Chapter 2 — Zoan-Type Devil Fruit
After sitting all morning, bored out of his mind while staring at the calm sea, the helpless Jack finally stood up and went to beg Monkey Bro for food again.
After several days of "friendly and peaceful" coexistence, the monkeys seemed to have recognized him as a strange but harmless creature.
In this forest, their monkey troop was actually one of the weakest species—otherwise, they wouldn't have been forced to live on the outermost edge of the forest.
Fortunately, they only ate fruit, and the forest was absurdly rich in produce. As long as they banded together to fend off powerful "external enemies," their lives were actually quite comfortable.
So when they suddenly encountered a creature they had never seen before—one so "weak" that it could only trail behind them picking up dropped fruit—they naturally showed great interest.
After the initial wariness passed, every time Jack came by, a few curious little monkeys would bring him fruits he had never even seen back on Earth, offering them to him with both hands.
In return, Jack did what he could to express his goodwill.
For example, using his left hand—the one not covered by the Infinity Gauntlet—to pick lice and smooth the fur of the little monkeys. They got along surprisingly well.
It was just a pity that monkeys, no matter how smart, were still far from being able to speak.
Humans were, after all, social creatures. On this dangerous island with no one of his own kind to talk to, Jack's mood sank a little more each day.
Optimism was always relative. Once the bottom line was shattered, even the most optimistic person could collapse instantly.
These adorable little monkeys gave Jack some much-needed psychological comfort, easing his steadily declining mood.
Just as Jack sat on the ground, eating sweet, juicy fruit with one hand while taking turns scratching a few mischievous little monkeys with the other, he suddenly noticed a fruit with a very peculiar appearance—one that carried an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
He had eaten plenty of oddly shaped fruits over the past few days, but this was the first time one had given him such a strange feeling.
Curious, he picked it up and examined it carefully.
Judging by shape alone, it was no different from the bananas commonly seen everywhere back on Earth.
But its black-and-white coloration, along with that spiral pattern—no matter how you looked at it, it felt oddly familiar—made Jack unconsciously stop what he was doing and fall into thought.
Why did this thing look so much like that piece of "junk" he once bought at an agricultural expo?
He still remembered it clearly: he had been trying to woo a beautiful graduate student from an agricultural university, and at the expo he'd been scammed badly—spending a full 100,000 to buy three so-called "Devil Fruits"!
Just based on shape and color, they looked exactly like the ones from the manga!
To be honest, Jack had genuinely admired the craftsmanship. Being able to cultivate fruits into such bizarre and magical-looking forms was impressive. But after taking them home and discovering that they tasted awful and granted absolutely no superpowers whatsoever, he chose "revenge."
After using tons of money convincing that grad student, he spent his days unlocking new poses in every possible way—including cosplaying characters like Nami and Robin from One Piece—thoroughly venting his anger over those three "fake Devil Fruits."
Unfortunately, he'd ended up inexplicably transported here, and had no idea whether that student was washing herself clean and fragrant enough, or which bastard would end up benefiting from it.
Just thinking about it made him sad.
Oh right—and that merch girl who was planning to provide him with some "after-sales service" after work. Who knew if she'd be heartbroken… heartbroken that the cash cow in her hands had suddenly flown away.
Somehow, Jack's thoughts drifted off to who knew where.
What made things worse was that after a few little monkeys—who felt they were being "neglected"—leapt onto him and desperately tugged at his hair, snapping him out of it, he suddenly and inexplicably felt that these monkeys looked kind of… pleasant.
What the heck am I thinking!
Suddenly so scared, he hurriedly slapped himself several times.
After a while.
"So… this thing isn't a real Devil Fruit, is it? Don't tell me I was unlucky enough to transmigrate straight into that insanely chaotic Great Pirate Era?"
Jack felt even more depressed.
In truth, it would be easy to verify. Just eat this suspiciously Devil-Fruit-like, Zoan-type, poop-flavored banana, and everything would become clear.
A Devil Fruit!
Judging by its shape, it should be a Zoan type. And on this perilous island where survival was uncertain every single day, strengthening his ability to live was the most important thing!
The only question was—what kind of animal would it be? If he turned into an eel, wouldn't that be unbearably awkward?
Uh… come to think of it, Zoan-type Devil Fruits didn't seem to include any sea creatures at all. Was that part of the "curse," maybe?
Anyone who had read the original work knew how lethal the taste of these fruits was—even someone as thick-nerved as Luffy couldn't take it.
Goodbye, my braised pork knuckle!
Goodbye, my boiled fish!
Goodbye—
Just as Jack was about to steel himself and experience the true flavor of "poop," the Infinity Gauntlet—silent ever since his transmigration—suddenly began to glow.
"Huh? Don't tell me my cheat just came online?"
Jack immediately grew excited and began studying the new reaction of the Infinity Gauntlet on his right hand. Unfortunately, after trying rubbing it, shouting "Open sesame," chanting Prajñāpāramitā, and a whole series of other methods, the thing remained exactly the same piece of junk.
Worse still, the glow seemed to be getting weaker and weaker…
Jack panicked—but forced himself to calm down.
As a qualified rich second-generation heir, even if his ideal was to freeload and squander money, years of influence from his family environment had still given him some qualities above the average person.
At the very least, his father often taught him not to rush or panic when things happened—the more critical the situation, the more important it was to stay calm. Only by doing so could one find the key to breaking the deadlock.
Many principles from the business world applied just as well to life.
So Jack began calmly recalling everything he knew about the Infinity Gauntlet.
Even as the glow on the gauntlet grew fainter and fainter, and more than ten little monkeys clung to him, he continued thinking with composure.
Infinity Gauntlet… six Infinity Stones… carrier… fusion… channeling power…
I've got it!
Jack took a deep breath. He felt he might have figured something out—and that what he was about to do next could be a truly great feat!
Ignoring the now barely visible soft glow of the Infinity Gauntlet, he first picked up the fruit suspected to be a Devil Fruit. This time, however, he had no intention of eating it himself.
Instead, he planned to "feed" it to the Infinity Gauntlet!
Frowning, he lifted the "banana" and slowly brought it toward one of the indentations on the Infinity Gauntlet…