Author's note: Hey everyone! I realized that Chapter 1 was missing some content, so I've updated it. Be sure to check it out for the full story before continuing!
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"Captain, we've found information on that kid. He's the tavern worker we drank with a few times before."
"Now that you mention it, I remember too. No wonder you looked familiar."
"what is it call?"
A ray of sunlight rises over the cape, and dawn breaks.
The leader, a burly pirate, gripped a two-meter-long broadsword and glared menacingly at his men.
He is the captain of the Big Sword Pirates, with a bounty of 4.6 million.
He is ruthless and somewhat famous in the area, but once he leaves this small town, he is nothing.
After all, in the New World, pirates with a bounty of 4.6 million are as common as hairs on a cow.
However, for ordinary people, the Greatsword Pirates are undoubtedly the ones who can control their lives, leaving them no choice but to endure their bullying.
"That brat's name is Hermes Jormungandr, and he lives in the slums."
"What are you waiting for? Find that little bastard for me."
Spando gripped his large machete tightly, his fierce face contorting into a grotesque expression.
That was a legendary Devil Fruit, worth at least 100 million on the market, and it was only after losing several of my men that I found it.
I never expected that it would be stolen by a little bastard.
Once captured, it would take dismemberment to quell his hatred.
the other side.
Hermes was still getting used to the Mini-Fruit's abilities and was unaware that the Greatsword Pirates had located his residence.
Even if he had known, he wouldn't have panicked at all.
Because the miniature fruit is his source of confidence.
As long as the opponent does not possess Observation Haki, he is invincible.
After a night of contemplation, Hermes has tentatively decided on the future development direction of the Mini-Fruit.
The first step is naturally to develop the ability to shrink the body, and the other is to develop it to grow larger.
He aims to develop it from the third stage of transformation to the fourth or fifth stage, or even to make it as small or as big as he wants.
By changing to something small, like a speck of dust, a microorganism, or a molecule, it can sneak into the enemy's body without anyone noticing, and then grow so large that it can completely burst the enemy.
Even Ant-Man?
The Quantum Realm?
Traveling back in time or to the future, time travel?
And then there are even bigger changes, fifty meters, one hundred meters, five hundred meters, then they are simply Ultraman and giants, every strike is a storm, no different from the Dharma Body.
When it gets big enough, a slap should be enough to part this planet in the middle!
Very reasonable!
This is still a normal development direction.
If we go a little deeper, we can develop it to the point where we can also change the size of opponents or objects, making it possible to chase stars and capture the moon.
As long as these two directions are developed to the extreme, Hermes Jormungandr will surely have a place on the seas in the future.
Then you can have whatever you want.
The best course of action right now is to focus on developing the Mini-Fruit and steal a small target right under their noses.
Those greedy pirates will surely come after him.
The Great Sword Pirates arrived quickly, consisting of nineteen men including Captain Spando.
Each of them carried a flintlock musket or a long sword or club, and they completely surrounded Hermes' dilapidated little hut.
Upon seeing this, some ragged civilians scattered and fled in panic.
Nobody bothered.
Hermes, who was inside the house, naturally heard the commotion.
Although he was familiarizing himself with the abilities of the Mini-Fruit, he remained vigilant.
Otherwise, that year would have been wasted.
Hermes instantly shrank to five millimeters, quickly slipped through a crack in the wall, and peered through the shadows of some wild grass at the giant-like pirates outside, unnoticed.
Before Hermes could even make a move, his expression changed drastically, and he quickly fled towards the outer perimeter.
A pirate shouldered a rocket launcher and fired a shot at the dilapidated hut, seemingly unafraid of killing Hermes with the blast.
The methods were extremely brutal.
Boom! ! !
As the ground shook violently, a wave of heat rushed in, followed by flames shooting into the sky.
Fortunately, they were a bit far away, and the rocket launcher wasn't as powerful as expected, so Hermes was unharmed.
"Nineteen."
As Hermes counted the number of pirates, a hint of madness appeared in his eyes.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, his own strength was not great, and his opponent possessed lethal weapons, he was not without a chance of victory thanks to the power of the Mini-Fruit.
Most people would have retreated first.
But Hermes Jormungandr was no ordinary man; on the contrary, he was quite courageous.
Two lifetimes of poverty had already given him some mental health issues.
Now that he had finally come into this world and had the chance to turn his life around, he was eager to jump around and go crazy.
Suppressing emotions for too long will make you feel suffocated if you don't release them.
Moreover, be careful, these pirates are just stepping stones delivered to your doorstep.
"Find it for me."
Spando stared at the burning shack, his hands gripping the large machete, his words cold and cruel.
"Yes, Captain."
Just as all the pirates' attention was drawn to her, Hermes, maintaining a mere five millimeters in size, stealthily approached the feet of a nearby pirate and quickly climbed up his trouser leg.
As it shrinks, its weight will also change accordingly, and future development could focus on this aspect.
The pirate had long, messy hair that looked like it hadn't been styled in ages, and he smelled of alcohol.
Perhaps because his attention was diverted, he didn't notice Hermes.
Hermes moved quickly, climbing onto the pirate's shoulder in the blink of an eye.
Then, grabbing his hair and bringing him to his ear, he held his breath and jumped into the ear canal.
This action made the pirate shake his head and reach out to pick at his ear, but unfortunately, Hermes had already gone deep into the ear.
"Goodbye."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hermes suddenly returned to his normal size.
His enormous body instantly burst the pirate's head, and the pirate didn't even have time to scream before his brains and blood splattered around like an exploding balloon.
It all happened so fast.
Before the surrounding pirates could react, Hermes suddenly shrank to five millimeters, concealed by chunks of flesh and his blood-soaked body.
"Garde".
"what happened."
"How did Gard die?"
Pairs of eyes turned to look at the headless corpse lying on the ground, the pungent smell of blood filling the air, creating a horrifying scene.
"Suddenly... my head exploded."
"I think I saw that kid."
The pirate who had just been speaking tremulously said that he had just caught a glimpse of that brat out of the corner of his eye, but he had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"What brat? I didn't see him."
Several pirates surrounded the bloodied corpse, their faces showing no grief for their companion's death, only a hint of anger and confusion.
They've seen this kind of thing many times; their hearts are already as hard as stone, hence the saying "heart of stone."
Hermes remained calm, hiding under the pirate's corpse, making him virtually undetectable.
As long as the other party doesn't have Observation Haki, then he is safe.
He had considered being gentler, but after much deliberation, he still resorted to this violent method.
In the peaceful era before his time travel, desires were bound in a cage due to various restrictions, but in the pirate world, he can live however he wants.
Two lifetimes of wretched and impoverished living made him fully realize the harsh realities of life.
As long as it's powerful.
"Captain, there's no trace of that brat in the ruins either."
"Damn it, where is that brat?"
"Gard also died under mysterious circumstances."
"Grab a civilian from the surrounding area and ask them."
Faced with a sea of eyes, Hermes did not make any rash moves.
Although he was only five millimeters tall, he could still be discovered if one looked closely.
"Bury Gard's body."
After confirming that everything around was in order, Spando gave another order.
Several pirates nodded, then dug a pit not far away, quickly creating a final resting place.
Then, two pirates began to collect Gard's body.
"good chance."
this moment.
Hermes saw an opportunity.
Just as a pirate was crouching down to clean up a corpse, Hermes seized the moment, sprinted a short distance, and suddenly leaped into the pirate's mouth.
The main problem is that the pirate's face was close to the corpse, and he was talking with his mouth open.
"what."
The pirate only saw a black dot, and couldn't help but shudder, but he was fine soon after and didn't pay much attention to it.
He never imagined that the little rat dropping would be a person.
An unimaginable taste assaulted Hermes's senses, sliding down his throat until he was wet and sticky, his face contorted in agony, before finally reaching his stomach.
This time, Hermes did not return to its normal size, but remained at 30 centimeters.
This 30 centimeters was enough to burst the pirate's stomach, and the stomach acid had no effect on Hermes because the time was too short.
"vomit!!!"
As his stomach burst, the pirate collapsed to the ground in agony, blood gushing from his mouth and nose, his eyes filled with pain and fear.
"what happened."
"Atlantis".
"Help...help me."
"captain."
This happened so fast, just like before Gard's death, it was all so sudden and inexplicable.
It can be seen that At's chest was bulging, but it quickly subsided.
Hermes transformed back into a mere 5 millimeters.
Not wanting to be discovered, he planned to devour the Greatsword Pirates step by step.
He had his eye on Spando's head, which was worth 4.6 million Berries, enough to solve his immediate crisis.
Money is very important.
This also reminded Hermes of a forgotten profession in the world of pirates: the pirate hunter.
outside.
The pirates were all in a state of panic.
First it was Gard, and now it was Art, all of them died inexplicably.
Could they have encountered something evil in broad daylight?
After all, the way he died was too gruesome.
They are not afraid of death, but this kind of unknown death is somewhat terrifying.
"Captain, that kid obviously hasn't returned. Perhaps we should leave this place first; something's amiss."
Looking around, a pirate offered a suggestion.
"withdraw."
unexpected.
Spando didn't insist; instead, he readily accepted the advice.
You could even tell from his furrowed brow that he might have connected the dots.
To become the leader of a small group with a bounty exceeding one million Berries, one must have some skill; I clearly sensed something was wrong.
I haven't yet connected it to Hermes, but that's only a matter of time.
"It's time for the prey and the hunter to switch roles."
Hermes didn't know when to stop; after all, he hadn't yet gotten the 4.6 million hefty sum.
He rolled on the ground to wipe the blood off his body, then climbed onto the leg of a pirate's trousers.