"Pi—pirates! Pirates have landed!"
"Run! Those damned pirates are back again!!"
North Blue, northern border of the Lvneel Kingdom, Adventure Town.
Inside the Lemon Tavern.
"I'm telling you, Lan."
Behind the bar, the middle-aged woman with a face full of wrinkles acted as if she hadn't heard anything and continued to wipe the wine glass in her hand.
"The money you've deposited here for drinks is almost gone."
"If you really can't find any valuable pirates, changing careers and becoming a pirate yourself to rob people might actually make you rich."
"Pirates? That kind of troublesome business, whoever wants to do it can go ahead."
Leaning against the bar, the Mink man raised his left hand, revealing soft, pink paw pads.
"As long as I have my paw pads and alcohol, I can keep living. King of the Pirates and all that doesn't suit me at all."
"If the money runs out, I'll just go catch pirates again to exchange for cash."
Seeing him behave like this, Lillian didn't say anything more.
Lan continued to drink absentmindedly.
This was the thirtieth year since he had transmigrated into the world of One Piece and become a mixed-blood Mink.
No golden finger, no system.
The only gift, perhaps, was his parents in this life. This rare family bond made Lan, an orphan in his previous life, extremely happy.
But everything was shattered when he was ten years old.
Twenty years ago, the Great Pirate Age, initiated by the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger, destroyed everything.
Crazed pirates invaded their village.
Because of the rarity of the Mink Tribe, the price of such slaves remained exorbitantly high on the black market.
Lan's family, living in the North Blue, naturally became a get-rich target.
Even after twenty years had passed, Lan still remembered that night filled with shrill laughter and the stench of blood.
"Blow out the candles. After your birthday, you have to pull yourself together."
Looking at the cupcake Lillian handed over, Lan curled his lips and casually blew out the candle.
At the moment the flame went out, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Successfully lived to thirty years old, achieved the 5-Star Milestone]
[Living to 30 as a White Tiger Mink, obtained the 5-Star Reward: Devil Fruit (random)]
[Distributing Reward... Obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit]
Staring at the Devil Fruit that appeared out of thin air in a large wine glass, Lan fell silent.
A hallucination?
He opened his mouth and poured both the Devil Fruit and the alcohol into it.
When that sour, rotten-rag-like stench of over-fermentation exploded inside his mouth, Lan belatedly realized it wasn't that he was drunk; it was the late arrival of the system!
Wait!
Transmigrator benefits?!
I'm already thirty, and you damn thing only shows up now?!
[First time consuming a Devil Fruit, achieved 1-Star Milestone]
[No longer human, obtained the 1-Star Reward: Positive-Energy Chicken Soup]
[If one never sees one's own prime within their lifetime, wouldn't that mean living in vain?]
As he drank the Positive-Energy Chicken Soup, his groggy mind instantly cleared.
Looking at the panel that suddenly popped up before him, Lan straightened his posture.
[Name: Lan]
[Age: 30]
[Height: 555 cm]
[Race: White Tiger Mink (Mixed-blood, 45% human blood)]
[Affiliation: Bounty Hunter, Zou]
[Legendary Rating: 1 (Created the North Blue's Thousand-Kill record, known as the Butcher of the North Blue)]
[Abilities: Dark-Dark Fruit, Haki (Observation, Armament), Electro]
[Electro: Inherited techniques from the Mink Tribe.
1. As a Mink, you can generate powerful electric shocks by rubbing your fur and enter the Sulong Form during the full moon.
2. As a Feline Mink, your innate senses are stronger than those of other races, and the noise generated during movement is reduced.
3. As a White Tiger Mink, your strength and speed surpass those of the other Mink.]
[Dark-Dark Fruit: A Devil Fruit with extremely strong development potential!]
[Current trait: Judgment]
[Judgment: The Dark-Dark Fruit is the nemesis of all Devil Fruit users. When you touch a target, it will cause the user's Devil Fruit ability to temporarily become ineffective.]
Looking at the panel, Lan's expression was complicated.
"Damn, thirty years old."
At that moment, an explosion from outside interrupted Lan's thoughts.
The tavern door was kicked open from the outside, and a burly man over three meters tall led his men into the shop.
"I'm the great pirate Alvin, with a bounty of 2.14 million belly!"
"I heard there's a Mink around here. Behave yourself and come with me, and I'll help you find a good master!"
"Gahahahaha!"
Putting away the panel, Lan looked at the pirates entering the door while using his extended claws to pick fruit pulp residue from between his teeth, his expression gaining a hint of impatience.
"Uh… I'm currently at the most important turning point of my life."
"If you're going to rob the place, could you please come back in half an hour..."
"Bang!!"
A bullet flew past Lan's ear.
"Gahahaha, you're right, Kid!"
Alvin put away his pisto while maintaining that strange grin.
"In one hour, you'll become my personal slave! This really is a turning point in your life!"
The pirates following behind Alvin burst into loud laughter.
"The captain is right. A Mink slave with such an appearance will definitely sell for a high price!"
"Come with us obediently, or we'll slaughter all the residents of this town!"
Lan sighed and slowly stood up.
His massive body, towering nearly five meters tall, instantly cut off the pirates' clamor.
"Everyone of you is talking big nonsense."
"You think being tall makes you amazing? We have a full fifty men!"
The pirates crowded into the room, raised their guns, and shouted: "The advantage is ours! Charge!"
Alvin twisted his neck, then his body rapidly underwent a transformation.
In just a few seconds, his height shot up from three meters to the same five meters as Lan's.
His legs bent backward, bulging muscles tore through his clothing, and black, hardened spiny fur displayed the unique defense of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit.
"I remember who you are now, Lan, the Butcher of the North Blue."
"I even thought about inviting you to join my pirate crew before..."
"Enough nonsense."
Lan tried to mobilize the omnipresent darkness within his body. As his focus intensified, specks of black particles surged out from deep within his muscles, and his entire right arm gradually transformed into a tide of black smoke.