Ren (POV)
So… this was real.
The realization settled slowly, like a weight pressing against his chest.
Boa Hancock.
The Pirate Empress.
The woman who despised men more than the sea despised the weak.
And yet—
I'm alive.
Not chained. Not thrown overboard. Not turned to stone and shattered for sport.
Would anyone believe him if he said Boa Hancock had allowed a man to remain on her ship?
Ren almost laughed at the absurdity.
And now that his mind was clearing, something else stood out.
She looked… younger.
Not the fully realized Empress he remembered from the anime. No hardened arrogance sharpened by years of rule. This Hancock felt closer to seventeen—eighteen at most.
So this is just after she became Empress…
The timing alone made his stomach twist.
A soft sound broke his thoughts.
One of the Kuja women approached cautiously, keeping her distance as she set something down beside him.
Food.
Water.
Ren blinked.
It wasn't much—rough bread, a few pieces of fruit, a simple flask—but to him it might as well have been treasure.
They didn't have to do this.
Technically, he was a captive. A man trespassing in Kuja territory. The rules were absolute.
He hesitated for only a second before nodding.
"Thank you."
The warrior didn't reply. She turned and left.
Ren picked up the bread with trembling fingers.
Was Hancock really that… merciful?
She always wore that mask—arrogant, untouchable, cruel. The woman who petrified men without a second thought.
…Until she fell in love.
He exhaled slowly.
Thinking can wait.
He ate carefully, forcing himself not to rush. Each bite grounded him further, the water washing the salt and fire from his throat. Strength returned—not fully, but enough to remind him that he was still human.
Still alive.
Then—
A sound rang out inside his mind.
[Ding.]
Ren froze.
[Ren has survived the Beginning Trial.]
[Distributing rewards.]
"What…?"
[Congratulations. Starter Pack ×1 acquired.]
The air before him shimmered.
[Starter Pack Contents:]
• Hito Hito no Mi – Model: Sun Wukong
• Skill: Devour
• Senzu Beans ×10
Ren stared.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
A system…? Seriously?
[Strive to survive in your new world.]
[Conqueror or Savior—the choice is yours.]
[Reward delivered. I take my leave.]
And just like that—
Silence.
The presence vanished as if it had never existed.
Ren looked down.
In his hands rested a strange fruit—golden patterns twisting across its surface—and a small pouch containing unfamiliar green beans.
"…You don't even explain anything," he muttered.
No instructions. No warning. No time.
He stared at the Devil Fruit for a long moment.
Then he bit into it.
Instant regret.
The taste was wrong—bitter, rotten, like swallowing something that actively hated being eaten. Ren gagged, barely forcing it down.
"That's—disgusting—"
Every instinct screamed to spit it out.
But it was already done.
Heat surged through his body. His muscles tightened, bones humming with unfamiliar strength. Not overwhelming. Not explosive.
Just… there.
I'm stronger.
Not by much—his body was still recovering—but the difference was unmistakable.
Before he could examine the sensation further—
Footsteps echoed across the deck.
Ren looked up.
Boa Hancock approached, flanked by her sisters and the massive serpent that coiled obediently behind her. The air seemed to bend around her presence.
Up close, it was worse.
She really is… unfairly beautiful.
Not just her face—but her posture, the way the world seemed to acknowledge her existence.
…Guess stealing Luffy's greatest love won't be a crime in this timeline, he thought dryly.
I'll just pay him back in meat.
Amused, despite himself.
Hancock stopped a few steps away.
"You are remarkably calm," she said coolly. "For a man who should be terrified."
Ren met her gaze without bravado.
"Well," he shrugged faintly, "if you wanted me dead, I'd already be stone. The food and water made that clear."
He paused.
"…So let's make a deal."
Her eyebrow lifted, curiosity flickering through her composure.
"A deal?" she echoed. "How bold."
Ren reached into the pouch and produced a single bean.
"I have something people would wage wars over," he said evenly. "A miracle medicine. It heals physical wounds, injuries—even scars."
The deck went quiet.
Hancock's expression didn't change—but something shifted behind her eyes.
"All physical injuries?" she asked softly. "That is an extravagant claim."
"You don't have to believe me," Ren replied.
He flicked the bean toward her.
Hancock caught it instinctively, then stared down at it, surprised.
"You throw this away as if it were nothing," she said. "Are you trying to deceive me?"
Ren shook his head.
"I'm weak. Still hungry. If you wanted to take it by force, I couldn't stop you." His gaze was steady. "So there's no point in tricks."
Silence stretched between them.
Boa Hancock closed her fingers around the bean.
And for the first time—
Hope cracked the mask of the Pirate Empress.
---