Night fell.
Stars shimmered, as if countless dreams were burning within the darkness, casting their brilliance across the Grand Line.
At this moment—
Inside the Naval Academy, a lone figure stood quietly in the dormitory corridor. Bathed in the soft glow of the Milky Way above, he stared blankly at the cherry blossom trees lining both sides of the walkway below, his mind gradually drifting.
"Did I… time-travel?"
"Though my surname isn't Monkey or Gol, and I've got nothing to do with the Celestial Dragons, being one of Zephyr's students… that's not a bad starting point."
"But—what is this Arms-Arms Fruit?"
Rosen's mind churned with chaotic thoughts.
Only minutes ago, he had suddenly awoken from a deep sleep. In that moment, the memories of his previous life had surged into him like a tidal wave—everything about who he was… and everything about this world of pirates. The influx left a dull pain throbbing between his brows, forcing him outside for fresh air, hoping to piece together the mess in his head.
"The Weapon Fruit allows you to transform any part of your body into a weapon. Not bad."
"Not a Logia, not a Mythical Zoan… but better than nothing."
"Isn't this the same Devil Fruit ability that belonged to Baby 5, one of Doflamingo's subordinates?"
"Could it be… that if I hadn't awakened my memories in time, I would've died here, and this Weapon Fruit would've gone to BABY5? Was Doflamingo the one who would've killed me?"
Rosen's heart clenched.
It was a relief that he wasn't in the same class as Ain and Binz. At least he wouldn't be ambushed by Edward Weevil. But that didn't mean he could relax.
Even if it was just a theory, he didn't want to test it. Not when he had finally drawn such a golden card as transmigration.
"The naval training program lasts a year."
"That means I've got, at most, twelve months before Headquarters randomly assigns me somewhere—either to one of the Four Seas or a branch along the Grand Line."
"Even if I do run into Doflamingo, it's still just speculation. But after graduation, if I end up stationed in the New World, it's only a matter of time before I encounter him—or worse. Something even scarier."
"When that time comes, what the hell do I use to fight those monsters?"
"Just an Arms-Arms Fruit?"
That thought soured his mood in an instant.
If he had eaten a Mythical Zoan or a Logia-type fruit, even if he had to face Doflamingo or someone worse, a year from now, he wouldn't be this tense.
But no—what he had was a Paramecia-type Arms-Arms Fruit.
And to make things worse, judging from what BABY5 had shown in the canon, the weapons it produced were limited, ordinary, and sparse.
He had transmigrated into this world with a Devil Fruit, yes—but he wasn't Blackbeard. He couldn't change his powers.
Whoosh—
Just as Rosen was growing more irritable, a gentle night breeze swept past him. Cool air, like invisible hands, stroked the cherry blossom trees surrounding the dorm.
Branches rustled. Petals floated down.
In that instant, it felt as though a thousand cherry blossom spirits had taken to the air, dancing before his eyes.
The wind didn't just dispel the heat from his chest—it sparked an idea in his mind.
"Cherry blossoms?"
"If my Arms-Arms Fruit can manifest a Zanpakutō—even if it's just Senbonzakura—then I wouldn't be any weaker than those with Logia or Mythical Zoan types."
"In that case… Doflamingo wouldn't even be worth worrying about."
The thought settled deep in Rosen's heart.
Whooo—
As he exhaled softly, the trouble weighing on his chest seemed to vanish with the wind.
Suddenly, everything before his eyes dimmed.
The starlit sky disappeared.
The dormitory faded away.
The world around him blurred, morphing into a massive suspension bridge. And on that bridge stood a figure garbed in the robes of a Shinigami—bearing the elegance of a noble.
His icy gaze was as sharp as a blade, piercing straight into the bulky man standing at the opposite end of the bridge.
"Hoh?"
"You're from the Shiba family."
"If that's the case, then I truly regret letting you live just now."
The noble-like Shinigami drew a katana with one hand, and strode forward.
"Scatter—Senbonzakura."
As the words left his mouth—
Clang—
The blade in his hand gleamed with a frigid violet light. Starting from the tip, it splintered and scattered—piece by piece—into countless razor-thin blades. Each shimmered with a beauty as deadly as cherry blossoms, and flew outward in a whirlwind of lethal petals.
The burly man standing on the bridge was frozen. Faced with this tidal wave of blossom-blades, dancing like spirits, all he could do was widen his eyes, tense his body—and then do absolutely nothing.
He was helpless as the cherry blossom blades sliced into him from every direction.
Cut to pieces.
Blood splattered.
Shhhlick—
The sound of blades cutting through flesh rang in the air.
And then the entire vision—suspension bridge, Shinigami, Senbonzakura, the bisected man—fractured and dissolved like glass.
The night returned.
Stars sparkled again in the sky.
The cherry trees swayed in the breeze, petals falling in waves.
"Was that… an illusion?"
Rosen stood frozen, staring blankly at the world before him. He was about to doubt whether the entire experience had been a hallucination, when suddenly—
A voice. No—more like a thought, an idea, emerged in his mind from nowhere:
[With extraordinary perception, through mental visualization and comprehension, you have, in combination with the Paramecia-type Arms-Arms Fruit, awakened a unique skill: Senbonzakura.]
Rosen's heart trembled.
Senbonzakura.
The Zanpakutō of Byakuya Kuchiki from Bleach.
Not necessarily the strongest, but unquestionably the most graceful.
With just a single Shikai command, he could summon thousands of petal-like blades, both beautiful and deadly—capable of overwhelming opponents in attack and defense alike.
No need to even mention Bankai.
Each Bankai ability Byakuya wielded raised his grace and power to unmatched heights.
Especially in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc—Senbonzakura's Shikai form alone could match the volume of blades from its previous Bankai. And after activating Bankai? It was beyond imagining.
The sheer number of cherry blossom blades defied calculation.
"So… this is my cheating ability."
Rosen murmured to himself.
Neither the identity of being a student in Zephyr's class nor the Arms-Arms Fruit itself was his real advantage.
It was his comprehension. His genius.
With this cheat, even a Devil Fruit that was considered mediocre in Baby 5's hands could display a terrifying power in his.
To forge a Zanpakutō with bare hands.
Senbonzakura.
That was all the proof he needed.
"Wait…"
"If I can manifest Senbonzakura through comprehension alone… using the Arms-Arms Fruit—then can I also forge other Zanpakutō?"
The idea struck like lightning.
The Arms-Arms Fruit didn't limit him to just one weapon.
So why should it limit him to just one Zanpakutō?
In that moment, names exploded in his mind like a volcanic eruption:
Ryujin Jakka, Kyōka Suigetsu, Hyorinmaru, Zangetsu, Benihime, Kamishini no Yari…
Familiar Zanpakutō, each bringing with them firestorms, illusions, ice, shadows, crimson energy, and lightning-fast strikes—overwhelming his consciousness.
"Arms-Arms Fruit…"
"This might just be… the perfect beginning."
Rosen reached out, gently catching a cherry blossom petal drifting on the breeze. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
In that moment—
All the fear and confusion from when he first transmigrated… vanished.
All that remained was anticipation—for what came next.