Devil Fruit

"So that's how it is!" Gray woke up after who knew how long and sorted through the memories in his mind.

"I never thought I'd get a chance to transmigrate too!" Gray sighed inwardly, then immediately recalled the truck that had brought him here. "Damn it! I got used as a statistic!"

"Big trucks are so unoriginal! Why not try something new for a change? What if getting hit left me traumatized?"

"They don't even care whether people can take it!" After grumbling helplessly, Gray began to check on his situation.

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

His original name had been Tartaros Gray.

As for why he'd changed his name, it could be summed up in one sentence: it was all the Celestial Dragons' fault.

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

Of course, he'd loved it in his previous life. As for now... he#-&(#()$)$#)).

After swearing up a storm in his mind, he could only comfort himself with an A-Q mentality: "Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. (Since I've come, I'll just die here!)"

"Still, looking on the bright side, the fictional characters I could never reach in my previous life are within arm's reach now!"

Robin!

Hancock!

Nami!

"Wait, no!"

"I can't just think about Hancock, Nami, and Robin. This world isn't all about beautiful women."

"Strength is the most wonderful thing in this world. Only by becoming one of the strongest can I see the view from the summit."

"Just think of the joy of bending every flower in the countryside with a stick as a kid."

"This world is way more fun than the martial arts world." Thinking of those island-destroying levels of power, Gray couldn't help getting excited.

"Strength is the foundation of everything. If I only think about beautiful women and get hit by the curse of love, won't I become a second Gild Tesoro?" At that thought, cruel reality dragged Gray back from his fantasies.

Then Gray thought about how most transmigrators came with a system, helping them rise from nobody to the pinnacle of life and marry a rich, beautiful woman.

"System!"

"Ding!"

"Deep Blue!"

"Crimson!"

"Sign in!"

"Shop?"

"..."

He tried several different ways, but the legendary system helper never showed up. Gray was instantly depressed.

"Hmph! Fine, if there's no system, there's no system. It's only the One Piece world. Plenty of transmigrators before me reached the top without a system, and I, Gray, am no weaker than anyone else." His voice was sour with frustration, but Gray wasn't worried about whether he'd survive.

There were two reasons for that.

The first: Devil Fruits.

As transmigrators, we were never short on imagination. As long as the fruit wasn't too useless, there'd be plenty of ways to develop it.

With that alone, life wouldn't be too bad.

What's more, he'd landed an incredible start: he was a new member of the Donquixote Family in the North Blue.

Doffy was a villain, but he was decent to family members who didn't betray him.

Take Baby-5 and Buffalo, for example. They weren't particularly strong, but as family members who'd joined young, they'd lived well until Doffy's downfall.

Half the reason was the Donquixote Family. The other half was the Sea King who'd come with him: Shark Chili.

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

Of course, calling it a Sea King was a bit of a stretch. For now, it was at most a sea beast.

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

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

Once Shark Chili reached adulthood, with a shark's head, a python's body, poison, and muscles like an electric eel, he'd be at least as strong as a pirate with a hundred-million-Beli bounty.

He'd even be able to crush the likes of Buffalo and Dellinger from the original story.

Of course, all of that depended on Shark Chili reaching adulthood. But Gray wasn't worried. Now that he'd joined the Donquixote Family, he had the resources to grow.

"Hey, Gray-sama! You're finally awake!"

"Are you still feeling unwell anywhere?" Baby-5 was thrilled to see Gray finally wake up.

"I'm fine now! Thanks for your help, Baby-5!" Following the impulses of his inner lolicon, Gray treated the innocent little girl as his future bride and doted on her.

So he spoke as gently as he could. Even though the back of his head throbbed, he forced the corners of his mouth into a smile.

"Ah~ Gray-sama thanked me! Does that mean he needs me?" Clasping her hands to her cheeks, Baby-5 was moved by her own thoughts.

Gray: ...

Gray's face went dark with exasperation. He could only cut off her fantasy: "Baby-5, I'm hungry. I need you to bring me some food!"

Gray's words brought Baby-5 back to her senses. Hearing what he needed, she promised with a determined look, "Hai! Wait for me, Gray-sama!"

Then she dashed out.

It took only ten minutes for Baby-5 to return with a huge pile of food, mostly the kind of meat you saw in manga.

"Phew~ Hmph!" Gripping a bone, Gray took a big bite. He had no idea what kind of meat it was, but it was satisfyingly chewy and packed with energy.

After he ate, warmth spread through his body. Gray kept feeling some mysterious energy strengthening and healing his body. Even the pain in the back of his head eased, and he felt a healing itch.

"As expected of the One Piece world. Even this little kid's body has a bit of that tough-as-nails quality." Ever since he'd woken up, Gray had felt how different his body was.

The strength he felt was beyond anything his adult body in his previous life had possessed. Gray felt that, compared to his body back then, he could take on ten men!

Just then, as Gray set down his bowl and rubbed his belly with a sigh, Doflamingo entered with the family executives.

Baby-5: "Young master!"

Gray said nothing. His eyes swept across everyone, then fixed on Corazon, who had come in last.

"I don't want to see you!" His voice carried anger and a trace of murderous intent. Gray tried to act like a child would.

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

"This time, Corazon was at fault. The family will compensate you with a Devil Fruit. As for your grudge with Corazon from now on..."

"Settle it with a duel!"

"Remember, only those with strength have a say!"

Doflamingo's words made Gray understand that this was all he was going to get out of what had happened. The duel he'd mentioned was just a way to appease him.

Corazon was his younger brother. In the entire Donquixote Family, only Doflamingo could kill him.

Besides, Corazon was a Marine spy. Gray couldn't deal with him. By the time he was strong enough to, Corazon would already be dead.

"Fine!" He couldn't fight the stronger party, so Gray could only comply.

"Fufufufu. Good!"

"Trebol!"

"Yes, young master!" Trebol took out the Devil Fruit he'd prepared earlier and handed it straight to Gray. "Nene, this is the treasure of the sea, a Devil Fruit worth at least a hundred million Beli!"

"Eat it! Don't let Doffy down!"

The fruit looked like a pineapple covered in mysterious patterns. Seeing one for the first time, Gray could barely contain his excitement.

Even as he tried to hold it back, his excitement made his arm tremble a little. "I know. I won't let the young master down!"