"Dear heavens, please, just give me something useful this time!"
Deep in the forest at the center of a deserted island, Lind stood in front of a tree that closely resembled a banana tree—though it probably was just that—and prayed fervently.
After briefly seeking the aid of deities from his past life, Lind clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and murmured softly,
"In the name of Lind, awaken your dormant potential!"
"Gather the power of the universe and forge an extraordinary transformation!"
Slowly opening his eyes, he raised his hands, palms facing upward, as if pleading with the surrounding air for some kind of power.
Suddenly, his expression shifted. He turned his palms toward the banana tree and shouted,
"Lind Energy, Abracadabra—Transform!"
"Witness the miracle and embrace rebirth!"
Alone on the deserted island, Lind felt like he had returned to his teenage years, indulging in the cringiest of fantasies.
Suppressing his slight embarrassment, he completed the mutation ritual he had spent a full week refining. Then, he eagerly observed the banana tree, ready to witness the effects of the transformation.
"As expected, in a world like this, rituals and chants can better develop Devil Fruits. My efforts designing this ceremony weren't in vain."
"The mutation target matters a lot too. Zoan-type Devil Fruits already look like bananas, so mutating a banana tree should naturally yield excellent results."
Feeling the effects of the mutation, Lind couldn't help but smile. He analyzed the results aloud, summarizing this successful experiment.
It had been a week since he first ate a devil fruit.
For the past seven days, all he had done was mutate fruits or wait for his stamina to recover so he could continue mutating more. After dozens of attempts, he had finally produced something worthwhile today.
The effect was simple yet powerful—it enhanced his physical attributes. A basic yet immensely valuable improvement.
Even better, it could be eaten repeatedly for cumulative effects. It was exactly what Lind needed right now.
Not only could it boost his strength, but it also improved his stamina, increasing his efficiency in mutating more fruits. It was a perfect cycle of growth.
"Though this fruit won't grant me an animal transformation ability, pure physical enhancement is actually more in line with what I wanted."
Lind was more than satisfied with the results. His grin stretched from ear to ear, and despite trying to control his expression, he simply couldn't hold back his joy.
Only he knew how anxious he had been these past days. Now that he had finally obtained something valuable, he could breathe a sigh of relief.
For the first time, he felt a little more confident about facing the future. His strength was about to skyrocket.
What's more, he believed he had started to grasp some rules about how mutations worked. Though the discovery might not be particularly useful, it still put him in a great mood.
Without hesitation, Lind plucked a banana from the tree, peeled it, and took a bite.
"The taste is great! Even better than a regular banana. It's nothing like Devil Fruits, which are supposed to taste awful! Sure, it's a bit weaker, but it's not a one-time deal—doesn't that make it even better than Devil Fruits?"
As he chewed, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Alright, time to add proper training to my schedule."
Carrying two bunches of mutated bananas, Lind returned to his small hut by the beach.
Even though he planned to stay hidden until he became invincible, he didn't want to spend the rest of his days on this deserted island.
That's why he chose to live by the sea, hoping to build a raft someday and find a populated island.
Then, just like the protagonists of those farming novels from his past life, he could settle down, cultivate some land, raise a few animals, and recruit some followers.
"Is it that my stomach is too small, or is this mutant banana too effective? I've only eaten two, and I'm already full."
Feeling the strong sense of fullness in his stomach and the warmth spreading through his body, Lind was slightly astonished.
"Well, if I can't eat anymore, I might as well go for a run. Since the humans of this world have unique physiques, exercising right after eating shouldn't be a problem."
He immediately set off, jogging around the small island five times before returning to his starting point.
After running over ten kilometers, his face was only slightly flushed, and his breathing was only a little heavier.
"Seems like my digestion is nearly complete. I can eat again. I don't know if it's because of my physique or the special properties of the fruit."
In his past life, eating a full meal and then running ten kilometers to digest it would have been a death sentence.
But here, not only did it seem completely fine, but he actually felt great.
Maybe the humans in this world had fundamentally different physiques, or maybe it was the mutated bananas.
After all, a banana was small and shouldn't take up much stomach space. That sense of fullness might just be an illusion, and once the fruit's energy was used up, the hunger would return.
"Now for strength training. At this rate, my power is going to increase at an insane speed."
Lind stopped overthinking and focused on improving himself.
After eating another mutated banana, he began doing push-ups, sit-ups, and lifting large stones to train his strength.
….
"Huff! Huff!"
"Seven thousand six hundred fifty-four."
"Seven thousand six hundred fifty-five."
Lind was doing squats while holding a massive tree with a diameter of over a meter.
With the combined effects of the mutant bananas and his high-intensity training, his physical abilities had skyrocketed over the past three months.
At 1.85 meters tall, his broad, muscular upper body was a clear testament to his growth during this time.
"Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine."
"Ten thousand."
Boom!
Lind tossed the giant tree aside, casually grabbed a banana, and started walking toward the depths of the island.
"Three months in, and I'm already on my third round of mutations, but still no real breakthroughs. Just a few decent mutant bananas—this is way too hard."
He sighed while strolling through the island, complaining about how unpredictable the mutation process was.
"Also, I planted a few of the mutant bananas. I wonder if they'll pass down their mutations."
Soon, Lind arrived at his target—a towering coconut tree nearly thirty meters high.
Without hesitation, he began the mutation process, performing the steps with ease.
"In the name of Lind, awaken your dormant potential!"
After realizing that mutation outcomes were completely random and that rituals were practically useless, Lind had abandoned his elaborate ceremonies. Now, he just recited a couple of phrases out of habit.
A grin quickly spread across his face.
"A golden glow! Finally, I hit the jackpot!"
Looking at the now golden-hued coconuts, he couldn't contain his excitement.
"So there really is something like psychic power or telekinesis in this pirate world? This fruit is insane! I hope I don't get banned from existence for having it."
"Whatever, let's try one first."
Thanks to his strengthened body, Lind easily climbed the mutant coconut tree and plucked a few of the shiniest golden coconuts.
With his current strength, he no longer needed to smash them open with rocks. A single strike was enough to crack them open, revealing the coconut water and flesh inside.
Chugging an entire coconut in one go, Lind felt as if he were about to ascend to heaven. A wave of euphoria surged from the depths of his brain, leaving him craving more.
Before long, he had devoured several coconuts, drinking every drop of juice and eating every bit of flesh.
Quantity led to quality—something inside his mind had changed. A strange force was rapidly surging and stabilizing within him.
After about five minutes, the energy finally settled.
Sensing this newfound power in his mind, Lind started experimenting.
"Rise!"
"Go!"
A knee-high rock lifted into the air, floating back and forth under his control.
"HAHAHAHA! This fruit is insane! I only ate a few, and I can already do this?"
"Now, as long as my opponents don't have Observation Haki or a Logia-type Devil Fruit, I can take them out before they even realize what's happening!"
"I don't know where my physical abilities rank in this world, but with telekinesis, I finally have a way to protect myself."
"Someone send a damn ship already! I need to find a place where my farming skills can truly shine!"
Overwhelmed with excitement, Lind laughed heartily, waving his arms around as his desire to leave the island grew even stronger.
"I'll check the shoreline again. Might as well take the day off and eat something good. Hopefully, I'll find some decent seafood."
"It's a shame I hunted too many seabirds before. I haven't seen one in days, so now I have to rely on seafood and fruit to survive."
With the discovery of the mutant coconut, Lind completely lost interest in training for the day. He decided to take it easy.
Returning to his base, he grabbed a wooden bucket—one he had hollowed out by hand—and set off to search for food around the island.
Thanks to his immense physical strength, it didn't take long for him to gather half a bucket of crabs, scallops, and other seafood.
After that, he grabbed another bucket and his fishing rod, heading to a fishing spot he had found earlier.
By now, his body was strong enough that he no longer had to worry about slipping and falling into the water like before.
As for bait, he had something special.
A while back, he had mutated a tree he didn't recognize. To his surprise, its fruit started releasing a scent that attracted fish, making it a natural bait.
When he first discovered this, he had been completely dumbfounded.
"A godsend for fishing enthusiasts," he had thought. With this, he would never go home empty-handed again.
Sure enough, the powerful bait worked like a charm. In just a few dozen minutes, his fish bucket was full.
Satisfied with his haul, Lind hurried back to his shelter to prepare dinner.
Cooking, however, had never been his strong suit.
Whether in his past life or this one, he had little experience in the kitchen—especially when it came to handling seafood.
And since he had been focused on training all this time, he hadn't had the chance to improve his cooking skills either.
So, his dinners were always simple—just a big seafood stew.
He roughly cleaned the fish, scaled them, and removed the guts. Then, after a quick rinse, he tossed everything into the pot to boil.
With his physique—or rather, with how resilient the humans of this world were—there was no need to worry about food poisoning.
The firewood he had gathered burned brightly under the makeshift stove he had built by breaking and digging into the earth.
As the seafood boiled in his stone pot, a rich, mouthwatering aroma filled the air.
It was a simple meal, but for someone stranded on a deserted island, it was a rare treat.
Lind stared at the bubbling soup, lost in thought.
These past three months had been fulfilling, but at the end of the day, humans were social creatures.
Living alone, with no entertainment, was starting to wear on him. He longed to return to the normal world.
"Sigh... when will a ship finally come to take me away? Do I seriously have to build one by hand? I'm not Luffy!"
"If I have to eat seafood and fruit every single day, I'm gonna lose my mind!"
Grumbling to himself, Lind downed a large bowl of seafood soup in one go.