Riyuu didn't wait for the system screen to disappear.
"We can't stay here," he said quickly, grabbing Izumi's sleeve. "Come on—move."
Izumi barely had time to react before Riyuu started pulling him along, boots slipping against the ice as explosions continued to shake the battlefield. Marines rushed past them in formation, too focused on the chaos ahead to spare a glance. A cannonball slammed into the ice not far away, cracking it and sending shards skittering across the ground.
Izumi stumbled. "Riyuu—where the hell are we even going?!"
"Somewhere less open," Riyuu snapped. "Anywhere that isn't the middle of Marineford."
They ran low, instinctively hunching as if that would somehow make them harder to notice. The air was thick with smoke now, and that helped—visibility dropped, and the sounds of battle blurred together into a constant roar. Riyuu scanned the area as they moved, heart pounding, trying to remember the layout from memory rather than panic.
"This place is huge," Izumi muttered between breaths. "You sure you know where you're going?"
"No," Riyuu said honestly. "But standing still is worse."
They veered toward a cluster of broken ice formations and shattered stone near the edge of the battlefield, where the fighting thinned slightly.
A few injured soldiers were scattered around, but no one paid them any attention. Compared to the open ice behind them, it felt almost hidden.
Riyuu slid in behind a jagged slab of ice and motioned for Izumi to follow. They pressed themselves close to the frozen wall, chests heaving, ears ringing as another explosion went off somewhere behind them.
"Okay," Riyuu whispered, finally slowing his breathing. "We hide for now. We figure shit out after."
Izumi nodded, eyes still wide as he peeked out at the war raging just meters away.
"…I hate that you're right," he said.
Riyuu let out a short laugh, more breath than sound. "Yeah… welcome to my specialty."
Izumi shot him a look. "Not the time, dumbass."
Riyuu wiped his face with his sleeve, then hesitated. "Hey, uh… did you get anything weird just now? Like… a message? A screen popping up or something?"
Izumi frowned. "What? No. Nothing like that."
Riyuu blinked. "Nothing at all?"
Izumi shook his head. "It was just you dragging me across an ice battlefield like you actually know what you're doing."
Riyuu went quiet for a second, eyes unfocused as he looked straight ahead. "That's… weird."
Izumi narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"…Because I got one," Riyuu said. "Some kind of system message."
Izumi stiffened. "You serious?"
"Yeah," Riyuu replied. "It said it finished loading, then told me it gave me something."
Izumi waited. "And?"
Riyuu swallowed. "…A Devil Fruit."
Izumi's eyes widened slightly. "You're fucking with me."
"I'm not," Riyuu said. "It's called the Swap-Swap Fruit."
Izumi stared at him for a long moment, then slowly looked back out at the battlefield. "Swap?"
Riyuu glanced back at Izumi, something clicking in his head. "You watched JJK season 2, right?"
Izumi blinked. "Yeah. That's the most recent anime I've actually finished."
"Good," Riyuu said immediately.
Izumi raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"You remember Todo?" Riyuu asked. "His ability."
Izumi thought for half a second, then nodded. "Yeah. The clapping thing. Swapping places."
Riyuu exhaled slowly. "That's what I'm thinking."
Izumi turned fully toward him now. "You mean-"
"I don't know for sure," Riyuu cut in, "but the name fits too well. Swap-Swap Fruit. I think it works in a similar way. Switching positions. Me and something else. Or someone."
Izumi stared at him. "…That's broken as hell if you're right."
Riyuu didn't answer. His eyes drifted forward, unfocusing as the translucent blue screen reappeared in his vision.
A new line of text faded in beneath the previous message.
[Would you like to consume the Devil Fruit?]
Riyuu swallowed.
Riyuu took a slow breath and looked at Izumi. "Alright… I'm about to do it."
Izumi frowned. "Do what?"
"Consume it," Riyuu said. "The Devil Fruit."
Before Izumi could say anything else, Riyuu focused inward and answered yes in his mind.
The reaction was instant.
Riyuu jerked forward, coughing violently as a horrible, bitter taste exploded in his mouth out of nowhere. He gagged hard and spat onto the ice, then again, and again.
"Holy, what the fuck?!" Izumi blurted. "You didn't even eat anything!"
Riyuu bent over, hands on his knees, still spitting like his tongue had just been assaulted. "That, ugh, doesn't matter."
Izumi stared at him like he'd lost it. "What do you mean it doesn't matter?!"
Riyuu wiped his mouth with his sleeve, face twisted in disgust. "Devil Fruits taste like absolute shit. Every single one. Even though I didn't physically eat it, I still got the taste."
Izumi paused. "…You're telling me you just unlocked superpowers and the first thing that happens is your mouth gets cursed."
Riyuu groaned. "Welcome to One Piece."
Riyuu straightened slightly, then froze.
"…Oh fuck."
Izumi looked at him. "What now?"
Riyuu ran a hand through his hair, panic creeping back in. "I can't swim anymore."
Izumi blinked. "…And?"
Riyuu stared at him. "And I just lost one of the most basic survival skills in a pirate world."
Izumi tilted his head. "Riyuu."
"…What?"
"You never learned how to swim."
There was a pause.
Riyuu opened his mouth, then closed it. "…That's not the point."
Izumi snorted. "Yes it is. You lost nothing."
Riyuu clicked his tongue. "Shut up. It's still mentally damaging."
A faint blue glow flickered back into Riyuu's vision.
"…There's another message," he said.
Izumi immediately leaned closer. "Read it."
Riyuu focused, eyes moving as lines of text appeared one after another.
"Okay… uh-" He cleared his throat and read out loud.
"Swap-Swap Fruit Ability Description: The user may instantly swap positions with any object or person within their line of sight."
Izumi's eyebrows shot up. "That's insane."
Riyuu kept reading. "It says… I can only use it twice in a short period. After that, I'll feel extreme nausea. Like-" he grimaced, "-an overwhelming urge to vomit.'"
Izumi snorted. "So a two-charge panic button."
"Pretty much," Riyuu said. He lowered his head slightly, glancing out from behind the ice wall at the chaos of Marineford. "I kinda want to try it."
Izumi looked at him. "Kinda?"
"But not now," Riyuu continued. "Wasting it here would be stupid. If it really works like I think it does, it could save our asses later."
Izumi clicked his tongue in frustration and leaned back against the ice.
"Man, that's bullshit."
Riyuu glanced at him. "What?"
"You get a Devil Fruit and a system," Izumi said. "And I get nothing."
Riyuu didn't answer right away, the distant sounds of battle filling the silence between them.
Riyuu shrugged. "Tough luck."
Izumi stared at him for half a second. "…You're a piece of shit."
Before Riyuu could fire back, the air ahead of them suddenly burned.
They both looked up just in time to see a massive wave of fire tear through the battlefield.
"Hiken!"
Ace stood ahead, flames roaring from his fist as Marines were blasted away, the heat washing over the ice and sending steam spiraling into the air. The frozen ground cracked and hissed where the fire passed.
Right beside him, Luffy surged forward, his body pumping with unnatural speed.
"Gear Second—!"
His punches slammed into Marines faster than the eye could track, bodies flying as the brothers fought back-to-back through the chaos.
Izumi swallowed. "…This is actually happening."
Riyuu didn't answer.
Farther out, Whitebeard stood tall despite the damage done to him, blood staining his body as he lifted his weapon one final time. His voice thundered across the battlefield.
"A full retreat to the New World!" he roared. "I'll stay behind!"
Riyuu's chest tightened.
Pirates began pulling back, chaos erupting as Admirals moved in and the battlefield shifted again. Jinbe charged forward, guarding Luffy and Ace, while other pirates formed a desperate shield around them.
"This is where everything goes to hell..."