"Ugh, my head... What happened?"
Minos groggily opened his eyes, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "Huh?! Wasn't I already dead?"
After all, Minos remembered it clearly. During the fire, the entire building had nearly burned down. Being above the twentieth floor, he couldn't think of any reason he could have survived.
"Hm!? Why does something feel wrong with my vision?"
He raised a hand and waved it around, only to find his perspective strangely odd, as though he had an extra line of sight.
"Hey, Minos, are you okay?"
At that moment, Minos vaguely heard a voice. When he looked up, he nearly scared himself to death.
A guy over three meters tall, with horns on his head, was staring at him with a worried expression. But seeing arms thicker than his own waist and that fierce, fleshy face, Minos immediately shrank back.
"Who are you?"
The moment he spoke, Minos was startled too. That sounded kind of like Japanese, didn't it? Since when did he understand Japanese?
"Did you really go dumb? I'm Talon. You don't even recognize me." The huge Minotaur muttered, his face full of concern. "Well, we did face one of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin! It wouldn't be strange if you were scared stupid."
"Uh... what?" Minos dazedly looked around and discovered that he was inside a huge ship's cabin. Strangely, many of the objects in the cabin had eyes and mouths, and some were even singing.
Before he could say anything, the Minotaur named Talon continued, "Running into that Four Emperor was already lucky for us... If we'd really been sent to those Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise, we'd be dead for sure."
"I heard those Celestial Dragons eat a child's heart and liver every day. They even bathe in virgin blood to stay young. If special races like us are captured, they dig out our eyes and cut off our horns to make handicrafts from our special body parts!"
Damn it, what kind of savage race was that? Abyssal Demons? What kind of world was this? Celestial Dragons, Charlotte Linlin... They sounded strangely familiar.
"Being taken in by that Four Emperor is much better. I heard she values rare races like us greatly and doesn't even take souls. If we're willing to join the Charlotte Pirates, we could at least become minor officers."
"Though I originally wanted to join the Hundred Beast Pirates. Lord Kaido is the idol of our Oni Clan! Still, joining the Charlotte Pirates doesn't seem bad either."
Minos felt his head turning to mush, then suddenly remembered. Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, Celestial Dragons... Wasn't this One Piece?
Did I... transmigrate?!
Three days later.
Now sixteen again, Minos had finally figured out that he had transmigrated into someone with the same name and appearance as himself, and learned how he had ended up aboard a Charlotte Pirates ship.
He and that big guy Talon had been high-grade slaves captured by slave traders. Then, while the traders were sailing through the New World, the Charlotte Pirates intercepted them, and they happened to run into Charlotte Linlin, who was traveling at the time.
As for why he counted as a high-grade slave, and why the Charlotte Pirates had saved him...
Looking at the mirror before him, Minos silently sighed. Transmigration was one thing, but why had he transmigrated into a Three-Eyed Tribe member?
Fortunately, after subtly probing over the past few days, Minos learned that Charlotte Linlin already had a Three-Eyed Tribe daughter, Charlotte Brulee. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't have known whether becoming a Celestial Dragon's slave or becoming Charlotte Linlin's husband was the most tragic fate in the world!
"Forget it. Even if this appearance is a little horrifying, at least my race saved my life... Besides, while the Three-Eyed Tribe doesn't get much of a boost in combat power, they're still a little stronger than ordinary people."
Once the Three-Eyed Tribe's power was fully developed, they possessed an ability nearly akin to hearing the voice of all things. That was the highest realm of Observation Haki.
It was clear that the Three-Eyed Tribe possessed a unique talent for cultivating Observation Haki.
No longer dwelling on it, Minos wrapped his forehead again and walked out of the cabin.
The Charlotte Family's ships had always been short on crew—after all, the ships themselves were Homies and could sail automatically, saving most of the manpower.
As for the extra space, most of it was used to store food. Nearly everyone in the Charlotte Family was a foodie, and each of them had an extreme love for sweets. As someone from the north who preferred savory food, Minos found the meals truly painful.
So now, he wanted to make something for himself in the ship's kitchen, at least a plate of fried rice with egg.
The moment he stepped outside, Minos heard a "Mamamama" laugh and saw Charlotte Linlin feasting on the deck.
With a giant-like body, a pink dress, a barrel-shaped waist, a hooked nose, and a neck that was nearly impossible to see, this was what Charlotte Linlin, once considered a great beauty, looked like now. Oda's butcher knife had truly struck hard.
Based on what he had learned, Minos estimated that it was more than ten years before the story began. He couldn't remember the exact Marineford Era date, but at least Dressrosa's royal family was still led by Riku King, which was why he made that estimate.
Another piece of evidence was that Charlotte Linlin had not yet completely become Big Mom... Though it felt like she was close. At the very least, she was still barrel-shaped rather than ball-shaped.
When she saw Minos emerge, Charlotte Linlin's eyes lit up as she chewed on a donut. "Mamamama, isn't this Little Minos? Want a donut?"
As she spoke, Charlotte Linlin glanced at the mountain of donuts before her, picked out the smallest one, and handed it over.
Several of Charlotte Linlin's subordinates and children beside her looked at Minos with envy and jealousy. For Charlotte Linlin to remember to share some sweets even while eating them, her regard for Minos was obvious.
"Uh... thank you. You should have it yourself, Captain."
Though it was supposedly the smallest donut, considering Charlotte Linlin's size, even the smallest donut in her hand was large enough for Minos to use as a swim ring. Naturally, Minos shook his head frantically.
What a joke. Although Minos's appetite had increased quite a bit after coming to the One Piece world, he might not be unable to finish such a huge donut.
But if he ate that thing, Minos felt that he would probably vomit whenever he saw sweets in the future.
"Mamamama, you don't like sweets? What a waste." Charlotte Linlin stuffed the donut into her gaping mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it, speaking with some regret.
Fortunately, although Charlotte Linlin loved sweets, she had no prejudice against people who preferred savory food. Otherwise, Minos would probably have been in trouble.
As for why Charlotte Linlin valued Minos, a weakling with barely any fighting ability, it was naturally because she held great hopes for his Three-Eyed Tribe Bloodline.
When the Three-Eyed Tribe's power was developed to its limit, they possessed an ability close to hearing the voice of all things. It was one of the rare powers capable of directly reading Poneglyphs.
Although Charlotte Linlin already had a Three-Eyed Tribe daughter, she was not pure-blooded. Who knew how far she could develop her abilities? At a time like this, Minos, a pure-blooded Three-Eyed Tribe member, naturally became Charlotte Linlin's favorite.
One more person meant one more chance. Charlotte Linlin truly wanted to become the Pirate King.
Before you continue