Starting with the Mera Mera no Mi! Eat or Not Eat?

[Come store your brains here; get two portions of brain matter back in a hundred years.]

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

"Is this the Mera Mera no Mi?"

Dunn's eyes widened as he stared at the orange fruit with its strange, flame-like patterns resting inside the rustic wooden box.

"Is this actually the world of One Piece?"

Although he had already surveyed his surroundings—shocked by the bird's nest beneath his feet, which was at least twenty meters in diameter, and the giant trees towering at least a hundred meters high—it had already dawned on him that this was not his original world.

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

In his memory, the last thing he recalled was carrying takeout across a crosswalk when two blinding headlights came 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 looking for a way down from this height of at least a hundred meters, he had stumbled upon an old, rustic wooden box.

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

As someone who had watched the anime that had been popular for twenty years, Dunn naturally recognized it; such a unique fruit was hard to mistake.

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

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

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 the One Piece world, which was extremely dangerous for ordinary people, then 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 would still be defenseless against pirates.

The story hadn't depicted the true brutality of pirates, but now he had arrived in this world for real.

Besides, this was a Logia-type.

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

If nothing else, the passive elementalization alone would be enough to handle most dangers.

The only downside was becoming a "hammer" who couldn't swim.

But the pros outweighed the cons.

In just a moment, these thoughts raced through Dunn's mind. His gaze fell back onto the fruit in his hand, and his throat moved 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 the power, or even died from poison, then it was just his bad luck.

Crunch!

Without further hesitation, Dunn took a direct bite of the Mera Mera no Mi.

Hmm, that's the taste.

Almost the instant 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 incredibly foul; no one could face it with a straight face.

Some even described it as tasting worse than excrement.

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

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

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

But Dunn, who had already hit the jackpot, steeled his resolve.

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

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

Dunn strained his neck, swallowed the flesh in his mouth whole, and then took another bite of the remaining fruit.

Crunch, crunch!

Bite after bite.

By the time the last piece was down, Dunn collapsed, his face turning a sickly shade of green.

It 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 believed it was the foulest thing in the world.

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

A long while later, Dunn finally managed to sit up, the physical discomfort slowly fading away.

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

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.

Furthermore, these flames did not affect the clothes on his body at all.

No, that wasn't quite right—even the sleeve on his arm had transformed into flame.

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 I've become a Devil Fruit user. What does that make me now? A 'Flame Human'?"

Dunn muttered to himself.

Though it sounded like self-mockery, it was actually a sign that Dunn was finally relaxing.

While his temperament was generally steady, no one could truly remain calm when faced with a suspected transmigration.

Don't let his previous composure fool you; inside, Dunn had been panicking.

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

Even dinosaurs couldn't lay things that big.

But now, with this ability to elementalize, at the very least, any crises he might encounter—now or in the future—were no longer crises.

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

The mere ability to passively elementalize was enough to leave such opponents completely helpless.

He finally had the capital to secure his footing in this world.

Having realized this, a relaxed Dunn was finally able to calmly survey his surroundings.

Beneath his feet was a massive 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 bomber is fifty-four meters.

Even with the Mera Mera no Mi as his trump card, Dunn had no intention of facing such a monster head-on.

However, after looking around, Dunn frowned in silence.

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 the state of 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'd gotten on his knee from an accident as a child was still there.

"This is a problem."

Dunn sighed, frowning, before his gaze fell upon the three giant eggs in the nest.

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

Despite its size, the nest was constructed from branches, withered grass, and giant feathers—the perfect kindling.

His Mera Mera no Mi ability gave him the means to survive within the flames; he just needed to land on the supporting tree trunk below.

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