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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1: Be Careful What You Wish For on Your Birthday

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me..."

In a shabby rented apartment in the city, a young man in pajamas hummed a modified birthday song as he unwrapped a small takeout cake. His phone played a fully translated video of the latest One Piece chapter.

"Kuma's story is just too tragic. With such a powerful Devil Fruit and incredible physical gifts, yet his life was so unfortunate... Sigh. Well, before eating the cake, I should make a wish!"

"Give me a Devil Fruit—nothing too greedy, just a Mythical Zoan will do. Heh."

"I want to be the freest person alive!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a deafening thunderclap roared outside. The energy-saving light flickered a few times before going out with a click.

"Huh? Why'd the lights go out? My phone's dead too... Why is everything so quiet?"

"It's so silent..."

...

Time passed—maybe an instant, maybe years, maybe longer. The boy slowly opened his eyes. Struggling to sit up, he found himself on a sandy beach facing an endless ocean, with dense woods behind him.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed. Something wasn't right. He had become a boy named Bardock—eight years old, 150 cm tall, from the West Blue. His family had brought him to the Grand Line for business and sightseeing, but they were caught in a storm. Their ship capsized, and then... nothing.

The storms in the Grand Line were insane. Waves dozens of meters high could smash even steel ships to pieces, let alone wooden sailboats.

"Did I just transmigrate? Bardock? Damn, what a rip-off. If this were Dragon Ball, I'd at least start as a Saiyan. This sucks."

"Ah, whatever. When in Rome... Bardock it is. Starting from an orphanage, stranded on a deserted island? This is rough."

Bardock walked along the shoreline, checking for any other survivors. Surviving alone on an island at eight years old was nearly impossible—unless he was a freak of nature like Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, the "Natural Born Destroyer." And Bardock was pretty sure he was nothing like that.The coastline wasn't very long, and before long, while no survivors were found, there were some supplies: a large barrel with half a barrel of wine, which could supplement the body's water needs before finding a water source; several large wooden planks—probably from a ship shattered by the waves—as big as bed boards, suitable for building a shelter; a small sail and some ropes, along with a small knife that had pierced the sail.

"If only I had a lighter," Badak thought greedily.

Badak noticed something: it was the year 1506 in the Sea Calendar, and he was eight years old, yet his strength was greater than it had been in his previous life as an adult. Not only was he stronger, but his stamina was exceptional too. Moving all the supplies together didn't tire him out much—just a couple of breaths and he was back to normal.

"Sea Calendar 1506. Luffy set sail at age 17 in 1520, which means there are about 14 years left before the Straw Hat Pirates' adventure begins. Fourteen years—can I reach the pinnacle of the seas by then? Can I experience true, unshackled freedom?"

"Koby, the fine young Marine, was still a nobody at 16, yet within just two years, he became a top-tier fighter on the seas, smashing the massive arm extended by Avalo Pizarro's Island-Island Fruit powers with a single punch. That led many readers to jokingly call Garp 'Little Koby.'"

"Though Koby's personality is overly timid and his '100 times the effort' is absurd, at least his growth in strength serves as an example."

"Don't ask about the future—just charge forward!"

As dusk approached, Badak took a couple of sips of wine and found a sheltered spot near the woods along the coast. Using the large planks and ropes, he built a simple little shelter, using the sail as a blanket.

Before it got completely dark, he took the small knife and hastily picked five wild fruits from the edge of the woods. They resembled peaches but were each as big as two fists. These fruits grew on trees near the shore, and the ones on the ground bore marks of being gnawed by animals, while those on the trees showed signs of being pecked by birds—likely safe to eat.

Night fell completely. On the first day, unsure if there were dangerous beasts in the woods, he didn't dare attempt fire-making. While an open flame might scare off animals, it could also attract their attention—especially in this world of pirates, where humans could be as monstrous as beasts, and the animals were actual monsters. On Luffy's starting island, beasts as big as houses were a common sight.

Curled up in his little shelter, Badak took a small bite of the wild fruit and held it in his mouth. To his surprise, it tasted quite good—sweet and fragrant. After about half an hour with no adverse effects, he swallowed it. He waited another half hour, still fine, before eating the rest of the fruits.

Perhaps it was because he was starving, but even after eating so many fruits, he was only about 70% full. Unfortunately, the woods at night were too dangerous, and he didn't want to take any risks, so he had to endure it.

Clutching the small knife, Badak drifted off to sleep, faintly sensing the sounds of various animals moving about in the woods.

Dawn came early by the shore, but Badak woke up before sunrise—he was simply too hungry. The roars of beasts had echoed through the night, and his sleep had been light to begin with. Now, with his stomach growling, falling back asleep was even harder.Finally, daybreak arrived. He quickly grabbed his small knife and cautiously felt his way forward. Finding nothing unusual, he picked ten wild fruits from yesterday and carried them back to his dwelling bundled in his clothes.

After devouring nine of the fruits, Badak finally patted his stomach contentedly, feeling somewhat pleased. In the world of the Pirate King, the ability to eat signified talent. Whether it was Garp, the grandfather-grandson duo Luffy, or other powerhouses, they were all bottomless pits—eating voraciously yet digesting just as quickly.

With his hunger satisfied, Badak planned out his day: he would patrol the coastline three times—morning, noon, and evening—to see if any lucky survivors had washed ashore.

After scouring the shoreline once, he returned to his dwelling empty-handed, his face dark with frustration. There was one fruit left, which he intended to eat before venturing into the forest. Surviving on fruit alone wouldn't make him stronger—he needed meat. He also had to find a water source and gather firewood…

"So much to do. Better get it done quickly. Once I'm settled, I'll start training."

"No way… this…"

Badak was stunned. The fruit he had left that morning had transformed. Though still peach-shaped, it was now covered in spiral patterns resembling arabesques, with a faint, shimmering glow.

"A Devil Fruit… a Devil Fruit delivered right to my doorstep! What kind is it? Logia, Paramecia, or Zoan? Could it be the one I wished for?"

"Now, the question is… should I eat it?"

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