1 A Chance to Thrive!!

7 years before Luffy Sets sail (7YBL)

Location: Drill Island, East Blue.

"One Piece?!!??" I screamed in shock. I use my small arms to push myself from the soot covered grass to stare at the remains of the town where the original owner of this body lived.

This body does not remember how long has passed since this village was raided by pirates. Though, I can guess that it's been about twenty four to thirty six hours. The boy, an orphan, escaped from the village at the cost of his master/teacher's life. The blacksmith who the boy apprenticed under held the pirates back while the boy escaped through the rear of the smithery.

The reality that I am no longer on my earth slowly crushes me. The reality that I am on a far dangerous world almost brings me to my knees. I stare at my shaking legs that won't even let me stand.

"Haha, I'm really a coward huh" I shake my head in mockery of myself. I reminisce about my military days with my platoon. My fellow crew members and I used to joke about death and the afterlife.

'I remember Hilton wants to be reborn in Naruto when he dies. Haha, that fool. I remember telling him he'll screw up and end up licking Danzo's balls as a member of Root'. The memories bring me joy which I use to calm my shaking nerves. I stand with some difficulty. My body still aching and stiff.

'Sigh, one piece. At least it ain't Tokyo Ghoul or Re: Zero. Hahah, then I'd really be screwed. In this world, using my skills and memories of One piece media, I can survive and if I'm lucky thrive. And thriving depends heavily on luck. Speaking of survival…'

I slowly turn my head to face the forest. My eyes meet the eyes of a beast native to this Island in East Blue. A beast I knew should not be here alone but on the other side of the island with its pack. The humandrill in front of me was about six foot tall to my new height of 5ft2. By the knowledge I gained from the boy, I understood that this was a young humandrill.

I look at the beast with a mixture of emotions. Wonder. Fear. Amazement. Fear. Fear seems to be a recurring emotion right now. But I was glad that I could feel fear. In controlled amounts, fear can push people to do great things.

"GrrRrrr." The humandrill growls from behind the foliage. This comes as a surprise to me. Naturally, humandrills are rare and peaceful animals that survive in some forests around this planet. Though, I remember from my memories of One piece anime that humandrills copy human behavior. Therefore…

My mind links the pieces together and I come to a conclusion that is certified when I see the glint of a revolver through the foliage at the humandrill's location.

'Run! This humandrill watched the pirates sack and destroy this town. It's definitely screwed in the head now.' I leap to the side and as I do I hear the gun go off.

BANG!!

"Bitch!" I scream as pain erupts in my right arm as bullet tears through my body though missing bone. I begin to run uphill because the beast blocks the path down. The humandrill follows me by leaping through the trees.

BANG!!

Another shot rings out and the ground to my left explodes with dust. 'The beast is new to this. I need to escape before it improves'. I keep running and making full use of my current abilities. A mixture of skills like parkour, mixed martial arts, military training, and survival tactics which I gained in my past life. My body though younger and different felt full of energy. This current body is stronger than I was at 17. Strangely, it is almost as athletic as my previous body at 28.

Slowly, I gained some distance between myself and the humandrill that is learning to shoot.

BANG!!!

The tree bark to my right explodes with dust. 'That was much closer than the previous three shots.' I jump to leap over a fallen tree and to Oda's glory, before my eyes is a weird shaped mango covered in gold and black swirls.

'Whoa.' Surprise fills my mind and i control my landing. I instantly run up to the tree I see the fruit on and use my skills to climb the tree as swiftly as possible. I grab the fruit and take position behind the tree. So the tree covers me from the approaching beast.

I give the fruit a quick once over and I am about ninety percent sure it's a Devil fruit as it looks way different than the other fruits on this tree. The leaves on top are in shape of a bird and are black even though the host tree has green leaves.

"Thank you whoever transmigrated me. You have my thanks for giving me this chance to survive." After my prayer of thanks I wolf the fruit down instantly while doing my best to ignore my screaming taste buds.

"Bleh." My gag reflex is hard to control and I almost throw up but I persevere. I take a few deep breaths to suppress my stomach, calm myself and wait for the rush of information I know is coming. You see, Devil fruits might not tell you their name once you eat them, but they tell you their general abilities. After five seconds of suppressing my retches, I feel a surge of information enter my head.

Instantly, I understand what I can do with my new abilities. A surge of happiness rages through me because of the helpful devil fruit I now have. A Devil fruit that changes me from someone planning to just survive in this world to a person who believes he can thrive here. I can't help but laugh.

"CawCawCawCawCa… Ehhhh!!!" I scream in shock as I hear myself laugh. "Wtf! Don't tell me this stupid fruit changed my-." I'm interrupted by a sixth sense I now have. My mind screams with danger and brings me back into a state of hyper focus. I jump strongly into the air, shooting through the treetop into the sky, just as a bullet strikes the tree bark at my previous position.

BANG!!

I grin in mid air as I enjoy the improved physique my devil fruit provides. I smirk at the humandrill as large black wings explode from my back. I flap my wings to dodge the beast's next shot.

BANG!!

'Let's see what the Bird Bird Fruit, Model: Tengu, can do.' I slip into hyper focus and prepare to fight!