Lili was a curious woman. Even in the adversities, she didn't give up reading and satiating her hunger for knowledge.
Often, away from the eyes of the others, she would read aside the tree which everyone avoided.
"Hey,"
And Lili had a tendency to ask the tree, even if she knew it wouldn't reply,
"Do you think peace will ever come?"
Flipping through a page, she muttered,
"The day where I can read carefree, without needing to worry about what to eat a day after..."
'In the first place... why do humans fight?'
And that's what the tree thought.
'Is it impossible to live in harmony?'
Then, one day,
"P-Princess... forgive us...!"
The group of civilians, those who were starving and suffering, were surrounding Lili with sharp tools in their hands.
Lili, cornered to the tree, looked back at them with a pale expression.
"The bounty on your head... we need it to live on!!"
Lili took another step back and had her back stuck against the tree's trunk.
'I have to do something!!'
Thought the tree as it watched this event unfold right in front of him.
'I need to help Lili somehow!!'
As if reflecting his utmost desire to save Lili, something unexpected happened at the last moment.
On this creepy-looking tree where not even a single leaf grew, a fruit, one with a strange appearance, grew.
"That's...!"
Lili's eyes widened as she, along with others sighted the sudden growth of the fruit,
"Devil Fruit... so the Fable Kingdom's renowned project succeeded?!"
Having read a great degree about the Devil Fruits, Lili immediately recognized one.
Before anyone could react, Lili grabbed the fruit and took a bite out of it.
And a moment after, the civilians were found neutralized. With their bodies laid on the ground powerlessly, they helplessly gazed at numerous hearts in front of them, ones that were encased by the cubic-shaped and transparent matter.
"Huff... huff... this power is..."
Lili stared at her shaky hands.
The civilians shrieked for mercy,
"P-Please forgive us, princess!!"
"We promise to never do this again!!"
Watching as they pleaded, the tree felt something. Unconsciously, it thought,
'Disgusting...'
That day was the day in which its thoughts were confirmed.
Excluding Lili, all other humans were flawed.
They were no different from bugs who attempted to gnaw him from the inside.
"Everyone!!"
Then, Lili spoke with tears in her eyes.
"We are sorry... for our uselessness!"
She fell to her knees, much to others' surprise.
"Our people are starving, and there is nothing we can do! My father considered the option of yielding to the rule of Fable Kingdom in hopes that our lives would get better, but..."
She cried in honesty, conveying her sadness.
"The other kingdoms, ones that met their end after their surrender speak otherwise!! There is no point in yielding to the Fable Kingdom, because one way or another, they will seek for our annihilation!!"
The Kingdom of Fable was a kingdom of giants. They, towering over hundreds of humans, were so strong and mighty that no others could hope to oppose.
And, there were the royalties of such a kingdom—those whose physiques were a level above that of giants.
Though not as big, their strength, with muscles that are much denser than an average human, was able to match that of giants. Furthermore, the durability of their bodies was uncharted; no weapons were said to be able to damage them, up until now.
They, the current rulers of the Fable Kingdom, were termed the Buccaneers.
They adopted the ideal of D, D for a devil.
Devil, as in opposing the very nature itself. They believed that in order to surpass the limits and break free, they first needed to stand on the very top of the world, as rulers who oversaw everything.
Lili's sorrow was born out of such an era.
Her hunger for knowledge was one thing, but the reason why she read and read more, was to attain a sliver of information that may become a hope to her people.
Upon her truthful words, the people's minds moved. They lamented on their lives, as well as their cruel actions of attempting to kill their own princess. The pitiful, disgusting gleams in their eyes disappeared, much to the tree's bewilderment.
'Lili...'
The tree thought to himself,
'Humans are flawed. However, you are perfect, Lili.'
It concluded,
'They need someone, someone perfect to rule them. They need to be chained and controlled, such that they won't act out of their useless and disgusting minds.
The world in order, the world in peace...'
The tree wished to help Lili in achieving such a world.
However, what could it do? It was just a tree, unable to move from its spot.
And so, nothing was going to change. The lives will simply continue this way, and the tree, be it whatever happens to Lili, will be forced to watch and sit helplessly,
unless...
...On another day, a second fruit grew out of its branch.
The fruit, bizarre and repulsive in appearance, resembled the tree of the one that Lili ate.
As the wind blew, it fell to the ground. Due to its softness, the fruit was mashed, and its juice, leaking out of it, sank into the ground.
It reached the root of the tree.
The tree's vision shifted. Its form morphed—into a form that can move. A form lighter. A form which he's seen for numerous years—
—the form that resembled a human, although it was more akin to that of a wooden doll.
"...A perfect being, one who rules above people."
And this being knew that this event was meant to be a destiny.
__________
Years passed by. Numerous kingdoms fell, and the remaining ones were forced to resist the Fable Kingdom out of desperation.
And the number one hero of the Fable Kingdom, the warrior who always stood at the frontline of the battlefield, bringing victories to the kingdom, was none other than the giant named Jaguar D. Binks.
He slayed countless, and his hands were stained with blood.
"You have done well, soldier."
The king, Rocks D. Zachs, stated. And Binks was rewarded,
"As the renowned one in our kingdom... I have deemed that you are worthy of our kingdom's national treasure."
A chest was presented in front of Binks. Upon opening, there lied... a Devil Fruit.
To be more specific,
"Human Human fruit, model: Sun God Nika."
It was the legendary fruit, one of the original three. It wasn't one of those that were recently developed by the scientists of the kingdom.
"Consume it."
And instead of eating it himself, Rocks D. Zachs was gifting it to Binks.
"Pave the path for the glory of our kingdom. Continue forth, soldier."
Binks took a bite out of it and endured its taste—
—and he woke up in a lab, fully immobilized by the seastone tools.
"WHAT IS THIS?!!"
Binks roared, but no researchers replied to him. Day after day, they conducted many gruesome experiments on him, ones that were strong enough to be considered torture.
"Kekekeke... do you know why you ended up like this, Binks?"
One day, a scientist whispered to him,
"It's because you were gaining more fame than the king! You, having become so popular among people, were beginning to threaten his throne!"
Though he was a killer, he did nothing against his kingdom. Yet, this was the treatment that he received.
Binks felt as if his entire life was denied.
His achievements, his endeavours, everything that he did for the kingdom—what for?
'...I want to break free.'
And that's when he began to yearn for the freedom.
'To travel across this world, to explore the vast sea...'
BOOM!
The lab was broken open, and the giants, ones who followed Binks, revealed themselves.
"CAPTAIN!!!"
One giant cried in tears as he found the state which Binks was in,
"Everything will be okay now!! We are here!! Let's get out of here!!"
The giants, taking Binks with them, ran away. Boarding the ship that they prepared in advance, they left the kingdom, toward who-knows-where.
"...What? Ran away?"
Zachs, upon receiving the news growled.
The bounties were placed on the heads of those giants. And above all,
*'Traitor' Jaguar D. Binks. Wanted Dead or Alive. 6,000,000,000 Beli.*
The world's first pirate was born.
"What now, captain?"
One giant asked. Binks, staring at his bounty poster, eventually said,
"...We go on an adventure."
He smiled weakly,
"There must be others, those who were entrapped like me. We will give them the freedom that they deserve."
Hence, the Giant Warrior Pirates were born.
__________
"""Imu-sama!!"""
The being formed from the tree, after years had passed, now stood as the king of a kingdom.
It wasn't a hard feat. The being simply killed the king named Nerona Imu and impersonated him.
With his mystical powers, he summoned a countless number of ferocious creatures and fended off the advances of giants.
The nigh-dead kingdom has been revived, and the people praised this being, now Imu, as something more than a king—as a god.
Imu, he walked and enjoyed the glory that he deserved. Walking up and sitting atop the throne, he asked,
"What did the other kingdoms say?"
The nineteen people, those who were sent to nineteen separate kingdoms as a delegation, were currently kneeling in front of him.
"The kingdom of Alabasta,"
"The kingdom of Dressrosa,"
"The kingdom of..."
One by one, they reported,
"""Have accepted upon the propose of unification to fight the Fable Kingdom!"""
Imu simply lifted the chalice containing a wine and sipped on it in a celebratory manner.
"Prepare an army."
He then ordered.
"We will be heading to the nest of Lunarians, the greatest allies of the Fable Kingdom. Then, the world's first conference shall be held,"
His eyes gleamed in crimson,
"at the peak of the world."
The army marched forth.
Though the Lunarians of mystical power were ferocious, and none of the army was able to withstand them, there stood Nerona Imu, their king, their god.
The thousands of demons were poured out against them. Though the Lunarians fought ferociously, they weren't able to resist the calamity named Nerona Imu.
And finally, on the bloody Red Line, Imu stood.
__________
"Listen, Zunesha. The situation is escalating. The huge war between the Fable Kingdom and the newly established 'World Government' is about to break out."
Binks was speaking at the gargantuan elephant whose legs were long enough to allow him to stand on the water, Zunesha.
"In this situation, whose mad lads of Fable Kingdom developed that accursed ship, Pluton."
Binks growled,
"There will be many deaths in this state. The war must be stopped!"
Binks looked at Zunesha's back, where one huge machine was strapped to it.
"At the very least, we managed to steal that thing, one that they called 'Uranus'. Zunesha, I need you to deliver this to Twin Cape under the Reverse Mountain, to a person named Eustass."
"Reverse Mountain? Twin Capes? I don't recognize that, Joy Boy."
"It's beside the Red Line, the huge red wall that separates the sea. Do you recall it now?"
"Ah, I see! Yeah, I know where that place is!"
Binks patted Zunesha,
"I will leave it to you then."
"Yeah! Leave it to me!"
Watching as Zunesha was getting further away from them, one of the giants asked Bink,
"...Captain."
"I know."
Binks nodded,
"The biggest limitation of those weapons is the sheer amount of energy that it requires. And..."
He touched his chest and felt the beat of his heart,
"...the world's greatest source of energy belongs here."
The chase of the Fable Kingdom was getting more and more intense, especially since the development of Pluton.
"And, regardless of me, the kingdom will be able to operate Pluton once. That once will be enough to bring mass destruction... we cannot allow that to happen."
Binks said in conviction,
"After all, we promised Lili, didn't we?"
The giants grinned and nodded knowingly.
"We will head to the war. However, just before that,"
Binks clenched his hands,
"we will have to account for the worst-case scenario."
__________
On one island, unknown by any other, Binks stood in silence.
"...Seems that I won't be able to keep my promise."
Uranus went into the hands of the World Government.
A distraction would be required to steal two weapons of mass destruction before they are used.
However, at the same time, Binks's heart was the greatest key to using them without any limits. After all, the heart of Sun God Nika granted the boundless, infinite energy.
On his hand, Binks was holding onto what appeared to be a metallic tool, one that resembled a heart.
"...Are you sure about this, Binks?"
By his side stood the woman of blue hair, the human who was much shorter than him: Nefertari D. Lili.
"It may not be necessary. It—"
"A month after,"
Binks said in certitude,
"I will be dead. However, this heart of mine... I know that it won't stop beating even after my death. Until the next user of this fruit fully resonates with it, this heart will remain beating, and it won't be destroyed no matter what method we resort to."
Closing his eyes, Binks requested,
"Do it for me, Lili."
The Op Op fruit was put into the operation. His huge heart, as bright as the sun, was replaced with a metallic one.
The heart was placed within the island, the island where Binks believed that no one would find it.
"But if someone were to find it..."
Binks wrote down a message on the first page of the book,
*If you aren't the owner of Human Human fruit, model: Nika, then fuck off. This heart is meant to achieve space travel, not some world domination shit.
If your name starts with Rocks, then fuck off twice. If you laugh somewhat similar to 'zahahaha', fuck off thrice.*
He chuckled, knowing that this message won't mean anything.
Nonetheless, he walked away in satisfaction with Lili by his side, fully ready for his final war.