In the North Blue, on Swallow Island, a child lay unconscious on the beach, his body covered in glowing blue jewels. His face was twisted in pain, and moments later, he awoke screaming, the agony intensifying with every second.
Leonard jolted awake, his scream echoing across the deserted shore. A searing pain surged through his body like fire under his skin. Gasping, he took in his surroundings: the endless horizon of the ocean, the white sands beneath him—none of it familiar.
His panic momentarily overshadowed the pain as he spotted a small vial beside him, containing a glowing liquid, with a folded note attached. With trembling hands, Leonard opened the note and read:
Dear Leonard,
This is the guy who accidentally killed you in your sleep. Yeah… my bad. To make up for it, I've transported you into your favorite anime world—One Piece—using the body you designed for your fanfiction. As another bonus, I've given you the Essence of Self. You can use it to cure the sickness you gave your character, and it should also stop you from dying instantly in this world.
Enjoy your new life. You'll meet me again when you die—hopefully not too soon.
Sincerely, The One Who Oopsed
Leonard blinked, rereading the note, the realization sinking in like an anchor. He was really in the One Piece world. The ocean, the heat, the surreal pain—it all made sense now.
Without hesitation, he drank the liquid from the vial. Almost instantly, the pain in his body began to subside, his muscles tightening, strengthening. But just as relief washed over him, a more intense wave of pain struck—ten times worse than before.
Leonard blacked out.
A short while later, four children were biking along the beach, scavenging for scrap to sell in town. Three looked like ordinary kids, but one resembled a small polar bear. This bear-like boy suddenly yawned and suggested they stop for a picnic near the ocean.
As they approached the shoreline, they spotted Leonard lying unconscious in the sand.
"We need to help him!" the polar bear boy exclaimed, rushing toward Leonard.
The boy with a hat frowned. "Hey, what are you doing? He's an outsider. What if he's the son of some pirate or criminal? If we save him and the Marines are after him, they'll come after us too."
"But Law, what if he's hurt? He might die if we just leave him here!" the bear protested.
The boy in the hat—Trafalgar D. Water Law—gritted his teeth. He didn't like unnecessary risks. Being a wanted child with a rare Devil Fruit made him a constant target of the Marines.
But the bear, Bepo, stared at Law with wide, pleading eyes. Law's weakness.
"Tch... fine," Law muttered, turning away. "Let's take him to Wolf-san. If he agrees, I won't stop you."
Bepo smiled, carefully lifting Leonard onto his back. The group rode back to their hideout, where a tall man with goggles and grease-stained hands was hammering away at some invention.
"Who's that?" Wolf asked, barely glancing up. "Another mouth to feed?"
"We found him passed out on the beach," Law explained. "Looks like he was in a shipwreck or something."
Bepo gently laid Leonard onto a bed beside Wolf's workbench.
"If he can pull his weight, he can stay. But if not, out he goes," Wolf grumbled. He didn't mean it. Despite his gruff tone, Wolf cared deeply for the kids under his roof—Law, Bepo, and the others like Penguin and Shachi.
The kids nodded and left to finish their errands, leaving Wolf alone with the mysterious new arrival.
As Wolf worked, he occasionally glanced at Leonard. At first, the boy seemed stable—just sleeping. But an hour later, Wolf noticed something alarming: Leonard's skin was red-hot, as if burning from the inside. Wolf quickly grabbed a bucket of water and poured it over him, but it evaporated instantly in a cloud of steam.
Leonard's expression was twisted in agony, but he remained unconscious.
Another hour passed.
Without warning, flames erupted from Leonard's body, engulfing the bed and pillow in an inferno. Wolf leapt back, stunned.
The boy wasn't just sick. He was a Devil Fruit user—and not just any Devil Fruit. From the intensity of the flames, Wolf recognized the signs of a Logia-type user, someone who could become and control an element—in this case, fire.
Wolf had once read about such abilities in a Devil Fruit encyclopedia they salvaged during a raid on a Marine vessel. The book mentioned a fruit that allowed the user to become a Flame Human.
Still, something was different. The flames around Leonard weren't ordinary. At first, they were the typical orange of normal fire. But over the next hour, they turned deep red—hotter, denser, and more intense. The heat began to affect the surrounding air, distorting it like a mirage.
Unbeknownst to Wolf, Leonard was undergoing a transformation. As the Essence of Self activated within him, it began to unlock not just the powers of his body—but its memories.
In his unconscious mind, Leonard relived the torment and suffering the body had endured in his fanfiction world. Every scar, every experiment, every betrayal—he felt it all.
And in response, his flames only burned hotter.