Devil Fruit

"So that's how it is!" I don't know how much time had passed, but Fullbuster Gray finally woke up and sorted through the memories in his mind.

"I never expected that I would be the one to transmigrate!" he sighed inwardly, immediately recalling the heavy truck that had sent him here. "Damn it! I was just used to pad someone's performance stats!"

"A big truck? How unoriginal! They couldn't even bother to innovate. What if they gave me psychological trauma from the impact?"

"They didn't even care if the victim could handle it!" After a helpless grumble, Gray began to focus on his own situation.

From his memories, he learned that his current identity was Fullbuster Gray.

His original name: Tartaros Gray.

As for why he had to change his name, it could be summarized in one sentence: It was all the Celestial Dragons' fault.

That's right, Gray was certain he had transmigrated into the world of One Piece, a series he had loved.

Of course, that love was based on his past life. As for now—he #&(#()$)$#)).

After a mental outburst of colorful profanity, he could only use Ah Q-style logic to comfort himself: "Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it."

"However, looking on the bright side, those two-dimensional characters that were unreachable in my past life are now within arm's reach!"

Robin!

Hancock!

Nami!

"No, no!"

"I can't just think about Hancock, Nami, and Robin. This world... is about more than just beautiful women."

"Strength is the most wonderful thing in this world. Only by becoming one of the world's top powerhouses can one see the scenery at the peak."

"Think back to my childhood, the joy of wielding a wooden stick and sweeping through ten miles of flowers."

"This place... is much more fun than martial arts novels." Thinking of those island-destroying combatants, Gray couldn't help but feel his heart surge.

"Strength is the foundation of everything. If I only think about beautiful women and fall under a love curse, wouldn't I just become Gildo Tesoro 2.0?" At this thought, the cruel reality pulled Gray back from his fantasies.

Subsequently, Gray thought about how most transmigrators were equipped with a system to help them reach the pinnacle of life and marry a wealthy beauty.

"System!"

"Ding!"

"Deep Blue!"

"Crimson!"

"Sign in!"

"Shop?"

"..."

After trying several different methods, the legendary system booster simply didn't appear, and Gray felt instantly emo.

"Hmph! If it's not there, it's not there. Plenty of transmigrator predecessors stood at the peak without a system, and I, Gray, am certainly no weaker than them." Despite the sour tone and his general dissatisfaction, Gray wasn't worried about his survival.

As for the reason—there were two.

First: The Devil Fruit.

As a transmigrator, everyone has a vivid imagination; as long as the fruit isn't complete trash, there's no lack of ideas for development.

As long as he had this, his life wouldn't be too bad.

What's more, he had a perfect starting hand—a new recruit in the North Blue's Donquixote Family.

Although Doflamingo was a villain, he was actually decent to family members who didn't betray him.

Take Baby-5 or Buffalo, for example; although they weren't particularly strong, as family members who joined at a young age, they lived quite well before Doflamingo's downfall.

The Donquixote Family accounted for half the reason, and the other half was the Sea King that was with him: Shark Chili.

Gray carefully sorted through his memories. As a prince of a fallen kingdom, his predecessor had left him a serpentine Sea King.

Of course, calling it a Sea King was a bit of an exaggeration; at most, it was currently just a sea beast.

Shark Chili's situation was like Laboon of the Rumbar Pirates—it was merely a juvenile Sea King.

And this was the most important reason why Doflamingo had taken him in.

As long as Shark Chili reached adulthood, with its shark head, python-like body, and muscles infused with poison and electric eel traits, it would be at least as strong as a pirate with a 100-million-berry bounty.

One could even say it would crush the likes of Buffalo or Dellinger from the original story.

Of course, all of this required Shark Chili to reach adulthood. However, Gray wasn't worried about that; having joined the Donquixote Family, there were resources available for it to grow.

"Eh—Gray-sama! You're finally awake?"

"Is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?" Seeing that Gray had finally woken up, Baby-5, who had been nursing him, looked excited.

"I'm fine! Thank you, Baby-5!" Regarding this simple-minded little girl, Gray followed his inner lecherous thoughts and decided to spoil her as a child bride.

Therefore, he spoke as gently as he could, forcing a faint smile onto his lips despite the throbbing pain at the back of his head.

"Ah~ Gray-sama 'thanked' me, does this mean I'm needed?" Cupping her cheeks with both hands, Baby-5 fell into a state of self-moved bliss.

Gray: ...

With a face full of black lines and speechlessness, Gray had no choice but to forcibly interrupt her fantasies: "Baby-5, I'm hungry. I need you to help me get some food!"

Gray's words brought Baby-5 back to her senses. Upon hearing his request, she promised with a face full of conviction: "Hai! Wait for me, Gray-sama!"

She then dashed out in a flurry.

In just ten minutes, Baby-5 returned with a huge pile of food, mostly consisting of that classic cartoon-style meat on the bone.

"Hoo~ Hmph!" Grabbing the bone handle, Gray took a big bite. He didn't know what kind of meat it was, but the chewiness and the replenishment of energy were quite excellent.

After eating, his whole body felt warm. Gray kept feeling a mysterious energy strengthening and healing his physical body; even the pain in the back of his head had lessened significantly, replaced by an itchy sensation of healing.

As expected of the Pirate King world, does even this child's body of mine come with some 'high HP' traits? Ever since he woke up, Gray had sensed the differences in his body.

That sense of power was something his adult body in his previous life couldn't even compare to. Gray felt that, compared to his physical condition in his past life, he could take on ten of himself!

It was right then, just as Gray had set down his bowl and chopsticks and was rubbing his belly in contemplation, that Doflamingo walked in with the family executives.

Baby-5: "Young Master!"

Gray didn't speak, his gaze sweeping over the group before locking firmly onto the person who entered last—Corazon.

"I don't want to see you!" His tone carried anger and a hint of killing intent, as Gray tried his best to act out the emotions expected of a child.

"Fufufufu." Doflamingo raised a hand to stop Corazon from retorting: "Calm down, Gray!"

"This time it was Corazon's fault. The family will compensate you with a Devil Fruit. As for your grudge with Corazon afterward!"

"Let's have a duel!"

"Remember, only those with strength have the right to speak!"

Doflamingo's words made Gray realize that this was the only way the matter would end. As for the duel he mentioned, it was merely a means to appease him.

Corazon was his own brother, after all; the only one in the entire Donquixote Family who could kill him was Doflamingo.

Besides, Corazon, who was a Marine undercover agent, was not someone he could handle. By the time he was capable of dealing with him, Corazon would have long been dead.

"Fine!" With the situation being what it was, Gray had no choice but to comply.

"Fufufufu. Very good!"

"Trebol!"

"Yes, Young Master!" Taking the prepared Devil Fruit from his clothes, he handed it directly to Gray: "Ne, ne, ne, this is a treasure of the sea, a Devil Fruit worth at least one hundred million Beli!"

"Eat it! Don't let Doffy's expectations go to waste!"

Looking at the mysterious, pineapple-shaped fruit with swirling patterns for the first time, Gray found it hard to suppress the excitement in his heart.

Even though he tried to force himself to stay calm, his excitement caused his arm to tremble slightly: "I know, I won't let the Young Master down!"