One Piece: My code name is Green Bull

The pain of parting was real, and on the following day, Jon bid farewell to his parents and boarded the main Navy warship that had come to pick him up.

Since it was his first time leaving home, his mother—who had always been doting—saw him off tearfully, while his father, Walston, gave him a look filled with encouragement and hope.

The warship was a large vessel. As Jon boarded, he noticed that, in addition to the regular Navy soldiers, there were about twenty young recruits on board. Each one had been chosen from various branches in the South Sea as top candidates recommended to join the main Marine Headquarters.

The Navy recruits onboard clearly understood that once they reached Marine Headquarters, they would become each other's rivals. As such, they did not interact much with one another, instead sizing each other up.

When Jon appeared, many of them frowned slightly. He looked too young—easily the youngest among them—and no one from the South Sea had seen or heard of him before.

Jon had no intention of engaging in conversation either. With the help of a Navy officer, he quietly chose a room for himself.

A few recruits from different branches seemed to know one another and gathered together, murmuring about him.

"That guy from the 47th branch? I've never seen him before. Think he got in through some connections?"

"Connections? This whole process is tied to the achievements of each branch's top officials. It'd take a serious connection to make that happen."

"Who knows? But it's actually a good thing—maybe he's weak. That would mean one less competitor for us."

"Haha, exactly. If we can stand out this time, our futures will be bright."

"Not so easy. We're from the Four Seas, but we're up against people from the Grand Line—there's still a gap."

"True, but we still have to give it a shot. Becoming Zephyr's disciple is not only a way to become stronger, but it's a mark of honor and experience too."

"…"

Over the next day, the warship traveled through the South Sea, gathering recommended recruits from various branches before setting sail for the Grand Line.

Jon had assumed the warship would cut directly across the Calm Belt into the Grand Line, but he soon discovered it wasn't going through that route. Instead, they sailed toward the Red Line, intending to cross over it to reach the Grand Line.

Jon speculated that this warship either wasn't made of seastone or that Dr. Vegapunk hadn't yet perfected seastone-coated warships, meaning that the Navy hadn't gained the ability to traverse the Calm Belt freely.

A rear admiral from Marine Headquarters was in charge of the ship, and under his guidance, they soon crossed the Red Line. Switching to another warship, they then set course for Marineford, the Marine Headquarters located in the first half of the Grand Line.

Staying in his small cabin, Jon eyed the Devil Fruit in the box before him, wavering over his decision.

During these days on the warship, Jon rarely ventured outside. Aside from basic training, he spent most of his time thinking about this mysterious green Devil Fruit.

Others would likely call him overly cautious if they knew of his hesitation. After all, he had a rare Devil Fruit right before him—why not eat it immediately? But Jon's hesitation was not without reason. While Devil Fruits granted power, they also carried serious drawbacks. Of course, this wasn't his main concern.

What troubled Jon most was that he didn't know the specific powers of this Devil Fruit.

Unless one had a complete Devil Fruit encyclopedia, it was nearly impossible to determine a Devil Fruit's power just by looking at it. Even though Walston was a branch base officer, he didn't have access to such rare knowledge.

As for Jon, he had seen many powerful Devil Fruit users in his previous world's comics, but only a few actual Devil Fruits, so he had no clue about the green fruit's abilities.

That uncertainty was why Jon hesitated. He dreaded the possibility that this might be a "useless fruit," despite the oft-repeated phrase, "There's no such thing as a useless Devil Fruit, only useless users."

But is that really true? No, some Devil Fruits are inherently powerful, while others are relatively weak. If he consumed a Devil Fruit with a poor ability, it might give him an edge, but outshining others would require an enormous amount of effort.

Jon felt confident in his own talents. He was born with innate Observation Haki, a rare gift worldwide.

He might not be able to match the future powerhouses like Akainu and Kizaru, but he was skilled enough to hold his own, and his chances of staying at Marine Headquarters seemed favorable.

Besides, following his father's advice to turn in the Devil Fruit would surely make him more valuable to the Navy.

Yet, Jon was unwilling to give up so easily. Despite the uncertainty of its powers, this Devil Fruit was still a rare opportunity.

To risk it, or not?

As Marineford approached, Jon steeled himself, finally making a decision.

"If fate led me to this new life, my luck can't be that bad. I'll eat it—even if it's a weak power, I can make it strong."

Coming from another world, Jon believed his imagination surpassed that of most people here. As long as it wasn't a Zoan-type, he was confident in his ability to develop it well.

He grabbed the green fruit from the box, took a deep breath, and bit into it.

Jon's face twisted instantly in discomfort, his expression changing dramatically as the taste nearly made him gag.

A man has to be ruthless with himself!

After one bite, Jon didn't want a second. He knew just one bite was enough to gain the power, so there was no need to eat the whole fruit.

He set aside the rest of the fruit and focused on sensing his newfound abilities.

A few minutes later, Jon frowned. He didn't feel any significant change.

He couldn't shift into an element, nor transform into an animal—did that mean he'd consumed a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit?

Looking at his hands, Jon concentrated on activating his powers. He was sure he'd gained a Devil Fruit ability, yet he hadn't pinpointed what it was.

Suddenly, a small green seed appeared in the center of his right palm. In stunned silence, Jon watched as the seed slowly sprouted. Within a little over a minute, it had developed a tiny green shoot.

"What…?"

Staring at the sprout, Jon's eyes filled with disbelief. This sprout had grown directly from his hand in a matter of minutes.

Jon knew he'd never had an ability like this before, so this power must be the result of eating the Devil Fruit.

"A seed… a sprout… is this the ability to generate seeds and then accelerate their growth?" he wondered.

"Is this a plant-based Devil Fruit?"

Jon could only guess, uncertain. Devil Fruit powers were complex and varied widely, and although he could generate seeds that sprouted, he couldn't be sure it was strictly a plant-based power.

With that in mind, Jon decided to try again. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd produced the seed in the first place—it had simply appeared when he focused on using his power.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Make Sure to give a Review! 

-----------------------------------------------------------------