The scorching sun blazed down on the endless sea, where a battered little boat bobbed helplessly under the merciless assault of a storm.
Finally, with a deafening crash, a monstrous wave swallowed the boat whole, leaving behind nothing but scattered planks and frothy bubbles drifting on the blue-gray sea.
Somewhere in the vast ocean, a lone boy—clothes in tatters, a flicker of fear and stubbornness in his eyes—curled up inside a wooden barrel, floating wherever the currents took him.
Gentle sunlight filtered through a thick canopy, casting patchy shadows on the ground. In the midst of this deserted island, a boy slowly regained consciousness, breathing a tiny bit of life into the lonely landscape.
"Ugh... where am I?" Lind groaned, feeling the dull ache and weakness in his body—but hey, at least he wasn't reporting to the King of Hell just yet.
"I must be the disgrace of the fishing world... Not only did I catch nothing, I even managed to fall into the river!"
"Next time, I'm dragging someone along. Good thing I'm lucky—or else I'd be fish food by now," Lind thought, taking a deep breath, relieved to be alive.
In his previous life, Lind had been an agriculture major at a university, spending most of his time farming at a research station affiliated with his school.
One weekend, he went fishing alone by the river near the station. After a series of spectacular failures (a.k.a. catching absolutely nothing), he kept changing spots.
Then, during one of these moves, he slipped and—splash!—straight into the river.
Looking at the familiar blue sky, Lind thought, Guess I washed ashore. Must've been blessed by every deity on call today.
Fresh from his near-death experience, Lind had no clue about his real situation. He just assumed he was lucky—like all those TV characters who survive by washing up somewhere.
"I wonder how long I was out... Hope Professor Wayne is doing okay. I should probably get back to..."
Wait. Something wasn't right.
Did I... reincarnate? Or transmigrate?
Looking at his shrunken hands and scrawny arms, Lind's heart sank.
Professor Wayne probably wasn't doing great. As the station manager, he was probably losing his mind over Lind's sudden "disappearance."
Luckily, Lind had no close family ties—he was from a "Starting Point Orphanage" program. His vanishing would cause a few headaches for the school and Professor Wayne, but otherwise... it wasn't a big deal.
Still, he felt a little guilty. Professor Wayne had been kind to him recently. Now, thanks to a freak fishing accident, he was going to cause a bureaucratic nightmare.
"RIP my thesis. Wonder which poor junior gets stuck with it now."
"Maybe they'll even use my story to warn future students: 'Be careful near water, or you'll end up like Lind!'"
Shrugging off the thought, Lind decided it was time to focus on survival.
The salty breeze and soft sand suggested a shipwreck. Touching the sand beneath him, Lind guessed this body had survived a disaster at sea.
"I just hope this isn't some deserted island," Lind muttered.
Sure, he'd read Robinson Crusoe and knew his way around farming, but survival in the wild? That was a whole different beast.
One step at a time, Lind thought, rubbing his head and preparing to explore.
Suddenly, a sharp pain ripped through his brain, making him scream out loud.
"AAARGH—!"
A torrent of chaotic memories clashed, merged, and exploded inside his mind. His body convulsed from the agony, and only after what felt like an eternity did the pain begin to fade.
"This world... feels familiar. Really familiar!" Lind gasped, sifting through the fragments of memory.
No familiar faces from the original story, but... there it was: the World Government, Marines, Pirates, the New World. No doubt—this was the One Piece universe.
And it was the year 1477, decades before the main events.
"Plenty of time to grow strong... if I can survive," Lind mused, lying on the ground, piecing everything together.
His new name? Hilt Lind—another orphan with no one waiting for him. Rescue? Not happening. He was on his own.
"No continents in this world either... Please, please let this be a populated island."
If he was lucky, he could blend in, find a job, and bide his time.
After resting for a while, Lind gritted through the lingering pain and forced himself to his feet.
The sun was now high and harsh. Lind stumbled out of the island's forest, hands full of fruits, and returned to the beach where he had woken.
"My luck... is just wild."
In his hand, he held a bizarre purple fruit covered in swirling vine patterns—a Devil Fruit.
Two hours of exploration had revealed that the island was tiny, maybe a kilometer across. Basically a glorified sandbar. Time to embrace the savage lifestyle.
He had been hoping for a bustling, inhabited island, but hey, there were plenty of fruit trees—coconuts, bananas, durians, you name it—and even some small animals like squirrels and rabbits. Food and fresh water weren't a problem.
And now, holding this Devil Fruit, Lind's confidence soared.
"No system. No cheat code. Looks like this Devil Fruit is my golden ticket."
His new body didn't seem to have any crazy natural talents. Without the Fruit, he'd probably be stuck as a small fry forever.
"No point hesitating. One shot at life. Gotta take it."
Without further ado, Lind took a big bite.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
He immediately regretted it. The taste was even worse than all the horror stories he'd ever heard.
But thinking of online legends about Devil Fruits, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to swallow the whole thing.
Choking down the last bite, Lind cracked open a coconut and chugged it like a man dying of thirst.
"Good thing I prepped this coconut. Otherwise, I would've puked everything I just ate."
Feeling human again, Lind sat down, chewing some coconut meat and trying to sense any changes.
"Whoa, this Fruit is... actually badass!"
Not something from the original story, but a Mutation-type ability. If developed properly, it could be insane.
Except... there were some serious catches.
Mutation was uncontrollable. Results were random. And even good mutations were hard to upgrade.
You couldn't just mutate yourself into the Hulk. Best case, you get sharper claws or something. Worst case... you turn into a brainless zombie. Or some weird genderless monster. Nightmare fuel.
Sure, if you had an army, you could roll the dice enough times and create a beast army rivaling Kaido's or Shiki's.
But Lind wasn't looking to breed an army—he needed personal power.
Plus, even a "good" mutation wasn't that amazing. Grow some claws like a wolf? Cool, but not better than a dude with a big-ass knife.
And the mutations couldn't evolve without crazy science from someone like Vegapunk—which Lind obviously didn't have.
"Until I can control the mutations, I'm not using it on myself!" Lind vowed.
In short, he couldn't rely on the Devil Fruit alone. He needed to grind his strength the old-fashioned way—training in martial arts and swordsmanship—and use mutations to boost plants and gear instead.
"Back to basics. Farm it is."
With the right farming techniques and a lot of luck, he could mutate crops into miracle plants—healing herbs, battle fruits, maybe even trees that could grant immortality.
"The road is rough, but the future's bright. I'll stay low, grind hard, and one day... come out unstoppable!"
Stuffing the last bit of coconut into his mouth, Lind stood tall.
Gazing out at the endless sea, determination lit his eyes.
"First step: stockpile food, build some defenses, and start farming. Then, when the time is right... I'll make this world hear my voice."