The Devil Fruit

What was worth mentioning was that Rono took eight days to complete Hell Training (I). On the fifth day, a storm hit in the evening. Since he was busy trying to protect himself, he fell more than a dozen reps short of finishing the training by midnight.

Then the lightning struck.

Rono suddenly stopped moving. The next moment, he convulsed like he was having an Epileptic Fit. His eyes rolled back, his red hair stood on end, and his whole body spasmed. His skin turned red, cracked, and blackened at a visible speed, before finally peeling off. With the help of his Self-Healing Factor, Rono's body kept breaking apart and regenerating. The stench of burnt protein filled the air. He wanted to scream to distract himself, but under the lightning's effects, he couldn't even move a finger, let alone speak. All he could do was twitch involuntarily. After who knew how long, his vision went black, and he collapsed...

Who knew how much time had passed? Rono slowly opened his eyes and got to his feet. With a serious expression, he said, "System, I'm a little dizzy. Can I skip training today?"

"Beep. Friendly Reminder: it's five in the morning." The system paused. "Please complete your training as soon as possible. You'll receive a reward for completing the task!"

"Holy crap, did I go too far? This kid's Mental Power is still too low. 23333. I'd better take it easy next time." The system thought to itself.

"System, I've got an incurable disease. I need a day to recover, ah!" With that, he lay back down on the floor, kicking up a pile of black ash—the "skin" he'd shed yesterday.

"..."

"Looks like he can keep going. No need to take it easy." The system pondered.

"Huh? Why do I feel a bit chilly?" Only then did Rono look down at himself. Naked! Nima! Rono immediately leaped up and snuck back to his room to change. After tidying up the training room, he saw that the system wasn't responding to him, so he had no choice but to start another training session...

Back in the present, after finishing his daily training, Rono eagerly took up his fishing rod and went deep-sea fishing. Time trickled by, and before long, it was afternoon. Rono yawned and glanced at the completely empty bucket, then pursed his lips. The fish in these waters were clever. It was understandable that he hadn't caught a single one. Mm-hmm, it definitely wasn't a problem with his technique.

"Time to reel it in!" Rono hummed an unknown tune (which was really just a few random notes), took off his straw hat, and packed up his gear. Just as he was about to stow it in the storage room, he heard someone shout, "Pirate Ship approaching! Captain!" The sailor in the watchtower yelled excitedly. After a clatter of footsteps, the sailors gathered, armed with Sailor Knives and flintlock pistols, ready to fight. Cargo ships were generally loaded with goods to ensure a profit, so they couldn't outrun the swift Pirate Ships. That left only one choice: fight.

Boom! A cannonball hit the main mast, followed by several Chain Shots. With Sailor Knives clenched between their teeth, the pirates grinned as they climbed aboard the cargo ship. "Fire!" The captain drew his cutlass and shouted. After one volley, nearly a third of the pirates were shot and fell into the sea. Before the sailors could reload, the remaining pirates leaped onto the deck and cut one of them down with a single slash. The sailors threw away their flintlocks and fought the pirates hand-to-hand. Captain Asiya was strong, and killed a pirate first. The deck was soon filled with shouts and flying blood and gore. "Aah!" A flash of steel suddenly swept past, and several sailors were cut in half at the waist. Their upper bodies still screamed in agony on the ground. A burly pirate wearing a headscarf held a Tachi—well, they called them swords here—and flicked the blood from its blade. He was evidently the one who'd struck. "Captain!" the pirates cheered, their morale soaring as they drove the sailors back.

"Ha!" Captain Asiya cleaved a pirate to the ground with his sword, then roared and charged at the Pirate Captain. The Pirate Captain licked his lips and clashed with Asiya...

Meanwhile, what was our protagonist doing?

A red-haired head (not that Red-Haired) poked out from the Pirate Ship. Rono vaulted aboard and ran straight toward the Captain's Cabin. It was the most luxurious room, so it was easy to spot. He reached the door and tugged at it twice. Huh? Locked? Just as Rono stepped back to kick it in, a long blade stabbed through him from behind. Rono froze. Like a rusty robot, he slowly lowered his head and looked at the blade, which didn't have a drop of blood on it. He tilted his head, clenched his fist, and his nails sprang out like a cat's claws. He thrust them viciously behind him. With a squelch, Rono felt them sink into something slick. "Now we're even," he muttered. His hand moved just as fast as his words: he yanked it back, and the man behind him—Henchman A—fell to the ground. Clutching his wound, he stared at Rono in disbelief, his mouth quivering with shock. "D-Devil Fruit!" Then he kicked the bucket. Rono rubbed his already healed stomach. "Aw, there goes another shirt." He ignored Henchman A, kicked open the Captain's Cabin door, and ransacked the room. He even scratched lines into all the walls in case there were hidden doors. He found a metal box inside the captain's pillow. "Heh, you hid it that carefully, and I still found it. If it weren't for my vast exper—cough, my caution..." He extended his claws, shoved them in behind the box, and sliced it open. Sure enough, two small arrows with emerald-green tips lay on top of the items inside. If he'd tried to force the box open from the front, he'd almost certainly have been screwed.

Rono tossed the arrows aside and hummed as he inspected his spoils. "⊙0⊙! Whoa! That's a huge Gemstone. It must be worth a lot! Tsk, this dagger's hilt is made of gold! Oh! A Devil Fruit! Hahaha, what a haul!"

"Kid, put that stuff down, and I'll let you keep your whole body." Rono turned around and saw the Pirate Captain, face covered in blood and panting heavily, aiming a silver pistol at his head.

"Bleh!" Rono made a face, then moved faster than the eye could follow and took a bite out of the Devil Fruit. "Ugh, that's freaking awful!" He couldn't help commenting. "Bang, bang, bang!" The Pirate Captain, burning with rage, emptied his entire magazine. Looking at the bullet holes in Rono's body, he spat on the ground. "Damn it, he stole my stuff! Fuck, there goes several hundred million!" The Pirate Captain's heart ached. He'd just run into a tough opponent, failed to rob him and gotten screwed instead, and then came back only to run into this mess. He was just about to call someone to haul Rono outside and feed him to the fish when he noticed...