Awakening

Li Ziming felt like dying. He had somehow ended up on an island and eaten a fruit that tasted absolutely awful. Worst of all, he thought he had figured out where he was: the world of One Piece. Even someone as out of touch as he was had heard of that anime. When he thought about the fruit he had eaten, he quickly realized he seemed to have gained a Devil Fruit power. Eating a Devil Fruit would leave him unable to swim, but he couldn't swim in the first place, so he didn't care about that at all.

With a Devil Fruit power, Li Ziming at least had some means of protecting himself. The catch was that he had to know what his power was.

From what he knew, Devil Fruits fell into three categories: Zoan, Human-type, and Logia. The Devil Fruit he had eaten looked like a cantaloupe, so it was probably Human-type.

But figuring out his ability was another problem. If he remembered correctly, eating the fruit should have caused a corresponding change. Yet no matter how he tugged and prodded at himself, nothing changed.

"Looks like it's not one of those powers that changes your body, like Luffy's..." Li Ziming looked at the remaining fruit in his hand. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to keep it. If he couldn't find anything else to eat later, it might save his life.

Roar! As it turned out, Li Ziming no longer needed to worry about food. He was about to become food for something else.

A huge, vividly striped tiger appeared beside the lake and let out a roar at Li Ziming so loud that ripples spread across the water.

Li Ziming collapsed to the ground. He felt that if someone handed him a cigarette right now, he could perfectly express the faint sorrow in his heart.

Roar! The tiger pounced. Perhaps it wanted to toy with its prey, because instead of finishing Li Ziming off, it opened its enormous jaws and roared in his face.

Li Ziming instinctively blew back into the tiger's mouth. He sensed a faint connection to something, and with a shift of his thoughts, an explosion erupted inside its mouth.

The explosion wasn't very powerful. It merely startled the tiger and broke a little skin in its mouth. It didn't even knock out a tooth. But it enraged the tiger. Its eyes turned bloodred, and it lunged to bite Li Ziming, its breath reeking of blood.

Li Ziming blew at the tiger with all his might, but before long he was running out of air. He couldn't even concentrate anymore. By then, the tiger's fangs were right in front of him.

It's over. I wonder if dying will send me to this world's underworld, or if I'll be able to go back... As Li Ziming's mind wandered, a gunshot rang out nearby. The tiger immediately dodged and turned with an angry roar.

Li Ziming passed out.

...A stretch of unconsciousness...

Li Ziming didn't open his eyes. He silently took stock of his body. I'm still conscious, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm alive... He wanted to open his eyes or move to confirm it, but with no idea what was around him, pretending to be unconscious was clearly the best choice. It would lower other people's guard considerably. Of course, if they saw through him, he would be in even more danger. The key was how well he could act.

While he pretended to be unconscious, Li Ziming had the perfect chance to think through his Devil Fruit power. When the tiger had attacked, he had blown into its mouth, and an explosion had gone off inside it. He suspected that the gas he breathed out might turn into a bomb.

Am I supposed to become the King of Bad Breath?! The thought made Li Ziming feel awful. He remembered that Luffy began his attacks with "Gum-Gum." Was he going to have to shout "Bad Breath" whenever he fought someone? At that point, Li Ziming felt he might be better off dead.

"Has that kid woken up yet?" An old man's voice sounded as a door opened.

"Not yet. Who is this kid, anyway? What if he's a pirate? Should we send him straight to the Marines...?" A younger voice carried a hint of fear.

"Don't talk nonsense. The child plainly isn't strong enough, and his clothes don't look like those worn by people who spend all their time at sea. Still, we do need to take precautions. Alto, find a few people from the village, arm them, and have them stand guard at the door. That way, if anything happens, we can respond as quickly as possible," the old man said after some thought.

"No problem, village chief. I'll go right now..." The man called Alto headed for the door.

"Um, sorry, where am I?" From what Li Ziming had heard, they didn't seem like bad people, so he opened his eyes and decided to speak to them. If he waited until they had people watching him, he would be at too much of a disadvantage.

"Whoa, he's awake!" A young man in Li Ziming's field of vision shouted dramatically. "He must have been awake just now! He was trying to eavesdrop on us! Village chief, don't trust him!"

So that's Alto? He looks like an honest fool, but his instincts seem awfully sharp... Li Ziming thought.

"Alto!" There were only two people in Li Ziming's field of vision. The old man had to be the village chief Alto had mentioned.

"It's all right. I understand your concerns. If you really need to, village chief, you can have someone watch me..." Li Ziming smiled. Being watched wouldn't really restrict his freedom. In a way, it would protect him. In an unfamiliar place where he knew nothing of the local customs, who could say whether drinking a mouthful of water might get him hanged? Having someone nearby wouldn't just mean surveillance. It would also be the quickest way for him to learn about this place.

"Hm?" Alto gave Li Ziming a suspicious look. Things that seemed too unusual were bound to be suspicious, and Alto wondered what Li Ziming was up to. "Are you trying to lull us into letting our guard down?"

Li Ziming was sure his expression had gone stiff. If you're going to be a fool, then act like one! What's with those freakishly accurate instincts? He certainly couldn't say that aloud, so he could only look awkwardly at the village chief.

Seeing Li Ziming's expression, the village chief hesitated too. He wasn't sure whether to have someone watch him after all.

"If watching me won't work, then how about not watching me?" Li Ziming asked.

"No. What if you cause trouble in our village?" Alto rejected that suggestion as well.

"That won't do, this won't do... How about you watch me yourself?" Li Ziming said irritably.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Alto stared at Li Ziming in surprise, as though he hadn't expected him to come up with such a brilliant solution.

Li Ziming eyed Alto suspiciously. Is this guy pretending to be stupid just to mess with me...? But even after watching him for a while, Alto still looked completely guileless. Li Ziming could only give up.

"All right, then, young man. We're only thinking of our village's safety..." The village chief gave Li Ziming an apologetic look.

"I understand. And my name is Li Ziming. You can call me Ming or Li..." Li Ziming made sure to show the village chief his goodwill.

"Oh, look at me. My memory isn't what it used to be. My name is Asher, and this young man is Alto. If you need anything, Ming, just say so. This is only a poor village, but we should still be able to meet your basic needs..." Asher said with a warm smile.

"Thank you, village chief..." Li Ziming smiled, then got out of bed and turned to Alto. "Alto, I'm going to take a look around. Come with me."

"Of course I'm coming. I'm going to keep a close eye on you and make sure you never leave my sight!" Alto said solemnly.

Li Ziming only smiled. He had a feeling Alto would have an easier time keeping watch over him by relying on his instincts than on his brains.

"I still have a few things to take care of, so I'll leave you two to it." With that, Asher departed, leaving only Li Ziming and Alto in the room.

"Hey, you..." Alto began.

"Wait." Li Ziming suddenly cut him off.

"Hm?" Alto looked at Li Ziming in confusion, unsure why he had interrupted.

"Do you know about Devil Fruits?" Li Ziming hesitated before asking outright. Perhaps Alto's strange instincts could help him.

"Devil Fruits?" Alto paused. "I've heard those things are really expensive. Wait, is that thing you're holding one of those legendary Devil Fruits?"

Li Ziming nodded. "It is..." He then brought up the question of his power.

"The breath you blow out can explode?" Alto scratched his head. "Doesn't that mean you turn the gas you breathe out into a bomb...?"

Alto's words made it click for Li Ziming, but that still wasn't enough to determine exactly what his Devil Fruit power could do. He needed to run some tests to find out whether he could only turn parts of his own body into bombs or whether anything he touched could become one. He also needed to learn how powerful the explosions could be.

With that in mind, Li Ziming looked up at Alto. "Could I go outside and test my power...?"

"You're not planning to use it to signal your accomplices, are you?" Alto looked at him suspiciously.

"Come on, I already told you I'm not a bad guy..." Li Ziming said wearily.

"Bad guys don't say they're bad guys." Alto looked utterly unconvinced.

"Then what will it take for you to believe me...?" Li Ziming was at a loss for words.

"Hmm..." Alto thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Since you have a special power, can you show it to me?" He looked as curious as a child.

"Show it to you?" Li Ziming stared at Alto in surprise. Some of his prejudice against Alto fell away as he began to understand him. He's just an immature kid at heart...