Six Months Later

"Name, age, home address, and who else is in your family?"

"Well..."

Smoker's questions stopped Rubick cold. He had come from another world. Even though he knew some of what was going to happen, he couldn't invent a life story on the spot. And he couldn't underestimate the Marines. If he made something up, they could check it. If they found nothing, they might arrest him as a spy.

Seeing Rubick at a loss for words, Smoker didn't press him. Everyone had their secrets.

"Clearly, you don't meet the requirements to join the Marines."

The Marines had actually been Rubick's ideal choice. They had a proper structure and organization, and he could receive systematic training. He could make friends with a few fellow recruits, then apply for a posting in the East Blue. He would be set for life.

But now Rubick would have to make his own way out at sea.

His second choice was to join the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy was practically the chosen one of this world. Where could Rubick be safer than at his side?

In the same instant, Rubick thought of a third option: Sky Island. It was hard to reach, sparsely populated, and not especially strong. Enel alone had been able to rule the place. If Rubick could get up there and copy the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he could live comfortably for the rest of his life as long as he stayed out of the sea.

The Marines had returned to their base, but Rubick remained rooted to the spot by the docks. He stood there alone until evening, when hunger finally snapped him out of it.

"First, I need to feed myself. Then I'll save up for a small boat."

Rubick quickly settled on a plan. Setting out to sea now would be foolish. He knew no fighting techniques, and he couldn't show off the Smoke-Smoke Fruit's power here. If he did, Smoker would surely haul him off to headquarters.

As far as Rubick remembered, no one else could mimic another person's Devil Fruit powers. He might be treated as an entirely new kind of Devil Fruit User, locked up, and studied by some mad scientist.

"Hey, want to join us?"

A burly man nearly two meters tall came up to Rubick. "You're one of the miners the Marines rescued this afternoon, right?"

Rubick looked up at the man, who stood almost forty centimeters taller than him, and felt a little intimidated.

"Uh, yeah. Pirates captured me and made me work in a mine."

"Brother, you're lucky to be alive."

"My name's Hag," the big man said. "I'm fairly well known around the docks. I've got over twenty men loading and unloading cargo. Want to come work with us?"

"Does it include meals?"

"Haha!"

Hag laughed at Rubick's question. "I'm not one of those heartless nobles. Given your situation, I can offer you 1,000 Beli a day and two simple meals."

Rubick remembered reading in his previous life that Beli had roughly the purchasing power of Japanese yen. That made the daily wage about fifty yuan.

With an offer like that, what more could he ask for?

Rubick agreed on the spot and moved into Hag's workers' dormitory that night. It was bare-bones: ten wooden bunk beds, two tables, and a few stools.

There wasn't even a light in the room.

Hag showed Rubick into the dormitory and left. He was the boss; there was no way he would live in a place like this.

A dim kerosene lamp burned on one of the tables. More than a dozen men of different ages and builds sat around it. A sour-looking fat man lounged on a stool as if he owned the place.

"Well, a newcomer."

The fat man said, "You, come here. Good timing—I'll explain the rules."

He pointed at himself. "I'm Reg. You all work under me, and I take you to the jobs each day. I'm also the one who pays you. Cash every evening."

Reg fished money out of his pocket with obvious reluctance.

Rubick could see clearly that he gave each man only 600 Beli, not the 1,000 Hag had promised.

But Rubick was in no position to argue. He accepted that he would be handing over 400 Beli a day as protection money.

He didn't intend to stay long anyway. Once his body was healthy again, he could leave. With the Smoke-Smoke Fruit's power to rely on, ordinary people were no threat to him.

Rubick woke early the next morning.

Habit was powerful. After working so long at the mine, his body clock had adjusted to the hours.

"Time to work! All of you, get up!"

Reg banged on the table and roused his men.

There was no breakfast. Rubick followed the others to the docks while it was still dark, probably around five in the morning. The first ship had yet to arrive, so all they could do was wait.

They weren't alone. More than a hundred laborers were already sitting or standing around the docks.

As the first light of dawn cut through the darkness, more than a dozen ships came in from the sea. Once they docked, Rubick went to work with Reg.

After a hard day, Rubick collected his 600 Beli from Reg. He turned around, went out, and spent it on a hamburger.

It had meat and vegetables. It was nutritious and packed with calories.

That was exactly what Rubick needed right now.

In the world of the Pirate King, no one could become strong without a sturdy body.

The days passed like that until the end of the year. Compared with when he had first arrived in this world, Rubick was a new man.

He now stood 180 centimeters tall, broad and muscular. Even when it snowed, he needed only light clothing.

Rubick had long since put the Smoke-Smoke Fruit out of his mind.

Over the past half year, he had come to understand its power well. He also understood why Smoker, who had seemed so formidable early on, had later been reduced to a minor player.

For one thing, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit had severe limitations. Its smoke couldn't hurt people through its properties alone, couldn't travel very far, and couldn't be released as a separate mass from the user's body.

In destructive power, it fell short of ice and magma.

When it came to long-range attacks, the Glint-Glint Fruit and the Flame-Flame Fruit completely outclassed it.

And the Haki needed to fight powerful opponents couldn't be applied directly to the smoke. As Rubick remembered it, users of both the Smoke-Smoke Fruit and the Flame-Flame Fruit could only apply Haki to their solid bodies. Unlike the Three Admirals, they couldn't infuse their Devil Fruit powers with Haki.

Rubick was sure he remembered correctly. After Smoker learned Haki, he had to turn his fist solid before coating it with Haki to attack. The Flame-Flame Fruit was no different. When Sabo used Haki, he coated his palm with it. Rubick wasn't even sure whether a Haki-coated palm could produce more damaging flames.