[Come store your brains! Get two brain dishes back in a hundred years.]
[Special offer: store one brain now and get a random Devil Fruit in return.]
"Is this the Mera Mera no Mi?"
Dunn stared wide-eyed at the orange fruit, wreathed in strange flames, inside the antique wooden chest before him.
"What the hell? Is this the world of One Piece?"
He had already looked around and been shocked by the bird's nest beneath his feet, at least twenty meters across, and the giant tree, at least a hundred meters tall. That had made him realize this wasn't his original world.
After all, there were no birds this big or trees this tall in his world—unless he'd gone back to the age when ancient beasts roamed the earth.
The only thing he remembered was the two headlights hurtling toward him as he crossed the street with his takeout that night.
Had he hit the jackpot?
In every sense of the word!
The legends were actually true. This was unbelievable.
But even more unbelievable was that, while looking for a way down from this place at least a hundred meters above the ground, he'd found an antique wooden chest.
When he opened it, he saw a strange, unmistakable fruit inside.
It had been a hit anime for twenty years, so Dunn had naturally watched it. This unusual fruit was easy to recognize.
"So I really did transmigrate into the world of pirates?"
Dunn instinctively took the orange fruit out of the chest and muttered to himself.
He still couldn't believe it, but there was a better way to make sure.
Dunn looked at the fruit in his hand and pressed his lips together.
If this really was that pirate world, which was extremely dangerous for ordinary people, then this Devil Fruit—said to be so disgusting even dogs wouldn't eat it—was his lifeline.
After all, in his current state, he couldn't withstand most dangers he might encounter.
Even if he somehow managed to leave this island and find people, he wouldn't be able to stand up to pirates.
The story had never shown pirates truly killing people, but now he had come to this world for real.
After all, this was a Logia.
People could mock it all they wanted, but it was still a Logia fruit, and its power was fire, one of nature's forces.
That aside, simply being able to turn into an element passively was enough to handle most dangers.
The only downside was that he'd become a poor swimmer.
But the pros outweighed the cons.
These thoughts raced through Dunn's mind in an instant. His gaze fell back on the fruit in his hand, and his throat moved involuntarily as he swallowed.
If he ate it and gained the power of fire, that would confirm he was in the world of pirates.
If he gained no such power—or even died from poison—then he'd just have to chalk it up to bad luck.
Crunch!
Without thinking any further, Dunn bit straight into the Mera Mera no Mi in his hand.
Yep, that was the taste.
The thought crossed Dunn's mind almost as soon as the fruit touched his tongue.
In the world of pirates, Devil Fruits were described as horrifically disgusting. No one could keep a straight face after tasting one.
In fact, plenty of people said Devil Fruits tasted worse than sex.
But now, he seemed to understand. He didn't know what sex tasted like, but the fruit in his mouth was the perfect blend of every disgusting flavor he hated most.
It was as if his body was desperately resisting the fruit as he swallowed it.
It was a revulsion that came from the depths of his soul.
But Dunn, who'd just hit the jackpot, found a fierce resolve rising within him.
If you weren't tough, you wouldn't make it.
Being tough on yourself was harder than being tough on others.
Dunn stretched his neck with difficulty and gulped down the fruit in his mouth, then took another bite of what remained in his hand.
Crunch, crunch!
One bite after another.
As soon as he swallowed the last bite, Dunn toppled over onto his back, his face turning green.
It was his body's stress response.
Now he finally understood why so many transmigrators said Devil Fruits tasted as bad as sex. Maybe they'd never tried sex, but they must have figured it was the worst thing in the world.
But Dunn had a feeling that, compared to Devil Fruits, sex might actually taste delicious.
It took a long while before Dunn managed to sit up. The discomfort in his body was fading, too.
At the same time, he could feel something in his body, something like an instinct—or perhaps a power.
Whoosh!
A ball of flame rose and burned in his raised hand.
The heat didn't affect him at all. If anything, it felt warm.
The flames didn't affect his clothes either.
No, that wasn't quite right. Even the sleeve on his arm had turned into flames.
He waved the flames away, and the sleeve around his wrist was still completely intact.
"Confirmed. I'm in the world of pirates, and I've become a Devil Fruit User. What does that make me now? A fire man?"
Dunn muttered to himself.
It sounded self-deprecating, but it was really a sign that he was starting to relax.
He was fairly steady by nature, but no one could stay calm after something that looked like transmigration.
Dunn might have seemed composed earlier, but inside, he'd been freaking out.
Especially when he'd noticed the enormous bird's nest beneath his feet and the three giant eggs inside it, each taller than he was.
Even dinosaurs couldn't lay eggs that big, could they?
Now that he had the ability to turn into an element, at least the dangers he might face in the immediate future—and beyond—were no longer really dangers.
After all, Logia users were practically invincible against opponents who couldn't use Haki.
The ability to passively turn into an element alone could leave such opponents helpless.
At least he now had the means to survive.
Once he'd figured that out and relaxed, Dunn was finally able to calmly take in his surroundings.
Beneath him was an enormous bird's nest, probably twenty meters across.
If the nest had an owner, its wingspan was probably forty or fifty meters.
To put that in perspective, the Tu-160 had a wingspan of fifty-four meters.
Even with the Mera Mera no Mi to rely on, Dunn had no intention of facing such a monster head-on.
But after circling around once, Dunn frowned and fell silent.
Getting down wouldn't be easy. His Logia ability might let him survive a fall from a hundred or two hundred meters, but he didn't want to test it.
He wasn't Kaido.
He didn't have that terrifying physique.
Yes, he'd already checked his body. Although he'd become fourteen or fifteen again, it was still his own body. Even the scar he'd gotten on his knee as a child was still there.
"This is a problem."
Dunn frowned and sighed, then looked at the three enormous eggs in the nest.
There was one other way: set the nest on fire.
It was huge, but it was still made of branches, dry grass, and enormous feathers—perfect kindling.
The Mera Mera no Mi gave him the confidence to survive in the flames. He just had to land on the tree trunk supporting the nest below.
Maybe he could even try some roasted bird eggs.
Before you continue