis?" My voice sounds strange to my own ears---distant, breathless.
"Species unclassified. Possibly unique. No historical match. Current trajectory: west by southwest, 0.8 knots."
"That's not just any elephant," I whisper, fingers trembling as they trace the outline on the screen. "That's Zunesha."
I freeze.
Not because of fear.
Because of recognition.
Because now I know.
The wall isn't just a wall. The sky islands aren't fantasy. The Calm Belt. The Sea Kings. Zunesha.
This isn't just another alien planet.
This is the One Piece world.
Not a replica.
The world.
Somewhere inside me, the shut-in Earth otaku I used to be jolts awake---eyes wide, heart hammering, whispering "No way..."
But I don't say it out loud.
I don't scream or panic or laugh.
I'd already died once. Reincarnated. Survived a black hole. Rebuilt a ship from wreckage. Met gods in space and beat them with a screwdriver and stubborn optimism.
So this?
This is just another unexpected chapter.
But it's different.
Because this world matters to me.
This world had meant everything to a younger version of me---watching it from a pixelated screen with greasy hair and cheap snacks, dreaming of nakama and never knowing I'd one day float above it.
I rest my hands on the console and breathe out slowly, trying to center myself. My tail curls tightly around the base of the chair---an unconscious gesture of self-comfort.
"Red Queen." My voice comes out steadier than I expect.
"Still here." Her avatar steps closer, concern etched in her digital features.
"No active scans. No signal bursts. Just observation. I don't want to interfere---not yet." My mind races with implications, with possibilities, with dangers I'd never considered real until now.
"Understood. Passive scan mode engaged." She pauses, studying my face. "Captain... are you alright?"
I smile faintly, a complex mix of emotions washing through me. "I think I just found the end of one journey and the beginning of another."
The blue planet rotates slowly below us, oblivious to my revelation. Somewhere down there, history might be unfolding---a boy in a straw hat making his first voyage, a pirate king's treasure waiting to be claimed, a world government hiding ancient secrets.
Or perhaps none of that has happened yet. Perhaps the timeline is different. Perhaps this is an alternate reality where Luffy never exists.
I don't know.
But I intend to find out.
Internal Monologue: Private Archive
I'm not telling Red Queen what I realized. She wouldn't get it---and honestly, it's not for her.
It's mine.
This memory. This knowledge. This ridiculous, wonderful, terrifying possibility.
I don't know what year it is down there. No idea if the Straw Hats are real. No clue if this is a divergence, a prequel, or a version with no Luffy at all.
But I do know this: