My first few weeks in my new life were spent skulking around the island, exploring and investigating my new circumstances.
As a soldier, having a hobby was not just a necessity; it was an obligation.
Hobbies kept us grounded and sane. The funny thing is, we learned to be wary of those who kill for a living but don't have a hobby or pastime, because usually these people enjoy killing—and people who enjoy killing don't make for good company or friends.
Mine was manga and anime. I enjoyed the classics, but I also liked shounen manga—the idealized world of friendship triumphs over everything, and justice always prevails. It was a balm to my wounded soul and my shitty reality.
One Piece was one of my favorites: exploring the world on a ship with friends, seeing a million cultures, and solving a thousand mysteries. That was a man's romance—and treasure, we can't forget that.
But I was not disillusioned about the reality of the One Piece world. Yes, Luffy was a goofy hero liberating countries and having a laugh, but if you delve deeper, you'll find that the Straw Hats were a ray of sunshine in a very, very dark world.
It appears, also, that my new body was not just manifested in this world. In fact, I was an orphan—a well-known troublemaker and pickpocket—and the townspeople knew about me and were worried I would overreach and get killed by pirates.
The irony is that my body's previous owner wasn't killed by pirates but by stupidity.
The boy's name was Tiber. No one knew where he came from—one day, he was just left at the doorstep of the local orphanage.
As he grew up, the boy was a menace: he stole, lied, and cheated. The villagers, of course, didn't like him, and his peers disliked him for his attitude, but they didn't wish him harm.
The island of Gulmera in the East Blue was a trade hub. It wasn't a nation but a coalition of villages not affiliated with the World Government. Naturally, pirates decided it was a good place to do business, and the island thrived as a pirate refuge for years.
The island wasn't special in any way. Villages dotted the coast, and the interior was a dense jungle that no man could thread and was full of dangerous creatures. Hunters made their living by trapping game along the fringes, and the bulk of the island's earnings came from servicing the crews that made shore.
Bars and inns were available in abundance, and Tiber made them his usual hangout.
That is, until one day he overheard crews talking about Devil Fruits, the legends of the sea, and the Grand Line. But most importantly, he learned that Devil Fruits could be sold for at least 100 million berries.
It was as if a switch flipped inside the boy, and he made it his mission to find one.
He decided to explore the jungle in hope of finding a Devil Fruit, selling it, and then living in luxury.
Sadly for the boy, nature was a cruel mistress, and he soon learned that navigating an environment where everything wants to eat you was easier said than done.
However, after a few weeks spent lost and hungry, luck would favor the boy. He ended up finding a Devil Fruit and consuming it. Sadly for him, he did not know that the sea was the bane of Devil Fruit users, so by trying to swim back to the other side of the island, he ended up drowning.
Luckily for me, the Devil Fruit didn't reincarnate, and I still retained the abilities it granted.
And I must say, this fruit has great… potential.
One of the great mysteries of the One Piece world was how a person knows what their Devil Fruit offers. Was it instinct, information uploaded to the brain, or something else?
For me, it was a mix of the two. I understood what my Devil Fruit offers and also how to use it rudimentarily. It was as if the fruit possessed consciousness and told me, "Here is what I can offer for the moment; let's see how you can use it before I offer you more."
Kakuritsu-kakuritsu no Mi, or Probability-Probability Fruit, was the name of the Paramecia Devil Fruit. As far as the ability is concerned, the user of this fruit can sense the "threads" of possibility around any event and tug them to favor one outcome.
Now, you may say that this ability is very broken, and you would be correct. Sadly, there are limitations.
First, the probability that an event occurs depends on the strength of the user and on the event itself.
For example, let's say I am playing dice alone. The probability of rolling a 2 is slim. If I use my Devil Fruit to influence the outcome, I can do it with minimal stamina loss.
But if I play dice with other people, stamina consumption increases the more factors are involved.
The second limitation is the event itself: the more unlikely an event is, the more it takes to make it happen. In fact, if I force it, the thread will snap, and the backlash can kill the user.
The third and final limitation is that the more I influence a person chosen by fate—positively or negatively—the more fate itself will strike back.
Despite these limitations, the ability itself, if used properly, is incredibly broken.
As I explored the island and investigated who I was, I stumbled upon something that may affect my future plans in this world.
The day the previous owner's body was left in the orphanage, there was also a single piece of paper left with him, bearing a name: Tiber D. Nexus.
Now, for 99% of the population, the name is just that—a little peculiar but nothing to worry about. But as someone who knows the secrets the World Government killed for, I understood its weight.
The initial "D" is a source of calamity for its bearer, as no one with a D ever lived a boring, mundane life.
In fact, using my Devil Fruit ability, I can see a thick red thread; when I try to explore it or influence it, I only end up with a jumbled mess.
The "D" was indeed a source of chaos, which means my life will not be an ordinary one.
Luckily, I was not planning on settling down with a wife and kids and living a carefree life.
1. First, I needed to transform this lanky body into the one I used to have.
2. Second, I needed to know when in the timeline I fell off.
3. Third, I needed to use my Devil Fruit ability to explore my powers and learn to use them effectively.
4. Fourth, I needed to secure funding and a ship.
5. Lastly and more importantly, have fun.
Let's get this shit started.