A Deserted Island Start

On some beach, a handsome young man had met with an accident that morning. His soul had somehow crossed over into this body without any conscious awareness. However, Julian discovered that this world was the world of One Piece he had watched before. Julian stood there dumbfounded and said, "This world is way too dangerous. All kinds of bizarre Devil Fruit abilities, unfathomable Three Types of Haki, Swordmasters with devastating slashes, absurdly powerful sit-ups... This is a world where strength rules supreme." Julian looked despairing as he thought, How am I supposed to survive here?! The thought of this world's horrors instantly made cold sweat pour down his back.

The original owner of this body had also been named Julian, only with an additional surname: Julian Kate. He had lived on a small island called Gaya Doren in the South Blue. The original owner had gone out to sea with his father to fish, only to encounter a storm and tsunami. Their small fishing boat had been swallowed by the waves, and more than ten people aboard had all perished.

By the time Julian's soul had crossed into this body, he had already drifted at sea for several hours. Julian thought he was about to die again when he suddenly spotted a faint island off to his left. His face lit up with excitement, and he desperately swam toward it. After half an hour in the sea, he finally reached shore.

Julian lay on the beach, gasping for air in a miserable state. Looking like death warmed over, he complained, "Other people at least start out with some insanely overpowered bloodline. Even if they get the worst deal, they should at least have noble status, right? I'm about to die right from the start. What rotten luck... pfft."

Julian surveyed his surroundings and found that the island was enormous. It was a deserted island with rolling hills, and the first thing he saw was a vast forest. At that moment, Julian was exhausted and thirsty. He thought, If there's a forest, there must be fruit and fresh water. He rested on the beach for more than ten minutes.

After recovering some strength, Julian entered the forest. He looked around in confusion. "The scenery is pretty nice. The trees are arranged in patches with a very regular pattern." After walking a short distance, he found a small apple tree bearing several apples. Julian first found a branch and knocked several apples down from the tree. He picked them up and ate them. Though they tasted quite astringent, Julian ate them happily.

Julian searched through the original owner's memories and discovered that it was only Marine Year 1496. He said, "Roger won't become the Pirate King until next year, and the Great Age of Pirates won't begin until the year after that." Julian thought, And I'm still stuck on this deserted island without even a shred of strength. If something happens, I could die as easily as a chicken. Julian sighed miserably and said, "Why didn't I start in Wano Country? If I were in Wano Country, I could spill some milk too. There are several Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits over there. Once I ate one, I'd rise straight to the heavens alongside chickens and dogs."

Julian recalled wilderness survival. The first thing to do was investigate the island's environment. He first marked the cardinal directions, using trees as markers. This island really was huge. Exploring it on foot would probably take five or six days. After thinking it over, Julian said, "First, I should see if there are any other fruit trees nearby. It'd be best if I could pick some fruit to fill my stomach."

After resting for a while, Julian headed toward the center of the island. Looking at his surroundings, he said in confusion, "The closer I get to the island's center, the fewer trees there are. What's going on?" After thinking for a moment, he added, "Never mind. I'll keep going." Julian walked toward the center of the island for half a day and found a swamp ahead. He estimated it was more than two thousand meters wide and nearly three thousand meters long, forming a semicircular marsh.

Julian also discovered a small tree over two meters tall in the middle of the swamp. An oval fruit resembling a pineapple grew on it, roughly as large as a pineapple and gray in color. It looked very much like a Devil Fruit. Julian was overjoyed and shouted, "Please, Buddha, bless me! I'm willing to trade five hundred years of that little beast Momonosuke's lifespan. If that isn't enough, add five hundred years of his father Kozuki Oden's lifespan!" After saying that, Julian headed toward the swamp.

As everyone knew, Devil Fruits were indeed incredibly powerful in the Pirate World. They were divided into three major types: Logia, Paramecia, and Zoan. Each had its own strengths, but Zoan Mythical Zoans were practically god-tier. If one could awaken it, they would at least possess low-level Yonko strength. Of course, awakening a Devil Fruit was extremely difficult. Fruit ability, Haki, and physical constitution were all indispensable, and developing a fruit also depended on strength.

Julian recalled memories from his previous life. There were several Zoan Mythical Devil Fruits: Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit, Filial Daughter Kozuki Yamato's Okuchi no Makami Fruit, also known as the White-Eyed Wolf Form, and the rather special Hito Hito Mythical Devil Fruit, the shame of Mythical Zoans. For example, Luffy's Nika Fruit was quite special. If someone else ate it, it would just be the Rubber-Rubber Fruit, but when Luffy ate it, it became Nika—the standard equipment of a Child of Destiny, along with protagonist plot armor.

Marco's Phoenix Form came with undying blue flames and Flame Attack, but Marco had gone farther and farther down the ship doctor route. He had practically abandoned his flame abilities, while his healing blue flames grew stronger and stronger. The one that truly dragged Mythical Zoans down was Kurozumi Orochi. His Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Yamata no Orochi Form showed no signs of development whatsoever. Of course, Kurozumi Orochi was trash too, but he had spilled plenty of milk in Wano Country.

Moreover, the Pirate World's power system had a certain hierarchy. Broadly speaking, it was divided into Ensign, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, Brigadier General, Major General, Vice Admiral, Yonko Commander, Admiral, Fleet Admiral-level Yonko gatekeepers, and Yonko level.

Julian did not want to say much more. He needed to secure this Devil Fruit first. He took four pieces of wood and made a small raft. Lying on it, he slowly crawled toward the center of the swamp. Julian said thankfully, "Luckily, I watched plenty of wilderness survival shows in my previous life. I know swamps are made of soil and water and have tremendous suction. If you get swallowed, you die." More than twenty minutes later, Julian crawled beneath the Devil Fruit tree. Standing on the raft, he reached out and picked the Devil Fruit.

Julian held the fruit before his eyes and examined it. He thought, I really don't recognize this fruit. There's a high chance it's a Logia. Julian calculated that if it was a Logia, then as long as he did not act recklessly and developed cautiously, dying would not be easy. After all, this was not the New World. Logias still had plenty of prestige in the early stages.

With a disgusted expression, Julian shouted, "Bottoms up. I'll defy fate!" Julian took huge bites, forcibly suppressing the nausea and dry heaving. He did not leave even a single bit behind. Julian had heard in his previous life that eating an entire Devil Fruit could increase the chance of awakening. He would rather believe it than not, so he ate every last morsel.

Julian smiled and said, "I finally recovered. It tasted awful, but if it can make me stronger, forget crap—even magma and arsenic, I'd eat them." Julian sensed what type of Devil Fruit it was and felt the changes in his body. Both his strength and physical toughness had increased. He said, "As expected, Devil Fruits can really improve physical attributes." His hands transformed into arms of soil.

Julian thought, This fruit is the Logia Swamp-Swamp Fruit. Julian instantly jumped from the small raft into the swamp. The Swamp-Swamp Fruit was also called the Earth-Earth Fruit. If developed well, it was equivalent to the Earth-Earth Fruit. Julian said, "I'm not that dog-brained Smoker Caribou, who can only stuff Gatling guns and sickles into his body. He keeps acting tough even when facing people with Armament Haki. What a stupid idiot. He's ruined this fruit's reputation."

Julian smirked wickedly. "Caribou, you can't handle this fruit, but I can handle it just fine." Julian muttered to himself, I need to think about my future plans. He came up with two paths. The first was joining the Marines. After all, the Marines were still the strongest force on the Sea, and Chief Instructor Zephyr was there to systematically teach Marine Rokushiki, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki. Becoming a Vice Admiral in the future would not be a problem. Then he suddenly thought of beasts like the Celestial Dragon Government, who carried out racial massacres once every three years. Wouldn't that make him the Dog King?

Julian said with a disgusted look, "With my personality, I might end up beating them senseless." After considering it, he decided that working for others had no future. He needed to grow bigger and stronger, create new glory, become his own boss, and start his own company. He should become a high-level pirate first, like the Heroes of Mount Liang. Then he could go to Sky Island and get Enel, that little nobody, under control. Once he became the god of Sky Island and had territory of his own, would he still have to worry about development? Once he grew strong, Berries, fame, and beautiful women would all come to him.

Julian fantasized for a while before saying, "I'm not at that point yet. I still need to pull myself together. I can't keep swallowing my own empty promises." Julian recognized his shortcomings and immediately began training his physical strength. First, he ran to improve his stamina. Second, he developed his Devil Fruit ability. Third, he practiced the boxing he had learned in his previous life to improve his attacking methods. Julian did not waste any time and immediately got started.

Julian began sensing his Devil Fruit ability within the swamp. He discovered that activating Elementalization and running through the mud could indeed accelerate the fruit's development. Both hands could turn into soil, and the soil could take any shape he wanted: soil swords, soil spears, and Earth Spikes.

After training for an afternoon, Julian's stomach began growling. He left the swamp to find food, since he needed to fill his stomach first. Julian walked beneath a fruit tree and turned his hands into earth dragons that bit at the fruit on the branches. The island had apples, pineapples, and grapes. After eating a huge pile of fruit, Julian went to other fruit trees. The fruit here really was excellent, with an extremely pleasant texture. After eating dozens of apples, Julian discovered that he was still not full.

Julian said seriously, "After my physical attributes improved, my appetite increased too. But how can I live on fruit alone? Physical training depends on nutrition. How could fruit alone be enough?" He immediately ran to the shore to see whether there was anything he could use to fish. For the moment, he had not found any animals on the island. By the time he reached the beach where he had landed, it was already afternoon. Many land-and-sea creatures had begun moving toward the shore. Not far away, he spotted a crab more than three meters tall strutting sideways across the beach, perhaps intending to enter the forest to eat fruit.

Julian instantly ran toward the enormous crab, raised his middle finger at it, and shouted, "Ugly Monster, your grandpa is here!" Julian activated his Devil Fruit ability, instantly turning both hands into two earth blades and stabbing directly into the crab's abdomen. For shelled creatures, the abdomen was always soft. The two-meter-long hardened earth blades pierced all the way in. Bubbles began spilling from the crab's mouth, and within two minutes, it collapsed to the ground. Julian burst into laughter and said, "A Logia really is good stuff." He turned his hands into strands of earth rope and slowly dragged the giant crab into the forest, preparing to make a fire and eat it.

Julian turned his hands into earth ropes again, grabbed dry wood, and rubbed it together to start a fire. Then he grabbed the giant claw nearly two meters long and roasted it. He marveled, As expected of a Devil Fruit-enhanced body. I can just drag away something that weighs a ton. After eating his fill, Julian went to sleep.

At night, he began practicing boxing. Julian activated the Swamp-Swamp Fruit ability and formed earth boxing gloves over his hands. Facing a fifteen-meter-tall tree, he repeatedly used straight punches, hooks, uppercuts, and Kun Fist, battering the tree until it swayed and made booming thuds. Julian wondered whether he should name his moves. Didn't experts all have named attacks? For example, Garp's Galaxy Impact could destroy an island with one punch. In the future, when I can knock down this tree with one punch, I'll name it Dragon Fist: Million Ton Impact. Julian laughed as he thought about it. That would be so damn stylish! ^ω^

Julian discovered that the small pirates in the world of One Piece were almost all lacking in intelligence and were easily influenced by other people's imposing presence. Julian said with a wicked grin, "Once I make a name for myself, I can recruit more people to work for me. I can use Yonko Buggy the Clown as a reference →_→ He's obviously weak as hell. Forget Yonko-level strength—even a Vice Admiral could beat Yonko Buggy senseless. Being one of the Yonko does not mean someone has Yonko-level strength. Marine Admiral is only a position, not a measure of strength."

Julian said fiercely, "I must make a name for myself and build my own force. First, I'll get Enel of Sky Island under control. Wouldn't that make me, Julian, the god of Sky Island? By then, I'll have everything I want. The women of Sky Island even have wings."

Julian thought, In Marine Year 1497, Roger will reach the summit and become the Pirate King. In Marine Year 1498, Roger will surrender to the World Government and begin the Great Age of Pirates. It is only Marine Year 1496 now. By then, I can go see the execution platform.

Julian thought, Roger's move was a vicious stab in the World Government's back. He directly shouted from the execution platform, "Do you want my treasure? I left it on the final island. Go find it! I gave it all to you!" That drove those people madly out to sea. The Heavenly Gold paid by civilians of the allied nations to the Celestial Dragons also plummeted as they went to sea, while Roger himself was a broke loser.