I've been around this world long enough to know its rhythm.
Before my transmigration, for seven or eight years, I lived chasing passion and justice.
After my transmigration, for another seven or eight years, I still chased passion and justice.
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"Kuzan! Don't you dare make a mess in here! Out, now!"
Sister Silina's angry shout echoed through the small coastal chapel as she chased Kuzan out, waving a broom in one hand and clutching a bottle of wine in the other.
"I just want to share a drink with myself… and let the sea feel my sword…"
Kuzan, clearly drunk, was rambling nonsense inside the church. His words were slurred, his balance unsteady, and his mood somewhere between melancholy and pride.
It had been over seven years since he came to this world — the world of One Piece.
In his previous life, he'd been a carefree college student — a young man full of energy who loved every moment of living.
He liked to brag, flirt with girls, drink, and dance under the flashing lights of a disco floor. When he had nothing else to do, he'd watch anime or recite corny lines of poetry to whichever girl caught his eye.
As carefree as a flower, as free as the wind.
And somehow, one night, during one of those meaningless parties, he had ended up here — in the world of pirates, Marines, and endless seas.
When Kuzan arrived, he was only ten years old. To survive, he stole from others, was hunted by bandits, and eventually was gravely injured. When he woke again, he was… someone else.
At first, he thought his college friends had played a cruel prank — dumping him in a graveyard as a joke. But when he realized he couldn't move, panic gripped him.
The confusion, the pain — it all blurred together, and he passed out again.
When he woke, he was lying on a wooden bed inside a chapel near the sea. The woman who had rescued him was a kind but strict nun named Silina.
From that day on, Kuzan became her problem child — the one she both loved and scolded daily. She'd chase him around the chapel with her broom whenever he got into trouble.
He already had a mischievous streak, and with the personality of his new body, he became even more of a troublemaker. Maybe he just wanted to find a sense of belonging — or maybe he wanted to forget the past. Either way, he started drinking at a young age.
Because he was still a boy, Silina tried her best to discipline him. Whenever she caught him sneaking drinks, she'd storm in with that broom in hand and "teach" him a lesson he wouldn't forget.
When he was thirteen, Kuzan stumbled upon the Ice-Ice Fruit — a Logia-type Devil Fruit that would one day define him.
It happened almost by chance.
One sunny afternoon, while training in the hills west of the chapel, he spotted something strange lying in the grass — a fruit with curling, swirling patterns across its skin.
It sat there quietly, almost as if it had been waiting for him.
Holding his breath, Kuzan picked it up and, without much thought, swallowed it whole. The taste was unbelievably bitter, but within moments, he could feel something awakening inside him — the power to control and become ice itself.
From that day on, he possessed the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit.
He told no one. Not even Silina. The power of a Logia user was too dangerous to reveal. He feared the attention it might bring — from pirates, bounty hunters, or worse.
Over the years, Kuzan trained in secret. He built his strength, tempered his endurance, and learned to control the cold that now lived within him.
He also began studying swordsmanship. With no teacher, he relied on memory and imagination — recalling techniques from the fiction of his past life and adapting them into his own crude practice.
Every day, he wielded a cheap sword worth only 500 Berry.
Draw. Slash. Sheathe.
Draw. Slash. Sheathe.
He repeated those movements endlessly, day after day.
At the same time, he experimented with his Devil Fruit powers — trying to recreate techniques he remembered from the world he'd once known. Bit by bit, he learned to freeze the ground, shape ice, and lower temperatures at will.
He worked tirelessly.
Without a mentor, he only managed to sense the first sparks of Observation Haki. As for Armament Haki, he couldn't even begin to grasp it.
After years of effort, he reached a point where his progress slowed. Despite his training, he could feel his limits tightening.
He knew what it meant. It was time to leave — to say goodbye to the warmth of his small home and head toward the endless sea.
On the night before his departure, Kuzan drank heavily. He couldn't bear to part with Silina or the life she'd given him.
Drunk and emotional, he wept. Silina scolded him, hitting him with her broom — but as she did, tears began to fall from her eyes as well.
She knew he was leaving.
In the end, she dropped the broom, wrapped her arms around him, and sobbed. She had raised him like her own son for seven years, and though her heart broke, she understood — he didn't belong here. He belonged to the sea.
And so, with the morning sun shining over the coast, Kuzan left home and began his journey toward the horizon.
Marine Recruitment Office, West Blue.
Kuzan stood lazily in line, waiting for his turn.
"Make sure your registration forms are filled out correctly! Double-check everything before you step up!"
A young Petty Officer barked orders at the line of recruits.
"Next!"
When his turn came, Kuzan stepped into the room and handed over his form.
Name: Kuzan
Sex: Male
Age: 18
Origin: West Blue
Ability: Logia-type – Ice-Ice Fruit
The officer began reading aloud. "Name, Kuzan. Age, 18. From the West Blue. Ability—Logia-type… Ice—wait, what?!"
He blinked in disbelief. "You… you ate the Ice-Ice Fruit?!"
The room fell silent.
"Oh? You want proof?" Kuzan asked casually.
A thin frost crept across his arm, sparkling faintly in the light.
The officers froze in shock. "He's really a Logia user!"
They scrambled to report to their superior, Marine Captain Belous.
Kuzan stood quietly, hands in his pockets, his gaze calm and distant.
Moments later, the door burst open. A broad-shouldered man with a thick beard and a "Justice" coat strode in, followed by several officers.
"Hey there, kid! I'm Belous — you can call me Captain Belous. Welcome to the Marines!"
The Captain grinned warmly and extended his hand.
And just like that, Kuzan joined the Marines.