I toyed with the idea of a one piece fanfiction for a while but nothing came out of it. That is, until I read stories like This Bites! by Xomniac, Ripples in the Pond by TheRealEvanSG, To Look At the Sea Without Wishing by Lady Ayuka, Improvising Engineer by Cyberweasel89 & SpokenSoftly , But Mom I Don't Wanna be a Pirate by Andoriol, One Piece: Self Insert by hitesh90, Will to Live by Rikatsu and many other one piece stories in this site, AO3, sufficientvelocity and spacebattles. Reading these provided me the inspiration I needed to write this.

Disclaimer: I do not own one piece just the OC's

I found myself surrounded by a black void.

Looking around, I saw nothing but pitch black darkness and yet paradoxically I can see my own body with perfect clarity.

"This has got to be the dullest dream I ever had by far." I noted flatly to no one in particular.

"I assure you, this is no dream and believe me your future will become far more interesting."

I flinched in surprise as a black featureless male body appeared before me that again, was paradoxically visible despite the black void.

"Greetings," The being before me spoke in a cordial soft spoken male voice, "Allow me to introduce myself, while I go by many names and titles, for simplicity's sake you may refer to me as BROB."

I tensed at the name. Not a Bastard—

"Now before you panic, it stands for Beneficial Random Omnipotent Being rather than Bastard Random Omnipotent Being." He interjected.

I raise an eyebrow in wonderment. A Beneficial Random Omnipotent Being? So he's...no wait, even he's not a Bastard Random Omnipotent Being like in Xomiac's This Bites, doesn't that mean he's also not necessarily benevolent? After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch as they say. If something sounds too good to be true then it probably is; ulterior motives at play and certain conditions have to be met.

Somehow I seemed to literally feel his amusement despite having no features whatever. "Indeed, if I was benevolent, I certainly wouldn't have you reborn to a random location of my choosing in the world of One Piece for the sake of entertainment. However, I do believe in fairness and as such I am willing let you choose your future appearance and time of birth, and provide you with certain benefits in order for you to have a better chance of survival and success."

"One Piece?...Just out of curiosity, do you always choose the destination for others or does it depend on your whims?"

"My whims." He answered promptly, "Sometimes I let earthlings choose where they wish to be sent, at other times I choose for them. At other times I merely have them fill out information without any face to face interaction. I also sometimes remove any certain memories they have of the story to bring about more interesting outcomes."

"..." I stayed silent as I processed everything he said.

Do I want to answer the call to adventure? And to the world of One Piece no less? Sure it's a series of adventure and wonder where the power of friendship is done correctly but it's also a world saturated with corruption, inequality, slavery, racism, trafficking, genocide, war, censorship, anarchy, self-righteous moral absolutism on top of laws of science, logic, and common sense dying ignobly. Fiction may be fun to read and I'm sure everyone fantasized being part of it at least once in their lives but I have long since accepted that it's for the best that fantasies stay a fantasy as most fictional worlds would be terrifying to live in when viewed through critical, objective and realistic lenses as fridge horror pages on tvtropes points out. However, this was also a once in a lifetime chance to be a one man army badass and to have true friends. But my family...

"There's no need for you to worry about your family. If you meet your end prematurely you will be sent back to Earth where virtually no time has passed with the memories of your adventure wiped out."

"That's awfully convenient and generous." I replied, surprised.

"I am simply adhering to the established rules. While I am called omnipotent, some are more omnipotent than others, I am not the top deity. Sending either a living individual or the soul of the deceased to another world requires adherence to certain procedures and protocols, the consequences of straying from it is quite dire."

If what he said was true about being sent back to home upon my death then my choice is clear.

"Very well. I accept the call to adventure to the world of One Piece." I answered.

BROB nodded. "Very good," A projection suddenly appeared in front of me, "Now, if you would first choose your date of birth, species, biological sex, and height."

For my date of birth, I chose February 4, 1499, species: human, height: 214 cm in 1522 and 216 in 1524, for my sex: male.

After completion, the screen projection switched to an outline of a human head.

"For your face simply imagine what you want to look like or describe what you want if you have trouble visualizing. It will allow you to save far more time."

Recalling the time it took for me to customize Shepard's appearance when I played Mass Effect for the first time, I was immensely grateful for the fact I only needed to think what I wanted.

As I stared at the screen I wondered what face I should possess. It will have to be attractive at the very least, as ordinary civilians are likely to be more inclined to hear what I have to say.

For good or ill, an attractive appearance possessed a swaying power of its own. Anyone who claims to not care about physical appearances in any way shape or form is more than likely a big fat dirty liar. People being receptive to looks that appeals to their preferences is human psychology, it was unavoidable. It's making judgements solely based on appearances that's highly problematic. Humans have an unfortunate tendency to assign virtues onto the beautiful without the slightest inkling of whether they possess them, which is why ugly defendants are more likely to be found guilty of a crime than their good-looking counterparts.

With that in mind, hmmmmm, should I go for Adol the Red from Ys? He's a badass normal adventurer who eats gods for breakfa-, no wait, Shanks is known for red hair, so I guess i'll go with blue hair? No, Blue-Black hair is better. Or maybe instead of Adol, Geis the Dark Mercenary who's also from Ys would be better for my purposes? I should add more ruggedness to avoid looking too boyish since I would leave a more powerful impression as a warrior that way. After thinking about what I wanted a bit longer, I finally made up my mind.

I wanted to look like a combination between Geis and Ike from Fire Emblem with blue black hair with a hairstyle similar to Adol. The image then morphed into a recognizable face and what I saw did not disappoint me. I'll definitely build up muscle to complement my appearance.

After making few more minor adjustments for my hair and face, I was ready for what was next.

BROB raised 5 digits of his hand, "Now, I'll grant you 5 benefits of your choice but any information on spoilers for both the manga and anime along with power boosts such as devil fruits and instant enhancements are forbidden, so choose wisely."

I was shocked, I mean 5 benefits? That was very open handed.

"Even if I am allowing you time to grow by having you reincarnate with your memories intact, you do not possess any talent or skills you could make use of, especially where I'm about to send you."

I deflated. He was right, I didn't possess any skills that would be of much use in One Piece except for swimming. I've never been in a real fight, I don't possess wilderness survival skills, I'm not a good speaker, I can only cook basic dishes with a modern stove, and nothing came to mind where a BA in sociology would contribute to my survival. I was a 23 year old Korean American millennial who wouldn't be able to function without modern technology. With that in mind,

"For my first benefit, I want the nautical expertise to safely travel to all mentioned locations in One Piece."

Considering how the world of One Piece seems to be 90 percent ocean, possessing the ability to travel the seas is a must. I can't go on an adventure without it.

"Only for locations in the the four seas and Paradise." BROB replied.

"Very Well." I agreed.

BROB snapped his fingers. "Then it is done."

"Ugh." I held my head at from the sudden headache. I massaged my temples to relieve the pain and once the headache passed-

My eyes widened. I understood longitude, latitude, constellations, coastal and celestial marks, nautical maps and charts. I knew how to use navigation tools. Though I certainly wasn't and never could be in the same level as Nami, I mean, she can instinctually predict the weather in the Grand Line even with a high fever for pete's sake but as long as I had a decent vessel, I could travel to any of the coordinates I now possessed such as the Future Country Baldimore on Karakuri Island. That being said, I knew what I wanted for my second benefit.

"Second, I want advanced Ph.D level of expertise on all branches of engineering with complete intimate knowledge on how to create all known objects, structures, substances, machines and its components."

"Done."

Without warning, an astronomical influx of information flooded into my head like a burst dam. I swear I could literally feel my mind expanding to make room, painfully. I could do nothing but loudly hiss and groan in pain from the resultant migraine which felt like someone repeatedly bashing my head with a hammer with sadistic glee. The pain gradually subsided and when I focused my mind, I was utterly dumbfounded. Engineering concepts and related mathematical and scientific laws and theories I would have never understood before was now trivially easy to comprehend. Technobabble jargon that might as well have been in an alien language to me was now pure comprehensible english. Not only did I automatically learn new things, I had a complete understanding of machines, devices, tools, substances, and structures, and even ancient technologies such as the Antikythera mechanism, Iron pillar of Delhi, the Roman Lycurgus Cup, Damascus steel, greek fire, roman concrete, Terra preta and the construction methods of ancient buildings and cities [1]. I went from merely making use of modern technology at most to knowing how and why it works and the exact purpose and function of every little components that made up the whole.

I couldn't help but let out a tear of joy, I mean how could I not? To me, this was true enlightenment, it was as if I woke up from a lifelong slumber and achieved a sense of oneness, connection and belonging with technology. My newfound knowledge provided understanding on a deep and profound level far beyond what my previous self could ever comprehend. Never before have I experienced a deep sense of being and bliss, along with a knowing how technology and society fit together with wholeness and meaning that made civilization possible.

If what I felt was even remotely similar to what geniuses in their fields experienced it was no wonder that they could be absolutely insufferable.

Unfortunately, I've also gained thorough insight on why some sci-fi concepts were impractical at best, highly unrealistic or flat-out impossible at worst such as mechas, shrink rays, lightsabers, time machines, gravity machine, FTL travel, human quantum teleportation, and so on. Maybe getting my hands on Baldimore science and especially Vegapunk's blueprints would allow me to bypass Earth's laws of science but reconciling Earth's modern engineering with One Piece nonsensium would be a task in itself. Whatever that's a problem for later.

"Third, I want to able to instantly recall every media that I have read, watched, and heard in my life with perfect clarity with updates on youtube videos, music, fictional works, and...ah while I know you forbade information on spoilers for one piece but what about filler arcs, movies and supplementary information such as the SBS and databooks?" I questioned.

"As long as it doesn't reveal any information past the most recently translated chapter, chapter 825 in your case, there are no issues. Therefore, fanfictions for One Piece such as This Bites will only update to a certain point before it stops altogether." He answered.

I nodded. "Then I reiterate my third benefit: I want to able to instantly recall every media that I have read, watched, and heard in my life with perfect clarity with updates on youtube videos, music, and fictional works along with future One Piece fillers, movies, and supplementary information."

"Done. Keep in mind some works will be updated regularly while others will be more sporadic. Information on miscellaneous One Piece media will require certain triggers."

This time the newly acquired, well technically regaining old information, only resulted in no noticeable pain. Quickly reorganizing my thoughts, I smiled as I now remembered a wiki amount of information on One Piece and other series. I now also had a repository of quotes and speeches I could use for communication purposes. This benefit also had the advantage of making me a polyglot due to the sheer amount of translated subtitles I have read. With practice I could boast fluency in several different languages. What excited me the most, however, was the knowledge of martial arts. With that in mind, I knew what I wanted for my next benefit.

"For my fourth benefit, I want an efficient, meticulous, and highly specific step by step martial arts training instructions in which I will also possess the focus to correctly undertake the training in order to master armed and unarmed martial arts styles and their techniques from works of fiction featuring martial arts. Training that's modified taking into account One Piece power levels, of course."

"Done. However, there will be no training information on One Piece martial arts styles and techniques. If you wish to learn their martial arts, you will have to either seek out a teacher or make an attempt to teach yourself. In addition, I presume I don't need to tell you that many techniques especially from Dragonball are impossible for you to achieve even in a world like One Piece?"

I shot him a flat look. "Even if it was possible, I don't want to be so powerful I could potentially destroy an island with a single ordinary punch by accident."

I reviewed the training information I would put myself through, I felt my jaws completely lose strength as I balked at the sheer hellish insanity involved.

After dreading for my pain filled future for some time, I sigh in resignation. As they say, no pain, no gain.

Still, I couldn't help but feel giddy at the image of myself executing moves from History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, The Breaker and its sequel, Aiki and its sequel, Rurouni Kenshin, and the more recent Kengan Asura, and numerous other works I read. Even those with more supernatural genres such as Naruto, Chivalry of a Failed Knight, Bleach, Ninja Gaiden, Star Wars, etc. has skills I'm interested in trying out. I'll also find a way to incorporate real life martial arts I saw in youtube videos and films.

But will I be able to mesh it all together? Bruce Lee once quoted, "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once. I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.", those who devote themselves to the studying multiple styles are unlikely to gain the same level of mastery as ones who devote themselves to a single style. Valuable time could be potentially wasted with experimentation but I didn't want to be strictly bound to one single martial art that could possibly end up being a crippling overspecialization.

I needed versatility so I wouldn't be caught off guard or be forced to fight at a disadvantage in certain circumstances, there has to be a way for me to test out various combinations while using my time efficiently. Hmmmm...I got it!

"For my fifth and final benefit, I want to be able to dream exactly what I want when I sleep, something akin to a highly realistic virtual reality simulation I can use to prepare myself for variety of scenarios of my desire and needs, to be more precise."

"If you want mental simulations of One Piece locations and certain characters, you will have to travel to that particular location while for the characters you will have to meet and defeat them in battle but I will allow no name underlings or what you would call mooks of One Piece. There will also be no simulations involving the Straw hat Pirates. Do you agree to these conditions?" BROB questioned.

I nodded in agreement, "I accept these conditions."

It would have been ideal if he didn't attach these conditions but no matter, in the end it was only a minor inconvenience. Still with this ability, not only can I work out any kinks in my fighting style, I can also accumulate experience for battles, speeches, stealth, and other activities I might need all the while sleeping.

"With this, you are ready to be reincarnated. I warn you though, you must go on an adventure, if you do not I will compel you. Forcibly." He emphasized ominously.

I certainly did not gulp, I just coincidently happened to swallow excess saliva.

"In addition, if you entertain or impress me enough, I can offer you additional benefits every once in a while. With that out of the way, enjoy your new life and I look forward to seeing the meeting between the two of you."

That was the last thing I heard before I suddenly found myself being plunged into the void below me all the while screaming at the top of my lungs. I felt the fall being faster and faster as more time passed, eventually darkness swallowed me and then I blacked out.

Author's notes

- For those curious, yes my character will eventually join the Straw Hats on their journey to Laugh Tale as part of his plans if only to see what One Piece is. I know inserts joining the Straw Hats is overdone but this is what I want to write. However as a compromise he will form his own organization and have his own adventures before meeting Luffy.

- Hopefully my character won't be considered a Gary Stu as the benefits he gained are informational and he will have to put himself through training from hell to gain strength. He'll also be more ruthless towards his enemies compared to most inserts I read.

- As for pairings, he will attract women like Adol the Red from Ys but he will make a conscious effort to avoid matters on romance both out of personal and pragmatic considerations. Of course, it will be easier said than done for him to resist the temptation.

Reference

[1] When we think of people during ancient times, we picture them as primitive. While history has shown that there was genuine ignorance in some aspects along with superstitions and violence being the norm, the archaeological finds such as the ones I listed demonstrates that history is far more complex. It's mind-blowing what ancient civilizations managed to build such as Gobekli Tepe, Puma pumku, Longyou caves, and the Indian temples (Hoysaleswara, Kailash, Somanathapura, Konark Sun, and the Brihadeeswara temples, etc.) to name a few.