Starting with the Mera Mera no Mi! Eat or not eat?

[Come store your brains here; we'll return two portions of brain matter in a hundred years.]

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[Store your brains now for a special offer: store one brain and receive a random Devil Fruit in return.]

"Is this the Flame-Flame Fruit?"

Staring at the orange fruit with its strange, swirling flame patterns inside the rustic wooden box, Dunn widened his eyes.

"Is this actually the world of One Piece?"

Although he had surveyed his surroundings and been shocked by the bird's nest at least twenty meters in diameter beneath his feet and the massive trees standing at least one or two hundred meters tall, it had already made him realize that this was not his original world.

After all, his original world didn't have birds that large or trees that tall, unless he had traveled back to an era when ancient giant beasts roamed the earth.

In his memory, the last thing he recalled was carrying takeout across a pedestrian crossing at night, followed by the sight of two headlights rushing toward him.

Had he hit the jackpot?

In every sense of the word, he had hit the jackpot!

The legend was actually true; it was absurd.

But what was even more absurd was that while he was looking for a way down from this height of at least a hundred meters, he had found an old, rustic wooden box.

When he opened the box, he saw the distinct, strange fruit inside.

As an anime that had been popular for twenty years, Dunn had naturally watched it, and this peculiar fruit was very easy to recognize.

"So, I really have transmigrated into the world of One Piece?"

Subconsciously taking the orange fruit out of the box, Dunn muttered to himself.

He still couldn't believe it, but there was a better way to confirm it.

Dunn looked at the fruit in his hand and pursed his lips.

If this truly was that pirate world which was extremely dangerous for ordinary people, then for him, this Devil Fruit—often mocked as something even a dog wouldn't eat—was his current lifeline.

After all, given his current situation, he couldn't defend himself against most dangers.

Even if he were lucky enough to leave this island and find a place inhabited by people, he wouldn't be able to defend himself if he encountered pirates.

In the story, the true scenes of pirates killing people weren't depicted, but now he had truly arrived in this world.

After all, this was a Logia-type.

No matter how much people mocked it, it was still a Logia-type fruit, and it represented the natural power of fire.

If nothing else, the passive elementalization alone was enough to deal with most dangers.

The only downside was becoming a hammer—unable to swim.

But the flaws didn't outweigh the benefits.

In almost an instant, these thoughts echoed in Dunn's mind, and then his gaze fell back onto the fruit in his hand, his throat moving involuntarily as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

If he ate it and gained the power of Logia fire, then it would be confirmed that this was the world of One Piece.

If he didn't gain this power or even died from poison, then it was just his bad luck.

Crunch!

Without further thought, Dunn took a direct bite of the Flame-Flame Fruit in his hand.

Hmm, the taste was right.

Almost the moment the fruit flesh entered his mouth, this thought surfaced in Dunn's mind.

In the world of One Piece, the taste of a Devil Fruit was described as extremely disgusting; no one could face the taste of a Devil Fruit calmly.

In fact, many people described Devil Fruits as tasting worse than excrement.

But now, he seemed to understand that feeling. He didn't know what excrement tasted like, but the fruit flesh in his mouth was a collection of the most disgusting, vile flavors he had ever encountered in his life.

It was as if his body was desperately resisting the fruit flesh he was trying to swallow.

It was a revulsion that came from the depths of his soul.

But Dunn, who had hit the jackpot, felt a sense of ruthlessness rise within him.

If a man isn't ruthless, he can't stand firm.

Being ruthless to oneself is harder than being ruthless to others.

Dunn struggled to stretch his neck, swallowed the fruit flesh in his mouth whole, and then took another bite of the remaining fruit in his hand.

Crunch, crunch!

One bite after another.

Until the last bite was down, Dunn rolled over and collapsed, his face turning pale.

This was his body's stress response.

He finally understood why so many transmigrator predecessors said Devil Fruits tasted like excrement; they might not have eaten it, but they certainly felt that it must be the most disgusting thing in the world.

But Dunn had a feeling that compared to a Devil Fruit, excrement might actually be considered a delicacy.

After a long while, Dunn finally managed to roll over and sit up, the discomfort in his body gradually fading away.

At the same time, he felt something akin to an instinct, or perhaps a power, emerging from within his body.

Bang!

A ball of flames rose and burned in his raised hand.

The high temperature had no effect on him; instead, he felt a sense of warmth.

And these flames had no effect on his clothes either.

No, that wasn't quite right; even the sleeve on his arm had turned into flames.

He waved his hand to disperse the fire, and the sleeve on his wrist remained completely intact.

"Confirmed. I've arrived in the world of One Piece and become a Devil Fruit user. What does that make me now? A Flame-Flame human?"

Dunn muttered to himself.

It seemed like self-deprecation, but it was actually a sign that Dunn was finally relaxing.

Although his temperament was relatively steady, anyone encountering a suspected transmigration would find it impossible to remain calm.

Don't let his previous composure fool you; in reality, he had been panicking internally.

Especially after discovering the giant bird's nest beneath his feet and the three massive eggs inside that were taller than he was.

Even dinosaurs couldn't lay things this big.

But now, with this ability to turn into an element, at the very least, the crises he might encounter now and in the future were no longer crises.

After all, Logia-type users were almost invincible when facing opponents who couldn't use Haki.

The passive elementalization ability alone was enough to leave such opponents helpless.

He could finally consider this his capital for survival.

Having figured this out, a relaxed Dunn was finally able to calmly examine his surroundings.

Beneath his feet was a giant bird's nest, perhaps twenty meters in diameter.

If the nest had an owner, the bird's wingspan would likely be forty or fifty meters.

To put that into perspective, the wingspan of a Tu-160 is 54 meters.

Even with the Flame-Flame Fruit as his reliance, Dunn had no intention of facing such a monster head-on.

After taking a look around, however, Dunn frowned and remained silent.

Getting down wouldn't be easy. Although his Logia ability meant he likely wouldn't die from a fall of one or two hundred meters, Dunn didn't want to test that theory.

He wasn't Kaido.

He didn't possess that kind of terrifying physique.

Yes, he had already confirmed his body; although he had reverted to the appearance of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old, it was indeed his own body. The scar he had accidentally gotten on his knee as a child was still there.

"This is troublesome."

Dunn sighed with a frown, then his gaze fell upon the three giant eggs in the nest.

There was one other method: setting this nest on fire.

Although it was huge, the nest was built from branches, withered grass, and giant feathers, making it the perfect kindling.

The power of the Flame-Flame Fruit gave him the means to survive within the flames; he just needed to land on the tree trunk supporting the nest below.

Who knows, he might even get to taste some charcoal-grilled bird eggs.