Paramecia - Moon-Moon Fruit Ability

"Then you'll have to look after me, Rocks!"

"In the future, if I make a request, I hope you can help me out. I will exchange it for more intelligence."

Houka swallowed his food and immediately accepted Rocks' invitation, becoming the first member of the Rocks Pirates.

He even began to negotiate terms with Rocks.

"Wahahahaha, very well! Exchanges of interest are not bad at all!"

Rocks laughed wantonly, his ambition swelling ever further. In high spirits, he led Houka and a group of soldiers out of the dim brig.

"The wind of freedom, the warm sunlight... Only after losing them do you realize how precious they are..."

Houka stood at the bow of the ship, embracing the beauty of it all, his eyes growing increasingly sharp.

He swore that he would never be reduced to a prisoner again!

The Seastone shackles and the explosive collar had truly been enough to drive one to despair!

Furthermore, he had to avenge the kind uncle and aunt who had taken him in at Kozuki Village!

Just then.

As his physical strength and spirit recovered, clusters of small, white soul-fire insects emerged around Houka, circling his shoulders as if he had awakened a Devil Fruit ability.

"Hey, kid! Is this your power?"

Rocks was extremely interested in Houka's ability to predict the future.

His powerful Observation Haki was constantly scanning the small, white, fire-like insects that had suddenly appeared on Houka's body.

"You could say that!"

The dark blue crescent moon mark on Houka's forehead suddenly transformed into a crystalline, crescent-shaped blue crystal insect.

One blue and eight white—nine small insects circled around Houka.

Houka gently held the blue crystal insect in his hand.

This blue crystal insect felt almost weightless.

The plump, transparent little creature looked quite adorable.

It was only the size of a jade pendant, and through its translucent body, Houka could even see the lines on his own palm.

"What is this?"

Rocks looked on with curious eyes.

"My ability, my Gu insect!"

Houka spoke calmly, his eyes flashing with intensity.

This was the soul mutation he had undergone after transmigrating.

Soul Insect!

A plump, chaotic mass of soul, complete with a nose and eyes...

As Houka exerted his control over the blue Gu insect, a small moon blade formed.

The dark blue moon blade was over a meter long, resembling a crescent moon in the night sky.

"Go!!"

The dark blue crescent slash flew out at high speed, carving a trench into the surface of the sea.

"That's way too weak!"

Rocks did not hold back, bluntly mocking him; the slash was indeed inferior even to that of an ordinary master swordsman.

"This is just the beginning!"

Houka glanced at the monster that was Rocks, affectionately stroking his blue insect and the eight white ones.

He slowly sank into his memories.

His name was Houka, and he came from Kozuki Village in the Southern Border Province of the Dragon Kingdom on Blue Star.

The village made a living, and even built their fortunes, by raising venomous snakes, toads, scorpions, spiders, and centipedes.

At the same time, Houka was a newly minted university student who had just turned eighteen.

But he never expected that only a month or two into his studies, he would hit the jackpot and end up in this world.

The place he transmigrated to was also called Kozuki Village.

Fortunately, this was not the Kozuki Village from the world of Reverend Insanity, but the Kozuki Village of the One Piece world.

Otherwise, he feared he might have been refined by the old demon Fang Yuan!

Come to think of it, it was a coincidence; in Houka's own village, there actually was an uncle named Fang Yuan, who shared the same name as the Great Love Immortal Venerable.

More than a decade ago, he had also been involved in an accident while in university, struck down by a gust of "east wind."

Now that Houka had struck it lucky and transmigrated to the Kozuki Village of the One Piece world.

Houka felt a chill run down his spine.

Could his Uncle Fang Yuan have truly been blown by the east wind into the Kozuki Village of the Reverend Insanity world?

If it were true, he hoped they might meet one day across the three thousand worlds.

Of course, Houka had no great desire to meet that cold and ruthless old demon, Fang Yuan.

By today, Houka had already lived in this world for two and a half years.

It had taken him a year or two to slowly integrate into this world and learn its language.

Fortunately, perhaps Mother Blue Star had not completely abandoned him, or perhaps it was a stroke of serendipity following his transmigration.

After being struck by great fortune and transmigrated, his soul had been split wide open.

Nine soul fragments had splintered off.

These soul fragments fused with the power of this world, slowly transforming into the soul fires—or rather, Soul Insects—that hovered around Houka.

These were both fragments of Houka's own soul and independent entities separate from him.

Houka treated these chubby Soul Insects like precious treasures.

He knew deep down that these Soul Insects were undoubtedly his golden finger and cheat, the key to his future!

Yet, for the past two years, he had been unable to find a way to cultivate or utilize them.

He had tried the methods of raising snakes and venomous insects from his past life, and even attempted the ethereal, legendary methods of Gu refinement...

But it was all to no avail.

During these two and a half years, Houka spent his time learning the world's common language and script, training his physique, and searching for a way to use the Soul Insects.

It wasn't until recently, while foraging for mountain goods and wild vegetables behind Kozuki Village, that he was favored by the Goddess of Fate and accidentally stumbled upon a Devil Fruit.

Only then did he understand the true purpose of his soul fires!

Perhaps they should be called Soul Gu Insects now.

As one of the Soul Insects spontaneously rushed forward to devour the Devil Fruit, it transformed into a Soul Gu Insect.

The chubby, white Soul Insect had morphed into the shape of a ghostly blue crescent moon.

Houka tasted the power and thrill brought by a Devil Fruit ability manifested as a Gu!

Houka began to grasp the true meaning of the saying, "Man is the spirit of all living things, and Gu is the essence of heaven and earth."

It turned out that his soul fires could acquire special abilities by fusing with Devil Fruit powers.

This meant that in the future, Houka could become a multi-fruit user possessing the powers of nine Devil Fruits!

If his original body could consume one as well, he would be a ten-fruit user!

Through the shared origin and resonance of his soul, Houka learned the ability of that Devil Fruit.

Paramecia: Moon-Moon Fruit.

This was the first Devil Fruit ability fused by one of Houka's Soul Insects.

Possessing the power of the Moon-Moon Fruit, the soul fire was now referred to by Houka as the Moonlight Gu, or the Moonlight Soul!

It possessed the ability to unleash crescent blade slashes, and under the moonlight, it gained other enhanced capabilities.

Kozuki Village, the Moon-Moon Fruit, the Moonlight Gu—all of this was truly a coincidence!

After obtaining his first ability, Houka felt infinite hope, and his ambition began to flourish.

However, true to the philosophy of keeping a low profile, he did not intend to head out to sea and reveal himself so soon.

He would cultivate the Moonlight ability before venturing out to find other Devil Fruits!

He believed that as long as he lived long enough, he could become a peerless powerhouse in this world.

The longer he lived and the more abilities he gathered, the stronger he would become!

Houka had once thought that this Kozuki Village was his blessed land, allowing him to luckily obtain the Moon-Moon Fruit, figure out his cheat, and begin his journey to strength.

But he never expected that just as he was preparing to continue hiding and developing, disaster would strike.

Kozuki Village, much like the Kozuki Village in the Reverend Insanity world, suddenly met its end.

Houka had not yet mastered the Moon-Moon Fruit ability, nor had he set sail to find a second Devil Fruit.

The small nation where Kozuki Village was located was invaded by a powerful allied nation known as the Cang Kingdom.

Amidst the wanton looting and massacres, Houka, who had only just obtained his Moonlight ability, was forced to resist in order to protect himself and the villagers who had been kind to him.

In the end, a powerful general from the Cang Kingdom suddenly struck, instantly and forcefully suppressing Houka just as he began to show his potential.

This left Houka filled with a sense of powerlessness and resentment; his journey to become the strongest had only just begun, yet it was to be cut short...