Chapter 2: One Thousand Three Hundred Years
"What year is it now?"
Just that simple question sent another chill through Crocodile and Caesar.
They were hardened men, veterans of the Grand Line's chaos, but they had never witnessed anything like this.
Then, things got even stranger.
The sculpture that had called itself "Vergil" began to move.
Starting with its fingers, then every joint in its body trembled slightly, cracking the stone surface.
Clatter… clatter clatter…
Shards of dark stone fell away like a shedding shell, revealing skin beneath—normal, human skin tone.
At the same time, an indescribable pressure erupted from the cracks in the stone, instantly flooding the laboratory.
Both Crocodile and Caesar recognized it immediately.
Conqueror's Haki.
A King's Disposition, bursting forth from a waking statue.
Can stone have the qualities of a king?
The next moment—
Whoosh!
The figure leaped forward, tearing free from the stone slab at its back, and landed gracefully on the floor.
Rubble scattered around him. The wild, untamed Haki slowly dissipated.
The "sculpture" now stood before them—a living man with a physique of flawless, idealized proportions.
"…"
A sculpture carved into a Poneglyph… was alive?
It defied understanding.
And more pressingly—what kind of ancient entity had they just awakened?
Crocodile raised his hook, sands swirling around his feet. Caesar edged toward the door, ready to bolt.
Then, the man who called himself Vergil moved.
He took a step.
His left foot tangled with his right.
Thump.
He fell face-first onto the floor.
Crocodile: "…"
Caesar: "…"
They exchanged a glance, then looked back at the figure on the ground.
Is he a child? He can't even walk.
"Hold on."
Vergil spoke, his voice clearer now. He pushed himself up slowly, studying the two men's stances. He mimicked their posture, adjusting his feet.
Within a few breaths, he found his balance. He looked at them frankly, unable to hide a bright, astonished joy. He raised his arms high, bent his elbows in a triumphant pose, and declared with genuine excitement:
"Okay! I can do it!"
Crocodile: "…"
Caesar: "…"
Something feels… off.
This was a relic from before the Void Century, carved by ancient hands, radiating Conqueror's Haki mere moments ago.
So why did he seem so… clueless?
They stared at Vergil.
Vergil stared back.
Yes, he recognized them.
Sir Crocodile. Caesar Clown.
He could roughly guess what era this was now.
Vergil. Full name: Vergil.
He was a transmigrator.
After a period of observation, he had confirmed it—he was in the world of One Piece.
But he had two significant problems.
The first was that his arrival had been… early.
The first year of the Sea Circle calendar.
The dawn of the current era.
The second was his form upon arrival: he had become stone.
He found himself part of an unnamed mountain, overlooking forests, a village, and the distant sea.
Being stone had one advantage: his perception of time became vague. Years blurred together as he weathered storms and basked in sun. Decades, then centuries, passed.
One day, he was quarried.
He didn't know why, so he observed dimly.
The year 550 of the Sea Circle calendar.
An age of endless war. Kingdoms across the seas clashed without end.
As an immovable boulder, his memories were hazy, but he had witnessed much.
He still vaguely remembered—
Being used as foundation stone for a royal palace;
Used as a battering ram to smash city gates;
Soldiers dying against him, their blood staining his surface;
Refugees, tortured by cold winds, huddling against him for shelter;
Rebels using him as a rallying point;
Bandits burying treasure beneath him, hiding their greed;
And then…
In the year 620, another group came.
They called themselves the Kozuki Clan, from the land of Wano. They sought to record the true history.
From then on, Vergil was shaped alongside other stones, forged into indestructible blocks—the Poneglyphs.
If things had proceeded normally, his surface would have been carved with history.
But history is never that simple.
Vergil didn't recall the details clearly.
In essence, a certain young man requested a stone slab from the Kozuki for a different purpose.
That young man took Vergil somewhere. There, he carved Vergil into this human form.
In that place, a group of people gathered before Vergil, praying with intense solemnity.
They crushed a Devil Fruit into a pulp, smearing its juices over Vergil's stone body, seeking a reaction.
He didn't know how long they prayed, but Vergil felt a vague stirring within.
Then—a catastrophic roar. A titanic wave rose, swallowing everything around. The world was drowned.
Vergil sank to the seabed.
He drifted into a dreamless sleep, until the waters finally receded and consciousness flickered back.
He heard voices.
"Whoaah… It's a magnificent discovery, isn't it?!"
"…"
"Who the hell is he?"
"…"
"Who are you?"
"…"
At that final question, Vergil woke completely.
Seizing that rare, tangible feeling, he strained against the stone. The rock around him fractured. He broke free.
After over five hundred years as stone, he had forgotten how to stand.
Like an infant, he imitated the two men before him. And finally, he stood.
His eyes shone.
By his reckoning, he had been stone for roughly five hundred years.
Though his awareness had been dim for most of it, the prospect of freedom now filled him with overwhelming yearning.
The Great Pirate Era, five centuries in his future!
He was desperate to see this world he knew of, but had never truly lived in.
Vergil was thrilled.
On impulse, he began to move, stretching his limbs, reveling in the sensation of air against skin.
To Crocodile, the sight was absurd.
A naked man of perfect physique, a "living sculpture," was now doing warm-up stretches?
The sheer incongruity made Crocodile's head spin.
He pushed past the confusion, turning to Caesar for answers.
"Hey, Caesar?"
"…"
"Caesar!"
No response. Crocodile glanced sideways.
Caesar was gone.
The scientist had slipped from the lab and slammed the seal button. The heavy doors slammed shut with a final thud.
Hiss—
Ventilation ducts whirred to life. Lavender gas began to seep into the room.
"Heh, I didn't expect such a windfall today! I'll study you both properly!"
"Sleep for now, my specimens."
"Sand Crocodile, you can take the blame for stealing a Poneglyph! Rot in Impel Down for me! Whoaahahaha—!"
"…"
"A scumbag to the end," Crocodile muttered, watching the anesthetic gas spread.
He couldn't stay. As a Logia user, a sealed room was no prison. But…
Caesar had crossed him. Leaving empty-handed wasn't his style.
That "Vergil" entity… it was clearly entangled with ancient secrets, possibly even the Ancient Weapons. He couldn't leave it for Caesar.
"Hehehe…"
Crocodile grinned darkly and turned.
Vergil was also gone.
"What?!"
He looked up. The ventilation duct was only a few inches wide—impossible for a man to fit through. It had been his infiltration route.
"Did he go into the ducts?" Crocodile wondered aloud.
"No. Couldn't fit."
The voice came from below.
Crocodile looked down. A sizeable hole had been torn open in the laboratory floor. Vergil's body was submerged in the earth, only his head visible above the soil. He looked utterly at ease, as if lounging at the beach.
Crocodile's eyes widened in realization. "You're… a Devil Fruit user?"
Vergil nodded. "Yes."
"What fruit?" Crocodile pressed.
"Devil Fruit."
Crocodile's brow furrowed. "I know it's a Devil Fruit. I'm asking which one."
Vergil blinked, seeming innocent. "Yes. Devil Fruit."
A vein throbbed on Crocodile's temple. He was about to snap when a sudden, wild suspicion froze him.
"…Devil Fruit?" he repeated slowly.
"Ah."
Vergil smiled, resting back in the soil like a sunbather.
"Devil Fruit," he confirmed.
Then he added, his tone shifting, "The Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Oni."
Vergil blinked again.
Crocodile noticed his pupils had changed. They were now segmented—six short lines arranged in two vertical columns. Unnerving.
Vergil, with his strange eyes, continued, "The one who carved me… he smeared the crushed juice of the fruit all over my stone body. It seeped in slowly, letting me assimilate its power."
"Over the centuries, I've thought of many applications. But without a body to practice… I'm not very proficient yet."
As he spoke, Vergil's form began to change.
His limbs thickened. His skin darkened to a deep crimson. Two curved, dark-green horns sprouted from his forehead.
The alien appearance fit that of a Mythical Zoan.
Vergil's voice dropped to a low, gravelly rumble. He grinned, revealing sharper teeth.
"The form I'm using now is called 'Chīguǐ.'"
"Also known as… the Earth Demon."
(End of Chapter)
🤗If you enjoyed this chapter, please add it to your collection and
keep supporting the story 💖✨
Bonus Chapter on 50 Power Stones ❤️