The Trial of Magnetism and Iron

The basic necessities of survival had finally been secured.

Distilled water, a steady food source, a safe shelter...

Boer stood on the beach, letting the sea breeze brush his face, which still bore traces of boyishness but was already etched with resolve.

The fifteen-year-old gazed into the distance, his eyes passing over dense shrubs and through the deep green forest before finally settling on the dormant volcano.

The gray-black volcanic cone stood silently at the island's center, like a natural treasure trove.

"The metal deposits there should be richer..." he murmured, his eyes gleaming with a thirst for power.

A clear plan took shape in his mind: first finish collecting a basic supply of iron sand on the beach, then head toward the more resource-rich volcano.

He clenched his fists, feeling the fruit's power surging inside him.

If he encountered the pirates who had captured him and caused the original owner's death again now, he was completely confident he could deal with them alone.

In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, without a Devil Fruit ability or extraordinary swordsmanship or martial arts, one could only be at others' mercy.

The past seven days had been a period of adjustment between him and his new ability.

On the first day, he mechanically sifted iron from the beach beneath the blazing sun. Together with the musket, dagger, and saber scavenged from the pirates, his refined metal totaled roughly twenty-five kilograms. Making it float and change shape was not a heavy burden, but it was by no means easy.

Maintaining his "magnetic field Super-Senses" while exercising fine control for three hours was his limit.

When his mental energy ran out, exhaustion engulfed him like a tide. Besides learning his own limits, his gains that day included red berries gathered from the bushes, bird eggs from the cliffs, and lobsters and sea bream caught through metal manipulation.

Using the knowledge in his memories, he built a simple apparatus to extract crude but usable sea salt from seawater, even filtering it a second time with sand, gravel, and charcoal.

On the second day, after completing his daily metal collection, he made a bold attempt-standing on metal formed into a board, he flew unsteadily toward the steep cliffs to the south.

His target was a giant albatross with a three-meter wingspan. When the bird of prey spotted Boer and swooped at him, his magnetic field Super-Senses instantly locked on. A long metal arrow shot through the air, piercing its body with precision. Though its meat was tough and dry as wood, this was an important milestone.

That night, he began experimenting with finer control: letting millimeter-sized grains of magnetic sand flow over his entire body like water, sweeping away every trace of grime.

This unprecedented method of cleaning gave him a new understanding of microscopic control over his ability.

On the third day, he finally set foot in the central volcanic region. As expected, its metal content far exceeded the beach's, and his haul was substantial. In the afternoon, he revisited the southern cliffs, this time targeting nutritious bird eggs.

On the way back, he was lucky enough to catch a goat. Though its meat had a strong, gamey smell, it provided valuable fat and protein.

More importantly, he improved his water-making apparatus, using his ability to shape and lengthen the condenser tube and route it through seawater for cooling, greatly increasing the efficiency of freshwater distillation. His quality of survival was steadily improving.

On the fourth day, after continuing to collect metal in the volcanic region, he upgraded his crude "ride" into a "baby carriage" with railings.

Though it still looked ridiculous, it was more stable. Piloting this unusual vehicle, he ventured deep into the northern rainforest and fought a two-meter-long "giant spicy strip"-a battle that looked dangerous but was actually completely one-sided.

After winning, he even had the leisure to tease an elegant clouded leopard among the treetops and gather large quantities of edible fruit. His stockpile of resources continued to expand.

On the fifth day, Boer made an important decision-he would move. Halfway up a tall mountain at the boundary between the northern rainforest and the volcanic region became his new home.

Using his ability, he worked like the most efficient miner and sculptor, carving a level platform and a deep, dry cave into the mountainside.

All his survival supplies were properly sorted and stored, and a fully functional base began to take shape.

On the sixth day, after his routine collection in the volcanic region, he successfully hunted a plump spotted pig in the rainforest.

After eating his fill, he lay at the entrance of the cave he had carved himself and gazed up at the brilliant starry sky, unable to help remarking, "The Magnet-Magnet Fruit... it really is the most perfect fruit." Whether for survival, combat, or daily life, it could support him in every respect.

On the seventh day, a turning point in his fate arrived unexpectedly. He spent the morning collecting metal in the volcanic region as usual, then headed to the eastern mangrove swamp in the afternoon to look for crabs.

There, however, he encountered some "familiar faces"-the seven surviving crew members from the pirate ship in his memories.

Within his Extrasensory Vision, the magnetic fields unique to humans began flickering from a kilometer away.

Boer stopped atop a mangrove canopy five hundred meters away.

The "baby carriage" turned fluid and reshaped itself into the fierce Iron Dragon Hunter armor from his memories. The pirates had yet to realize that death was approaching.

With a flash of thought, three armor-piercing arrowheads cast from high-purity iron accelerated along magnetic tracks. Like whispers of death, they crossed a hundred meters in an instant, precisely piercing three men's chests and pinning them firmly to the mangrove trunks.

Their screams alerted the remaining four. In panic, they stood back-to-back and scanned their surroundings, while a pirate in spotted clothing loudly begged for mercy.

As Boer descended slowly in his hard armor, snapping branches, the pirates scrambled to throw down their blades and raise their hands, forcing ingratiating smiles onto their faces. Through his menacing helmet, he stared at the four terrified figures, which overlapped with the whip-wielding images in his memories.

"Weakness itself is the original sin," he murmured.

The battle ended swiftly. Standing among seven corpses, Boer felt neither nausea nor fear. Instead, a peculiar sense of "wholeness" rose within him.

It was as though only now, with the final karmic ties settled, had the original owner's lingering obsession completely dissipated and merged perfectly with him.

More fragments of memory surfaced-information about the pirate crew, a clearer understanding of this world...

"Gol D. Roger... was executed a few years ago..." he murmured. A grand vision of the future flickered before his eyes: a smiling boy in a straw hat, the Grand Line on the verge of upheaval, the Four Emperors, the Shichibukai, Marine Headquarters... all these forces that would stir the world.

He shook his head, casting aside those distracting thoughts. "None of that has anything to do with me." He recognized clearly, "Making myself stronger is the only truth."

The instant that thought became clear, his mastery of the Magnet-Magnet Fruit abruptly surged! His sensing range expanded, and both the precision and strength of his iron control doubled!

Power surged through his body, yet an inexplicable sense of emptiness followed.

That night, a rare storm struck the island. Boer sat in his cave, watching the apocalyptic scene outside.

Dark clouds rubbed against one another. Within his Extrasensory Vision, magnetic fields twisted and collided, unleashing earth-shaking lightning.

Amid this display of nature's might, he seemed to grasp something.

"A magnetic field... is an electric field..." He extended a finger and tried to gather electricity.

He succeeded, but its strength left much to be desired. Its attack range was limited, and he could only generate electricity within the range of his strong control over metal, far short of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power. He also discovered that dividing his attention to control electricity weakened his control over metal.

"Not much use for now," he judged. "At this stage, it's less efficient than simply striking physically.

Electricity can only serve as a backup. But as my ability grows... I'll be the true god of thunder. Electricity generates magnetism, and magnetism generates electricity."

On the eighth day, sunlight bathed the island once more, but Boer felt somewhat gloomy. Looking around the empty cave, he experienced loneliness for the first time.

He even began to regret wiping out every last pirate. "Maybe I should've left someone who could talk..." But he crushed the thought as soon as it arose. In this world, weakness was fatal.

He quickly adjusted his mindset. Loneliness came from not being strong enough, from having his horizons confined to this island. Once he was strong enough, the entire world would become his stage!

Unprecedented drive spurred him on. With a piece of blackened charcoal, he inscribed a hellish training plan for the coming year on the smooth stone wall: stamina, strength, reaction speed, and the various techniques for applying his fruit ability, all listed as rigorous training tasks.

"First, I'll greatly improve my physical fitness. Then..." He gazed at the boundless blue beyond the cave. "Set sail!"