"I can't believe such a hell exists in this part of the sea…"
"I don't know what the damn Marines are doing, those villagers were literally enslaved by those damn fish…"
A tall young man, about 1.87 meters in height, spoke with a voice heavy with frustration. His neatly trimmed hair gave him the appearance of someone fresh out of a military camp.
His black eyes were locked on the corpse of a strange fish-man sprawled lifeless on the ground. It wasn't the only body. The courtyard was littered with corpses of all kinds.
Seth pulled his sword out of the skull of a fish-man with a saw-like nose, wiped the blood off on the dead creature's clothes, and kicked the body aside.
Boom!
"I don't know if all of them are here… if a few slipped away, I could be in serious trouble."
"They might expose our current location… and I'm really sick of running from island to island,"
he muttered with a scowl, scanning the building for any sign of someone hiding in a corner.
"Hmm… strange room…" he whispered in surprise as he stepped inside. "So many maps…"
The room was packed with different maps.
Sheathing his sword at his waist, he picked up one of them and raised his eyebrows, surprised.
"Wow… this is the work of a pro."
He couldn't help but silently praise whoever had drawn the detailed chart. Then he tossed it aside and murmured bitterly,
"Tch!, if I had known someone this talented was among them, I would've kept him alive…"
"No doubt, the person who drew these maps was a professional navigator. I would've spared him… at least long enough to learn navigation from him. But…"
A faint smirk curled the corner of his lips as he flipped through a handwritten book on maritime navigation.
"With Transformation No. 0… I can learn it on my own."
He was referring to that small creature granted by the watch. At first, he had looked at it with disdain, but four months ago, he realized how foolish he had been for not using that transformation to his advantage.
Transformation No. 0 granted him heightened intelligence and terrifying learning ability.
With the right resources, books, references , he could master any skill at frightening speed. And even after reverting back, the knowledge remained.
He dragged a chair from the corner and sat, flipping through the handwritten pages. It was clear the room's owner had authored the book himself.
"Amazing… this guy was a real genius," he admitted honestly, then sighed in regret. "Too bad I killed him…"
Setting the book aside, he closed his eyes briefly. He couldn't help but remember that cursed day that changed his life , the day his father was killed… and he obtained the watch, or rather, the Omnitrix.
"Seven whole months have passed… without me realizing," he whispered with a complex tone.
"In just seven months, I've been forced to move from island to island…" he muttered bitterly, recalling all the hardships he and his family had endured.
Seven months ago, when he and his mother arrived at the village, they had left immediately after retrieving his siblings and their belongings, fearing their location had been exposed to the World Government. His mother had warned him not to underestimate the government's intelligence network, and her warning was justified.
Exactly 28 days after settling in a new place, their location was discovered. The Marines surrounded them. If Seth hadn't transformed into a giant elephant and destroyed the five-ship fleet, he and his family would've been captured.
Though they escaped, his transformation into the mythical Zoan elephant was witnessed, alerting the World Government.
And since he had already demonstrated the ability to turn into a Sea King-like serpent, their interest in him skyrocketed.
They increased his bounty to 540 million, and placed an additional 10 million reward for information on his whereabouts.
It was that 10-million bounty that exposed his second hideout.
Nearly three months later, a village resident ratted him out. Fortunately, he discovered it in time and left before it was too late.
The third time came through betrayal ,this time from the village chief himself, a man Seth had saved from pirate raiders.
Driven by greed and fear, the chief turned him in. In a way, Seth understood, after all, he was technically a pirate now.
But still… he was currently helping that same village grow crops by supplying fertilizer.
All of it led to this moment.
After everything, when he arrived at this new island that morning, he had sent his mother and siblings to the local village to live safely, while he chose to hide in the forest ,just in case someone recognized him.
What he hadn't expected was that this seemingly peaceful place was actually a slave colony ruled by fish-men, led by Arlong, a fish-man with a 20-million bounty. It was the first time Seth had ever seen fish-men in person.
It all started when one of them tried to kill him… and in a blink, it ended with all of them slaughtered in this courtyard. But before killing everyone, he had captured and tortured one fish-man, gathering crucial intel.
"The Marines, huh…" Seth muttered, recalling the shocking truth he had learned ,that the local Marine branch was cooperating with the fish-men.
"…Should I just wipe out that entire Marine branch?" he scowled.
But then he shook his head.
"If I do that… I'll attract attention. The Marines might trace it back to me…"
Boom!
Seth kicked the desk in anger and stood up, fists clenched in frustration.
"I'm so damn tired of calculating every step I take… the Marines and the World Government are like a nightmare haunting me…"
"If it were just me, I wouldn't care about their damn pursuit. But I'm not alone. Even if I'm strong enough to face the danger… my family isn't. Especially…"
He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Especially with that chronic illness my mother suffers from… it's like the Reaper's blade hanging over her neck…"
"I have to find them a safe place… then look for a cure. And if I can't find one in this part of the sea, I'll go to the Grand Line , even the New World if I have to…"
There was no way he'd let his mother die from that disease. He refused to believe there wasn't a cure somewhere in the world. But the problem now… was that he couldn't bring himself to leave them behind. Not yet.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
"…Hmm. That might actually work."
A mechanical voice interrupted his thoughts.
[Scan complete…]
[DNA acquired successfully…]
[Transformation unlocked…]