He leaned his back against the wall of stone, panting. His hair was dripping. His breath misted.
What in the world is happening?!
An hour before, he was riding a train. An hour before, he was employed—a crummy job, sure—but at least it was real.
Now the sky felt too large. The stars too sharp. And people strolled around in cloaks and tricorn hats, talking about Marines and bounty hunters.
He wasn't dreaming.
And that frightened him more than anything.
Kenji sat down on a wooden crate, shivering.
DING!
[Welcome, Transmigrator.]
Initializing support system…
Detecting host vitals…
Status: Fragile human garbage with no tools for survival.
Would you like to redeem your Starter Pack?
".What."
A glowing screen floated in front of him. Letters in cool blue. Too clean for this wet world.
He rubbed his eyes. It didn't go away.
Starter Pack
100,000 Berries
Secret Devil Fruit: Taiyō Taiyō no Mi (Sun-Sun Fruit)
— Locked: Only able to eat when Constitution ≥ 5
Stats:
Devil Fruit Points: N/A
Devil Fruit: N/A
Constitution: 0.4 (average male human)
Strength: 0.3 (below average)
Agility: 0.5 (slightly above average)
Haki: {[??] Locked}
System will update with new work.
Rewards to be gained upon completion.
No failure penalties.
Kenji glared.
".Alright. Alright, okay. That's normal."
Something in him did, however, respond when he read the name of the fruit again.
Taiyō Taiyō no Mi.
The Sun-Sun Fruit.
He didn't know what it did yet. But if the world around him was about power. maybe this was the only shot he'd get.
He exhaled, slow and shaky.
"Guess we're doing this."
Kenji stared at the numbers, mind stalling.
Constitution: 0.4.
The fruit lay neatly in his inventory. A soft glow, a sleeping sun. Mocking him.
[The Taiyō Taiyō no Mi is too unstable for your current constitution. Eating it will result in. spontaneous combustion.]
He blinked. "Spontaneous wha—? Okay. No fruit eating. Got it."
The screen flashed.
[New Task Created]
Mission: Ignite the Flame
— Goal: Bring Constitution to 1.0]
— Method: Complete any of the following:
- Spend an entire day fasting
- Run a cumulative total of 10 km
- Win your first brawl
- Perform manual labor (8+ hours)
Reward: +0.6 Constitution | Unlock Flame Affinity Skill Manual
Kenji exhaled and flicked the screen closed.
It didn't matter how clean or magical it looked—he was still hungry, wet, and broke in a world he barely remembered from a few manga books.
He tightened his hoodie and stepped back out into the rain.
No teachers. No safety nets.
Just a task list and a countdown clock.
"Okay," he muttered. "Walk, work, survive. One thing at a time."
He didn't need some glowing screen to tell him what to do.
If he was going to make it here, it would have to be him.
Feet slapping against wet cobblestone, Kenji started walking. The rain didn't stop. Neither did he.
The rain sheeted down as Kenji walked through the foreign streets, eyes raking scuffed-down buildings and passing people with swords across their hips.
Most of them avoided him. A couple shot him suspicious side-glances—like they could smell he didn't belong.
His belly growled. Deeply.
No food. No strength. No plan.
His feet were wet. Squelching. With every step. The 100,000 berries in the system would have been useful, but it was virtual. Invincible.
He passed a bakery window. Golden light. Loaf after loaf on the counter. The aroma pierced the rain like a joke.
He lingered there for a tough second. His hand wavered.
No. He was not gonna start his new life filching bread like some comic strip waif.
He clenched his teeth and continued.
A skinny passageway stretched out in front of him. Flanked by a fish stand and what looked like a weapons shop. Kenji walked down it, hoping to see a refuge or maybe a jobs board.
He found instead a cluster of men offloading crates from a cart, shouting back and forth in thick local accents.
One of them noticed him. "Oi! You lookin' for work, string bean?"
Kenji hesitated. "Yeah. Pays something."
"Yeah," the man snorted. "20 an hour, and if you damage anything, we charge ten. Still interested?"
Kenji looked at the stack of crates. Some were shorter than half his height. All looked heavy.
But it was work.
".Yeah. I'm in."
[System Update: Manual Labor Task Accepted]
Timer Started: 0 / 8 hours
Stats will accumulate over time based on performance.
The man gave a grunt, jerking his thumb toward the cart. "Then grab a crate. Don't drop it, don't break it, and don't ask what's in it. Back of the warehouse. Doors open."
Kenji nodded, stiffly. No idea what he was doing, no clue where this was headed—but he did shift.
The boxes were empty. Plain heavy wood wrapped with rope and iron nails. He hoisted himself up, took hold of the smallest one he could.
The rope burned his fingers. The weight crashed through his arms like something dead.
He leaned back a step, knees buckling under the weight.
It didn't matter.
He faced the warehouse and made his first moves.
The crates never ended.
Whenever Kenji returned to the cart, there were more. Big ones. Little ones. Crates with odd smells or weird stains. Each one heavier than it had any right to be.
He didn't consider time anymore. He just moved.
Lift. Walk. Drop. Repeat.
His shoulders ached as though they were tearing with every step. His back sweated, his legs shook when he remained stationary for too long.
The world reduced to simple things: wood, weight, and will.
No cheers. No status updates. No sense of triumph. Only the dull grind of toil in a world that didn't care if he made it or not.
Somewhere along the way, the clouds broke. Sun beat down and dried the rain on his shirt. Steam rose from his skin.
His palms hurt. His breath was ragged. But his hands persisted.
[Manual Labor: 8 Hours Complete]
+0.6 Constitution
New Stat Unlocked: Flame Affinity (Lv.1 - Dormant)
You feel a faint warmth awaken in your chest…
Kenji dropped the last crate with a thud and fell onto a splintered, painful wooden pallet. Everything hurt. He needed sleep. Or death. Either would've been fine.
But then—ding.
Another screen sprang to life in the corner of his vision.
Progress Toward: Unlocking Taiyō Taiyō no Mi – Constitution Requirement: 5.0
Current: 1.0
And just below it:
Alternate Objective (Optional): Run 10 kilometers
Remaining Distance: 10.0 km
Kenji stared.
Then groaned.
Then laughed—short and bitter.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
He pushed himself upright, limbs shaking. His legs didn't want to work. His lungs still burned. His stomach was eating itself.
But the numbers didn't lie.
He still had a long way to go.
No magical training montage. No cheat skills. No shortcuts.
Just a beaten-down body, a system that wouldn't babysit him, and a fruit waiting like a sun in a box.
Kenji staggered to his feet.
Then—he started walking.
One step. Two.
A slow jog.
The beginning of a long, painful run.