[ From this point on, the story will be told from the perspective of the third character. ]
Landon looked at himself in the mirror and was surprised by what he saw, different from what he remembered. A young teenager at the end of his growth spurt, with curly black hair, green-gray eyes, a strong jaw, and a rather handsome face.
A silver necklace hung around his neck, adorned with a symbol representing three intertwined cones forming a pyramid, one from right to left, the other from left to right, and the last from bottom to top. It was the only object belonging to the boy's body.
What differed from his memories were the extra 8 or 9 centimeters that made him 1.80 meters tall, as well as a muscular, well-defined body, visible even through his clothes.
"It must be thanks to my new powers..."
After examining himself in the mirror, Landon left the café, where he had only gone to see his appearance with his own eyes. He began to wander around the town, observing the places and the people, the young people busy with their activities and the people leaving work to go to lunch.
Landon noticed that it was a small town, the kind with a sheriff and where the residents knew each other well.
"(It seems like a peaceful town...)" he thought.
He arrived at the shopping center and saw young people hanging out on the benches, people walking quickly by,
and the hubbub punctuated by laughter, indicating that it was a very lively place. But Landon didn't want to linger, so he continued down the street, looking carefully at the buildings around him, searching for one in particular: a hotel. He found several not far from the mall and chose a charming little old-fashioned hotel that was a little isolated.
"I'll be safe and quiet here while I figure out my situation..."
He pushed open the door, and a soft chime broke the silence of a lobby frozen in time. The wood creaked slightly under his feet.
The place was cozy, furnished mostly in wood, with walls and decor mainly in hazelnut brown. The whole place smelled of beeswax and cinnamon. It was a hotel like those from 50 years ago, one of the few that had kept its roots and not changed with the times, a place far removed from the modern world... a bit like him.
The reception was manned by a polite and helpful white man in his fifties with short white hair and a short goatee of the same color. He looked strangely like Batman's butler. Landon rented a room for a week with the money he had in his wallet, the only thing he owned apart from his necklace.
It contained his ID and a few hundred dollars, about $450, half of which he used to pay for the hotel stay, including breakfast and dinner.
"That's a good deal..."
"Would you like us to carry your luggage, Mr. Kirby?" asked the receptionist.
Landon hesitated, realizing something...
"No, thank you." Landon smiled and took the elevator to his room, 403, on the fourth floor.
"(I just realized I have nothing but the clothes I'm wearing)," he thought, feeling a little embarrassed. Less than a minute later, he arrived at his door, unlocked it with the key, and discovered his room: a bed, a desk in the corner with a leather armchair, a bathroom with a toilet, simple and without much decoration.
The hazelnut-brown room was in the same style as the rest of the building. The bed was large with a frame made of the same wood that was used throughout the hotel, covered with a thick, light brown blanket.
A girl had kissed one of the walls with red lipstick, and you could see the traces of her lips on the slightly peeling paint.
After quickly looking around the room, he left the hotel and returned to the shopping center. Landon arrived after a ten-minute walk and started looking for a clothing store. He felt a few eyes on him; his Haki perceived only curiosity and interest, and sometimes even resentment, but he paid no attention and continued searching. He found a few stores, but ignored them.
"They seem too expensive for me right now," he sighed
Finally, he found a store offering good deals, tucked away from the main shopping area in the center. He browsed the store, choosing shirts, jeans, and several loose-fitting sweatshirts. He spent 10 minutes in the aisles and left the store with bags in his hands and $113 less in his wallet.
He also looked for a supermarket to buy some essentials. He bought a toothbrush and everything else he needed, leaving him with only $100 in his pocket. Landon left the mall as soon as he had finished shopping, not liking the bustling atmosphere of that kind of place.
Although he only spent an hour there, keeping to himself and out of the way, he was stopped several times by people who wanted to chat, flirt, or even more, mainly girls, but also a guy who looked ready to indulge in his greatest culinary pleasures after a strict diet.
Shaking his head, smiling amusedly as he thought back to those hungry looks, he returned to the hotel, tidied up his few belongings, sat down on his bed for a moment, and began to think.
"I need stability and income," he thought, and ideas began to form in his mind. He had to earn money easily and legally.
"(Hmm... Maybe I should go around the city wearing a mask, dispensing justice and stealing from criminals.)"
But as soon as the idea occurred to him, he realized how terrible it was.
"(It would have been fun to play Batman, though...)"
Pushing the thought away, a new idea came to him:
"(The woods are full of life.)" He had realized this in the forest.
"(With my new senses and powers, I could easily hunt and sell the meat.)"
"(Hmm, but is that legal? Normally, you need a license, right?)"
"(But it could be a good plan...)" The boy shook his head and decided it was worth a try.
What really appealed to him about this choice was that he would be away from everyone and could practice mastering his physical abilities, his phoenix powers, and improve his Haki.
"(First, I need a pickup truck or a Jeep to transport the game.)" He could easily carry hundreds of pounds of animal carcasses on his shoulders, but it wasn't very discreet.
"(Looks like my last savings will go towards renting a pickup truck. Luckily, life isn't too expensive here)," he muttered.
After gathering some information, Landon realized that Beacon Hills was a small, isolated town in the United States and that it was October 15, 2013. He wasted no time and went to the front desk to ask Alfred's doppelganger if he knew of a place to rent vehicles, especially pickup trucks.
"There's Sturgis And Son, which sells and rents vehicles. It's a few blocks past the sheriff's office, just..." The receptionist gave him directions. Landon also asked if there were any butchers who might buy game meat and got a few names of butcher shops.
"Thanks, Alfred." Landon wasted no time and left immediately, leaving the receptionist behind, who looked at him strangely.
Following the directions, he arrived at the car rental agency after a 30-minute walk.
Landon walked through the vast parking lot where cars lined up with impeccable bodywork, so well polished that they reflected every ray of sunlight that hit them.
Landon ignored the small cars and campers and headed for the row of shiny SUVs and massive pickups, so huge they could tow the sun itself if it had the audacity to take a day off.
Above, a flashing sign announced: "NO RESERVATION? NO PROBLEM!", capturing the practical and straightforward spirit of American service.
(Even in different worlds, some things never change...) Landon smiled. He had always thought that there was little more representative of the country than a car dealership parking lot.
Comfortable sedans, colorful convertibles, and massive monsters—the essence of America was on full display.
Landon chose a black pickup truck, spacious and inexpensive, in fair condition. He went to talk to the man who appeared to be Strurgis' father and rented the vehicle for two days at a price of $87, plus $10 for a full tank of gas.
----
[Author's note: Regardless of price or rarity, what is your dream car? Mine is a 1967-68 Ford Mustang Convertible.
----
"(Thank God I have my driver's license.)" It would have been long and tedious to take driving lessons again and start all over, not to mention the cost.
But no matter what or who had sent him here, at least he had identification.
"(Being an illegal immigrant...)" Landon grimaced at the thought.
The curly-haired teenager got into the van and drove off, following Alfred's directions. He went to several butcher shops, asked questions, and offered his services. Finally, Angus's Butcher Shop, run by a man of the same name, was willing to turn a blind eye to his lack of a license and give him a good price...
"Listen, kid, if you really manage to hunt a hare or a rabbit, make sure it's in good condition, otherwise the price will go down. Depending on the size, the price can vary, but it will be between $15 and $30." Angus was a man with black hair, a hard face, and two small black eyes like a weasel's.
He must have been around 5'7", rather short, but with a strong build and solid arms. His thin brown apron didn't cover the old bloodstains or the small round belly hidden under the fabric.
Despite the cleanliness and respect for hygiene, the whole place smelled of a mixture of blood and the visceral odor of guts.
Landon would have already vomited on the white tiles if he hadn't had such good control over his powers, thanks to Marco's legacy, which allowed him to dull his senses to human levels when necessary.
The butcher looked at the bright green eyes staring back at him, and the stoic butcher wasn't very motivated. He didn't seem to believe that the youngster in front of him could actually hunt anything...
"Okay, I'll be back before 6 p.m.," Landon said as he left.
Glancing at the cheap watch he had bought earlier, the digital face showed just past 2 p.m.
"Well, I've got four hours."
Landon wasted no time and got back in the truck to return to the woods. He arrived 15 minutes later, parked the vehicle in a spot and got out.
"Okay, let's start by going deeper into the forest."
After walking a few minutes into the woods, the curly-haired young man stopped. Landon closed his eyes to concentrate, opening his senses and his Haki.
Although his eyes were closed, he could perceive his surroundings better than ever before. He could hear insects buzzing in the air and those on the ground or in the gaps between the trees. He was aware of every leaf that fell and every creature around him.
"My senses can detect smells and sounds more than forty meters away, but my Haki can only perceive clearly within a radius of 15 meters. Beyond that, everything becomes increasingly blurred until 23 meters, where my Haki reaches its limit."
He realized that the difference between the monsters in One Piece, capable of sensing everything within tens of kilometers, was striking.
Landon started walking again, his eyes still closed. It didn't bother him at all.
"(I can sense the direction of the wind, the trees blocking my path, and I can even sense where I can walk without difficulty. Observation Haki is really impressive...)"
As he walked, Landon sensed the presence of creatures perched in the trees or flying in the air, which he recognized as birds. But this small game would not interest Angus.
He continued on his way until he detected a small four-legged animal about a foot long.
"(A hare...)" The animal was about 16 meters away from him.
At the same moment that Landon sensed the hare, it also detected him, cautiously perceiving him as a threat. Accustomed to being prey, the hare didn't hesitate for a second before running away.
Landon smiled and opened his eyes. He watched the hare run away at full speed, but he wasn't worried. A surge of excitement flashed through his green eyes. He bent his knees for a second and propelled himself forward with a powerful push from both legs.
"Foushhhhh..." With a quick movement, he covered ten meters at an astonishing speed and, with a second leap, easily caught up with the hare, grabbing it by the neck with his right hand.
The poor creature hadn't seen anything coming. It was completely terrified, and Landon couldn't help but laugh when he saw the fear and confusion in the hare's eyes as it faced this unexpected situation.
"Sorry, buddy, it's nothing personal," he whispered before wringing the hare's neck. The creature thus became the first animal he had ever killed.
And... he felt no discomfort... and even knew that unless it was an innocent person, he wouldn't have felt bad even if it had been a human being...
Marco, also known as Marco the Phoenix, was a pirate in a world that was not only unjust but also unequal in terms of the differences in strength of those who lived there.
Let's not talk about those at the top or the rare devil fruits, but quite a few people could destroy a concrete wall with their bare hands and carry several tons. And next to them, these same people lived with ordinary civilians who were not so different from the normal people who lived here...
A person with this kind of physical strength and bad intentions could do a lot of harm, and unfortunately, many of these superhumans were cruel and selfish.
And Landon, in addition to inheriting a seed containing all of Marco's powers, had also inherited his memories: the moments spent with his crew, whom he considered his family, the many battles he had fought and his combat skills, the memories of enemies killed, scenes of desolation... In the world of One Piece, pirates don't sail the ocean, they sail on the blood of the weak...
Marco, like almost everyone else there, had gradually come to accept this state of affairs, where the strongest were right, so he didn't care much about innocent civilians and others. He had a simple and happy nature.
Landon had also inherited, albeit slightly, his cheerful and easy-going nature, which, combined with his own solitary nature, created a strange mixture.
The curly-haired teenager shook his head and snapped out of his thoughts.
"Right, let's keep going." He resumed his walk, holding the hare's carcass in his left hand.
"I should have brought a bag or at least some rope..." Now he had to carry his prize, which would only get heavier in his hands. He sighed and closed his eyes.
His Observation Haki didn't require him to close his eyes, but it would have been less effective.
"(I'm still an amateur in this field, you don't suddenly develop mastery based on someone else's experience...)" And removing his visual perception allowed him to concentrate fully, his other senses rushing to compensate for the loss of the most important human sense.
He continued like this for a few minutes. The place was empty of human activity; otherwise, a man moving easily through the forest with his eyes closed would have seemed strange... or frightening. It could even have created an urban legend, the kind of story you tell around the campfire at night to scare yourself...
"(It would make a great story for parents, though...)" The blind man who kidnaps noisy children and takes them into the woods...
He continued on his way, detecting birds in the sky and a few squirrels, which he ignored, until he came across another hare. Just like before, as soon as Landon noticed it, the hare did the same as the first one and took off running.
'(What a fearful little creature...)'
Landon was about to chase after it when a thought crossed his mind. He hesitated for a moment, realizing that it would be suspicious if all the carcasses he brought back had their necks twisted.
"Hmm, I could say I caught them with non-lethal traps..." he wondered, his hand on his chin.
He snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed that the hare was now about fifty meters away. Catching up with it would be easy, but the teenager opted for another solution.
Landon picked up a small stone from the ground, then focused intently on his prey, now sixty meters away, too far for his haki domain. His senses did the work, and his best sense as a bird was by far his eyesight. His vision sharpened like that of a hawk, his eyes glowed orange, and flames appeared in his pupils.
[Photo of his eye here or in the comment]
He bent his arm and released it at the speed of a cannon, launching the stone, which split the air with a whistle. Landon watched the hare's head being pierced by the stone barely a moment after he threw it.
The animal's body continued forward for half a meter before collapsing.
"Hey, hey, I'm starting to enjoy this new life," his voice echoed through the quiet woods, a smile on his lips.
He continued his hunt and, after a good hour, had caught three rabbits and four hares, which he tied around his waist with strong vines he had found.
"I'll stop there for now and start my training," he murmured.
Even though he had Marco's memories and experience, that was all it was, someone else's memories. It didn't give him instant mastery, only basic skills and a long road to growth ahead of him.
But he still had to improve through hard work. He hadn't been given Marco's body, but that of a complete stranger, and there was already an imbalance between his past experiences and this new body, which, without any muscle memory, required a whole new level of mastery.
And the teenager had a fire of excitement in his eyes. He was eager to try out his Devil Fruit. He trembled just thinking about its majestic hybrid form and the idea of flying through the air.
He felt this energy inside him, this fire that seemed endless. He was going to unleash it...
But at that precise moment, he sensed a great commotion... and heard a scream a few hundred meters away.
"Crowwww... Cruhhhhh.... Foshhhh" The sudden noise that sent all the birds flying from the trees was accompanied by the smell of blood.
"How can I smell that from so far away?" His eyes became serious, and without wasting a second, he quickly headed in the direction of the commotion.
Less than a minute passed as he approached, but suddenly his haki SCREAMED at him, and Landon suddenly stopped himself from stepping where he was about to. He jumped into the air and stopped a few moments later, narrowly avoiding danger.
"Don't tell me it's what I think it is..." he whispered, incredulous. There, on the ground, covered with leaves and a bush that shouldn't have been there, sharp teeth protruded from the ground. The sun shone on the silver tips of the metal, showing how sharp they were. In front of him was a bear trap.
"What kind of idiot sets a bear trap in a forest frequented by humans?" he wondered, stunned...
He had seen several cars parked nearby, and as he walked through the forest, he had sometimes come across tracks and smelled the scent of human sweat still lingering in the air, probably left by a recent jogger.
He also smelled blood. He looked down and saw a drop of blood on the trap, dripping onto the ground. He had been hit by one of the hooks... even though he had reacted so quickly that the trap hadn't sprung and had only grazed him.
Landon looked down and saw a tear in his jeans, near his calf, but he didn't see any wounds.
"Hmm, already healed..." he concluded, still a little surprised, not yet able to believe in his new pseudo-immortality.
"Pfff..." he sighed, annoyed at the carelessness of the person who had set the trap. He picked up a wooden stick and pressed it against the center of the jagged metal mouth.
"Fwoosh... Clink!" The sharp blades closed with a terrifying noise, cutting the piece of wood in two.
Landon approached the trap, knelt down, and concentrated, closing his eyes. With both hands, first his fingernails suddenly began to burn with a blue fire that left behind sharp claws, then his entire palms and hands turned into light blue bird claws, the same color as his flames. He covered his five eagle talons with blue fire and placed his hands on the trap.
He felt the steel begin to heat up under the effect of his fiery heat, the steel quickly turning a crimson red.
He flexed his muscles and pulled with all his might, effortlessly breaking the now useless trap and propelling each part of it to crash about ten meters away.
He looked at the two smoking and slightly melted halves of the trap and resumed his run, but less than a minute later...
"No, this must be a joke..." he muttered.
He stopped again, having detected another trap in the area covered by his Haki.