Awakening

Li Ziming felt like dying. He had somehow ended up on an island and eaten an incredibly disgusting fruit. Most importantly, he seemed to remember where this place was: One Piece. Even someone as uninformed as Li Ziming had heard of that anime. Thinking about the fruit he had eaten, he quickly realized that he seemed to have gained the power of a Devil Fruit. Though eating a Devil Fruit turned one into a landlubber, Li Ziming could not swim to begin with, so he did not care about that at all.

Now that he had Devil Fruit powers, Li Ziming at least had some ability to protect himself. The prerequisite, however, was figuring out what his power actually was.

Based on what he knew, Devil Fruits came in three main types: Zoan, Human-type, and Logia. The Devil Fruit Li Ziming had eaten looked like a cantaloupe, so it should have been a Human-type.

But figuring out his ability had become a problem. If Li Ziming remembered correctly, eating a Devil Fruit was supposed to bring about corresponding changes. Yet no matter how he tugged and pulled at his body, nothing changed in the slightest.

"Looks like it's at least not something like Luffy's, where the body changes..." Li Ziming looked at the remaining Devil Fruit in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to keep it with him. If he could not find food later, this might save his life.

"Roar!" In truth, Li Ziming no longer needed to worry about food, because he was about to become another animal's food.

A gigantic, fierce striped tiger appeared beside the lake and let out a thunderous roar at Li Ziming, sending ripples spreading 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 melancholy in his heart.

"Roar!" The tiger pounced, but perhaps because it wanted to toy with its prey, it did not kill Li Ziming immediately. Instead, it opened its bloody maw and roared right at him.

Li Ziming instinctively blew a breath back into the tiger's mouth. Vaguely, he felt as though he had formed a connection with something. With a thought, an Explosion actually occurred inside the tiger's mouth.

The Explosion was not very powerful. It merely startled the tiger, leaving a bit of broken skin in its mouth without even knocking out a tooth. But it enraged the tiger. Its eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and with a gust of foul breath, it bit toward Li Ziming.

Li Ziming desperately kept blowing at the tiger, but before long, he was starting to run out of oxygen. He could not even concentrate anymore. At that moment, the tiger's fangs had already reached his face.

It's over. I just wonder whether I'll go to this world's underworld after I die, or if I'll be able to go back... Li Ziming's mind wandered uselessly when a gunshot rang out nearby. The tiger immediately dodged aside, turned its head, and roared in fury.

Li Ziming fainted as well.

Li Ziming did not open his eyes. He merely silently assessed his current condition. I'm still conscious, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm alive in this state... Although he wanted to open his eyes or move his body to confirm whether he was alive or dead, pretending to be unconscious was undoubtedly the best option when he did not know his surroundings. It could greatly lower other people's guard. Of course, if they saw through him, it would become even more dangerous, so the key was his acting.

And while pretending to be unconscious, Li Ziming had the perfect chance to investigate his Devil Fruit power. When he encountered the tiger, he blew out a breath, and an Explosion happened inside its mouth. So Li Ziming guessed that perhaps the gas he exhaled could turn into bombs.

Could it be that I'm destined to become the man who rules over bad breath?! Li Ziming felt terrible at the thought. He remembered that Luffy prefixed his attacks with "Gum-Gum." Did that mean he would have to shout "Bad Breath" while fighting people in the future? Li Ziming felt he would be better off dead if he survived.

"Has that kid woken up yet?" An elderly voice sounded along with the noise of a door opening.

"Not yet. Who is this kid? He can't be a pirate, can he? Should we send him straight to the Marines..." A somewhat younger voice spoke with a trace of fear.

"Don't talk nonsense. This child is clearly not strong enough, and his clothes don't look like those people who spend all day sailing the seas. Still, we do need some protection. How about this, Alto? Find a few people from the village, have them bring weapons, and stand guard outside the door. That way, if anything happens, we can react as quickly as possible..." The old man thought for a moment before speaking.

"No problem, Village Chief. I'll go right away..." The man called Alto pushed open the door and was about to leave.

"Um, excuse me, where am I?" Li Ziming figured they did not sound like bad people, so he opened his eyes and decided to talk to them. If he really waited for them to put him under surveillance, he would be far too passive.

"Wow, he's awake!" A young man in Li Ziming's field of vision shouted exaggeratedly. "He must have woken up earlier! He was definitely trying to eavesdrop on us! Village Chief, don't trust him!"

So this is Alto? He looks like an honest fool, but his intuition seems pretty amazing... Li Ziming thought to himself.

"Alto!" There were only two people in Li Ziming's field of vision. This elderly man was probably the village chief Alto had mentioned.

"It's fine. I understand your concerns. If you really need to, Village Chief, you can have someone watch me..." Li Ziming smiled. Being watched would not really restrict his freedom. Instead, it would be a form of protection. In an unfamiliar place where he did not know the local customs, who knew whether he might get hanged just for taking a sip of water? Having someone nearby would not just mean surveillance; it would also be Li Ziming's fastest way to learn about this place.

"Hm?" Alto looked at Li Ziming suspiciously. As the saying went, anything abnormal must have something suspicious behind it. Alto now wondered what Li Ziming was up to. "You aren't trying to lower our guard, are you?"

Li Ziming was certain his expression had stiffened. Hey, if you're supposed to be a simpleton, then just keep acting dumb and cute! Why does your intuition have to be so accurate?! He obviously could not say that aloud, so he could only look awkwardly at the village chief.

The village chief also hesitated as he looked at Li Ziming's expression, unsure whether he should send someone to watch him.

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

"No! What if you start causing trouble in our village later?" Alto rejected Li Ziming's suggestion again.

"This doesn't work, and that doesn't work. How about you watch me, then?" Li Ziming said irritably.

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

Li Ziming stared at Alto with suspicion. Is this guy pretending to be stupid just to mess with me...? But after watching for a while, Alto still wore the same foolish expression, leaving Li Ziming with no choice but to give up helplessly.

"All right, then. Sir, we are only considering the safety of our village..." The village chief gave Li Ziming an apologetic look.

"I understand. Also, my name is Li Ziming. You can call me Ziming or Li..." Li Ziming fully expressed his goodwill toward the village chief.

"Oh dear, I really am getting old. My memory is no good anymore. My name is Asher, and this child is Alto. If you need anything, Ziming, just say so. This may only be a poor village, but we should still be able to provide for your basic needs..." Asher said with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Village Chief..." Li Ziming smiled, then got out of bed and looked at Alto. "Mr. Alto, I'm planning to take a look around outside. Let's go together."

"Of course I'm going with you. I'll watch you closely and make sure you never get the chance to leave my sight!" Alto said seriously.

Li Ziming merely smiled faintly. He had a feeling that if Alto relied on his intuition, he would probably have an easier time watching him than if he used his brain.

"Then I still have some things to take care of, so I'll be leaving first." Asher left after saying that, leaving only Li Ziming and Alto in the room.

"Hey, you..." Alto spoke first.

"Wait a second." Li Ziming suddenly stopped Alto.

"Hm?" Alto looked at Li Ziming in confusion, not knowing why he had interrupted him.

"Do you know about Devil Fruits?" Li Ziming hesitated before asking directly. He felt that Alto might be able to help him with that strange intuition of his.

"Devil Fruits?" Alto hesitated. "I heard those things are really expensive. Wait, could the thing you're holding be the legendary Devil Fruit?"

Li Ziming nodded. "That's right..." He then brought up the matter of his ability.

"The breath you blow out can explode?" Alto scratched his head. "Doesn't that mean the gas you exhale turns into bombs..."

Alto's words gave Li Ziming a sudden realization, but that alone was not enough to determine his Devil Fruit ability. Li Ziming still needed to run some tests to see whether he could only turn parts of his body into bombs, or whether anything he touched could become a bomb. The intensity of the Explosions was another issue as well.

Thinking of this, Li Ziming raised his head and said to Alto, "I want to go outside and test my ability. Is that okay..."

"You aren't planning to use your ability to send a signal to your companions, are you?" Alto looked at Li Ziming suspiciously.

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

"Bad people wouldn't say they're bad people." Alto wore an expression that said he did not believe him.

"What do I have to do for you to believe me..." Li Ziming was completely speechless.

"Hmm..." Alto thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Since you have a special ability, can you show it to me sometime?" At that moment, Alto was like a child filled with curiosity.

"Show you?" Li Ziming looked at Alto in surprise. His prejudice against Alto lessened somewhat, and he vaguely understood what the other man was thinking. So when all's said and done, he's just an immature kid...