“Kill that brat.”
“He’s running in that direction, catch him.”
“Shoot! Shoot!”
Under cover of darkness, on a slightly secluded beach, a group of restless pirates, short and fat alike, were ferociously chasing a thin figure.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets flashed, creating beautiful arcs as they tore through the night, filling the air with a thrilling sensation.
Panting heavily, he sounded like he was doing something unspeakable. His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his throat. Under the shy moonlight, it became clear that the pirates were chasing a young man with ordinary features, nothing particularly notable, perfectly embodying the idea of an average, normal guy.
Despite being pursued and having bullets occasionally whizzing by, Hermes wasn’t overly panicked. Instead, he wore an expression of flushed excitement, like a maniac escaping into the darkness of the jungle.
He had anticipated this situation from the start; failure would make him a martyr, success a hero.
All he could do now was run for his life, and it was quite thrilling.
Adrenaline surged through his brain, his body sprinting ahead while his soul chased behind.
“I hope it’s a powerful Devil Fruit.”
Thorns and branches scratched him as he ran through the jungle, leaving marks, but Hermes couldn’t feel the pain anymore, just excitement.
He clutched a fruit covered in strange patterns.
This was a sea treasure, a Devil Fruit that could grant special powers once eaten, worth a million berries.
“Let’s gamble.”
Regardless of the power this Devil Fruit had, it could change his current situation and future, perhaps even allowing him to turn the tables.
Taking a big bite, the sour taste made his eyes water.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, he took a few more bites, swallowing the fruit whole. Suddenly, as Hermes was running, he disappeared.
Darkness enveloped him, and the smell of decaying plants filled the air.
“Did I shrink?”
Looking around, the surrounding grass and leaves appeared as giant trees. The difference in perspective was staggering.
Before he could react, he instinctively understood some basic abilities of the Devil Fruit.
“Hey! I saw that brat running this way, where did he go?”
“Find him! How dare he steal from the Cutlass Pirates, I’ll chop him into pieces.”
The ferocious voices approached, and over a dozen footsteps surrounded him. The pirates, with their normal size, seemed like giants to Hermes.
After all, he was now only five millimeters tall, about the size of a small ant, blending into the environment like a speck of dust.
Holding his breath and hiding under a small blade of grass, Hermes waited.
Slowly, the pirates’ search moved away.
After a long while.
“Hehehe~”
An uncontrollable, manic laughter echoed in the quiet night, sounding eerie and chilling from a distance.
“This power should be the Paramecia-type Mini Mini Fruit. No matter what, this gamble was worth it.”
With a thought, Hermes’ five-millimeter body quickly expanded back to his normal height of 177 centimeters. Clenching his fists in excitement, he couldn’t contain himself.
He recognized this shrinking ability from the original work, eaten by a member of the Giant Race who, unfortunately, never fully developed its potential.
“Better leave here and study this further.”
With another thought, Hermes shrank to thirty centimeters and swiftly moved through the underbrush.
Over two hours later.
In a shabby house near the slums, Hermes’ excitement had finally calmed down.
Looking around.
Although his living conditions weren’t great, they were much better than those of the people in the slums. At least he had a roof over his head and was not completely destitute.
Even so, he had no choice but to succeed.
“Swish!”
Sitting on a wooden bed with a thin blanket, Hermes instantly shrank from 177 centimeters to five millimeters, like a speck of rat droppings, though human-shaped.
With a nose and eyes.
“At five millimeters, I can avoid many dangers, as long as I don’t encounter someone with Observation Haki.”
Maintaining his five-millimeter form, Hermes looked around his simple room, which now seemed enormous, and felt happy.
Transforming again, he grew to thirty centimeters, still small compared to his original height but significantly larger than five millimeters.
“Shrinking doesn’t affect my strength.”
“A bit of a bug.”
“But the pirate world is full of bugs. Even Newton would be stumped here, where basic rules and energy conservation are rewritten. After all, it’s a fantasy world.”
“Hehehehe~”
“If I can shrink, I should be able to develop the power to grow larger too. This Devil Fruit has incredible potential if developed properly.”
Hermes was thrilled.
Like in the original, the Mini Mini Fruit’s previous user, Liliensternmark, could only shrink to five millimeters or thirty centimeters.
It seemed she never demonstrated the ability to grow larger, either because she hadn’t developed it or didn’t show it. Many Devil Fruit users in the pirate world only exhibit limited, underdeveloped abilities.
He wouldn’t repeat their mistakes.
He had to use his brain.
Any Devil Fruit could be developed; that was their magic and allure.
But there was a problem.
Before crossing over, he had seen a short video where the Gomu Gomu no Mi was revealed to be a Mythical Zoan-type. So, was this the Mini Mini Fruit?
Hermes was unsure.
After eating it, he naturally understood some basic abilities, but its name wasn’t specified.
It seemed Devil Fruits weren’t officially named; they were named based on the abilities shown by past users. So, the Mini Mini Fruit might not be its real name.
It could be the Paramecia-type Wish-Wish Fruit, the Size-Size Fruit, or even the Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model, XXX Fruit. In the future, when Hermes becomes a legend, it might be known as the Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model, or Hermes Fruit!
Thus, the Mini Mini Fruit’s identity was still uncertain.
He needed to question everything in this world.
After all, it was full of bugs.
“I’ve been in this world for over a year, finally, I’m gonna stand up.”
After experimenting with his powers, Hermes sat cross-legged on his bed, calming his mixed emotions.
A year ago.
He inexplicably crossed over, initially thrilled. After all, crossing over was the start of a peak life. Then he started expecting a cheat ability.
But there was none.
It was all a pipe dream.
The most crucial part was that he had crossed into the world of One Piece, a world where order had collapsed, people were like grass, and bugs were everywhere. Pirates roamed freely, and darkness was omnipresent. If luck was bad, one could be sold off at the start, leading to a life of endless suffering.
That year.
He lived cautiously, pretending to be harmless, yet still almost died of poverty, starvation, or being beaten to death, constantly moving, finding food in the garbage, and robbing children and the elderly.
Just thinking about it was heart-wrenching. Although he was poor in his previous life, he never experienced such hunger. It was truly miserable.
So, he adapted and took the name Hermes Jormungandr.
He tried to find work but was often overlooked and nearly sold as a slave several times. Fortunately, he knew the world’s filth and stayed vigilant; otherwise, his fate would have been tragic.
Pirate King Gol D. Roger had opened the Great Pirate Era years ago, making pirates spring up like weeds. Those who grew into towering trees would become famous in the future.
Ordinary people suffered the most, living in what felt like hell.
Hermes knew this well.
It was a tough life!
Upon realizing he was in the One Piece world, Hermes had a plan: to become strong. Only then could he have enough to eat, be warm, and have plenty of money to spend.
What a modest, heart-wrenching goal.
But becoming strong was incredibly difficult.
Survival was the first hurdle. The hardships of that year were heart-attack-inducing just to think about, but they made him grow.
He wasn’t the same poor guy as before.
He knew when to be ruthless when to run, and when to stand his ground. In this chaotic world, invisible bones piled up like mountains, but breathtakingly beautiful landscapes atop those bones also existed.
To see those landscapes and avoid becoming one of those bones, Hermes Jormungandr had to climb to become stronger.
Hermes works as a laborer in a tavern, barely supporting himself.
Until a few days ago, when he overheard the Cutlass Pirates talking drunkenly about finding a treasure map with a Devil Fruit inside.
Mopping the floor, Hermes instantly perked up.
He knew a Devil Fruit was his best chance to change his fate without cheating. With one, he could survive the toughest part of his life.
A guaranteed fortune.
With this fortune, many things would become easy, like joining the Marines, which he had tried but was rejected due to his skinny and beggarly appearance.
It wasn’t what he expected. In this Great Pirate Era, shouldn’t the Marines be expanding their forces? But not everyone was accepted, and being noticed by higher-ups was rare.
Hermes didn’t have such a script.
At that time, Hermes didn’t have high hopes, thinking the map might be fake, and even if real, the treasure might not include a Devil Fruit.
Even though the Kingdom of Providence was in the New World.
That’s right.
Hermes crossed over to the Kingdom of Provence, known for its King, Elizabello II, and his King Punch, rumored to kill an Emperor with one punch after
An hour’s warm-up.
Quite the exaggeration.
However, Elizabello II hadn’t become king yet, as the kingdom was in the midst of a civil war, likely fighting for the throne.
This was why Hermes initially had such a tough time. The entire nation was in chaos, with the royal family colluding with pirates and the mafia, imposing taxes, and trafficking people, causing widespread disorder typical of a dying dynasty. The common folk suffered greatly.
Walking down the street, one could be robbed, hacked to death, or killed by passing thugs for no reason. It was a common occurrence.
Surviving without being kidnapped and sold was a miracle for Hermes.
But as long as there was hope, Hermes wouldn’t give up, so he kept an eye on the Cutlass Pirates.
They did find the treasure map and the treasure, losing several men to traps. The treasure included a Devil Fruit.
The captain didn’t eat it immediately, planning to sell it for a million berries.
To these pirates, money was the biggest temptation.
This gave Hermes his chance. On a moonless night, he carefully approached the Cutlass Pirates’ shabby base, risking everything to steal the Mini Mini Fruit.
His successful theft was partly due to the pirates’ love of drinking and celebrating the upcoming 100 million berries, partying for days, and getting drunk.
They practically invited Hermes to steal it.
And he did.
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