Chapter 1: Sakazuki
North Blue
The Blood Bull Pirates.
On the ship.
Boom!
Boom!
A massive figure resembling a Minotaur was sent flying once again, crashing violently into the wooden cabin, splintering beams and tearing apart the hull.
The Blood Bull Pirates' captain, Johnny the Minotaur, struggled to rise.
His Zoan transformation an Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Bison flickered unstably as blood poured from his wounds.
Looking at the lifeless bodies of his crew scattered across the deck, and then at his younger brother who had died shielding him from that monstrous attack his entire body trembled.
Memories surged.
Years at sea. Laughter. Brotherhood.
All reduced to ashes.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face, his bloodshot eyes locking onto the lone figure standing amidst the burning wreckage.
"You damned bastard… what have I done to offend you?!"
"Why?!"
"WHY?!"
"Damn demon! AAAAAAH!!"
Reason shattered.
Johnny's body swelled violently as he fully transformed into a massive bison, muscles bulging, hooves crushing the deck beneath him as he charged forward in madness.
Standing before him, unmoved
Sakazuki.
The future Fleet Admiral.
Even now, his face was already carved with that same absolute, merciless resolve that would one day define Absolute Justice within the Marines.
He watched the three-meter-tall beast rush toward him and spoke coldly:
"Why?"
"Because pirates like you… deserve to die."
His right arm transformed.
Crimson magma surged outward yet did not drip.
Instead, it condensed and flowed with terrifying density, like a living volcano restrained by sheer will.
This was the power of the Magu Magu no Mi a Logia ability stated in canon to possess the highest offensive power among Devil Fruits.
The air warped from heat.
The sea itself hissed.
Johnny roared and leapt, raising his massive fist, bringing it down with enough force to shatter steel.
But
The moment his fist met Sakazuki's magma
Eruption.
Boom!!!
A volcanic blast exploded outward.
Magma surged like a living tide, swallowing Johnny whole and smashing his massive body into the deck.
The wooden ship ignited instantly.
His Zoan form collapsed.
Johnny reverted back to human form, his body charred, flesh burning.
But the pain
It forced him conscious.
Barely alive.
Utterly helpless.
"Aaaaaaaah!!!!"
His scream echoed across the burning sea.
Sakazuki walked forward slowly.
Each step deliberate.
Each step final.
He grabbed Johnny by the throat and lifted him effortlessly, magma already creeping along his arm like a serpent of death.
"Three years."
"More than ten villages wiped out."
His voice was calm too calm.
"Women. Children. Burned. Slaughtered."
He stared into Johnny's fading eyes.
"Go to hell and repent."
"Trash."
The magma engulfed him.
From feet… to chest… to head.
Until
Nothing remained but a hardened, pulsating cocoon of molten rock.
Without another glance, Sakazuki turned.
He entered the ruined cabin, retrieving what little treasure remained gold, weapons, supplies and tossed them into his small vessel.
Among the items was a navigation tool consistent with Grand Line standards a Perpetual Pose, something typically used by seasoned pirates.
Clearly stolen.
Now repurposed.
He raised the sail.
And departed.
Less than a hundred meters away
The magma cocoon trembled.
Then pulsed.
Like a beating heart.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster
Bang!!!
It exploded.
Magma erupted in all directions, raining destruction upon the already ruined ship.
The hull dissolved.
The mast collapsed.
Fire devoured everything.
And slowly
The Blood Bull Pirates sank beneath the sea.
Erased.
Like countless others in this brutal world.
On his small boat, Sakazuki didn't look back.
Instead, he pulled out a stack of bounty posters.
Each marked with a bold, decisive X.
Names of pirates.
Faces of criminals.
All erased.
He flipped to the final page.
Johnny the Minotaur.
With a single stroke
X.
He tossed it aside.
"That's the last one."
He looked ahead.
"To join the Navy."
Five years ago, when Sakazuki first transmigrated into this world, he had been weak.
Fragile.
Powerless.
But now
At just twelve years old
He stood taller than most grown men.
His body hardened through relentless survival.
His will sharpened through blood.
Wearing a red coat, with a blade strapped across his back taken from a defeated pirate crew he stood at the bow like a soldier already forged by war.
He had spent three years in Goya Kingdom's outskirts, gathering intelligence.
Just like the Gray Terminal incident hinted in canon, this world was not heroic.
It was cruel.
Rotten.
Real.
"These aren't stories…"
"These pirates… slaughter entire towns."
His grip tightened.
"Killing them once isn't enough."
Over time, one belief solidified:
Dead pirates are the only good pirates.
For two years, he hunted.
One by one.
Following bounty lists.
Executing judgment.
The underworld had already begun whispering a name
"Demon."
This was before the rise of Gol D. Roger.
Before the Great Pirate Era.
Before the world descended fully into chaos.
And yet
The signs were already there.
Pirates were increasing.
Violence was spreading.
And one man alone
Could not stop it all.
"I need power."
His Devil Fruit was already formidable.
But his body had limits.
And knowledge
Was incomplete.
He understood concepts.
Like the Rokushiki.
Shave (Soru).
Geppo.
Tekkai.
Even Haki
Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki.
But understanding was not mastery.
Without instruction
They were unreachable.
"So…"
"I'll join the Navy."
"And then "
A pause.
His gaze hardened.
"Eliminate every pirate."
Half a Month Later
North Blue. Fenghua Island.
Naval Branch 194 Recruitment Office.
"Next."
"Name."
"Sakazuki."
"Age."
"…12?"
The naval clerk looked up.
His expression twitched.
This boy
No.
This monster
Was bigger than him.
"Why do you want to join the Navy?"
A faint killing intent filled the room.
Suffocating.
"To eliminate all pirates."
Silence.
"…Do you have any special skills?"
Sakazuki answered without hesitation:
"Logia-type."
"The Magma-Magma Fruit."
"Devil Fruit user."
The pen fell from the clerk's hand.
His chair scraped loudly as he stood up in shock.
"…Huh?"
"…What?!!!!!"
He stared at the boy in front of him
As if looking at something that should not