Chapter 4: First Night on the Island: Fire, Feast, and Unexpected Encounters

Just then.

Karl took a closer look at the tiger, noticing its snowy white coat. It reminded him of the legendary White Tiger, one of the Four Mystical Beasts from ancient Huaxia folklore.

That sight stirred memories of his beautiful hometown and the family and friends he’d left behind, but he knew there was no way back now.

So he decided to name the tiger White Tiger. The name was a tribute to his roots and a promise to start blending into the world of pirates.

“From today on, your name is White Tiger.”

With a wave of nostalgia, Karl reached out and stroked White Tiger’s head.

White Tiger nodded as if to show it approved of the new name.

Now that they were partners, sending it out to fetch some food shouldn’t be an issue.

“White Tiger, go hunt something and bring it back.”

After a quick rest, White Tiger’s wounds had healed quite a bit. The gash on its head was gone, and it moved freely again.

As soon as Karl gave the order, White Tiger sprang into action, darting out of the shelter and vanishing into the heart of the jungle in search of prey.

Karl watched its striped figure slip into the dense woods. No wonder this is the One Piece World—even after such heavy injuries, it recovered in no time.

He made his way back to the wooden hut, gathering dry sticks and leaves to build a fire for warmth.

Then, suddenly, he realized he didn’t have anything to light the fire. Wait—how was he supposed to start it?

After a moment’s hesitation, a thought popped into his mind: the old school method of starting a fire with wood. He’d seen videos about it, and tried to recall the steps—like this… and then this…

Without wasting time, he grabbed a sturdy stick, used a stone to make a small hole, packed it with dry leaves, then picked up another thin branch. Rubbing them quickly between his palms, he spun the stick fast.

After a dozen seconds, sparks flew out and the dry leaves caught flame.

As soon as Karl saw the tiny flame, he hurried to add more dry leaves. Lying close to the ground, he gently blew to keep the fire alive, worried a single draft could snuff it out.

With his careful tending, the flame began to grow, and soon a good fire was crackling away.

Karl gazed at his handiwork with a swell of pride. He never expected to pull off real fire-starting like this.

“Awooo!”

Just then, White Tiger came padding back with a wild boar in its jaws—a six-meter-long beast the size of a pickup truck.

Karl stared, eyes glued to the boar in White Tiger’s mouth, barely able to keep himself from drooling.

After all, he’d fused with Titan Strength, triggering a second round of physical growth. Add that to all the energy he’d burned earlier, and he was downright starving.

White Tiger gently dropped the prey on the ground and used its sharp claws to tear open the boar’s belly with just a few swipes.

Innards spilled out, blood and organs casting off a strong stench. Karl grimaced at the sight, quickly waving away the smell with his hand.

“Awooo!”

When White Tiger signaled for Karl to eat, he wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, that’s a hard pass for me. You go ahead.”

He grabbed a stick to drag the boar aside and skewered it through.

Seeing Karl refuse the innards, White Tiger eagerly lowered its head and started chowing down.

Karl set up a big frame and hung the whole skewered boar over the growing campfire, making sure the flames roasted it evenly.

Tongues of fire licked up, slowly turning the boar a mouthwatering golden brown.

The intoxicating aroma drifted across the island, drawing the attention of nearby wildlife.

“Awooo!”

At White Tiger’s roar, the creatures of the forest scattered in retreat. They knew this was a warning from the jungle’s top predator.

It didn’t take long for the boar to roast through. Karl tore off a hind leg and tossed it to White Tiger.

White Tiger caught the leg and devoured it in big, hungry bites, eyes shining with satisfaction. This was the first time in its life it had ever tasted cooked meat—so delicious.

Karl yanked off the other hind leg and started gnawing away. His jaw strength was so strong now, even the bones snapped easily.

Juicy, tender meat—he grinned wide as he chewed, picking up the pace to get his fill.

There weren’t any spices, but somehow the flavor was fresh and clean—maybe that was nature’s own gift here on this island.

White Tiger made short work of its piece and, now hooked on the taste, came bounding over to Karl’s side with a hopeful look.

“Alright, you get half.”

One glance told Karl the tiger wasn’t full, or maybe it just fell in love with the flavor of cooked meat. After all, tigers couldn’t start fires on their own. Karl grabbed the roast boar and, straining with both hands, tore it in two and tossed half to White Tiger.

Before long, Karl and White Tiger had stripped the giant boar down to the bones.

They ate with gusto, meat juices dribbling down their mouths and big smiles stretching across their faces.

Patting his stomach, Karl sank back into full-bellied relaxation.

He picked up an odd bone, used it to clean bits of meat from between his teeth, then patted his belly and let out a contented burp.

Now sated, Karl posted White Tiger outside to guard the shelter while he slipped through the door to his handmade bed.

He’d lined it with dried leaves for comfort.

It wasn’t fancy, but it was more than enough for him.

Closing his eyes, he let the fatigue sink in as his body relaxed.

It wasn’t long before he drifted off into deep sleep.

Elsewhere on the island, while Karl slept, a strong man rowed a small boat toward the shore.

This newcomer was Edward Newgate.

Edward Newgate had recently joined the Rocks Pirates. That night, his ship got caught in a dangerous undercurrent.

By the time he noticed, it was too late, and a sudden tornado swept him onto the open sea—a true string of bad luck.

Forced to scramble onto a small boat, he drifted with the waves until the sea calmed and finally washed up near this island.

Thankfully, his pirate ship was probably not far from here.

Soon, Newgate made landfall.

He landed on the far side of the island from Karl’s hut, so he didn’t spot any sign of him.

With a swing of his bisento, Newgate chopped down some trees and rigged up a rough bed and makeshift shelter, just enough to keep out the wind and rain.

Like Karl, he’d worn himself out over the long night and now craved a deep sleep.

…

“Awooo!”

At dawn the next day, Karl was jolted awake by White Tiger’s roar.

Still groggy, he climbed out of bed and stumbled toward the door.

As he opened it, he saw a burly man standing outside—a white beret perched on his head, and clutched in his right hand a long blade that reminded Karl of the legendary Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

“Hey, I mean you no harm.”

The man gave a deep, hearty laugh.

Karl breathed a huge sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected to meet anyone else on this deserted island and thought maybe this guy was a native.

“Who are you?” Karl asked, curiosity piqued.

As far as he remembered, this island should’ve been uninhabited.

Then again, in a pirate-infested world, it was possible some locals or refugees had washed up here.

“I’m Edward Newgate. What about you?”

Edward Newgate’s broad grin showed his easygoing nature.

“You’re Whitebeard!”

Karl was shocked. He hadn’t recognized the famous face at first—though the weapon looked familiar, he wasn’t expecting Whitebeard to be so young. That meant the main story hadn’t even started yet.

This Whitebeard was still decades away from the legendary figure he’d become.

Given how much younger Newgate looked now, it was easy to see why Karl hadn’t recognized him right away.

Even though Karl was just an ordinary guy before, now that he had Titan Strength, he’d grown to two and a half meters tall. But standing next to Newgate, who loomed at six point six meters, he still looked short by comparison.