Sea Circle Calendar 1484, the year of the Battle of God Valley.
New World.
The sea stretched beneath clear blue skies as a merchant ship sailed across it.
On the ship's middle deck, Luo Tian woke up in a cramped crew cabin.
This was his third day in the pirate world.
To survive, he had no choice but to do odd jobs aboard the merchant ship.
In this perilous world, without talent, a cheat, or a Devil Fruit, getting stronger was easier said than done.
Just as Luo Tian stared at the ceiling, fretting, a mechanical voice rang in his mind:
"Ding! System loading... Loading complete!"
"You have a beginner's gift pack. Would you like to open it?"
The notification sounded like a beacon of hope. Luo Tian's gloomy expression instantly brightened.
Without a moment's hesitation, he shouted in his mind, "Open it!"
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Space-Space Fruit and a Body Enhancement Card!"
As the notification sounded, two streams of information flooded his consciousness.
[Space-Space Fruit] A Paramecia Devil Fruit. Its user can sense and manipulate force and space! [Body Enhancement Card] Upon use, the body will be enhanced a hundredfold. (Enhancements include, but are not limited to, organs, tissues, and cells!)
"Fantastic!" Luo Tian's heart pounded. Without the slightest hesitation, he silently commanded:
"Use the Body Enhancement Card!"
The next second, a surge of energy welled up from deep within him like a stream of heat, flooding every part of his body!
"Crack... Pop..."
His bones crackled as his muscle fibers bulged and rearranged themselves.
His body grew taller and broader at a visible rate. His once-fitting coarse clothes tore apart in an instant, leaving strips of fabric hanging from him.
In the blink of an eye, Luo Tian had grown to 305 centimeters tall. (The same height as Donquixote Doflamingo.)
See the detailed illustration in the comments →
But that was only the change on the surface.
Far more profound changes were taking place within him.
Luo Tian felt an unprecedented vitality surging through his body, as if he had an endless reserve of strength.
He clenched his fist instinctively, crushing the air with a faint whine.
He felt as though he could lift hundreds of tons with ease, run fast enough to break the sound barrier, and withstand blows with skin and bones now as dense and hard as steel.
Yet the most incredible part of this hundredfold enhancement was the exponential transformation at the cellular level!
His cells' ability to divide and regenerate had been pushed to the limit.
Even a severed limb could regrow within seconds, and vital organs like his brain and heart could rapidly re-form if destroyed.
In theory, as long as even a single cell survived and absorbed enough energy, his body could completely restore itself from that one cell!
In biological terms, this was already a nearly conceptual "immortal body"!
His cells' ability to repair themselves had also reached its peak.
They could precisely repair everyday damage and aging cells, and even reverse the shortening of telomeres, putting an end to aging at its source and granting him true eternal life and youth!
"This... This is ridiculously overpowered!" Feeling the astonishing changes in his body, Luo Tian was both shocked and delighted. He couldn't help but murmur in amazement.
He forced down his excitement and focused his mind. A strange fruit appeared in his hand. It was a deep, rich blue, covered in spiral patterns, and shaped like a dragon fruit.
It was the Space-Space Fruit.
Remembering the stories about how awful Devil Fruits tasted, he frowned, steeled himself, and took a bite—
Huh?
The nauseating taste he'd expected never came. Instead, a sweet, fragrant flavor burst across his tongue, and a strange warmth flowed down his throat.
Youth had no price; the fruit melted in his mouth!
At the same time, he felt a strange new ability within him, one that resonated with space.
"I need to find somewhere to test this fruit's abilities..." Luo Tian was eager to try it out.
Whoosh—BOOM!!!
At that moment, an ear-splitting crash came from outside the ship, followed by the sound of splintering wood.
The entire merchant ship lurched violently and tilted!
Objects rolled across the deck, and terrified screams rang out.
"Pirates! We're under attack!"
"Look at that flag! It's... It's the Rocks Pirates!"
"Rocks?! That monster crew, the strongest in the New World? We're done for! We're all going to die!"
"Run! Hurry!"
The deck descended into chaos as the crew fled like headless chickens.
The merchant ship's captain stared in despair at the pirate ship blocking their path and the pirate flag fluttering above it.
A horde of vicious-looking pirates stood on the ship, brandishing swords, knives, and pistols as they cackled with bloodlust.
"Hahaha! Another fat sheep!"
"Brothers, take everything!"
"Heh heh heh... I'll lead the charge!"
A burly pirate grinned viciously, raised his broadsword, and leaped from the pirate ship toward the panicked crew on the merchant ship's deck.
Even the lowest-ranking member of the Rocks Pirates was no ordinary pirate. That single blow could send several people flying.
At the critical moment!
Vmmm—!!!
A strange, soft sound rang out, as if space itself had been plucked.
An invisible yet powerful field of repulsion erupted out of nowhere, like an unseen wall slamming into the pirate in midair.
"Bam—"
With a sickening crunch of breaking bones, the pirate didn't even understand what had happened before he was hurled backward as if struck head-on by a speeding train.
Every bone in his body shattered under the impact. He crashed into the distant sea like a heap of mud.
The next instant, ripples spread through space like waves on water, and a tall, upright figure appeared out of nowhere at the bow.
He was a young man who looked no older than twenty, with black hair, crimson eyes, and a stern face.
He wore an open black coat, and his presence was so overwhelming it seemed to suffocate everyone around him.
[Spatial Repulsion] Manipulates space to generate repulsive force!
"W-What just happened?!"
"That pirate... Is he dead?"
"It was him! He saved us!"
The crew, having narrowly escaped death, looked at Luo Tian as if he'd descended from heaven. Their faces were full of relief and delight.
Luo Tian raised an eyebrow. "Are you... members of the Rocks Pirates?"
"Where did this brat come from? How dare he kill one of our men!" The pirate captain on the deck laughed wildly and barked an order:
"Brothers, open fire! Turn that little freak into a pincushion!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of gunshots rang out, and countless bullets flew toward him.
Luo Tian remained expressionless and didn't even try to dodge.
Just as the bullets were about to hit him, his body seemed to lose its substance. It abruptly turned transparent, as if merging with space.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The next second, the bullets passed through his intangible body and peppered the deck with countless holes.
[Void Manifestation] Temporarily merges the body with space, rendering it transparent and intangible to evade all attacks!
"What?! That's impossible!"
"The bullets went right through him! What the hell?!"
"Is he... a man or a ghost?!"
The pirates who witnessed this scene were left dumbfounded, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.
Unfortunately for them, they had become Luo Tian's test subjects.
Luo Tian slowly raised his right hand and lightly clenched it toward the pirates aboard the ship ahead.
"Spatial Imprisonment!"
Vmmm—!
An invisible field of force instantly spread out, locking onto every pirate on the deck.
The next second, time itself seemed to stop.
Every pirate was frozen in place.
One of them had leaped into the air, his feet off the deck, but now he was suspended there like a bug trapped in amber.
Newton must have been spinning in his grave.
[Spatial Imprisonment] Solidifies the space around a target, creating an absolute field of confinement that prevents them from moving!
Just as Luo Tian was about to deal with the immobilized pirates, the mechanical voice rang out in his mind again:
"Ding! Time-limited mission: Choose a faction to join, either [Marine Headquarters] or [Rocks Pirates]!
Mission rewards: Supreme Grade Blade, Black Dragon; advanced swordsman swordsmanship!"
Luo Tian made his choice almost instantly. "I'll join the Rocks Pirates!"
Now that he'd come to this sea, where people pursued freedom and power, why should he let himself be bound by rules and regulations?
Doing as he pleased, settling grudges as they came, and using his strength to seize whatever he wanted—that was the path he longed for!
"Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the Supreme Grade Blade, Black Dragon, and advanced swordsman swordsmanship!"
Knowledge of masterful swordsmanship—how to apply force, slash, and parry—flowed into his mind.
At the same time, a long, jet-black sword appeared at his waist. Dragon patterns coiled along its blade.
"Ding! Mission: Become an officer of the Rocks Pirates!
Mission reward: Advanced Armament Haki!"
The pirates trapped by the spatial imprisonment finally recovered from their shock.
Though they couldn't move, they could still speak.
"Damn it! What's going on? Why can't I move?!"
"That monster! He has to be a Devil Fruit User!"
"Let us go!"
Luo Tian's gaze sharpened.
Repulsion surged once more, but this time it didn't send them flying. Instead, it formed an invisible shock wave that pierced through the body of every trapped pirate.
"Argh—!"
The repulsive force passed through the pirates, instantly crushing their bones and destroying their internal organs.
The moment Luo Tian released the spatial imprisonment, the pirates collapsed like boneless heaps of mud, one after another, lifeless on the deck.
Only the pirate captain remained alive on the entire ship.
Luo Tian fixed his gaze on him and reached out with his right hand.
The next instant, an irresistible force of gravity took hold of the pirate captain, lifting him into the air like a marionette and yanking him toward Luo Tian.
[Space Gravity] Manipulates space to generate gravitational force!
"Cough, cough... Don't kill me! Please! Spare my life!"
Luo Tian's iron grip clamped around the pirate captain's neck. His face turned red from lack of air as his legs kicked helplessly in the air and he begged incoherently:
"I'll give you all the treasure on the ship! Everything!"
Luo Tian gave him a cold smile. "Want to live? Fine. Take me to the Rocks Pirates' base."
With that, he carried the pirate captain like a chicken and vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared, he was on the pirate ship's deck. He casually tossed the captain at his feet.
The pirate captain clutched his neck, red marks around it, and looked up in a daze. His voice trembled as he cautiously asked:
"Who are you? What do you want at our base?"
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