One Piece: From Marine to Legend

Yesterday, Storm was just a Marine rookie.

Maybe tomorrow, he will become an officer!

Year 1518 of the Great Pirate Era.

Early morning on New Year's Day.

Storm woke up from a dream filled with ambition and determination, only to find something strange floating in front of him—a golden, shimmering trophy.

"What… is this?"

The fantastical trophy hovered silently in midair, glowing faintly and holding his attention captive.

For a moment, Storm thought he might still be dreaming, but then information flooded his mind.

[Trophy: Coming of Age Day]

[Trophy Rating: None]

[Achievement Condition: Survive to adulthood in the turbulent era of piracy.]

[Trophy Remark: Set sail! ]

Storm's breath caught.

Not a dream. This is real.

After eighteen years, the cheat he had longed for finally arrived!

Storm stared at the trophy in disbelief.

"Do you know how I survived the past eighteen years?"

Storm was reincarnated into this world in the year 1500, the dawn of the Great Pirate Era.

Though he didn't have the privilege of being born in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, he was fortunate to grow up in the rear town of the Marine Headquarters, a place of safety few in this dangerous world could enjoy.

With his family serving in the Navy for three generations, he secured a spot in this safe haven.

In a world teeming with pirates, sea monsters, and merciless warlords, even ordinary survival was a challenge.

But the town behind the Marine Headquarters? Absolutely secure.

However, his birth wasn't without danger.

On the very day he was born, a world-shaking battle erupted.

The legendary Golden Lion, Shiki, attacked Marineford, unleashing an unprecedented storm that battered the base.

Storm, still an infant, was nearly caught in the chaos.

That day, he almost experienced the irony of "being born into death."

Yet fate had other plans.

Perhaps it was this harrowing experience that led to his name—Storm.

With a name like that, one would think he was destined for greatness.

But despite the legendary title of "Born in the Storm", the Sword in the Stone—the power to make him a king—never appeared.

As he grew older, his fantasies of dragons, systems, and superpowers faded.

Instead, he chose a different path.

Study hard. Train relentlessly. Become a Marine.

Knowing the danger that was approaching, he was more motivated than anyone else.

At 16, he entered the Marine Academy and trained like a madman.

At 17, he joined the elite Recruit Training Camp, graduating with honors.

Now, at 18, he was poised to skip the ranks of recruit and directly become a Lieutenant of the Marine Headquarters.

That was his goal.

But his ambitions didn't stop there.

He needed power.

He needed a Devil Fruit.

Though the fearsome Kaido once declared.

"Only Haki transcends all."

Storm wasn't convinced.

Especially since Kaido himself was a Mythical Zoan user—having eaten the Fish-Fish Fruit: Azure Dragon.

Not to mention, after saying those words, Kaido immediately unleashed his signature technique 'Heat Breath'.

And the one who ultimately defeated him?

Another Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.

The infamous Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach, proved another point.

"The advantages of a Devil Fruit far outweigh its drawbacks."

Some people tried to preach:

"There are no weak Devil Fruits, only weak users."

Storm scoffed. That was as misleading as:

"There are no useless martial spirits, only useless soul masters."

Total nonsense.

Devil Fruits had clear hierarchies.

Magma beats Fire.

Even with the same Logia type, a Magma-Magma Fruit user could overpower a Flame-Flame fruit user.

Storm had no prejudice against Devil Fruits.

If he could get one, he would.

Logia? Not bad.

Special Paramecia? Even better.

Mythical Zoan? That would be ideal.

Power was power.

But now, standing before this mysterious trophy, a new possibility emerged.

Storm clenched his fists.

If this trophy was real, what could it do?

He focused.

The glowing trophy radiated a strange glow, waves of knowledge surging into his mind.

There were two primary functions:

[System Forge] – The trophy could be forged into anything that reflects the desire in Storm's heart.

[Attribute Enhancement] – It could improve his attributes or skills through stars.

But here was the catch—

Most trophies only provided one of these benefits.

The only way to earn more was to fight.

The stronger the opponent, the more intense the battle, the higher the trophy's level.

Storm turned his gaze back to the [Coming of Age Day] trophy.

This one had no stars, meaning it couldn't improve his abilities, but it could be used to try the first function.

Instead of rushing to check his reward, he awkwardly used his mind to summon another trophy.

[Storm's Trophy]

[Physique: ★★☆]

[Haki: Not Yet Awakened]

[Trophy Remark: A Marine qualified to be one of the 100,000 who besieged Whitebeard at Marineford.]

Storm didn't know what "★★☆" truly meant in power scaling.

He checked further.

[Physique] had three sub-attributes:

[Strength: ★★☆]

[Speed: ★★☆]

[Endurance: ★★★]

Storm sighed.

"So… I'm in good shape but still a small fry."."

After calming down completely, he summoned the [Coming of Age Day] trophy.

He took a deep breath and used it in the System Forge.

The trophy glowed brilliantly before reshaping into an object—a silver-gray ring.

[Devil's Ring]

[Star Rating: ★★★★★★★★★]

[Description: A relic of an ancient civilization, imbued with their advanced technology.]

[Abilities:]

1. Natural Energy – The ring draws energy from the world, providing near-limitless power.

2. Unbreakable – Made from an indestructible material, it cannot be damaged.

3. Devil's Power – The ring can suppress, absorb, seal, and transfer any Devil Fruit's power, allowing the user to harness its abilities without eating it.

[Remark: The Devil cannot kill me! ]

Storm's eyes widened.

Nine stars?!

But what truly blew his mind was its third ability—

He could use Devil Fruit powers without actually consuming them.

Storm clenched his fists, excitement surging through his veins.

The greatest weakness of Devil Fruits was their curse—users became unable to swim, eternally rejected by the sea.

But with the Devil's Ring, that flaw no longer mattered.

This changed everything.

Before, he had accepted that one day, he might need to give up swimming to gain power.

But now?

He could take any power, and use any ability—without the drawback.

A slow grin spread across his face.

This was better than he ever imagined.

Storm slid the Devil's Ring onto his finger.

Dressed in his crisp blue-and-white Marine uniform, he stepped out of his quarters, making his way to the top floor of the Marine Headquarters.

After navigating through the bustling corridors, he stopped before a heavy wooden door.

Knocking twice, he waited.

A deep, commanding voice answered.

"Come in."

Storm pushed the door open and stood at attention.

"Sir! Recruit Storm, reporting in!"

Seated behind the desk was a muscular, purple-haired man—none other than "Black Arm" Zephyr, former Admiral and head instructor of the elite training camp.

Zephyr studied him before tossing a sealed letter onto the desk.

"This is my recommendation letter."

Storm reached for the envelope, his heart pounding.

"Take this to Kuzan next door. He'll handle the rest."

Storm nodded and left, stepping into another office.

Inside, Admiral Aokiji leaned back lazily.

When their eyes met, Kuzan spoke—

"Storm? Did you bring your resignation letter?"

Storm froze.

Not a promotion… but a discharge?