As the dawn broke, the rising sun smoothed out the morning coolness like a pair of giant hands. On the vast sea, a large, unflagged ship drifted with the wind.
Tang An stood at the bow of the ship, stretching his body. They had likely left the Goa Kingdom behind. While he had temporarily avoided the old dangers, new threats were inevitable. Setting out to sea like this, he could be attacked and killed or enslaved by pirates at any time.
However, compared to the situation in the Goa Kingdom, these dangers seemed much less severe. Thankfully, this was the East Blue and not the Grand Line or the New World. Otherwise, he might already be resting at the bottom of the sea.
Looking at the endless ocean, Tang An formulated a new plan. His priority was to find a cure for his cancer, and a Devil Fruit seemed like a viable option. But selecting the proper Devil Fruit from the known ones was crucial.
First, there was the Healing Fruit possessed by the dwarf princess in Dressrosa. Given the timeline, it probably hadn’t been eaten yet. Then, there was the Op-Op Fruit, but the opportunity to get it might have already passed. Another option was the Phoenix Fruit of the Whitebeard Pirates’ second division commander, Marco the Phoenix, but that was out of reach, too.
These three fruits had the best chance of curing his cancer. Other than these, some unique Paramecia fruits might also work. For example, the Dice-Dice Fruit turns the user’s body into blades, and the Spring-Spring Fruit transforms the user into a spring. With such transformations, cancer shouldn’t be an issue since the body would no longer be flesh and blood.
Additionally, many Paramecia fruits turn the body into a special material or object. If these fruits could alter his body to such an extent, cancer might be cured. Natural Logia fruits like the Glint-Glint Fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, or the Magma-Magma Fruit would allow his body to become an element, likely rendering diseases ineffective.
Last night, after much deliberation, Tang An concluded that the Healing Fruit was the most reliable option. Other Devil Fruits were just possibilities, not guarantees. However, acquiring the Healing Fruit would be challenging. Just crossing the first half of the Grand Line to the New World was an almost impossible feat for him alone; he could die en route.
The best strategy would be to join a mighty pirate crew or merchant ship, with the safest bet being the Navy. Yet, these options weren’t entirely secure; he needed to become stronger himself. The stronger he became, the less dangerous his journey would be.
Moreover, with other transmigrators in this world, certain plotlines might have already changed. Fruits that should exist might not be available anymore. This butterfly effect was inevitable, but its scope was uncertain. If it was limited to the transmigrator’s surroundings, it wasn’t too bad. But if it affected the entire world’s plot, everything could be chaotic.
For instance, having killed Ace, would there still be a Marineford War in the future?
In the end, Tang An had to rely on his Trash Goldfinger. Although it was unreliable, the benefits of killing Ace made it worth the gamble. Maybe next time, he could draw a cure for his cancer or a powerful skill.
With four opportunities in the East Blue, Tang An had his sights set on four individuals: Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Vinsmoke Sanji. These four were still kids, making it the perfect time to strike. Even if they weren’t main characters, they were at least half-main characters or significant supporting characters. Killing all four would grant him at least four dice rolls, not counting additional rolls for situational rewards. With some luck, there might be more bonuses.
“Living is not easy,” Tang An muttered, looking at the vast sea with a steely expression. He liked the Straw Hat Pirates, but he needed to survive. Faced with the choice between life and liking, anyone would choose to live.
Besides Nami, Tang An also targeted Robin, Chopper, and others. Every member of the Straw Hat crew was within his scope.
No matter how much he liked them before, he had to be ruthless now. It was akin to a tragic love affair, one that came at a cost. Loving them meant killing their whole family.
The East Blue was large, and finding the islands where Nami and the others lived would be difficult without knowing their locations. The best strategy would be to inquire about the next island. This would likely yield important information.
Having settled on his targets, Tang An woke Rafael. After a quick and cheerful breakfast, they set off. The ship’s stores of food and water were sufficient for a month. Tang An doubted they would go a month without seeing an island or encountering another ship.
After breakfast, Tang An started practicing military combat techniques, which were essential for survival. Remembering this made Tang An frustrated. Others’ gold fingers would grant immediate mastery of skills, but he had to practice from scratch without even a progress bar to track his development. The only advantage was having a detailed guide in his mind, allowing him to follow instructions step by step.
He started with push-ups, building a solid physique from the ground up. His transmigration had brought his old body, as confirmed by the interaction with the Tokyo Hot movie; the dimensions were the same.
The only anomaly was his cancer. Usually, it should have weakened him, but in this world, he only appeared pale and occasionally listless, suffering sporadic, intense pain. Yet, his physical strength was normal, without typical cancer symptoms like fatigue or nausea. He felt perfectly healthy except for the severe pain, reminding him that he could die at any moment.
He had already died once and wasn’t going to die a second time, especially when he had a chance to rewrite his fate. He intended to control his destiny.
Time passed quickly, and by dusk, they hadn’t encountered any ships or seen any islands, just aimlessly drifting on the sea. Fortunately, Tang An wasn’t bored, spending most of his time training his physique with push-ups, sit-ups, frog jumps, and practicing combat techniques.
Meanwhile, back at the Goa Kingdom, in Windmill Village, an oppressive atmosphere pervaded. A warship docked at the coast, and Garp, clad in his Navy justice coat, disembarked, looking weary as if he had just returned from a battlefield. His face was grim, exuding a menacing aura of iron and blood that sent shivers down spines. Half a day ago, he had been in the New World, but a single phone call made him abandon his mission, rush back amidst Sengoku’s furious yelling, and return as quickly as possible.
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