"Damn you, River Deity! I crossed over into One Piece expecting beauties and riches, and here I am, stuck on a deserted island. You really screwed me over!"
Only the mocking caws of seagulls answered him.
The forest rustled ominously. Rhett's hair stood on end as his Observation Haki screamed warnings.
Instinctively, he activated his ability. White mist began to coalesce around him, forming a thin barrier.
The Mist-Mist Fruit... surely it's more than just spitting smoke bombs? Rhett stared at his semi-transparent arm, trying to recall the original user's fighting style.
The original user had just charged around as smoke, occasionally using a Seastone jutte to ambush people—so crude. Rhett refused such a tasteless approach.
Suddenly, the bushes parted, and a wild boar nearly two meters tall charged out.
"What the hell! Are even the wild animals in this world on steroids?" Rhett rolled out of the way, his back slamming against a coconut tree. Armament Haki instinctively coated his right hand, but it was as thin as black stockings.
That's what I'm thinking. He couldn't rely solely on elementalization. Though he didn't know what era he was in, over-relying on it would make him vulnerable against Armament Haki users. Strength comes from within.
The boar turned, its hooves digging into the ground. Rhett noticed its wet snout—all mammals rely on their sense of smell...
"Got it!" He unleashed a dense fog, not just obscuring vision. Fine droplets infiltrated the boar's nostrils, disrupting its scent perception. Notably, Rhett could control the mist's acidity. The beast shook its head in confusion, its charge becoming erratic.
Rhett seized the chance to climb the coconut tree, his heart pounding. How could his Logia Fruit be just about smoke... the essence of mist is suspended water droplets!
Disrupt your pH balance, and you'll explode.
If the River Deity can traverse the river of time, it's only logical that the fruit he gave me controls mist. So, mixing in some extras shouldn't be a problem—acidic mist, alkaline mist.
Your skin might handle it, but your organs won't.
The boar angrily rammed the tree. Rhett nearly fell as the coconut tree shook violently.
Gritting his teeth, Rhett compressed the mist into the boar's body, altering its internal water and pH balance.
"As a living being, you can't defy the laws of nature—explode!"
As he exerted himself, Rhett felt dizzy. The stamina drain was far greater than expected. Even with monstrous stamina, it wasn't enough. It was more accurate to say the monster's growth rate was higher, though its starting point was elevated.
The boar staggered, clearly severely injured. This attack drained more stamina than forming water blades.
"Damn, you're tanky as hell. Does everyone in One Piece have insane health pools? You're not even human! Why are you trying so hard? Just die already!"
Rhett's Conqueror's Haki, boosted by his rising stamina, barely managed a pulse. The boar staggered back as if hit by an invisible hammer, but the effect lasted only three seconds, enraging it further.
"Damn it! This Conqueror's Haki is less useful than a fart!" Rhett watched the boar prepare its final charge.
"My God, are you really trying to kill me?"
With elementalization as a backup, Rhett wasn't panicked.
Just then, he noticed the sunlight refracting through the mist. A crazy idea flashed—what if he precisely controlled the mist's density...
As the boar charged again, Rhett poured all his stamina into his ability. The mist twisted in the sunlight, suddenly forming seven illusory Rhetts, disrupting the boar's sense of smell. The beast skidded to a halt, its tusks piercing only air.
"Mist Style: Mirage!"
The real Rhett leapt from the side, his Armament Haki-coated fist slamming into the boar's temple. The monster howled and fell. Rhett seized the moment, grabbing a sharp piece of coral and driving it into the boar's eye socket with all his weight.
When the beast finally stopped struggling, Rhett collapsed in a pool of blood, gasping for air. The mist dissipated, revealing his pale, triumphant grin.
"The forum bros weren't lying... you really need to get creative with Logia Fruits. The name I just came up with sounds badass."
He suddenly coughed violently, spotting blood in his palm. The backlash from overusing his ability had begun. This sucked—what's the point of having stamina if my body's still weak?
Rhett realized the monster's stamina was a passive that could grow. If his current stamina (let's call it his "mana pool") was 20, this passive would regenerate 2 points. If he exceeded the regeneration rate, he'd feel exhausted over time.
If he used 21 points at once, he'd get hurt. This passive grew faster than his physical strength—a high-capacity battery. In the future, even Kaido, the world's strongest creature, might pale in comparison, with him regenerating faster than he could deplete.
But more terrifying was the responding howl from deep in the forest—wild boars were pack animals.
By nightfall, in his makeshift treehouse, Rhett reviewed the day's gains.
Today's loot included boar meat, tusks, and a crucial discovery: his Mist-Mist Fruit could manipulate light refraction, even briefly altering local air density to create "illusions." Rhett had a hunch that, when fully developed, it might even block Observation Haki.
"Rhett, that brute, doesn't understand science." He sketched diagrams on bark with charcoal. "High-pressure mist can form cutting beams, low-temperature zones can create ice fog, and acid-alkali traps... good thing I've watched a lot of anime. I'll just borrow ideas..."
A branch snapped in the distance. Rhett extinguished the campfire, dispersing mist around the treehouse as an alarm system. Though unstable, his Conqueror's Haki combined with Observation Haki could vaguely sense life forms—at least three heat sources were approaching.
"Looks like I'll have to test that move earlier than planned..."
He quietly climbed down, setting mist traps along the path. When the first boar triggered a "mine," concentrated alkaline droplets burned its respiratory tract, driving it mad.
Animals are just animals.
The second boar, misled by refracted light, crashed into sharp stakes, but its thick hide minimized the damage.
The third, however, inexplicably turned on its companions. Wild boars charged—don't blame me for being ruthless.
"Mist can refract light. In my domain, your eyes will deceive you." Rhett wiped the blood from his nose in the shadows. His body was still too weak.
In Rhett's dense fog, the boars saw his projections, while their companions stood behind the illusions. Rhett was now a ghost in the mist.
In card games, you need to clear the field to play.
Now, Rhett had two paths: further develop his Devil Fruit or learn more lethal weapons. Without training methods, the three types of Haki would have to wait. Of course, this answer meant nothing until he found someone.
Moreover, Rhett faced a stark reality—he was trapped on this island. Even if he built a ship, he couldn't leave without a Log Pose. He could only wait for someone to arrive and take him away. That's why he was desperately improving his strength—not just to avoid being passive in future events, but also because, like Confucius' disciples, if virtue couldn't persuade you to take him, he knew some martial arts to teach you manners.
What Rhett truly wanted was to join Monkey D. Luffy's crew—carefree, no need for constant battles, just lounging and being carried to victory. Rhett would be the MVP, while Monkey D. Luffy lounged as the carried winner.