Barzeb Seven

"He was the least talented person we had here.

He was scrawny, his muscles wouldn't grow no matter how much he trained, he was slow-witted, and he was always spacing out.

He used to get bullied by us all the time.

Later, he was tricked by a pirate named Roger into becoming some kind of cook, and he never came back."

East Blue, Konomi Islands.

Housha Town, Emperor Fist Gym.

CP9 agent Rujian Yitia stopped his pen. "Do you know his surname? Does he have any family left?"

The burly, muscular man scratched his head.

"He was an orphan adopted by the old village chief. After the chief died, he didn't have a home anymore. We all called him Little White Hair. I think his surname was Bar...zeb."

"Right, that's it. Barzeb."

Rujian Yitia hurriedly noted it down: Roger Pirates cook, Barzeb Seven, fifteen years old, no Haki, no Devil Fruit ability.

Overall assessment: Non-combatant.

Arrest priority: Extremely high.

Pirate King Roger was about to be publicly executed in Loguetown, and the World Government had dispatched CP9 agents to secretly investigate the whereabouts of the remaining Roger Pirates crew members.

Rujian Yitia couldn't afford to provoke powerhouses like the Wings of the King, Rayleigh or Gaban.

But a small-time cook like Barzeb Seven? Rujian Yitia was determined to catch him, and besides—

CP9 agent versus a cook; the advantage was his!

With a massive promotion and reward within his grasp, Rujian Yitia was in high spirits. He tossed down thirty thousand Berry and left in a hurry. Since the little cook wasn't at his hometown, there was a high probability he would head to Loguetown to see Captain Roger off on his final journey.

Whether he would get a promotion and a raise all depended on this one move.

(๑Ő௰Ő๑)

The night was deep, and the stars were scattered across the sky.

Accompanied by the foam churned up by the waves, a small wooden boat that looked suspiciously like a coffin pulled steadily into the port of Loguetown.

At the bow, Barzeb Seven stowed his oars.

"Mihawk, we've arrived."

The young man addressed as Mihawk opened his hawk-like eyes. "Are you truly a crew member from Roger's ship?"

Mihawk couldn't fathom it. How could someone like Seven... who possessed neither Devil Fruit abilities nor Haki, and didn't even have a proper ship, manage to reach the Final Island?

Was it just because of that inexplicable confidence?

Mihawk glanced at Seven. How could such a weakling possess such surging, overwhelming confidence?

Did the ONE PIECE give it to him?!

"Hey, what's with that look?" Seven was already used to it.

"I told you, I'm a cook!"

Barzeb Seven's culinary skills were the pride of the Roger Pirates, but as for his combat strength... it was better left unsaid.

In truth, Seven didn't want it to be this way.

But his innate physical talent was so poor that no matter how much he exerted two hundred times the effort, he still couldn't catch up to those monsters of talent. Not only could he not catch up, but the gap only grew wider.

Hawk Eyes took the oar, Black Blade Night, from him. "The town is crowded and full of eyes. You... stay close to me."

The future world's greatest swordsman, Hawk Eyes Mihawk, was just nineteen years old at this moment, carrying Black Blade Night on his back as he searched the world for opponents.

Hearing that the Pirate King was about to be executed in Loguetown, Mihawk had hired a boatman at a high price at Twin Capes while on his way: Barzeb Seven.

As for the reason, those who knew, knew.

After successfully freeloading a boat ride, Seven followed Mihawk and freeloaded a place to stay as well—a luxury suite in Loguetown.

Closing the door, Seven lay in the bathtub to relieve his fatigue. Since Mihawk didn't want anyone to see his majestic rowing posture, Seven had done all the rowing the entire way.

He had finally arrived before the execution.

Unlike Mihawk, Seven had only come to see Captain Roger off on his final journey and, incidentally, to complete the final step to activate his system.

Sixteen years ago, Seven had been hit by a truck driven by the Great Fortune Heavenly Venerate and sent to the Pirate World.

Although he had bound a system afterward, it had remained in a standby state because the activation conditions hadn't been met.

[Myriad Worlds Trading Platform, awaiting activation]

[Activation conditions: Pirate King's Straw Hat 1/1, Whitebeard's beard 1/1, Shanks's red hair 1/1, Buggy's treasure map 1/1, Blackbeard's teeth 2/2, Witness the death of the Pirate King 0/1]

Captain Roger was about to be publicly executed, and the Great Pirate Era would begin in his wake. If he missed this, Seven's life would be over.

Unless he waited twenty-four years to witness the death of the next Pirate King.

Twenty-four years—the opportunity would have long since passed.

Having transmigrated to the Pirate World with mediocre bloodlines and no noble background, he wouldn't be able to survive if he didn't get a cheat code.

Seven let out a long breath, his gaze burning like a torch as he looked at the three rewards in his novice gift pack: the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Innate Divine Strength, and Big Eater.

His confidence stemmed precisely from this.

Unlike the rest of the Roger Pirates' crew, Seven did not resist eating a Devil Fruit. Since he couldn't swim to begin with, the side effects of the Devil Fruit were practically negligible to him.

However, he had to choose a powerful Devil Fruit.

If anyone truly believed that there were no trash Devil Fruits, only trash users, then how were they any different from the idiots who believed that there were no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters?

Crazy, go eat shit!

Not to mention that Devil Fruits had clear distinctions in strength, even people were destined to be different from the moment they were born.

A politician's son becomes a politician, a lawyer's son becomes a lawyer, and the son of an ordinary person either becomes an ordinary person or a blood bag.

But then again, the above laws did not apply to Seven—he was a noble cheater!

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Innate Divine Strength, and Big Eater; each reward was a weakness that Seven desperately needed to shore up.

If the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Ice-Ice Fruit, Magma-Magma Fruit, and other Logia types were all placed in front of him, Seven would still choose the Rumble-Rumble Fruit without hesitation.

Simply because it was the most comprehensive Devil Fruit.

Elementalization, speed comparable to the Glint-Glint Fruit, destructive power rivaling the Magma-Magma Fruit, amplification of Observation Haki, cardiac resuscitation, infinite energy...

Attack, defense, speed, healing, and Haki amplification—five in one.

He could even use lightning to temper his body, develop electromagnetic forces, and manipulate bio-electricity like brain waves.

Taken as a whole, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was a Logia type in name, but in reality, it was a Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Raijin.

It was a pity that it suffered from appearing too early and was unfortunately shelved by that old thief Oda. If it had appeared two years after the Summit War, it would have at least been a seed player for the finals.

Of course, there was one more important point.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's abilities were just cool.

Whether it's strong or not is a matter of the current patch, but whether it's cool or not is a matter for a lifetime.

As for Big Eater, it was a standard feature for any protagonist.

For the fifteen-year-old Seven, whether he could grow to the standard height of a Yonko depended entirely on the Big Eater constitution.

On the other hand, Seven currently had no concrete concept of what Innate Divine Strength would entail.

He leaned his head back against the bathtub, his thoughts gradually drifting. He vaguely remembered that among the people coming to watch tomorrow, besides Mihawk, there would also be—

The Sand-Sand Fruit user: the one who only plays high-stakes games and goes fifty-fifty with everyone, Sand Crocodile, Crocodile.

The Shadow-Shadow Fruit user: the future Shichibukai and grave robber, Moria.

His little buddy: the Young Yonko and Face King, Red-Haired.

The leader of the Revolutionary Army and savior of men, the King of Cold Sweat, Dragon.

The String-String Fruit user: the young Shichibukai and King of Reading Newspapers, Doflamingo.

His little buddy: the Chop-Chop Fruit user, Young Yonko, and lucky possessor of Conqueror's Haki, Buggy.

And Smoker.

"Truly~ a gathering of the wise!"