The year is 1506 by the Sea Circle Calendar.
The Red Line.
A single Fish-Man, his skin the color of blood, was scaling the impossible cliffs with his bare hands.
His name was Fisher Tiger.
And he was about to free the slaves of the Celestial Dragons.
Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Lightning split the stormy sky.
A young boy, trembling in a corner, knew he was about to die.
"You there, trash. Eat this," a sneering voice commanded.
"Hahahaha, what kind of fruit is it? A Zoan? How boring!"
"It's a monkey, but that's still just a Zoan!"
The voices belonged to the Celestial Dragons, the self-proclaimed gods of this world, whose greatest pleasure was tormenting those they deemed lesser. Every day, new slaves from across the seas were brought to them in chains.
To survive, the boy forced the disgusting fruit down his throat. His throat was parched from days without water, and he began to cough, his body trying to reject it.
A bullet tore through his chest.
"Trash! Are you trying to spit it out?"
"Hmph. He died before we could even brand him. What a waste."
"Unlucky. Just throw the body out."
As the boy's lifeless body was tossed aside like garbage, a cold, mechanical voice echoed not in his ears, but in the space where his soul now lingered.
[Hourglass System activated. New soul detected. Integrating...]
[Soul potential: immense. Unlocking Haki.]
[Host's Devil Fruit power is fading. Reversing entropy... Recalling power... Identifying...]
[Three Colors of Haki Unlocked. Proficiency: 0%]
[Identification Complete: Saru Saru no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Model: Sun Wukong]
[Analyzing... Eliminating Devil Fruit weaknesses.]
[Success. User is no longer weakened by the sea or Seastone.]
[Breathing life into the host body...]
...
The fatal wound in the boy's chest began to stitch itself closed, forcefully ejecting the bullet casing onto the stone floor. The countless other wounds covering his small frame, while not fatal, were horrifying to behold.
He awoke with a pained groan.
"Ugh, my head... How did a truck fly into the second floor of my apartment? Good thing it didn't kill me..."
Luo Ling opened his eyes. The first thing he saw wasn't a ceiling, but a floating, spectral hourglass. The hourglass projected a panel of glowing text in front of him.
"Wait a minute... I guess it did kill me, didn't it?"
[Correct. My name is the Hourglass System. I possess multiple functions, including analysis and reversal. You have inherited this body, along with the Saru Saru no Mi, Mythical Zoan Model: Sun Wukong, and have awakened all three forms of Haki.]
"The... One Piece world?"
As a dedicated anime and manga nerd, Luo Ling knew the world of One Piece like the back of his hand.
"Okay... what's my allegiance? Marines? Pirates?"
[No Faction.]
"Where am I? What's the date?"
[You are in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. Fisher Tiger, hero of the Fish-Men, is currently staging his attack.]
What?
"Fish-Man Karate: Shark Wave Justice Fist!"
A powerful cry ripped through the chaos. A Fish-Man with blood-red skin appeared in Luo Ling's line of sight, a whirlwind of righteous fury.
The sight shocked Luo Ling out of his stupor. He was in Mary Geoise. The night sky above was gorgeous, a brilliant tapestry of stars unobscured by city lights, a privilege reserved for the Celestial Dragons on their high continent. The beauty of the Milky Way felt cruel, a stark contrast to the desperate screams of slaves running for their lives.
"Go! Run to the sea! Run to freedom!" Tiger roared, fighting a bloody path for them. Attacking a Celestial Dragon meant inviting an Admiral's wrath, yet he had charged headfirst into their sacred home.
"I have to fight too," Luo Ling declared, his voice filled with a venom he didn't know he possessed. "Damn the Celestial Dragons!"
He pushed himself to his feet, but as he tried to follow Tiger, a small hand grabbed his and pulled him in the other direction. He turned to see three young girls. He recognized them instantly.
"Hancock?"
"Sister, he knows your name!" the youngest one whispered.
"There's no time! We have to go, now!" the eldest, Boa Hancock, commanded.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the city, and flames erupted, spreading a sea of fire that consumed everything in its path. In the chaos, Hancock shoved Luo Ling over the edge of the Red Line.
"Whether you live or die is up to fate!" she yelled.
She was just a child trying to survive. They were all just survivors scrambling toward the sea. She couldn't afford to be responsible for anyone else.
Luo Ling fell, the inferno of Mary Geoise seared into his vision. The pain and hatred from the body's original owner surged through him, raw and fresh. The so-called gods of this world were nothing.
Look! he thought with savage satisfaction. Fire doesn't care about your divine status!
The wind howled that night, whipping the sea below into a frenzy. It was as if someone was secretly manipulating the storm, fanning the flames of revolution. It was reminiscent of the legendary storm that decided the battle between the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Shiki.
I'm going to fall to my death! I can't even swim, let alone fly! Luo Ling panicked.
He was sure he was about to become a splatter on the ocean's surface. But just before he hit the water, a strong hand caught him securely.
"The Celestial Dragons grow more depraved by the day," a deep, grim voice rumbled. "To think they would even enslave a child this young."
A green cloak obscured the man's face, but from his words, Luo Ling knew exactly who this was.
Monkey D. Dragon!
"Are we taking him with us, Dragon?" another, more flamboyant voice asked. A very large man with an even larger head peered at him. "Hee-haw! The little guy looks like good stock!"
"No," Dragon said, his voice firm. "My old man is in the East Blue. We'll send him there."
The fatigue of his new, battered body finally overwhelmed Luo Ling. His consciousness faded, and he fell into a deep sleep.
...
The revolutionary ship swayed on the turbulent waves.
Luo Ling was treated for a full week. When he finally woke up, Emporio Ivankov was there to hand him a cup of hot water.
"Well, look who's awake! Hee-haw! Little boy, you had so many wounds it's a miracle you're alive! You slept for a whole week! Your physical resilience is on par with a Zoan-type ability user! I checked, and you're not affected by seawater, so I guess those Celestial Dragon scum didn't feed you a Devil Fruit after all."
Ivankov chattered on, but a question formed in Luo Ling's mind. A whole week? The Hourglass healed my fatal wound, why did the rest take so long? With a Mythical Zoan, I should have recovered in a day, tops.
[The host body was suffering from long-term malnutrition, sickness, and extreme physical trauma. The Hourglass healed the fatal wound, but the body's natural recovery from systemic damage required time.]
Ah, that makes sense, Luo Ling thought. He quickly processed the original boy's memories. The word "miserable" didn't even begin to cover it. It was a miracle his body could be repaired at all. According to the memories, the original owner had only been eight years old.
[Character Detected: Emporio Ivankov. Analyzing attributes...]
[Concern: 10 points]
[Emporio Healing Hormones: 30 points]
[Extract?]
Two small, shimmering bubbles appeared over Ivankov's head in Luo Ling's vision. He mentally dismissed the prompt, deciding to deal with his new powers later. He gratefully took a hot bath and ate the first hearty meal of his new life.
...
On deck, the sea breeze whipped at Dragon's green cloak. Ivankov stood with his hands on his hips, enjoying the brief moment of peace.
"Dragon! It's a medical miracle! That kid, who was half-dead from sickness and injury, actually pulled through!"
Dragon stared out at the horizon, his expression unreadable. "It will take time to reach the East Blue. Does the boy have a name?"
"He told me when he was eating. Said his name is Luo Ling."
Dragon gave a silent nod and said no more, his thoughts returning to the turbulent sea, wondering when the age of the Celestial Dragons would finally end.
After his meal, Luo Ling felt much better, but his body was still incredibly weak. He could barely stand, a testament to the years of hunger, cold, and abuse. Fortunately, the powerful vitality of his Mythical Zoan fruit was already kicking in, growing stronger with each passing hour.
He quickly adapted to life on the ship. He spent his days doing what little chores he could and began a daily routine: basic physical conditioning, learning the fundamentals of the spear and the sword from the revolutionaries. When he was alone in his cabin, he secretly practiced controlling his Devil Fruit abilities and getting a feel for his three types of Haki.
One day, he walked past the ship's training ground. The soldiers of the Revolutionary Army were drenched in sweat, their sparring filling the air with the clang of steel.
[Multiple attributes detected for analysis...]
[Stamina: 300 points]
[Vitality: 130 points]
[Fatigue: 85 points]
[Basic Swordsmanship EXP: 50 points]
[Extract?]
"Extract," Luo Ling commanded in his mind.
He focused his intent, choosing the shimmering red bubbles of Vitality and the pale white ones representing Swordsmanship EXP.