With the college entrance exams just around the corner, high school senior Yi Zhi dies saving someone, at the moment in life when his knowledge is at its peak. When he opens his eyes, he sees a mountain of trash. He is buried in it, nearly becoming part of the pile.
He struggles to survive, and while trying to solve the problem of staying alive, he discovers to his horror that he can't understand the language and has become illiterate. He can't even read the writing of this world.
"Transmigrating as an illiterate? That's scarier than a blank math test!" Yi Zhi covers his face and lets out a wail. Nothing could be worse than getting a second life like this.
Later, thanks to the Devil Fruit he accidentally swallowed while struggling to survive, he manages to teach himself to read. When he sees how low the level of education is in this world, with illiteracy everywhere, he can't bear to stand by. Thus begins his arduous journey to spread literacy along the Grand Line.
First, he teaches Rocks, the silver-haired kid he's teamed up with to survive: "Want to be King of the World? Learn to write your name first!"
Rocks: "You need to be able to read to rule the world?"
Yi Zhi frowns, activates his Devil Fruit ability, and forces Rocks to write "Rocks D. Xebec" a hundred times.
As a result, the future overlord of the seas uses the handwriting he learned from Yi Zhi to write the Celestial Dragons' epitaphs.
Next, he teaches his new crewmate Charlotte Linlin math. She smiles and bites the blackboard in half:
"One plus one equals two? Can two cakes combine into one giant cake?"
Yi Zhi rubs his forehead and lets out a miserable sigh before moving on to another student.
Finally, he turns to Edward Newgate. "Today, we're learning to keep a diary."
Newgate smashes the desk to pieces. "Does 'I beat the crap out of Shiki today' count?"
Yi Zhi answers with tearful, forced sincerity, "Of course. A factual diary is still a diary!"
"If I can't teach the crew on one ship, I'll cast a wider net and catch more fish. There are bound to be some eager students!" says Yi Zhi.
So, after the Rocks Pirates are defeated and his friends go their separate ways, he begins wandering everywhere and teaching wherever he goes:
Today, he sneaks onto Roger's ship to run a cram school, coaxing Shanks into learning calculus: "To beat the captain with the 108th technique, you have to derive the formula yourself."
Tomorrow, he slips into Wano and poses as a private tutor, explaining The Legal Guide to Oden's Rights to Yamato and helping her resist Kaido's tyranny.
In the end, teaching one or two people at a time is too slow, so he decides to open a school, hire teachers, and enroll students. He ends up driving a revolution in this world, and Dragon unilaterally declares him a kindred spirit.
Yi Zhi nearly cries. "I never meant to do this."
Dragon clasps both his hands tightly. "Teacher Yi, you've worked so hard all this time."
Theme: Learning helps people grow
