Before eating the fruit, he made one final decision. He pulled out his phone with shaking hands and sent a message to his now ex-wife, his fingers moving slowly across the screen as he tried to find the right words. He detailed everything that had happened—the supernatural forces at play, her sister's confession and sacrifice, the curse of bad luck, the inescapable nature of fate itself. He wanted her to understand, to know the truth of what had destroyed their marriage.
But he had to stop abruptly when he found himself putting far too much raw emotion into the message. The pain was bleeding through every sentence, making it read like the ravings of a broken man. So he forced himself to end it short, cutting off the emotional outpouring before it became too much. He hit send without rereading it, then turned his attention back to the devil fruit sitting before him, its pale white surface seeming to pulse with anticipation.
Slowly, with a sense of finality settling over him like a heavy blanket, he brought the fruit to his lips and took the first bite. The moment his teeth broke through the strange flesh, he was instantly overcome with the most profound disgust he had ever experienced in his entire life.
It was as if someone had taken the most disgusting-tasting things from across all of creation, rolled them all up into a concentrated ball of pure vileness, and forced it to touch his tongue directly. The taste was so absolutely disgusting and overwhelming that he immediately threw up, his body violently rejecting the foul substance as bile rose in his throat.
But then, in the very next instant, something changed dramatically. His mind suddenly went completely blank, as if someone had flipped a switch and turned off his consciousness. His disgust vanished into nothingness. His unwillingness and resistance evaporated like morning mist.
All of it disappeared entirely as his mind was overcome with an uncontrollable, all-consuming urge to create something, to build and design with a clarity he'd never possessed before. It was like his brain had been hijacked by an external force.
[Build the strongest devil fruit. Make sure to add weaknesses and flaws to balance the Devil Fruit out.]
That message filled his mind with crystal clarity, appearing like text written across his consciousness in glowing letters. And instantly, without hesitation or doubt, he got to work. His enhanced mind began racing at impossible speeds, picturing and conceptualizing a devil fruit that was simply too overpowered for any normal person to imagine, yet perfectly balanced through carefully designed limitations.
"The devil fruit name is Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nexus Dragon." He said with crossed arms, his voice suddenly confident and authoritative in a way it hadn't been moments before.
[You do understand Hito Hito No Mi means Human-Human Fruit, Model?]
The voice in his head questioned, seeking clarification on his seemingly contradictory choice.
"Yes, but this devil fruit would give one the qualities of a dragon slayer, thereby making them a dragon, while still being human." He explained calmly, his reasoning sound.
[Oh, interesting. What type of dragon slayer would they be?]
"This devil fruit would have stages, almost like Chopper's Devil Fruit. But it would not need drugs, but instead, one masters the devil fruit. Let's call each stage a gear." He said calmly, his mind already organizing the complex power system into distinct, manageable levels. He then held up a closed fist before him, demonstrating physically what would represent gear zero—the foundation of everything.
"At Gear Zero, it gives one the physique of a dragon slayer, along with a Saiyan. A Saiyan Dragon Slayer. It doesn't do much in this stage, but that. As for the type of Saiyan, I was thinking of Broly fused with Kale, birthing the Ultimate Saiyan. Or the perfect Saiyan dragon slayer." He said calmly, his voice taking on an almost professorial quality as he explained the intricate details.
[Can be done, although no Great App or Super Saiyan transformation until awakening]
The voice approved with a caveat, setting boundaries to maintain balance.
"Gear 1, one unlocks the first part of the Nexus Dragon Powers. That being The Limitless Dragon. The Nexus Dragon had 5 children, each of whom inherited part of its power. The first child was the Limitless Dragon. Pretty much Satoru Gojo, with a few flaws, such as…" He went on to list the specific flaws, since after all, although this would but similar to Satoru's ability, he didn't want it to be limited to Satoru's pea.
[Approved, what is the next gear?]
"Gear 2, the Nexus Heart Dragon. This dragon is pretty much Regulus. Its flaws would be…" He said calmly, continuing his breakdown of each gear, adding some flaws while giving the power the chance to grow and become far more powerful.
"Next is Gear 3, the Vector Dragon, the middle child. It's pretty much Accelerator; it should keep all of Accelerator's weaknesses,..." He again listed the weaknesses in careful detail before seamlessly moving on to describe the next gear, his creative process flowing like water, unstoppable and clear.
"Next is Gear 4, Kamui Dragon. This would be pretty much Obito, its flaws should be the same as Obito's, but…" He spoke again, his voice light as he worked through the complex power system in his mind. He paused to take a deep breath, gathering his thoughts carefully before moving on to the final and most crucial part of this creation.
"Lastly, Gear 5. The X Dragon. This would be pretty much the reality warping dragon, the strongest out of all of the Nexus Dragon children. It would be pretty much like Alien X… but that might be too overpowered." He said softly, his voice carrying a note of hesitation and concern.
[No, nothing is too overpowered. Speak it, its reality-warping power is like Alien X?]
The voice encouraged him, giving him permission to go further than he'd dared.
"Really? Then yeah, Alien X, Gremmy Thoumeaux, and even something like All Fiction. It can do anything with a thought… well, let's add a few flaws with that," He said, his confidence returning as he began working through the necessary limitations. He proceeded to carefully add specific flaws and restrictions that would prevent this ultimate power from being completely unstoppable, ensuring there were weaknesses that could be exploited by clever opponents.
"Lastly, the awakening. Where one has the full power of the Nexus Dragon, its power would be…" He went on to list it in detail, describing the culmination of all five gears combining into something transcendent. But even as the words flowed from him, he made absolutely sure to go back through the entire list mentally, reviewing everything he'd created to make certain everything was balanced and functional, that no ability contradicted another.
He found a contradiction and went on to have the Kamui dragon and the Limitless Dragon be two halves of the same. Meaning, they would be Gear 1, and he picked another Dragon to take Gear 4, which he titled the Endless Dragon.
[Perfect. Now, you may create the appearance you shall take on in your next life, along with the first name,]
The voice announced, shifting to the next phase of this supernatural process.
"I want to look like Sinbad from Magi… I guess I would go by the name Sinbad." He said without much deliberation, choosing an appearance that represented strength and charisma.
Instantly, the moment the words left his mouth, his physical appearance began to dramatically change before his very eyes. His hair transformed, growing longer and shifting to a vibrant purple color similar to Sinbad's distinctive style.
His eyes changed next, the irises becoming brilliant golden pupils that seemed to glow with inner light. His facial features reshaped themselves, becoming sharper and more refined, giving him the same striking good looks that Sinbad possessed.
A mirror suddenly materialized and appeared before him out of thin air, floating at the perfect height for him to see himself. He studied his new appearance for a long moment, examining every detail of his transformed face and hair.
He nodded slowly in approval, satisfied with the result. But then he paused, his eyes widening slightly in surprise when his appearance began to shift even further, becoming somehow more handsome and refined than he'd originally intended. His features became almost impossibly perfect, transcending even Sinbad's appearance. He instantly wanted to stop this enhancement, to protest that it was too much, but the words wouldn't come.
[Perfect.]
That single word was the last thing he heard before his entire world suddenly went blank, consciousness cutting off like a severed wire. And instantly, as if no time had passed at all, he found himself awakening within a dark cave.
His eyes snapping open to unfamiliar surroundings. He looked around with growing confusion for a moment, his newly golden eyes adjusting to the dim light as he wondered desperately what had happened to him. One moment, he had been standing in his rundown apartment eating the devil fruit, and the very next instant he had woken up here in this cold, damp cave.
He slowly sat up, his new body moving smoothly. He looked carefully at the animal skin that was being used as a blanket covering him, or the cold traces of a long-dead campfire near the cave entrance. Everything around him showed clear evidence that he had most likely taken over the body of someone who had been living here alone in this cave for some time.
But those analytical thoughts flew completely out of the window and scattered like leaves as the memories suddenly came rushing back to him in an overwhelming flood. He remembered everything now with perfect clarity—he had reincarnated into this new world, and had only just now awakened his past life memories.
The sudden influx of information from his previous existence had completely overwhelmed and buried this current life's original memories beneath the weight of his former self.
Suddenly, without warning, a vivid memory hit him like a physical blow to his chest. A memory from just a few days ago in this world, crystal clear and emotionally devastating. A memory where he had stood helplessly before his dying mother in this very cave, watching her life fade away.
"Today, and tomorrow, our dreams through the night!
Waving our goodbyes, we'll never meet again!
But don't look so down, For tomorrow night the moon will also rise!" A purple-haired woman had said with a loving smile that remained bright even as death approached. She slowly closed her eyes for the final time. All while he had looked at her with tears streaming down his young face, helpless to save her.