Devil Fruit Scramble

[Reincarnation World: One Piece World, Sea Circle Calendar Year 1510]

Background: 800 years ago, 20 kings jointly established the World Government, styling themselves as the "descendants of the creators," the Celestial Dragons. The Celestial Dragons enjoy supreme power in this world, and over 100 member nations of the World Government must pay a portion of their wealth as tribute to them annually. Among this current Heavenly Tribute, a mysterious Devil Fruit is being transported within the World Government's escort fleet...

Main Mission I: Seize the mysterious Devil Fruit from the Heavenly Tribute.

Main Mission II: Not yet unlocked.

Mission Completion Reward: 1 B-rank side quest, 10,000 points!

Mission Failure Penalty: Erasure!

Transfer Countdown: 00:59:59

One Piece World! A familiar name—no, wait, 1510?

Minato's expression turned grave. He checked the mission logs in his Reincarnator Assistant System again. His first mission had been in the year 1512; how was this one two years in the past?

Time travel? Could the Main God actually pull off something like this? By comparison, bringing the dead back to life seemed almost easier to accept.

Still, the rewards for this mission were substantial: a B-rank side quest and 10,000 points!

Minato had finally encountered a mission with lucrative rewards; this was his hope for resurrecting his wife, Kushina Uzumaki!

During his time in Konoha Village, besides looking after little Naruto and investigating the masked man, he had triggered several hidden missions, such as:

Checking in at the legendary Ichiraku Ramen, tasting the salt-grilled saury that the Konoha Technician Kakashi loved, and so on. All together, they had only yielded 1,000 points and some strange items, like the Den Den Mushi he had given to Hiruzen.

Point accumulation had been slow, but fortunately, his second reincarnation mission had finally arrived, and the rewards were exceptionally generous! He was determined to complete this mission and claim them. Having made up his mind, Minato reined in the aura he had been unconsciously emitting and pulled a palm-sized piece of paper from his robes, handing it to Hiruzen.

"Third Hokage, this is Naruto's 'Vivre Card'; it represents the strength of his life force." As he spoke, he tore off a small piece to keep for himself and gave the larger portion to Hiruzen.

"The Vivre Card can point to Naruto's location. I need to go on a mission, and if I do not return, I entrust Naruto to you!" Minato stepped back and bowed deeply to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Before he could even marvel at the wonder of the Vivre Card, Hiruzen was taken aback by Minato's tone, which sounded like he was making final arrangements. "Is the mission dangerous?"

"I'm not sure myself," Minato shook his head. He thought of Kizaru from his previous mission and gave a wry smile. "In any case, it won't be easy. Danger and opportunity go hand in hand, and I am not in a position to refuse."

"Very well. Since that is the case, I will not ask further. Go with peace of mind; I will handle everything in the village."

"Then I can rest easy." Minato left the office to prepare for his mission.

Minato's second mission had been personally designed and plotted by Zhu Shen, as the timeline for this reincarnation mission was roughly two years earlier than Minato's first.

To achieve this, Zhu Shen had spent 50,000 points to backtrack the timeline and insert Minato, the reincarnator, to complete the task.

If the mission went smoothly, it would play a crucial role in seizing the origin will of the entire One Piece World in the future!

In a stretch of sea within the Grand Line of the One Piece World, three warships were sailing toward the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. Who's-Who, dressed in a black suit, lay lazily in an executive chair.

Who's-Who had been feeling quite smug lately. Hailing from the North Blue, his potential had been spotted by a World Government official when he was young, leading to his recruitment and careful cultivation within the secret service.

After passing the selection process to join CP9, the most mysterious intelligence organization of the World Government, Who's-Who had lived up to his superior's expectations, displaying combat talent far exceeding that of ordinary men.

Because of this, he was known as a genius within CP9 and was an absolute star among his peers. Over the years, he had repeatedly completed various assessments and missions with excellence.

This current voyage was a very important escort mission that the official who had always mentored him had secured for him—escorting the Heavenly Tribute!

One had to understand that as the tribute paid by World Government member nations to the Celestial Dragons, even the great pirates of the New World had to show it some respect!

This mission was bound to be both easy and a chance to shine! Furthermore, his superior had told him in private that this particular Heavenly Tribute was supposedly held in high regard by the Celestial Dragons themselves!

Who's-Who was blissfully imagining completing the mission, being praised by his superior, and gaining the favor of the Celestial Dragons, thereby reaching the pinnacle of his life, when one of his subordinates came running toward his office in a panic, his frantic shouting interrupting his fantasy.

"Re-report, sir! A large pirate ship has appeared in the waters ahead!"

Who's-Who was furious at having his dream interrupted. "What are you panicking about? We represent the face of the World Nobles; who would dare be so blind?" With that, he stood up and headed for the deck.

Before Who's-Who even reached the deck, the pirates on the opposite side began their attack. The warships and the pirate ship began trading cannon fire.

Logically, the firepower of three warships should have crushed that of a common pirate vessel. Yet, to everyone's surprise, the shells from their own ships seemed to vanish into the sea upon hitting the enemy, with no reaction at all.

Instead, after a few rounds of exchange, the warships' own cannons were picked off one by one by the enemy snipers and silenced.

Who's-Who walked onto the deck and looked at the pirate flag: it featured crossed blades as a base, with three claw marks to the right of a skull.

He searched his memory for intelligence, confirming that this was a flag he had never seen before, yet he dared not underestimate them in the slightest, as the current performance of the battle showed his side was on the losing end!

However, so what? He was a genius CP9 agent with the backing of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons!

Who's-Who took a deep breath and shouted toward the other side.

"Hey, you pirates over there! I am the World Government agent, Lord Who's-Who! There is no treasure here that you want! Leave immediately, and we will not pursue this matter!"

His subordinates were stirred into a frenzy upon hearing that he intended to let these pirates go.

"Don't do it, Lord Who's-Who! Are our warships to be damaged for nothing?"

"Shut your mouths, all of you!"

Who's-Who couldn't be bothered to explain to these marines. Although he was confident in his own strength, he was being "held back" by so many ordinary marines, and the opposition clearly possessed formidable power.

Most importantly, prioritizing the mission entrusted to him by the Celestial Dragons was the mark of his superior professionalism as a genius CP9 agent! Thinking of this, Who's-Who felt a secret sense of pride.

On the opposing pirate ship, a man with three claw marks over his left eye stood at the bow.

He was burly, his eyes sharp and spirited, with unruly strands of bright red hair fluttering in the wind. This was none other than the future Red Hair Shanks, one of the renowned Four Emperors of the One Piece World!

Standing a step behind him was his first mate, Ben Beckman, a handsome youth smoking a cigar and holding a rifle.

"Shanks, the ones on the other side are the World Government," Ben Beckman said calmly.

Shanks gave a faint smile. "Allow me to be selfish just this once, Captain. This target is very important."

Hearing this, Ben Beckman tightened his grip on his rifle without a word, merely signaling Snake, the navigator, who silently steered the ship toward the warship.

Shanks stepped forward and replied to Who's-Who, "Our target is not treasure!"

Who's-Who was stunned. Pirates who didn't want treasure—what could they possibly be after?

"There is only one Devil Fruit here, but this is..."

"It's the fruit that turns one into rubber, isn't it!"

Shanks cut Who's-Who off. "That's the one. Just hand that over to us."

Who's-Who looked at his men in shock. "How does he know this information?"

The thought swirled in his mind, but this rubber fruit, highly valued by the Celestial Dragons, was linked to the legendary "Nika"!

How could he answer to the Celestial Dragons if he lost it? He flatly refused Shanks.

"Then there's no help for it; we'll have to fight. Bring the ship alongside them, Snake," Shanks sighed.

The Red Force of the Red Hair Pirates rammed into Who's-Who's warship without hesitation. As the ships collided, the battle immediately escalated into a fierce boarding action.

"Damn pirates!"

At the start of the boarding, the navy soldiers bravely charged the pirates with numbers far exceeding their enemies.

In contrast, the Red Hair Pirates had only about ten people, including a monkey!

Yet the scales of battle tipped heavily toward the Red Hair Pirates; after all, they followed an elite path where every member was an officer, a master of both martial arts and Haki.

Who's-Who, having no way out, went all-out in his assault on Shanks.

"Six Styles: Finger Pistol!"

Who's-Who's right hand struck like a torrential storm, his attacks imbued with concentrated Haki.

Shanks stood his ground, not moving an inch. His head and torso dodged every strike with incredible speed; to onlookers, it seemed as if Who's-Who was attacking nothing but a phantom!

"Damn it, how—how is this possible! I am a member of CP9..."

"That's enough."

Shanks sighed, a flash of silver appeared, and his blade, Gryphon, was already sheathed.

Slash.

Blood sprayed out as Who's-Who collapsed, muttering, "A genius, heh..."

Shanks scanned his surroundings and closed his eyes, quietly unleashing his Observation Haki to locate the Gum-Gum Fruit.

Found it!

The corners of his mouth curled upward. He bypassed the combatants and released a faint burst of Conqueror's Haki. Wherever it passed, no marine could remain standing; they were suppressed by the pressure, forced to the deck, gasping for air.

In the captain's quarters on the second floor, a wooden, silver-trimmed treasure chest sat quietly on a cabinet.

Shanks looked at the object with satisfaction, his right hand gently stroking the box, his eyes drifting as if lost in memory.

"Captain..."

Just as his attention wavered, a flash of yellow light appeared in the air behind him.

Minato Namikaze, cloaked in the dark red Nine-Tails shroud, silently approached Shanks's back while molding a massive, dark red swirling energy sphere in one hand.

The entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye. Before the terrifying pressure could even fully manifest, the Rasengan, brimming with destructive energy, was about to strike Shanks's back.

Clang.

A flash of silver cut through the air as a pitch-black blade intercepted the Rasengan.

Shanks's dense Haki, channeled through Gryphon, collided with the overwhelming energy of the Rasengan. The entire second floor of the structure collapsed in a thunderous roar as if hit by a massive shockwave!

The officers of the Red Hair Pirates and the "struggling" marines on the deck looked toward the source of the explosion in astonishment.

Through the swirling dust of the ruins, they saw a dazzling dark red light dancing around their captain, Shanks.

The two were locked in a dizzying exchange of attacks, moving at speeds that defied human sight!

Clang, clang, clang.

The sound of kunai clashing against a longsword rang out incessantly.

"Hey, hey, where did that kid come from? That presence is no joke!"

Yasopp, the sniper of the Red Hair Pirates, remarked.

With his top-tier Observation Haki, he could clearly see the battle between the two, allowing him to grasp the true extent of Minato's strength.

"Who knows? Besides, the Captain isn't weak either. That's Shanks we're talking about!"

Lucky Roux, the chubby chef, didn't show a hint of worry as he took a massive bite of the chicken leg in his hand.

Yasopp's expression shifted instantly from grave to playful.

"Wahahaha, you're right! He is 'Red-Haired' Shanks, after all!"

The two began to dance a ridiculous jig, shoulder to shoulder, as if they hadn't noticed their captain was currently locked in combat.

Meanwhile, First Mate Beckman kept his eyes fixed on the duel, not blinking once.