The Awakening of the Mind (Part 1)

In the World of Pirates, on an island near the Calm Belt of the East Blue in the New World, stood Ring Tree Island, or Ring Island for short.

On Green Cliff, the only rock at the top of the island that jutted outward, Luo Han woke beneath a gentle breeze.

He rubbed his eyes and stared blankly at the azure sky. In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed since he arrived in the World of Pirates, yet Luo Han still could not forget his former life.

In his previous life, real life had been stressful. After graduating from university at seventeen, he had only earned six thousand a month after three years of work. But it had been a peaceful world, and he had lived in Greater China. Outside of work, he could lose himself in books and anime, taking in the splendor of the vast world. He never had to worry that some pirate might erase him one day. Who would have thought that after falling asleep, he would wake up as a helpless infant with tiny arms and legs? Sigh...

"Little Han, hurry home. This year's Scale Fruit has ripened, and everyone's waiting for you." Thud! Thud! Beneath Green Cliff, Grandma Mo lightly tapped the ground with her cane. Her bright eyes narrowed slightly as she walked toward Luo Han and spoke.

Right, he had nearly forgotten. Today was the island's once-every-four-years Scale Fruit Festival.

It was probably around two in the afternoon now.

Only islanders between the ages of ten and eighteen could enjoy Scale Fruit. Its effects became insignificant after eighteen. That was because Scale Fruit grew on a giant Divine Tree on the island and contained energy that transformed one's physique. It only bore fruit once every four years.

Pulled from his thoughts...

"Okay, Grandma!" Luo Han pushed himself up and flipped to his feet.

"I've told you not to sleep on Green Cliff. It's deep below, and it's dangerous." Grandma Mo looked at Luo Han lovingly and repeated herself without the slightest impatience.

Luo Han said, "Don't worry, Grandma Mo. How many times have you told me that already? Let's go. Here, I'll help you!"

They made their way to the edge of Ring Tree Island's inner area. The moment Luo Han looked up, the sheer enormity of the Divine Tree still struck him with awe, even after ten years.

Here, one had to marvel at nature's wonders. Any kind of miraculous terrain could take shape. Ring Tree Island was shaped like a ring, its entire circumference formed of rock roughly two hundred meters high. Both its inner and outer sides stood perpendicular to the sea, like a massive ring-shaped stone pillar pressed into the ocean. At its center lay a bottomless freshwater lake.

At the bottom of the lake was a water channel connected to the sea, through which seawater flowed into the lake.

The Divine Tree was rooted at the center of the lake, its crown level with the island itself, making it impossible to spot from outside. What made the Divine Tree so miraculous was that it could desalinate seawater like a desalination plant. That was where the island's freshwater came from.

The Divine Tree's roots also intertwined with Ring Island, creating layer after layer of spiderweb-like pathways. Besides the spiraling stone stairways, the islanders could travel along the paths formed by the roots. Their homes were caves carved into Ring Island's rock walls. Based on the layers formed by the roots, there were nine levels in total.

As he pondered, Luo Han and Grandma Mo reached the root plaza on the ninth level. The closer the roots were to the Divine Tree's main trunk, the denser they became, eventually forming a plaza of two square kilometers.

Everyone on the island had gathered in the plaza. All the Scale Fruit had been picked and placed on long tables across the square.

"Little Han, you went to sleep on Green Cliff again, didn't you?"

"Definitely. Ever since Little Han learned how to walk, he's run up to Green Cliff every day."

"Could sleeping on Green Cliff really be more comfortable than sleeping in a woman's bed? Hahaha!"

"What nonsense are you spouting, you old fool!"

Listening to the islanders' teasing, Luo Han rolled his eyes upward and calmly looked at everyone with an innocent expression that said he understood absolutely nothing.

"Alright, Luo Han, get over here and line up." At that moment, Uncle Kate, the captain of the island's Hunting Squad, called out in a rough voice.

Standing five meters tall, with bulging muscles, dark skin, and a face like a chimpanzee, Uncle Kate was still quite intimidating.

The Hunting Squad was the force responsible for hunting Sea Kings in the waters outside the island. Only men over eighteen who passed the selection process could join. The strongest among them was Uncle Kate, who probably possessed the combat power of a Marine Vice Admiral. After all, this was the New World.

Luo Han hurried over and stood at the back of the line. There were more than forty people in total, all islanders between ten and eighteen years old.

The island's total population was a little over twenty thousand, and every four years, there were only around forty people eligible to eat Scale Fruit.

"Brother Han, do you think I'll be able to beat my dad after eating Scale Fruit this time?" The chubby boy in front of Luo Han turned around and asked excitedly.

The chubby boy was named Phil Cole. He was the same age as Luo Han, both of them ten years old, and he liked following Luo Han around. He was also a gourmet. Well... yes, a gourmet who never refused food.

Of course, Luo Han knew the answer to Little Fatty's question.

Luo Han said, "What are you thinking? Hmm... maybe after eating it a few more times."

Little Fatty said, "But I don't want to wait!"

Luo Han said, "Why not?"

Little Fatty said, "At night, my dad is always beating my mom. It goes slap, slap, slap. I tell him to stop beating her, but he always says he's exercising. I don't believe him!"

Luo Han said, "Uh... you're impressive!" So he wanted to beat his dad so his dad would stop beating his mom? Heh! So innocent! Life lies in movement. Hmm... he was getting off track...

"Alright, starting from the front, come up one by one and take a Scale Fruit. Once you eat it, you'll become the island's new young men. Hmm! Young women work too, ah! Hahaha!" Uncle Kate announced.

Little Fatty quickly turned back around, his expectant eyes fixed on Uncle Kate. Luo Han stopped talking as well. He was looking forward to it too.

Then the Scale Fruit distribution began.

As the people ahead collected theirs one after another, Little Fatty finally took his as well. At last, it was Luo Han's turn.

Ever since he had accidentally overheard the island elders talking when he was five, mentioning words such as Marines, pirates, and the World Government, Luo Han had known that he had arrived in the World of Pirates. This was a world where only strength could control one's fate.

Therefore, Luo Han needed strength, and Scale Fruit was one of the foundations for his path upward. After all, not everyone possessed talent like Big Mom's.

Luo Han said, "Uncle Kate, why does my Scale Fruit seem different from everyone else's?"

As its name suggested, Scale Fruit had skin covered in layer upon layer of fish-scale-like patterns, and it was entirely green.

But Luo Han's fruit had a smooth surface covered in kaleidoscope-like patterns. Its colors were kaleidoscopic too, containing every color imaginable. No matter how he looked at it, it did not resemble one at all!

Uncle Kate said, "Uh! Little Han, your Scale Fruit is a little unusual, but I guarantee it was picked from the Divine Tree. I picked it myself."

"But it doesn't look like one," Luo Han muttered under his breath.

"Little Luo Han, the Divine Tree's fruit cannot be wasted. We should be grateful. Perhaps your Scale Fruit's effects will be especially good!" Uncle Kate suddenly looked at Luo Han with a serious expression.

"Alright!" Luo Han took the unusual Scale Fruit aside, preparing to cut it with a knife before eating it.

By then, everyone had begun cutting and eating their fruit. The effects of Scale Fruit took time to manifest. Depending on a person's talent, it would provide different enhancements, and their physical potential would reach its greatest improvement through training over the next three years.

Sigh! Luo Han looked at everyone else's Scale Fruit, then at his own, frowning!

Still, the more he looked at this Scale Fruit, the more it resembled a Devil Fruit! He seemed to remember that in his previous life, Devil Fruit users' powers would supposedly be reborn at random in another fruit after they died.

Could this unusual Scale Fruit have come about that way? Then wouldn't that mean he... was getting a little excited!