Chapter 230 - 1

Chapter 1: Trash-Trash Fruit??Sea Calendar 1520—Waves crashed against his face."Cough... cough!"Mark's neck jerked back as he choked on the seawater, his clouded consciousness finally tearing open a sliver of clarity—He pushed himself up with his numb arms and sat up.Beneath him was the cold sand, his lower body still soaking in the receding tide."Didn't I just have a few extra drinks with my classmates? Was it really necessary to dump me on a godforsaken beach like this?"He rubbed his dazed head, his fingertips first touching something soft—It was shoulder-length hair, damp and clinging to his neck, carrying a fishy smell of the sea."Long hair?" Mark's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly fumbled at his waist.He breathed a sigh of relief but was immediately dazed again: it was a size smaller than he remembered, but at least he still had his "manhood."Looking at his body, he was a tiny tot of about fourteen years old.Looking at his clothes: his black T-shirt was as tattered as a sieve, with three charred holes revealing his skin, and two strips of fabric dangling precariously from the hem.His original long pants were uneven; the left leg reached his knee while the right only covered his calf, with scorched marks along the edges.In a fit of rage, he ripped off the single remaining canvas shoe from his foot and hurled it into the sea. "Go find your companion!"Mark's heart instantly sank to the bottom: "If this isn't a dream... have I really transmigrated?""Is this a 'loser's counterattack' plot? I'm familiar with this. Broken engagements? Clan massacres?"At least give me a decent start! He scanned his surroundings—there were no mountain peaks shrouded in spiritual energy, only an endless expanse of blue where the sea and sky merged, dizzying to behold.On the sea not far away floated a soggy, wrinkled newspaper, several bottomless wooden barrels, and a few pieces of splintered wood covered in seaweed.The harbor behind him was even more of a mess: in the berths that should have been full of ships, only a few broken masts remained, stuck diagonally into the murky sea mud.Wood chips and fragments of torn sails were scattered everywhere across the shallows.Mark's gaze suddenly locked onto the newspaper—In the corner was a skull with a red nose, with "Buggy Pirates" written below it, along with the outline of half a bounty poster."Bu... Buggy?!" His voice trembled, his fingertips digging into his palms. "Is this... the world of the Pirate King?"As a veteran fan who had followed hundreds of episodes, he was all too familiar with what a bounty poster looked like in One Piece."Logically, there should be a 'ding' sound right about now, shouldn't there?""Where's the standard cheat for transmigrators? A system? An old grandpa? Even a stamina potion would do!"When others transmigrate, they're either naturally gifted or have a system by their side; at the very least, they get a thatched hut.But him? He was covered in rags, penniless, and his body felt like it could kick the bucket at any moment.Luckily, he was on land; if he were in the sea, he would have become shark bait long ago."God, are you playing with me?"Mark wailed at the sea, "Transmigrating as Luffy's neighbor would have been fine, but what's with being a kid who could drop dead any second!"He shouted until his throat was hoarse, the rumbling in his stomach louder than the waves—Just then, a cold mechanical voice suddenly exploded in his head:[Ding! Host's summons detected. Huaxia soul compatibility 50%. Binding the Strongest System...]"A system?!"Mark's eyes widened instantly, and he almost stumbled into the sea. He braced himself with his hands, forgetting to even breathe."I knew it! System Daddy! Quickly arrange Conqueror's Haki for me! A Logia fruit is fine too! The Tremor-Tremor Fruit would be best!"[System binding in progress... Host's bloodline is sealed. System binding failed.]The mechanical voice carried no emotion, sounding like it was reading a death sentence.The smile on Mark's face froze instantly; his mouth was still upturned, but his eyes had gone blank."Bloodline? Do I even have such a thing?System, did you forget to pay your phone bill? Try again! It must be because my posture is wrong!"[Binding failed]"Is this trashy system of yours from Pinduoduo for 9.9 yuan with free shipping? You dare to put on airs after failing to bind?!"[System self-destruct sequence initiated.]"Self-destruct? Hey!...Don't mess with a new account!"A green-lit panel suddenly popped up before his eyes with a single line of glaring text: [Self-destruct countdown: 60, 59, 58...]Mark jumped around in a panic, cursing with every swear word he had ever learned.He cursed everything from the system's trashiness to its "potential parents."Finally, he could only close his eyes and pray: "Make it powerful! Don't leave me half-dead and suffering!"10, 9, 8...[Warning! Host insulted the system as a "Trash System," triggering the Trash System's forced binding and ultimate punishment!][Binding Trash System...][Forced binding successful][Punishment: Forced awakening of Devil Fruitability—Logia: Trash-Trash Fruit (Filth-Filth Fruit).][Ability: Manipulate, decompose, and reconstruct (inactive) all matter defined by nature as "trash."][(Includes discarded items, decaying organisms, energy residues, etc.; excludes living things and non-discarded items.)][Side effect: Hated by the sea, unable to swim.]The curses got stuck in his throat. Mark felt as if he had been struck by lightning, frozen in place.Logia... Trash-Trash Fruit?System, why don't you listen to what you're saying?The magma of the three Admirals can burn through steel, their ice can freeze the sea, and their lasers can pierce the clouds—"And me? Manipulating trash? Decomposing trash?"He could even imagine the scene at the Marineford War:While others unleashed magma and tsunamis, he would be throwing a pile of stinking rotten fish bones. Never mind hitting the enemy; his teammates would probably cover their noses and run first."You're making me socially dead! This is murder in disguise!"Mark completely exploded. "I'd rather have no fruit than this piece of junk! Change it! Change it now!"[System notification: Fruit ability cannot be changed. Further insults will trigger additional punishment—]For example, making it so you can never decompose trash, only passively absorb it.]The words were at the tip of his tongue but he swallowed them back, Mark almost choking on his own saliva.Passively absorbing trash? Wouldn't he become a walking trash can?He stared at his hands, focusing his mind on "trash"—No reaction. Just as he was muttering, "This fruit is probably expired," an empty rum bottle drifted from afar, seaweed clinging to its body.With a "treating a dead horse as if it were alive" mentality, Mark stared at the bottle and thought: "Come here."The next second, the bottle was pulled as if by an invisible rope, wobbling as it floated before him and spinning in mid-air.He reached out and grabbed it, thinking "Decompose" in his mind—the bottle instantly turned into gray powder, rustling down onto the wooden boards and vanishing in the blink of an eye.[Absorbed "Discarded Wine Bottle" (trash), obtained "Glass Molecules," Energy Value +0.001][Note: Energy Value can be used to increase the host's physical attributes.]"I can even increase my physical attributes? If you'd said that earlier, I wouldn't be so tired! In the pirate world, physique is king."He looked up toward the harbor not far away—At the edge sat a mountain-high pile of trash: rotting fish, torn fishing nets, broken blades... the stench could carry for miles.But now, that pile of junk that others avoided was his only "resource.""'Trash-Trash Fruit' is too embarrassing; I need to think of a majestic name..." Mark rubbed his chin and pondered. "'Impure World Reconstruction Fruit'? Yeah, that sounds like something!"He took a deep breath.Luffy could turn rubber into Nika, and Choppercould push the Human-Human Fruit to its limits. Why couldn't he make something spectacular out of the Trash-Trash Fruit?"Isn't it just trash?" Mark licked his dry, cracked lips, a trace of ruthlessness appearing in his eyes."One day, I'll show those who look down on this fruit that even from a trash heap, a 'King of Scavengers' can emerge!"Looking at that pile of "treasure," Mark suddenly felt that this world of the Pirate King wasn't so hard to survive in after all.At least he didn't have to worry about a lack of "resources" to absorb.And... staring at the mountain of trash, his eyes suddenly lit up: collecting trash!In his previous life, the old man collecting scrap in his neighborhood could afford a house. The "scrap" in this Pirate King world might be even more valuable!He almost blurted out "buying second-hand phones, old computers, refrigerators, color TVs, and washing machines," but quickly held it back—this world didn't have those things.Mark gazed at the trash mountain ahead, and a "great idea" came to mind.The corners of his mouth slowly curled up."In the world of pirates, starting as the King of Scavengers... that doesn't seem too bad."}],