The asphalt was still steaming under the afternoon sun. I zipped up my bag, the cheap zipper snagging slightly, and hefted it onto my shoulder. Ugh. Another hour of Medical Theory 101 successfully endured. My brain felt like lukewarm jelly. The professor, bless his bored soul, looked ready for a nap himself. We all shuffled out, a parade of student-zombies eager for fresh air.
Man, I gotta decide what anime to binge tonight... Maybe finish that pirate one? What was it called...?
...
I ambled down the sidewalk, headphones half-on, waiting for the traffic light to do its job. Red. Come on, green! Get outta here! My phone vibrated in my pocket. Ah, a new email! Wonder what this is about... probably another spam alert from the library...
Just as my fingers twitched towards my pocket...
SKRRRRRRRR!
A sound like a banshee gargling metal ripped through the air! My head snapped up! Out of the corner of my eye! A car! It was weaving wildly, totally out of control, heading right for the intersection! It slammed into the curb, flipped end over end, a twisted metal bird flying straight at me!
And then...
BAAAM!!!
It hit me! Full, unadulterated, bone-shattering force! The world exploded in a blinding flash of white! My body crumpled inwards like a cheap tin can! Bones snapped! Organs... splat! Something warm and thick instantly flooded my lungs! GAKK! Blood! Gotta be blood! I couldn't breathe!
I was airborne! Sent hurtling across the street like a discarded toy! My head smashed against the concrete! THUD! THUD! THUD! before finally skidding to a stop in a rapidly growing puddle of... me.
Blood. Everywhere.
My brain... it was racing! WOOSH! Faster than it had ever worked in my entire life! How?! How can I think this fast?! Is this what they mean by your life flashing before your eyes?! No... this is just processing data at Ludicrous Speed! Because I'm DYING! I couldn't feel anything below my neck. Paralyzed? Adrenaline overdose? Doesn't matter!
Weirdly calm... Yeah, strangely calm. No point crying, right? Spilled milk, meet crushed human. But... DAMN IT! First year of medical school! All that work! All that debt! It's not fair! Why me?! Can't some jerk take my place?!
But what can I do?! Nothing! Absolutely nothing!
As the thought echoed in the rapidly darkening corners of my vision, a cold dread began to creep in. The edges were going black... fast...
HOLY CRAP!!!
AM I SERIOUSLY GOING TO DIE?!?!
THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!!! No, no, no! Please, God! Buddha! Anyone! IF YOU'RE OUT THERE! PLEASE! GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE! I hated my life anyway! It was boring! Meaningless! I'll do anything! Just one more chance! Please!
But before another coherent thought could form, the blackness swallowed everything.
...Gone.
That's it.
Game over.
...Didn't even finish that anime...
...
...
...
[Attention. Soul Unit detected. Displaced from reality anchor. Re-routing...]
Huh? A voice? Where...?
[Scanning... Reality match not found. Proceeding with relocation protocol. Opportunity detected. Subject Death Nullified in Target Reality. Reintegration possible.]
What the...? Relocation? Reintegration? Is this... is this real?! Did someone actually hear me?!
[Affirmative. Acknowledging plea for 'Another Chance'. Granting access to Opportunity Protocol. Three Wishes available. State your desires clearly.]
...
...
...
THREE?!
WISHES?!
My non-existent body felt like it had been electrocuted! Wishes?! Like... like in a fairy tale?! After being flattened by a car?! Is this an Isekai?! Am I actually getting REINCARNATED?! With WISHES?!
My brain went into hyper-overdrive, fueled by sheer panic and disbelief! Three?! What do I wish for?! Immortality?! Billions of dollars?! Go back?! No, hated that life! Strength?! Magic?! What world am I going to?! What's useful?! Think! THINK!
The voice... it felt patient, but immense. Waiting. The pressure was unbelievable! Like the weight of the universe was on my chest!
Okay! Okay! Calm down! Three wishes! Need to pick things that help me SURVIVE! And thrive! What's important?! Strength! Gotta be strong! Died because I was weak!
Okay! Wish one! Give me the physical traits and ability to grow like Frieza's race from Dragon Ball Z! To get ridiculously strong with minimal training, and bounce back from near-death with massive power boosts! Yes! That one! Strength!
[Wish One Accepted. Processing...]
Okay! One down! Two to go! What else?! What else?! I'm a doctor! Or... was gonna be! Knowledge is power! But I don't know anything about this new world!
Wish two! Give me incredible, accelerated learning and comprehension! The ability to quickly master any skill, language, or body of knowledge I encounter in this new world! Make my brain soak things up like a sponge!
[Wish Two Accepted. Processing...]
Alright! Last one! Gotta be careful! Strength and learning... what's missing?! Survival! Staying alive! What about... health?! Injuries?!
Wish three! Grant me a perfect constitution and greatly accelerated healing! Make me incredibly resistant to illness and disease, and heal from any injury, no matter how severe, at an astonishing rate!
[Wish Three Accepted. Processing Complete. Subject Reintegration Initiated. Good luck.]
And just like that... the voice faded. The pressure lifted. Everything was still black... but it felt... different. Like floating in warm water.
...
...
...
The next thing I heard was a woman's voice, soft and tired, but full of warmth.
"...My daughter... Ann... your name shall be... Gol D. Ann..."
My eyes fluttered open, blurry at first, then widening in shock! A face! Beautiful, blonde hair, kind eyes, looking down at me! She held me close, gently stroking my head.
"UAAAAAAAAA...!"
Tears! Actual tears! They weren't the silent, desperate tears of a dying adult, but the loud, wailing cries of a baby! It was real! I was here! Reborn! And this woman... this beautiful, tired woman... was my mother?!
"If it's a girl... Ann... if it's a boy... Ace..." she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. "He picked them... so her name is Gol D. Ann... our daughter... our little child... Oh, Ann..."
Gol D.... Ann...? Wait... Gol D. Roger's child...? Ann? But I thought it was Ace?! What the heck?!
Suddenly, the arms holding me trembled, growing weak. Panicked voices erupted around us!
"Rouge! Rouge, stay with us!!!"
Rouge?! Portgas D. Rouge?! No way! The woman holding me... was Gol D. Roger's lover?! And I'm... I'm their daughter?! Not Ace?! This is... This is insane!
But even as these frantic thoughts raced through my new, tiny brain, my eyes felt heavy. The world swam. I was just so... tired. The sheer shock and the physical exhaustion of being born... or reborn... was too much.
I drifted off to sleep, clutching the thought of my wishes. Strength... learning... healing... I'll need them. All of them.
...
...
The next time consciousness returned, I was being carried again. Bouncing gently in strong arms. I blinked open my eyes, looking up at a man with a short beard and gray streaking his hair near his ears. He looked down at me, a complicated mix of sadness and resolve on his face.
"You know... sometimes life isn't fair to some people," he rumbled, his voice deep. "A child shouldn't have to carry the sins of his father... but sadly... the world doesn't see it that way."
Sins of his father... Gol D.... Ann... Carried by a man who looked like... could it be...?
My suspicion was confirmed. I was in the One Piece world. And I was the daughter of Gol D. Roger. Somehow.
Well... third time's the charm for the 'no point crying over spilled milk' philosophy! My last life was pathetic. I died weak and helpless. Not this time!
I had three wishes! I had power! I had potential! This wasn't just a second chance; it was a complete do-over, with cheat codes! It didn't matter if it was a goddess, an alien AI, or just random cosmic chance that brought me here! I would live this life to the absolute fullest! I would chase adventure! I would find treasure! I would be free! And if anyone dared to get in my way... I'd become strong enough to flatten them myself!
As these fierce, tiny thoughts boiled in my baby head, sleepiness crept in again. Blast it! So much sleeping! But... it's fine. I'm a baby. I have time. Plenty of time to grow Strong. To learn. To plan.
...
...
I opened my eyes again, finding myself under the care of a bald man with huge, circular glasses. He wore a doctor's coat and gently checked me over. A medical professional! Good! Maybe I can learn some things about the local anatomy later.
"Wonder where Garp got this kid from..." the old medic muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Hope he didn't just... snatch her up somewhere... No, Garp wouldn't do that... right...?"
Garp?! Monkey D. Garp?! The Vice-Admiral?! Hero of the Marines?! He carried me?! And his own crew thinks he might have kidnapped me?! Hah! What a character!
...
...
Days turned into weeks, maybe months. It was impossible to tell time as a baby who slept twenty hours a day. I was definitely on a Marine ship. And Garp... oh lord, Garp! He'd visit occasionally. Not to discuss the state of the world, or justice, or pirates... no, no! To recount, in painstaking detail, his various world-breaking cracker-eating records!
Like right now! He held up a tattered, yellowed newspaper. "See this, Ann?! This was the day I broke the cracker-eating world record for the first time! Back then I was young! Just a lieutenant! But I got a small mention on page 42! Must've been a slow news day, eh?! GAHAHAHAHA!"
He pointed to a photo of a young Garp... fast asleep, crumbs all over his face! He's asleep in the photo documenting his RECORD?! And he's showing this... to a baby?!
If I didn't know he was one of the most powerful men in the world, I'd think he was just some eccentric old man with a biscuit fetish! He never mentioned chasing pirates! Just... crackers! And I'm a baby! I can barely see straight, let alone understand his rambling!
At least I can roll around now! Progress! Gotta work with what I have! Gotta start building those muscles! My Frieza race potential isn't going to unlock itself! Most babies crawl at eight months... I'm aiming for one or two! Gotta get mobile!
"Ah! Ann! Why are you turning your back?! You gotta listen to my world-breaking records! Nobody else will!" Garp complained, chomping down on another cracker. CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Because nobody else cares, old man! And neither do I! My tiny brain needs to focus on important things! Like figuring out how to access my wishes' powers! Or memorizing the faces of potential allies and enemies! Not remembering your 345 cracker records! Damn it! Now the number's stuck in my head again! Useless information!
So I just rolled over again, determinedly facing away from him. Time to pretend to sleep and focus on flexing my... baby... muscles.
...
...
Finally! We made landfall! A small, peaceful-looking village surrounded by lush green mountains! I squinted, looking around. Foosha Village! It had to be! Luffy's hometown!
Garp scooped me up, holding me like a sack of potatoes under one arm, and strode towards the mountains.
We walked... and walked... The path wound upwards, deeper into the forest.
Finally, we arrived at a sturdy, rustic wooden house nestled amongst the trees.
KNOCK!
Garp didn't knock. He assaulted the door!
BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!
The door was flung open, revealing a large, imposing woman with wild, orange hair tied back with a bandana! She looked absolutely furious, a vein pulsing in her forehead!
"WHAT THE HELL—!?" she roared, her eyes narrowed!
But then her gaze fell on Garp. Her eyes widened, her face slackened, and her voice shrunk instantly to a sheepish murmur. "...O-Oh... it's you, Garp..."
Garp didn't waste time on pleasantries. He simply held me out, presenting me.
"Take care of this girl."