In the year 1503 of the Sea Calendar, in the first half of the Grand Line.
On the blue sea, there was a small island of a dozen square kilometers.
The moist sea breeze blew in from the ocean, swirling into the dense forest and rustling the leaves.
Seagulls landed on the beach, flapping their wings and chirping sweetly.
A silver - haired teenage boy, around fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a blue suit, with a somewhat innocent yet extremely handsome face, lay on his back on the beach with his eyes closed, letting the tide wash over his body.
In the sky, the sun's rays grew hotter, gradually warming up the sand.
The silver - haired boy groaned softly, propping his forehead with one hand and supporting his upper body with the other as he slowly got up.
"Where am I...? The sea...!?
Wasn't I supposed to be saving patients in the inland earthquake - stricken area...!?"
The boy opened his sapphire - blue eyes and looked around blankly. When he saw his slightly slender and fair hands, he couldn't help but be stunned.
These definitely weren't the hands of a twenty - six - year - old man...
This wasn't his original body!
When he tried to recall what had happened to him, a strange set of memories quickly emerged...
In the thunder and lightning, during a violent storm, a pirate ship flying a black skull flag launched an attack on the large tourist sailing ship where the boy was.
Hundreds of pirates, armed and grinning menacingly, rushed onto the deck of the sailing ship. The leader was a six - meter - tall fat man with a golden braid.
They indulged their twisted desires wantonly, killing and looting... There were the cries and screams of women, and the moans and howls of men.
On the sailing ship filled with panic and fear, the silver - haired boy's father wanted to create a chance for his son to escape. At the cost of being stabbed several times, he killed a pirate and grabbed a lifebuoy for his son.
At the moment when he put the lifebuoy around his son's body, the boy's father was stabbed through the chest from behind by a pirate.
The father, using his last bit of strength, threw the crying boy into the turbulent sea...
"Karl D. Sephiroth..."
The silver - haired boy murmured softly, uttering the name of this slender body.
Strangely... tears welled up in his eyes and flowed down.
Although he, with the memories of another adult, didn't feel much sadness in his heart, the tears just wouldn't stop.
If there was any emotion, it was sympathy for the original owner.
Maybe this was an instinctive reaction of the body...?
After a while, the strange emotions on his body gradually disappeared.
"Alright! Since I've taken over your body, I'll live as you!
I'll definitely avenge you...
But this world... Gol D. Roger... the Pirate King...?"
After Sephiroth roughly sorted out all the memories of this body, a faint bitter smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
It was now the year 1503 in the Sea Calendar (Note: "Sea Calendar" is a unique time - reckoning system in this story world), the fifth year after Roger was executed and the Great Age of Discovery officially began.
In the future, this world would become even more chaotic. Those without powerful strength probably wouldn't even be able to protect themselves, just like the young boy and his father...
"The flag of that pirates' ship that attacked the tourist sailing boat... Why do I think it looks a bit familiar..."
"The black flag had an eight - character symbol behind the horned skull..."
The intense hunger in his abdomen and his weak, powerless limbs made Sephiroth stop thinking further.
His top priority now was to find something to eat to fill his stomach and regain his strength.
Sephiroth took out the silver pocket watch from his coat pocket and checked the time. He found out that it was a little past ten in the morning.
Then, he stood on the beach and looked around. Finally, he decided to go into the woods on the island to take his chances and look for something edible.
Although there were seagulls on the beach, he was so weak now that he was almost out of the strength to walk. Throwing stones at seagulls for their meat was something he just didn't have the energy for and didn't want to waste his efforts on.
How about fishing in the sea...?
It was embarrassing to say, but in his previous life, he was a landlubber. He didn't have the confidence to catch fish in the shallow water while dragging his weak and exhausted body.
Sephiroth's somewhat slender body shuttled through the damp and dense forest.
Although he was wearing small leather shoes on his feet, he still paid great attention to where he stepped when walking.
After all, if a thorn or a pothole suddenly appeared, he would surely be in trouble.
He didn't know how long he had walked in the forest when he finally saw a small fruit tree with several green wild fruits on it.
Sephiroth excitedly ran over, wanting to pick the wild fruits to satisfy his hunger.
Suddenly!
When he ran under the fruit tree, his eyes inadvertently glanced into the grass beside it, and he saw a round fruit with a purple - red skin covered with spiral patterns lying there.
The treasure of the sea - the Devil Fruit!
At the sight of this, Sephiroth's breathing instantly quickened.
He took a few quick steps and picked up the purple - red fruit in his hands.
If his memory served him right, the full name of this fruit should be...
The Zoan - type Mythical - Beast - class Bat Fruit, Vampire Form!
As long as one ate this Devil Fruit, they could gain eternal life and youth by sucking blood.
But... Why was this fruit here? Shouldn't it be hidden in Sleeping Ancient Town?
Stranded on a deserted island and with no means to protect himself, Sephiroth didn't want to think deeply about the reason anymore. He directly brought the Vampire Fruit to his mouth and took big bites, peel and all, and swallowed it into his stomach.
He didn't dare to chew the fruit slowly, nor did he dare to think about what it actually tasted like...
Previously, he had heard an unreliable claim. It said that although one bite of a Devil Fruit was enough to gain its power, eating the whole fruit could enhance the initial level of fruit development.
Sephiroth didn't know if this claim was true, but in order to improve his strength as soon as possible, he forced himself to stuff the entire fruit, except for the stem, into his stomach.
Finally...
The silver - haired teenager couldn't stand the explosive taste on his taste buds any longer. He propped his hands on the ground and vomited violently. His stomach convulsed painfully.
"Ugh~!..."
The extremely disgusting taste of the Devil Fruit made him never want to try it again in his life.
He even thought that compared to the taste of the Devil Fruit, the so - called 'dark cuisine' from his previous life was a piece of cake.
After retching for a while without throwing up anything, Sephiroth's already extremely weak body couldn't hold on anymore.
Plop!
The slightly frail body of the silver - haired teenager collapsed onto the grass. He passed out again...
He didn't know how much time had passed...
Three men appeared in the woods, carrying barrels full of fresh water. When they saw the silver - haired teenager lying on the grass, they all ran over.
"Hey! There's a boy here, but this is supposed to be an uninhabited island, how strange!"
"Why is he lying on the ground?"
"Judging from his physical state, he just seems a bit weak and doesn't seem to have any ailments."
"He's really good - looking. He'd be a great commodity. If we sell him to those upper - class nobles, we'll get a good price."
"Okay, then let's take him on the boat first."
The three of them talked back and forth and quickly decided the silver - haired teenager's identity as a commodity without asking for his opinion at all...