Vampire Fruit

Vampire Fruit

May 13, Sea Calendar 1503.

First half of the Grand Line.

Amid the vast blue sea stood a small island spanning over ten square kilometers.

The damp sea breeze blew in from the ocean, sweeping into the dense forest and stirring waves of rustling leaves.

Seagulls landed on the beach, flapping their wings and letting out crisp, pleasant cries.

A silver-haired youth of fourteen or fifteen lay on his back on the beach with his eyes tightly shut, allowing the waves to wash endlessly over his body. He wore a blue suit, and though his features were still somewhat youthful, he was strikingly handsome.

The sunlight overhead grew increasingly scorching, gradually heating the sand.

The youth let out a soft groan. One hand pressed against his forehead while the other supported his upper body as he slowly stood up.

"Where is this...? The sea...!?

Wasn't I supposed to be rescuing patients in an inland earthquake disaster zone...!?"

The youth opened his sapphire-blue eyes and looked around in bewilderment. When he saw his pale, somewhat slender hands, he froze.

Those were definitely not the hands a twenty-six-year-old man should have...

This was not his original body!

When he tried to recall what exactly had happened to him, a stream of unfamiliar memories rapidly surfaced...

Amid a raging storm of thunder and lightning, a pirate ship flying a black skull flag had attacked the large tourist sailing ship the youth had been aboard.

Over a hundred pirates armed with weapons and wearing savage grins had stormed onto the deck. Their leader was a six-meter-tall fat man with golden braids.

They had wantonly indulged their twisted desires—slaughter, plunder... women's cries and screams, men's shrieks and wails.

Aboard the sailing ship, filled with panic and terror, the youth's father had fought through several knife wounds to kill a pirate and seize a life preserver for his silver-haired son, creating an opportunity for him to escape.

The instant he slipped the life preserver over the boy, the father was stabbed through the chest from behind by a pirate.

With the last of his strength, the father threw the weeping youth into the raging sea...

"Karl D. Sephiroth..."

The youth murmured softly, speaking the name of this frail body.

For no apparent reason... tears streamed from his eyes.

Though he possessed another adult's memories and felt little grief in his heart, the tears simply would not stop.

If there was any sorrow, it was only sympathy for the original owner of this body.

Perhaps this was the body's instinctive response...?

After quite some time, the inexplicable emotions from his body gradually faded away.

"Fine! Since I've taken over your body, I'll live on using your identity!

I'll definitely avenge you...

But this world... Gol D. Roger... the Pirate King...?"

After roughly sorting through all the memories of this body, Sephiroth could not help but reveal a bitter smile.

It was now Sea Calendar 1503, the fifth year since Roger's execution and the official beginning of the Great Pirate Era.

In the future, this world would only grow more chaotic. Without sufficient strength, one might not even be able to protect oneself, just like the youth and his father...

"That pirate flag that attacked the tourist ship... why does it look somewhat familiar?

A black flag, with a horned skull and a figure-eight behind it..."

The intense hunger in his abdomen and the weakness in his limbs forced Sephiroth to stop thinking.

His most urgent task was to find something to eat, fill his stomach, and regain his strength.

Sephiroth took out a silver pocket watch from his clothing and checked the time. It was past ten in the morning.

Then, after looking around the beach, he decided to try his luck in the forest on the island and search for something edible.

Although there were seagulls on the beach, his body was far too weak. He barely had the strength to walk, let alone pick up stones and hunt seagulls for meat. He simply lacked the energy, and he did not want to waste his effort.

After all, the original owner had merely been a frail young master from a wealthy family. He had lacked exercise for years and would become exhausted after running just one or two hundred meters, even ending up short of breath!

As for catching fish in the sea...?

Embarrassingly, in his previous life, he had been unable to swim. He was not confident he could catch fish in the shallows while dragging along this weak and exhausted body...

Sephiroth's somewhat frail body moved through the damp, dense forest.

Though he wore small leather shoes, he was extremely careful where he stepped.

After all, if he suddenly encountered spikes or a pit, he would definitely pay dearly for it.

He did not know how long he had walked through the woods before he finally spotted a small fruit tree with several unripe wild fruits growing on it.

Sephiroth ran over excitedly, intending to pick the wild fruits to stave off his hunger.

Suddenly!

As he reached the foot of the fruit tree, his gaze inadvertently caught sight of a round fruit lying in the nearby grass. It had purplish-red skin covered in spiral patterns.

The treasure of the sea—Devil Fruit!

At the sight, Sephiroth's breathing immediately grew rapid.

He took several quick steps forward and scooped the purplish-red fruit into his hands.

If his memories were correct, the full name of this fruit should be...

Zoan, Mythical Zoan, Bat Fruit, Vampire Form!

Once someone ate this Devil Fruit, they could gain eternal life and youth by consuming blood.

But... why was this fruit here?

Shouldn't it have been hidden in the ancient ruins of Sleepy Hollow Town?

Stranded on a deserted island without any means of protecting himself, Sephiroth no longer wanted to dwell on the reason. He brought the Vampire Fruit to his mouth and took huge bites out of it, peel and all, swallowing it down.

He did not dare chew it slowly, nor did he dare consider what it tasted like...

He had once heard a rather unreliable claim that although taking a single bite of a Devil Fruit was enough to gain its power, eating the whole thing could increase one's initial level of fruit development.

Sephiroth did not know whether that claim was true, but in order to increase his strength as quickly as possible, he forced himself to swallow the entire fruit except for the stem.

In the end...

He could no longer endure the explosive sensation on his taste buds. Bracing himself against the ground with both hands, he began vomiting violently as his stomach convulsed.

"Bleurgh~!..."

The Devil Fruit's utterly disgusting taste ensured that he never wanted to try one again in his life.

He even felt that the bizarre dishes from his previous life were utterly insignificant compared to the taste of a Devil Fruit.

After retching for a while without vomiting anything, Sephiroth's already extremely weak body could no longer hold on.

Thud!

The youth's somewhat frail body collapsed onto the grass, and he lost consciousness once more...

Who knew how much time had passed...

Three men appeared in the forest, each carrying a wooden barrel full of fresh water. When they saw the silver-haired youth sprawled on the grass, they all ran over.

"Eh!? There's a boy here, but this is clearly an uninhabited island..."

"Why is he lying on the ground?"

"Judging by his condition, aside from being a little weak, he doesn't seem to have any illness."

"He's quite handsome. He's excellent merchandise. If we sell him to those upper-class nobles, we'll get a good price."

"Alright, let's take him aboard first."

The three men spoke one after another and quickly decided Sephiroth's status as merchandise, without asking for his opinion at all...

(

Those unreasonable parts from earlier are explained in these two chapters...

If you do not have the patience to read over 800,000 words of buildup and foreshadowing, you can read chapters 320 and 321 first, then come back and start from Chapter 2.

peeks