Three days have passed since Quentin Seven was stranded on this island.
The island turned out to be very small; its total area was probably no larger than the combined size of two districts in his previous life. In a short time, Seven had explored every corner of it, mapping out the locations of freshwater sources and identifying the gathering spots of wild animals.
His original clothes, dirty and torn, were now drying on a tree branch. Instead, he wore a simple cloak roughly sewn from leopard and bear skins, making him look like a handsome caveman.
How could a modern human defeat a bear and a leopard so easily?
It happened on the very first day. As he tried to meditate and focus his mind, mimicking the method he'd read about in a novel regarding the Hydrogen God King, an absurd miracle occurred. In the midst of his meditation, he accidentally triggered a surge of hot energy from within his body, rushing powerfully into both his hands. A moment later, the skin on his arms turned pitch black, emitting a metallic sheen as hard as steel.
Weapon Haki.
As an otaku who spent a lot of time reading manga, there was no way he could mistake it. As soon as he saw his blackened fists, Seven immediately concluded one truth: he was in the Pirate World!
Realizing he possessed Haki, Seven's courage surged dramatically. Armed with his fists, he strutted around the island like a market thug, challenging and mercilessly defeating every wild beast in his path. By the second day, he was officially crowned the apex predator of that small island.
However, the real surprise came this morning as he climbed the peak of a small mountain in the center of the island. There, he not only saw a flock of newspaper-delivering seagulls flying by, but in the distant waters, a giant sea monster—exactly like the Sea King in Windmill Village—appeared briefly before diving back down.
And most importantly, in a cave niche at the mountain's peak, he discovered a treasure.
Now, sitting cross-legged atop his treehouse, Seven stared intently at two strange fruits lying on a banana leaf before him. The first fruit was pure white with a distinctive swirl pattern, and strangely, it had protrusions resembling small wings. The second fruit was moss-green, hard, with a pattern forming a turtle shell motif.
"Devil Fruit…" Seven muttered, swallowing hard.
His heart was pounding, but there was great hesitation in his eyes. On one hand, the Devil Fruit was a shortcut to the pinnacle of power in these seas. On the other hand, the curse of being unable to swim and the weakness against Sea Stones were incredibly troublesome.
"Besides, how am I supposed to know if this fruit is powerful or not? What if it's just an ordinary Zoan? Am I supposed to turn into an alpaca? That would ruin my image!" Seven grumbled, ruffling his hair.
He sighed in frustration, staring at the leafy ceiling of his tree house. "This is totally unfair. In the novels I've read, senior time travelers are usually greeted by a 'Ding!' sound and then get an overpowered System. Or at least they get a Template System that can combine character powers. Me? I've been calling out to gods, systems, admins, even angels in my head since yesterday… and nothing!"
Despite his complaints, his right hand slowly reached out toward the white, winged Devil Fruit. He intended to take the risk. Better to have strange powers than to be killed by passing pirates.
Just as the tip of his finger was about to touch the fruit's skin, a voice echoed deep within his mind. It was ancient, heavy, and filled with authority.
"Don't eat it."
Seven jumped in surprise, his hand freezing mid-air.
"Place your right palm directly over the fruit. Don't chew it, don't swallow it. Let the essence of that strange fruit… flow and become a part of you."
Seven's eyes lit up. "System?! You finally showed up! Haha, I knew I couldn't possibly be left behind like that!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Seven followed the mysterious voice's instructions. He opened his right palm and positioned it just an inch above the white-winged Devil Fruit.
Suddenly, an overwhelmingly intense wave of drowsiness slammed into his brain like a sledgehammer. His consciousness snapped. However, in the split second before his eyes closed tightly, his irises transformed. His normal black eyes were replaced by a glowing, deep purple, adorned with circular ripples and nine black tomoe spinning in sync.
Then, Seven collapsed, falling unconscious onto the wooden floor.
Though the man's body was unconscious, the miracle was only just beginning. The white, winged Devil Fruit beneath his hand suddenly emitted a blinding light. The fruit's skin peeled away into a dust of light, releasing the soul that had been sealed within it all this time.
ROAARRR!!!
A beast's roar shook the entire island. A whirlwind erupted from the treehouse, sweeping up leaves and snapping branches. Storm clouds suddenly gathered over the small island, accompanied by flashes of lightning striking the ocean.
From within the light of the Devil Fruit, a gigantic projection of a majestic white tiger emerged. Its icy blue eyes radiated arrogance. A storm swirled around its claws, while lightning crackled along its white fur.
This was the soul of the Mythological Zoan Devil Fruit: Byakko, the White Tiger, ruler of wind and lightning.
The White Tiger's spirit lowered its head, gazing at Seven's helpless, sprawled body. It opened its jaws filled with energy fangs, intending to devour this weak human soul to take over his body or simply escape to the outside world.
However, just as the White Tiger's fangs were an inch away from Seven's body… it froze.
Its aura of wind and lightning instantly faded. The once-haughty icy blue eyes now shrank, filled with an anxiety that could not be expressed in words.
In the spiritual realm within that seemingly weak human body, the White Tiger did not see an ordinary human soul. It saw a bottomless abyss. And from within that dark abyss, nine pairs of gigantic eyes opened simultaneously, staring straight at it with a pressure that caused the spiritual dimension to crack.
Nine silhouettes of colossal monsters stood towering high. Some had a single tail, while the largest possessed nine tails swaying like pillars supporting the sky. The murderous intent and concentrated pure energy of those nine beings made the White Tiger's soul feel like a mouse thrown into a pack of cats.
In desperation, the White Tiger was dragged into the vortex of suction in Seven's palm.
Before his consciousness completely vanished to be broken down into raw energy, the White Tiger's soul growled in deep resignation and fear.
"H-how is this possible... What kind of monster is hiding inside this human body?! Damn it... before my existence is erased, I can only hope... that this man can bear the Prophecy!"
Wush.
The White Tiger's soul was completely sucked into Seven's palm, leaving no trace. The storm clouds in the sky instantly faded, the wind subsided, and the lightning vanished, restoring the night to a peaceful silence as if nothing had ever happened.
On the bed of banana leaves, the winged white Devil Fruit had turned to ash, blown away by the night breeze, merging with nature.
Meanwhile, on the floor of the treehouse, Seven was still fast asleep, completely unaware that his body had just "consumed" one of the powers of the Mythological Zoan Devil Fruit, which was now beginning to repair the seals within him, one by one.