After picking up the Devil Fruit, Kurogane Ren didn't bite into it right away.
He had never eaten one before, but whether in the anime or in all kinds of One Piece fanfiction, Devil Fruits were always described the same way—
absolutely revolting.
The kind of bad that supposedly made actual crap sound appetizing by comparison.
Ren had never eaten crap before, but that didn't stop him from making a few precautions first.
He took out a bottle of mineral water and a bottle of cola, setting them beside him.
That way, the second he swallowed the fruit, he could rinse his mouth out and wash away the taste.
Only after making all his preparations did Ren finally grab the Devil Fruit, shut his eyes, and take a vicious bite.
Then he froze.
A strange look spread across his face.
Because... it actually tasted fine?
Not delicious, exactly.
But it was crisp and juicy enough.
It was nowhere near as horrifying as everyone made it sound.
Ren stared at the bite mark on the fruit, a strange thought rising in his mind.
Don't tell me this isn't a Devil Fruit at all.
What if it only looked like one?
What if it was just some normal fruit with weird colors?
A fake?
But right at that moment, a flood of information appeared in his mind.
So it really was a Devil Fruit.
A Paramecia.
And its ability was simple—
it allowed him to control temperature.
The moment Ren confirmed it was real, he immediately stuffed the rest into his mouth and swallowed it all.
Among One Piece fans, there was a common belief that the more of the fruit you ate, the easier it was to gain the full ability.
Besides, this fruit really wasn't that terrible.
So he finished the rest in just a few bites.
The second he was done, Ren couldn't wait any longer.
He immediately began testing his new power.
This fruit allowed him to create a temperature-control zone.
Within that zone, Ren could freely raise or lower the temperature.
Of course, it wasn't completely without rules.
Temperature couldn't just change for no reason.
When he used his left hand, he could draw heat out of a certain area, causing the temperature to drop.
But the heat he absorbed didn't vanish.
It remained stored inside his body.
And within a certain amount of time, he had to release it again.
That was where his right hand came in.
He could release the stored heat through it.
In simple terms—
his left hand absorbed heat.
His right hand released it.
Technically, his right hand could generate heat on its own too, but the effect was much weaker.
If he relied on the right hand alone, it could only raise the temperature by a fraction of a degree.
Ren decided to run a test.
He placed his left hand on one rock and his right hand on another.
Then he activated the left-hand ability first.
A faint blue circle spread out.
The rock inside the circle rapidly began to bead with moisture.
A second later, the water turned to frost.
Mist began to form in the air.
Then snowflakes started drifting down inside the circle.
After a few seconds, Ren stopped using the ability.
By then, a thick layer of ice had already formed on the rock, and droplets of water had collected all around it from the sudden chill.
Seeing the result, Ren couldn't help thinking that from now on, he wouldn't even need a refrigerator to chill his cola.
That alone would save a ton on electricity.
At the same time, though, he suddenly felt an uncomfortable force building inside his body.
Following his instincts, he guided that force into his right hand.
Soon, another circle appeared—
this one red.
The air around the rock his right hand touched began to distort from the heat.
After using the power for a few seconds, the strange discomfort in his body finally faded, and Ren stopped.
By then, the rock he had heated was radiating enough heat to visibly warp the air around it.
Ren took out a bottle of water and poured it over the rock.
Ssssss—
A sharp burst of sound rang out, followed by a series of cracking noises.
The rock split open.
Ren immediately understood what had happened.
The sudden extreme heat, followed by a rapid dousing with water, had caused it to fracture.
He looked down at his hands.
Wasn't this basically the power to dish out a heavenly blend of ice and fire?
Should he maybe consider opening a massage parlor someday?
Then he shook his head hard and threw that ridiculous thought out of his mind.
If there was going to be any massage going on, it would definitely be other people massaging him.
But a moment later, Ren's expression turned blank again as he stared at his hands.
How exactly was this ability supposed to help him escape his current situation?
Then, all at once, an idea flashed through his mind.
The reason almost no ship could cross the Calm Belt was simple—
there was no wind.
But Ren was different.
Based on basic physics, if he could control temperature, then he could create two regions with different temperatures.
And where there was a temperature difference, there would be air flow.
In other words—
wind.
And if he could create wind, then he could drive a sailboat.
The thought made his eyes light up.
He immediately began experimenting.
Ren spread out both hands and activated his power at the same time.
As the temperatures around him started shifting, the air slowly began to move.
Then—
wind really appeared.
A bright smile spread across Ren's face.
He had done it.
He had created wind.
And the moment wind was born in the Calm Belt, another storm began to form far away in Mary Geoise.
"What did you say?!"
A man in white robes knelt in front of five elderly figures, his body trembling as he spoke.
"R-Reporting to the Five Elders... we've received news that Saint Rodcaster's ship was attacked by Sea Kings in the Calm Belt."
The five men before him were none other than the nominal highest authorities of the World Government—
the Five Elders.
One of the blond elders immediately barked, "What exactly happened? Rodcaster's ship should have had Seastone installed on the hull. How could it have been attacked by Sea Kings? Unless—"
The elder with the scar over his left eye cut in, "Impossible. Before Rodcaster departed, we specifically ordered him not to remove his helmet while in the Calm Belt. He shouldn't have dared disobey."
Then he narrowed his eyes.
"Was there any report explaining what happened?"
The man in white hurriedly answered, "According to the Den Den Mushi report, the attack happened because Saint Rodcaster fired a rocket launcher at a Sea King that surfaced nearby."
The Five Elders all cursed at once.
"Idiot!"
The bald elder with the curved mustache asked coldly, "What other information is there?"
The white-robed man lowered his head even further. "The final transmission said the escort had already taken Saint Rodcaster, along with the mission item, to a nearby island close to the wreck."
The Five Elders visibly relaxed.
The long-haired elder with the white beard and hair said, "As long as the item is still safe, that's what matters. Send rescue personnel immediately. Rodcaster must be found within three days."
"Yes!" the man in white said at once. "I'll notify the Marines immediately and have them rescue Saint Rodcaster—"
"Wait."
The bald elder carrying a sword stopped him.
He turned toward the other four and said in a grave voice, "The thing Rodcaster was carrying is too important. The Marines absolutely cannot be allowed to know about it."
"Agreed. If the Marines find out, it'll create serious problems."
"Then what do we do?"
"Deploy CP0."
"How many?"
"All of them."
"What about the security of Mary Geoise?"
The sword-bearing elder snorted. "What is there to fear? Has anything happened here in all these years?"
"That's true."
"Then send CP0 out immediately."
And at that same moment, far away on the Red Line, a red-skinned fish-man was climbing the sheer cliff face.
...
After creating wind with his new ability, Kurogane Ren immediately started erasing every trace of his existence from the island.
All the trash he had left behind went straight into the storage bag.
He even stored the black-suited man's corpse.
His plan was to dump the body into the sea only after he was far away from the island, ensuring it wouldn't be found nearby.
He also stripped off the Celestial Dragon's golden pistol and removed every bit of gold he could from the box.
Those were all money.
And right now, Ren was practically broke.
Sure, he still had a hundred-yuan note on him—
the one he'd earned right before transmigrating.
But there was no way he could bear to throw that away.
After all, that was the price he had paid to end up in the world of One Piece.
And besides, Mao's face wasn't exactly valid currency here.
Once he finished packing everything up, Ren took out the sailboat.
He placed it into the seawater.
In just a few seconds, the little palm-sized toy expanded into a real five-meter sailboat.
Ren jumped aboard, raised the sail, and activated his power.
A breeze slowly formed, filling the sail until it billowed tight.
Driven forward by the wind, the boat began to move.
Ren turned back to look at the island growing farther and farther away behind him.
It had been barren and miserable, but he had still spent an entire month living there.
He let out a long sigh.
The next stretch of his life would be a journey into the unknown.
And at any moment, his little sailboat could be attacked by a Sea King.
But if he stayed, he would die for sure.
If he left, at least there was still a chance.
So Ren steadied himself, focused on controlling the wind, and sailed onward into an uncertain future.