Before I knew it, I had been reincarnated into this world.

I retained little memory from my previous life, with only a vague sense that I had been someone different back then. That's how I realized - I had been reincarnated.

When I looked in the mirror, there was a beautiful young girl who looked nothing like my former self. When I spoke, an elegant voice came out. A black-haired, red-eyed beauty. Yeah, not too bad.

The question was what kind of world was this "place" I had been reborn into.

If this happened to be some godforsaken world, I could instantly meet a wretched demise. But it seemed that worry was unnecessary.

Why did I know that, you ask? The answer was simple.

"...The Navy."

I muttered those words, seeing the naval flag flying on a battleship visible from the seaside. Moreover, one of the people who had departed on that ship was a naval hero - Monkey D. Garp.

"Well, well..."

I didn't know why he had come to this relatively unremarkable island in West Blue, but his presence here meant one thing at least.

The world of One Piece. I'll try to live humbly, relying on what faint memories I can recall.

…

There was a time when I thought that way. Being abandoned at birth, I never had parents. I was raised in an orphanage, but I always stood out, for better or worse. I won't brag, but I was quite a looker. Still just 10 years old though, so definitely still in the loli phase. Going after lolis is pretty messed up.

Being a beauty essentially meant I could fetch a high price as a slave.

Just the thought of some depraved noble buying me made me want to take my own life in disgust.

"Can't believe a kid this valuable was just sitting around in the West Blue backwaters."

"Yeah, no kidding. Came all the way from the Grand Line, but I'd say it was worth the trip."

I could hear the crass laughter coming from the other side of the door.

I had been left in this musty ship cabin, a collar around my neck and shackles on my hands and feet, almost completely immobilized.

Looks like I failed, I thought to myself.

Even at the orphanage, I had been quite the troublemaker. They may have witnessed me talking with the headmaster right before this happened, but it seemed my fate was to be sold off sooner or later.

I was surrounded in front of the orphanage, swiftly captured and brought onto this ship. More than the vulgar leers, what was truly saddening was how no adults, nor the other children at the orphanage, tried to help me at all.

Well, I already knew that would happen.

In this island, I was an outcast that everyone found creepy. I suppose just being able to leave the island was a good thing.

But there was no opportunity to escape with the tight surveillance, and the other slaves being held as cargo were kept separately.

I surveyed the room again, hoping to find something useful for an escape.

"...Huh?"

Were they keeping valuables and loot in this room? There were treasure chests lying around, and quite a bit of money too. What were they thinking, putting me in this room? The ship didn't seem that large, so maybe they just lacked extra rooms.

I reached out to one of the slightly open treasure chests and looked inside.

"This is..."

A strange patterned fruit. Considering this world, it was likely one of the infamous "Devil Fruits."

It was my first time seeing one, but I wondered which specific Devil Fruit it could be.

I had glanced through a Devil Fruit encyclopedia before, but... I couldn't identify which type this was just from its appearance.

However...

"Either way, this seems to be my best chance of turning this situation around."

Plus, I don't mind taking gambles.

—I took a bite of the Devil Fruit.

"Ugh..."

The horrible taste almost made me spit it out, but I managed to swallow it down.

I closed the treasure chest the fruit had been in and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes. The dim, chilly room somehow felt comfortable now.

There was no telling how long it would take for the fruit's powers to manifest. For now, I'll just wait here patiently.

I couldn't escape by myself until we reached the next island anyway, since I can't navigate a ship alone.

…

Several days had passed since I was locked in this ship cabin.

With no windows in this room, it was hard to track the passage of time. The only way to gauge it was from the twice-daily delivery of food.

...Though the preserved rations they gave showed no consideration for nutritional balance. At this rate, I'll start having health issues.

I tried conversing with the man who brought the food a few times. He said this ship was headed for the Holy Land of Mariejois, or more specifically, the Sabaody Archipelago. But essentially, I was Mariejois-bound to be sold to the Celestial Dragons. He laughed about how I would surely fetch a high price.

Since we would be stopping at a few islands along the way, my best chance to escape would be at one of those stopovers...if my stamina could hold out that long.

The combination of the poor food, the unfamiliar conditions of sea travel, and this sunlight-deprived room were taking their toll.

But I had no intention of willingly being bought by those depraved Celestial Dragons. I had to keep my will to survive, lest I face the worst of fates.

—And then, the time came.

"Oy, food."

"...Have we reached an island?"

"Yeah. Gotta restock water and provisions, ya know?"

The rotund man spoke in a relatively friendly tone as he dropped off the meal before leaving. Careless, with zero caution. As if a mere girl like me was no threat. How dismissive.

The man took some of the money from the room, likely to go shopping for supplies on the island. There were still lookouts, but at least their numbers had dwindled by one.

First, I quickly ate the meal. Then I set to work on the leg shackles, freezing them until they cracked and shattered from the cold impacts. The handcuffs came off the same way, and finally the collar as well.

They had underestimated me as just a child. There were even iron collars, but they didn't see the need for such precautions against a non-powered kid.

"Hey, did you hear something just now?"

"She's probably just throwing a tantrum again. One brat alone can't do anything, just leave her be."

I silently mocked their casual conversation. Activating my new power, I faced the slack-jawed men who now realized their mistake.

The fruit I had consumed was the Hie Hie no Mi, one of the Ice Logia Devil Fruits.

"—Freeze."

With those words and a use of my power, their bodies were instantly encased in ice. Leaving the frozen men behind, I scoured the room.

There weren't any sea charts, but I found a backpack of a size I could carry. I stuffed it with any valuables I could easily sell, then exited the room that had become a freezer.

The ship didn't seem too large, without many cabins. It was only a matter of time before I was discovered, so I had to escape and conceal my trail at once—

"—Hey! How'd you get out here?!"

In the split second I registered those words, gunshots rang out.

They must have been warning shots, as none hit me...but the sound made my body instinctively flinch, giving the man time to grab my arm and try dragging me back to the cabin.

As he opened the door to the now freezer of a room, he froze in his tracks.

"What in the—"

"Don't touch me!!"

With a cracking sound, I instantly froze him into an ice sculpture.

My breath was visible as white puffs. I shook off the arm that had grabbed me, shattering the frozen limb without a second thought.

The corridors were also freezing over. More crewmen began appearing, alerted by the disturbance.

There was no going back now. I had no choice but to freeze everything in my path - that was the power I had gained, after all. No need for hesitation.

This was the moment I had been anticipating. All I had to do was take that first step forward.

Facing the emerging crowd - or perhaps myself - I spoke:

"—You really screwed up against me. Anyone willing to die, come at me."