Mutated Bananas and Mutated Coconuts

"Heaven help me, please give me something useful this time!"

In the woods at the center of the deserted island, Lind stood praying before a plant that looked like a banana tree—and probably was one.

After briefly appealing to all the gods and immortals from his previous life, Lind stood before the banana tree, gently pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and focused. He murmured:

"In my name, Lind, awaken your slumbering potential!"

"Gather the power of the universe and forge an extraordinary transformation!"

Lind slowly opened his eyes and raised his hands, palms upward, as though begging some power from the surrounding air.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. He turned his palms toward the banana tree and shouted:

"Lind power, shala shala-transform!"

"Witness the miracle and embrace your rebirth!"

On this deserted, uninhabited island, Lind felt as though he had returned to his teenage days of over-the-top fantasy roleplay.

Suppressing a slight sense of embarrassment, he completed the mutation ritual he had spent a week refining bit by bit.

Then he watched the banana tree expectantly, sensing the effects of this mutation.

"Just as I thought. In a world where belief shapes reality, chants and rituals really help develop a Devil Fruit's powers. That week I spent designing this ritual wasn't wasted."

"Hmm, the target matters too. Zoan Devil Fruits look a lot like bananas, and sure enough, mutating a banana tree gave me a pretty good result."

As he sensed the effects of the mutation, a smile spread across Lind's face, and he kept talking through the lessons of his success.

A week had passed since he ate the Mutation Fruit.

For those seven days, Lind had done little besides inducing mutations and waiting for his stamina to recover so he could induce more.

After dozens of attempts on and off, he had finally hit the jackpot today.

The effect was remarkably straightforward: improved physical fitness. Such a simple yet powerful effect.

Add the fact that he could keep eating them for continued benefits, and it became even more powerful, perfectly meeting Lind's current needs.

Not only could it improve his strength, it could also increase his stamina, letting him induce mutations more efficiently and keep snowballing.

"Even though these mutated fruits can't let people transform into animals, a straightforward boost to physical fitness is actually closer to what I wanted."

Lind was so pleased with the results that he couldn't stop grinning. He tried to rein in his expression, but simply couldn't.

Heaven knew how anxious he had been these past few days. Now that he had finally produced something good, the weight hanging over his heart had lifted.

Lind felt he finally had some confidence to face the future, and his strength was about to take off.

In particular, he thought he had discovered some rules governing mutation. Though he would soon find they were utterly useless, that didn't stop him from enjoying the thought now.

Without hesitation, Lind quickly plucked a banana from the tree, peeled it, and ate it.

"This tastes pretty good. Even better than a normal banana, and nothing like those disgusting Devil Fruits! The effect might be weaker, but it's not a one-time deal. Doesn't that make it way more awesome than a Devil Fruit?"

Lind's eyes lit up at the first bite. He talked to himself through a mouthful of banana as he ate.

"Now I can officially put training on the agenda."

Before long, Lind returned to his little shelter by the shore carrying two bunches of mutated bananas.

Even if he intended to lie low until he was invincible, he didn't want to spend all that time in this uninhabited place.

That was why he had set up his living quarters by the sea, hoping for a chance to catch a ship and find an inhabited island to live on.

Then he could be like the protagonists of the farming novels he had read in his previous life: cultivate a patch of land, raise a few animals, and train a few subordinates.

"Am I too weak, or are these mutated bananas too powerful? I've only eaten two, and I can't manage another bite."

Feeling the intense fullness in his stomach and the warmth flowing from his abdomen, Lind sounded incredulous.

"If I can't eat any more, so be it. I'll run a few laps around the island first. Humans in this world have unusual physiques anyway, so exercising after a meal should be fine."

Soon, Lind had run five laps around the island and returned to his starting point.

After running over ten kilometers, his face was only slightly flushed, and his breathing was just a little quick.

"Pretty much digested now. I can keep eating. I wonder whether it's the fruit that's special or my body," Lind remarked, feeling that his stomach was no longer full.

In his previous life, this would have meant stuffing himself, running ten kilometers to burn it off, eating again once he had more or less digested it, then running again once he was full.

That wasn't training. That was asking to die.

Yet Lind had no trouble doing exactly that now. He even felt great.

Perhaps humans in this world had different physiques from those in his previous life, or perhaps it was because of the mutated bananas.

After all, such a small banana barely took up any room in his stomach. That feeling of fullness might have been an illusion; once he used up the energy the banana provided, it naturally disappeared.

"Next comes strength training. At this rate, I'm going to get stronger terrifyingly fast." Lind stopped dwelling on it. Getting stronger came first.

Lind ate another mutated banana, then began strength exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, and lifting large rocks.

"Huff! Huff!"

"Seven thousand six hundred fifty-four."

"Seven thousand six hundred fifty-five."

Holding a large tree over a meter in diameter, Lind performed squats.

With the combined effects of mutated bananas and intense training, Lind's physical fitness had improved explosively in just three short months.

His height of 185 centimeters and his exposed, muscular upper body testified to his growth over those three months.

"Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine."

"Ten thousand."

Thud!

Lind tossed the massive tree aside, picked up a banana, and headed deeper into the island.

"Three months, and I've already started the third round of mutations, but I still haven't gotten anything good. Only a few mutated banana trees turned out decent. This is so damn hard."

"And those few mutated banana trees I planted recently-I wonder whether they'll pass their mutations on."

As he walked deeper into the island, Lind grumbled about the Mutation Fruit's unpredictability.

Soon, he reached his target-a coconut tree nearly thirty meters tall.

With practiced ease, he began mutating the coconut tree.

"In my name, Lind, awaken your slumbering potential."

Ever since discovering that the Mutation Fruit's results were completely random and that the ritual did absolutely nothing, Lind had abandoned the ritual. He only said a couple of token incantations to get himself in the mood.

Soon, a smile appeared on Lind's face.

"A legendary drop! Finally, I hit the jackpot!"

Lind exclaimed excitedly as he looked at the coconut tree, whose fruits had all turned gold.

"So psychic power-or telekinesis-exists in the pirate world too! This fruit is so overpowered. I'm not going to get banned, am I?"

"Whatever. I'll try one first."

With the body he had honed over three months, Lind easily climbed the mutated coconut tree and picked a few golden coconuts that caught his eye.

With his current physical strength, Lind no longer needed to find a rock to smash a coconut open. A single Dragon Claw Hand broke straight through the shell, exposing the coconut water and flesh inside.

After drinking an entire coconut in one go, Lind felt as though he were about to ascend to heaven. The pleasure welling up from deep within his brain was downright addictive.

Before long, Lind had finished all the coconuts, water and flesh alike.

Quantity gave rise to a qualitative change. Lind felt a strange power form within his mind, surging continuously.

After about five minutes, that power finally stabilized.

Sensing the power in his mind, Lind began experimenting with it little by little.

"Rise!"

"Go!"

Under Lind's telekinetic control, a shin-high rock flew back and forth.

"Hahahaha! These fruits are incredible. I've only eaten a few, and I'm already at this level."

"Now, as long as someone hasn't mastered Observation Haki or eaten a Logia Devil Fruit, I can pretty much take them out with a sneak attack."

"I don't know where my physical fitness ranks in this world, but with telekinesis added in, I can just about protect myself now."

"Come on, somebody send a ship to pick me up! I need a place where I can really put my skills as an agriculture student to use!"

Feeling the effects of his telekinesis, Lind laughed excitedly and waved his hands as he laughed. His desire to set sail surged once more.

"I'll go check the shore again. Today's a rest day. I'll eat something good and hope I can find some decent seafood."

"Too bad I killed too many seabirds earlier. None have come by for days. Now I can only scrape by on seafood and fruit."

The mutated coconuts had left Lind in no mood to keep training. He planned to take the day off and relax properly.

Back at his base, Lind picked up the wooden bucket he had previously hollowed out with his bare hands and began searching for prey around the island.

Thanks to his powerful physique, Lind soon completed a circuit of the island.

He gathered about half a bucket of seafood, including crabs and scallops.

Then he picked up another bucket and his fishing rod and headed to the fishing spot he had found earlier.

With Lind's current physical fitness, he probably wouldn't slip and fall into the water like he had before.

As for the bait, it had come from a mutation Lind had induced in an unfamiliar tree.

After the mutation, its fruit gave off a scent that attracted fish, making it a natural fishing bait. Lind had been stunned at the time.

It was practically a blessing for anglers. Using it as chum and bait would guarantee they never went home empty-handed again.

At any rate, ever since Lind had produced the stuff, he had never lacked fish to eat.

Truly powerful bait could overcome everything else. In just a few dozen minutes, Lind's fish bucket was full.

With his plentiful haul, Lind hurried home and began preparing dinner.

Neither in his previous life nor in this one had Lind had much cooking experience, especially when it came to preparing seafood.

On top of that, he had been busy training lately and had no time to study cooking.

So Lind's dinners were generally simple: throw everything into a stew.

He briefly dealt with things like scales and innards, rinsed everything, and put it straight into the pot to boil.

With Lind's physique—or rather, the constitution of humans in this world—it wasn't going to upset his stomach anyway.

Firewood gathered on the island burned fiercely beneath the stove Lind had fashioned by smashing and hollowing out stone.

All kinds of seafood bubbled in the stone pot he had hollowed out, giving off an enticing aroma.

Simple though it was, for Lind, stranded on a deserted island, this was a rare delicacy worth savoring.

Watching the bubbling seafood soup, Lind's mind filled with thoughts.

These three months had been fulfilling, but humans were social creatures, after all.

Living alone for three months with virtually no entertainment had left Lind desperate to return to the normal world.

"Ah, when is a ship finally going to come pick me up? Am I seriously going to have to build a boat with my bare hands? I'm not Luffy!"

"Seafood and fruit every single day. I'm really going to lose my mind!"

Lind drained a large bowl of seafood soup in one go, grumbling all the while.