[Warning: chapter 2000 words]
*Twenty years ago - Goa Kingdom*
The flames of Grey Terminal painted the night sky crimson as a woman in a tattered Marine coat stumbled through the burning wreckage. In her arms, she cradled a newborn child—a boy with silver hair and eyes like molten gold.
"Admiral Scarlett!" A female Marine lieutenant called out, rushing to her superior's side. "The Celestial Dragon's ship is demanding we return immediately! They say the... the experiment was a failure."
Admiral Scarlett looked down at the infant in her arms, her weathered face softening despite the chaos around them. The child wasn't crying—instead, he stared up at her with an intelligence that seemed impossible for someone so young.
"A failure?" she whispered, brushing ash from the baby's cheek. "They don't understand what they've created."
"Ma'am?"
"Tell them the child died in the fire," Scarlett ordered, her voice hardening with resolve. "File the report. Project D-Male is terminated."
The lieutenant hesitated. "Admiral, if they discover we lied—"
"They won't." Scarlett turned away from the flames, walking toward the docks where a small fishing boat waited. "Because officially, this child never existed."
As she placed the baby in the boat with an old fisherman who asked no questions, Admiral Scarlett whispered a final blessing: "Live free, little one. The world isn't ready for what you are, but perhaps... perhaps you'll make it ready."
The boat disappeared into the night, carrying the last male born in nearly a generation toward an unknown destin
----
*Present Day - Windmill Village*
Eighteen years later, Dracul D. Vex stood on the cliffs overlooking Windmill Village, watching the morning sun paint the ocean in shades of gold. His silver hair caught the light like spun metal, and his unusual eyes—a trait that made everyone who saw him stop and stare—reflected the endless horizon.
"Still dreaming of being a pirate, boy?"
Vex turned to see Old Martha climbing up the cliff path, her weathered hands gripping a walking stick. At seventy-three, she was one of the few people in the village who didn't treat him like some exotic creature.
"Every day," Vex replied with a grin that had charmed half the women in the village and worried the other half. "Though I suspect you already knew that."
Martha snorted. "Hard not to when you spend every morning up here staring at the sea like it owes you money." She joined him at the cliff's edge, her sharp eyes studying his profile. "You know, there was another boy who used to stand on these cliffs. Monkey D. Luffy. Had the same look in his eyes."
"The Pirate King's rival," Vex said quietly. "I've heard the stories."
"Aye, well, stories have a way of changing in the telling." Martha's voice carried a note of sadness. "That boy had dreams bigger than the world itself. But dreams aren't enough, child. Not for someone like you."
Vex raised an eyebrow. "Someone like me?"
"Don't play dumb. You know what you are." Martha's gaze sharpened. "The question is: what are you going to do about it?"
Before Vex could respond, shouts erupted from the village below. A column of smoke rose from the harbor, and the distinctive white sails of Marine ships cut through the morning mist.
"Marines," Vex muttered, his hand instinctively moving to the worn sword at his hip—a blade he'd found washed up on the shore years ago, its origins as mysterious as his own.
"Not just any Marines," Martha said grimly, pointing at the lead ship's figurehead. "That's the *Iron Rose*—Captain Victoria Steelheart's vessel. She's got a reputation for... collecting rare specimens."
Vex's blood ran cold. He'd heard whispers about Marine captains who made it their business to hunt down anomalies like him. In a world where men were precious commodities, a young man with dreams of piracy was either valuable property or a dangerous threat.
"I have to go," he said, turning toward the village.
"Boy." Martha's voice stopped him. "If you're really set on this path... remember that strength isn't just about what you can do. It's about who stands with you when the world tries to tear you down."
Vex nodded, not fully understanding her words but sensing their importance. Then he was running down the cliff path, his heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and terror.
The village square was in chaos when he arrived. Marine soldiers—all women, as expected—had formed a perimeter around the fountain while Captain Steelheart stood in the center, her pristine uniform and cold blue eyes surveying the frightened villagers.
"Citizens of Windmill Village," her voice carried clearly across the square, "we have reports of an unregistered male residing in this area. By order of the World Government, all males must be properly documented and placed under appropriate protection."
Vex ducked behind the blacksmith's shop, his mind racing. He could try to hide, but in a village this small, they'd find him eventually. Or he could run—steal a boat and disappear into the vast ocean with nothing but the clothes on his back.
*Or you could fight.*
The thought came unbidden, and with it, a strange tingling sensation in his chest. For a moment, Vex could swear he saw translucent text floating before his eyes, but when he blinked, it was gone.
"Sir!" One of the Marine soldiers approached Captain Steelheart, her voice excited. "We found him! The target is hiding behind the blacksmith's shop!"
Vex cursed under his breath. So much for stealth.
"Bring him out," Steelheart ordered. "Carefully. We need him undamaged."
Three Marines rounded the building, their weapons drawn but not aimed to kill. The lead soldier, a young woman with short red hair, gestured for him to come forward.
"Easy now," she said in what was probably meant to be a soothing tone. "Nobody wants to hurt you. We're just here to make sure you're safe."
"Safe from what?" Vex asked, stepping into the open with his hands raised. The entire village had gathered to watch, their faces a mixture of curiosity and pity.
"From yourself, mostly," Captain Steelheart answered as she approached. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw his face—first surprise, then something that looked almost like hunger. "My, my. The reports didn't do you justice."
Vex felt his skin crawl under her scrutiny. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"I'm afraid that's not your choice to make." Steelheart nodded to her subordinates. "Sedate him. The Celestial Dragons have been very clear about acquiring subjects with... unique characteristics."
The world seemed to slow as the Marines raised their weapons. Vex saw the tranquilizer darts being loaded, saw the resigned faces of the villagers who had raised him, saw his dreams of freedom slipping away before they'd even begun.
Then something inside him snapped.
The tingling in his chest exploded into a surge of energy that raced through his entire body. Text appeared before his eyes again, clearer this time:
[DEVIL BOND SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]
[HOST STRESS LEVELS: CRITICAL]
[EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED]
[SCANNING FOR AVAILABLE BONDS...]
Time resumed its normal pace as Vex moved with speed that surprised everyone, including himself. He ducked under the first dart, rolled past the second, and came up running toward the harbor.
"Don't let him reach the water!" Steelheart shouted, drawing her own weapon—a sleek blade that gleamed with an unnatural blue light. "He's faster than he should be!"
[DEVIL FRUIT USER DETECTED]
[TARGET: CAPTAIN VICTORIA STEELHEART]
[ABILITY: SUPA SUPA NO MI - BLADE-BLADE FRUIT]
[BOND COMPATIBILITY: 23%]
[WARNING: CURRENT HOST CONDITION UNSUITABLE FOR BONDING]
Vex ignored the strange messages flooding his vision, focusing instead on reaching the small fishing boat he'd spotted at the dock. Behind him, he could hear the Marines giving chase, their boots pounding on the cobblestones.
He dove off the dock just as Steelheart's blade whistled through the air where his head had been. The impact with the cold water knocked the breath from his lungs, but he forced himself to swim toward the boat.
"Stubborn little fish," Steelheart muttered, her blade-enhanced fingers extending into razor-sharp claws. "I'll have to wing him."
She leaped from the dock with inhuman grace, her fruit-enhanced body cutting through the air like a living weapon. Vex saw her coming and tried to dive deeper, but the water slowed his movements while her powers seemed unaffected.
Pain exploded across his back as her claws raked across his shoulders, drawing blood that stained the water red. The system messages became more urgent:
[HOST INJURY DETECTED]
[SURVIVAL INSTINCTS ACTIVATED]
[EMERGENCY BOND PROTOCOL INITIATED]
Vex's hand closed around something metallic on the boat's hull—an old anchor chain covered in barnacles and seaweed. As his blood touched the metal, he felt a strange resonance, as if the ocean itself was responding to his distress.
"Got you now," Steelheart said, surfacing beside him with a predatory smile. "Time to—"
Her words cut off as the water around them began to glow with an eerie blue light. Vex felt power flowing into him from... somewhere. Not from Steelheart—the system had said their compatibility was too low—but from something else. Something connected to the sea, to the metal in his hands, to the blood mixing with the salt water.
[UNKNOWN DEVIL FRUIT RESONANCE DETECTED]
[POSTHUMOUS BOND FORMING...]
[SOURCE: ROSA "THORN QUEEN" BLACKHEART - DECEASED]
[BARA BARA NO MI - CHOP-CHOP FRUIT]
[BOND STRENGTH: 89%]
[INTEGRATION BEGINNING...]
The world exploded into fragments as Vex's body separated into dozens of pieces, each part floating independently in the water. Steelheart's eyes widened in shock as her blade passed harmlessly through his detached torso.
"Impossible," she breathed. "You're not a Devil Fruit user. Our intelligence was clear—"
"Your intelligence was wrong," Vex replied, his voice coming from multiple directions as his scattered parts spoke in unison. He was still processing what had happened, but the knowledge flowing into his mind told him everything he needed to know about his new abilities.
Rosa Blackheart. The infamous pirate captain who had been executed in Loguetown three days ago. Somehow, her spirit—her very essence—had found its way to him across the miles of ocean. The system had formed a bond with her even in death, granting him her Devil Fruit powers.
[INTEGRATION COMPLETE]*
[BARA BARA NO MI ABILITIES UNLOCKED]
[BOND STATUS: ETERNAL - CANNOT BE SEVERED]
[WARNING: HOST STILL IN DANGER]
Vex's body reassembled itself as he climbed into the fishing boat, water streaming from his clothes. Steelheart treaded water nearby, her expression a mixture of confusion and calculation.
"Whatever you are," she said slowly, "you're coming with me. The World Government will pay handsomely for a male Devil Fruit user."
"The World Government," Vex replied, starting the boat's engine with hands that no longer shook, "can go to hell."
The boat lurched forward, carrying him away from the only home he'd ever known. As Windmill Village faded into the distance, Vex felt a presence in his mind—not the cold efficiency of the system, but something warmer. A woman's voice, faint but unmistakable:
*"Use my power well, boy. The sea has chosen you for something greater than either of us can imagine."*
Rosa's final gift wasn't just her Devil Fruit abilities—it was her memories, her experiences, her knowledge of the pirate world he was about to enter. And from those memories, he learned that his journey had only just begun.
The system interface flickered back to life:
[QUEST UPDATED: ESCAPE MARINE PURSUIT]
[NEW OBJECTIVE: REACH LOGUETOWN]
[BOND SLOTS AVAILABLE: 4/5]
[TIP: FORMING BONDS WITH LIVING DEVIL FRUIT USERS WILL ENHANCE SYSTEM CAPABILITIES]
Vex smiled grimly as he set course for the Grand Line. Let the Marines come. Let the world try to cage him. He had Rosa's power flowing through his veins, the vast ocean stretching before him, and a system that promised abilities beyond imagination.
The age of the last pirate king was about to begin.