An uninhabited, wild island in the East Blue.
Thick green foliage cloaked the isle, tall trees standing straight and verdant. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and stitched mottled patches across the ground. In that tranquil forest a man with markings on his face lay on the grass, eyes closed.
He was large, powerfully built, every muscle like a sculptor's work, each ridge as hard as forged iron, lines flowing with restrained force. The man opened his eyes, pushed himself up with one hand and sat cross-legged on the grass. He breathed deep, steadying his mind, then silently called up his system panel.
[Host: Rody (Ryomen Sukuna)
Age: 24
Abilities:
Ability 1. Reversal Technique, can repair physical injuries through cursed energy, excluding mental or soul wounds.
Ability 2. Exceptional learning talent, can quickly master others' abilities if conditions match; for abilities he cannot learn, he can rapidly analyze opponents' weaknesses and find countermeasures.
Ability 3. Domain Expansions: Malevolent Shrine, Chimera Shadow Garden
Ability 4. Ten Shadows Technique, Black Box - Open.
Ability 5. Mighty soul.]
Rody stared at his status panel, feeling his blood surge with excitement.
He stood, extended two fingers, aimed at the trees ahead and flicked. A slicing shock burst forth, cleaving trees and rocks before him cleanly in two. He watched the chaos of falling timber and shattered stone, and could not help but throw his head back in a loud, satisfied laugh.
Hands in his pockets, Rody walked out from the wrecked grove onto the island's beach. He looked out at the endless sea; apart from a few seabirds drifting in the sky, no living thing stirred. After a moment's thought he pressed his palms together. Shadows rippled beneath his feet, and from them rose a Nue, its great wings stirring the sand.
Rody hopped up and landed on its broad back. The creature beat its wings, whipping sand into the air, then rose. Rody casually strapped his arms across his chest and stood on the nue's back as it flew. He let it head in a random direction, and from that high vantage he mulled things over.
The power he'd gained was everything Ryomen Sukuna possessed before the final battle. He lacked a few insights Sukuna reached in that last fight: the Weapon Flight and Kamutoke (Supreme Martial Solution) were absent, as were the Spatial Slash and the ability to deal with cursed-technique burnout that Sukuna had come to understand in that supreme clash. Still, with his exceptional learning talent, once he grasped the principles the method for curing cursed-technique burnout should not take long to learn, and Spatial Slash would not be far behind.
As for weapons, Rody planned to seek out rare materials like Wapol alloy and forge them into blades. If he could successfully imbue a weapon with a Devil Fruit, it should make for a truly fearsome armament.
While he considered this, the vast ocean ahead blurred and a small island's outline took shape on the horizon. He did not hurry. Maybe Sukuna's presence sharpened his appetite; Rody's normally solid appetite had only increased, and when idle he often let his mind wander.
…
Cocoyasi Village.
"Hahaha… boys, get moving! Take everything. Food, women, money. Take it all!"
A three-meter-tall man, ugly and brutish, with a few straggling hairs atop his head, stood at his ship's prow clutching a hundred-kilo axe. He bared a maw of rotten, uneven teeth and roared at the town. This was the captain of the Great Axe Pirates, Ogata Raizo, bounty ten million Berries.
At his command, a band of pirates, their lust for loot barely contained, shrieked and surged ashore, scattering through the town to plunder. In an instant Watermelon Town, peaceful moments before, became a hellscape, cries and screams and pleas ringing from every street.
"Brother, aren't we going to attract the Marines by making this much noise?" asked a shabby little man, under 1.5 meters tall, with the same sparse hair on his scalp, a crooked cigarette clamped in his mouth. He shuffled up to Ogata Raizo with a worried look.
"Hah! Rumen, who do you think I am?" Ogata Raizo spat back. "I'm Ogata Raizo!" He laughed arrogantly. "I checked the area. This belongs to the Marines' 16th Branch. The commander here's some worthless colonel called 'Nezumi.' He'll never come to fight us. Besides, I'm a pirate with a ten million Berry bounty! Hahahahaha!"
Rumen, Ogata Raizo's second-in-command and younger brother, said no more. Though he served as Ogata Raizo's lieutenant, his own bounty sat at a mere four million Berries. His strength lagged far behind his savage brother's.
Soon the pirates who had gone ashore had seized control of the town. They drove the townsfolk into the square in small groups. A few tried to resist, but their efforts were futile and they were cut down quickly.
Ogata Raizo strode into the square, axe over his shoulder, and watched as terrified residents were forced into place. He grinned and called to a hulking lackey nearby, "Find the mayor."
Moments later a pirate yanked a man of about sixty from the cowering crowd and dragged him before Ogata Raizo. The captain seized the old man by the collar and hoisted him up. "Are there any valuables hidden in this town? You'd better tell me now, or I'll slaughter you all."
The mayor's voice trembled as he answered, "Captain, the town's money has already been taken by you. There's nothing left, except for some watermelons still on the vines."
Ogata Raizo flung the old man to the ground and barked to his crew, "Cut all the watermelons down." He hefted his axe and stepped forward, prepared to finish the mayor's life.
At that moment one of his men looked up and shouted in alarm, "Sky… what's that up there?" Ogata Raizo followed his gaze.
A shadow dropped through the sky at blistering speed. A gust of wind blew up from the center of the town square, sand and dust spinning into the air. When the dust settled, there stood a tall man with an indifferent face and patterned markings in the square's center.
Rody swept his gaze over everyone present, then fixed on the three-meter giant Ogata Raizo and sighed inwardly at the strangeness of the world.
Ogata Raizo, mortified by the sudden appearance, felt veins jump at his temples. He raised his axe and pointed it at Rody. "Kid! What are you looking at? Do you know who I am? I'm Ogata Raizo, the Great Axe!" His voice thundered.
The surrounding pirate thugs recovered and joined the taunting chorus. "Kid, you're dead meat. Our captain's worth millions. You anger him and he'll split you in two with his axe."