One piece with a system.

*Thud*

Reed collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, his energy finally giving out. He glared at Jack, who stood a safe distance away, watching him with a wide grin and obvious amusement.

"Had enough, big guy?" Jack teased, tossing a rice ball lightly into the air and catching it.

Reed shot him a tired glare, still catching his breath. "You... you're so annoying," he managed to say between gasps, lying flat on the ground in defeat.

Jack smirked and said, "Extra energy from the 'Melee' stat point worked in my favor." He paused, letting the moment sink in, then added with a cheeky grin, "And I didn't even have to use my first 'move' to tire you out."

Reed, still catching his breath, looked up at Jack, confused. "Wait... I thought the rice ball was your first 'move'?"

Jack shook his head with a grin. "Nope. That's just my basic attack. See, in *Blox Fruits*, some devil fruits have M1 attacks—basic attacks alongside their special moves. Looks like the 'Rice Fruit' is one of them."

He paused, turning toward a nearby tree. "Let me show you my actual first move." Jack punched the air in the tree's direction, and a large rice fist shot out, slamming into the trunk and leaving a visible dent.

Jack turned back to Reed, smirking. "That was my first 'move.' Pretty cool, huh? But it did eat up a decent chunk of my energy. Gotta be careful not to overdo it."

Reed blinked, sitting up slightly. "So... you're telling me you have basic attacks and moves? That's just ridiculous."

Jack rolled his eyes, crossing his arms with a smug grin. "I didn't even put any stats in 'Fruit,' and it still made a dent in that tree. Imagine how overpowered we could be if I actually invested points into it!"

Reed raised an eyebrow, brushing dirt off his pants as he stood up. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're a natural rice warrior or whatever. Don't let it go to your head."

Jack smirked, shrugging casually. "Just saying, if this is what a low-tier fruit can do, imagine what a rare or legendary one would be like. We'd be unstoppable."

Reed rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "True… but it's not like we can rely solely on devil fruits. We'll need to balance our stats, gear up, and plan for anything that might come our way."

Jack blinked at Reed, a confident smirk forming on his face. "I'm sticking with my trusty fruit main stat build. It's simple but effective—'Melee' for energy, 'Defense' for obvious reasons, and 'Fruit' for massive damage. That's how my stat page is gonna look by the end. Not a single point in 'Gun' or 'Sword.'"

Reed tilted his head, arms crossed. "So you're just gonna ignore two whole stat categories? Seems kind of risky if you ask me."

Jack countered with a confident smirk, "Not necessary. Since this system is based on the game Blox Fruits, my guess is we'll eventually get a race awakening. When that happens, all our stats will probably max out automatically!"

Reed blinked, crossing his arms. "Race awakening? You mean some overpowered transformation that makes us unbeatable? That sounds way too convenient."

Jack shook his head and clarified, "No, the boost is temporary. You can only charge it while in battle, and it only lasts for about three minutes, give or take."

Reed raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying this 'awakening' isn't a permanent power-up? It's just a flashy, time-limited boost?"

"Exactly," Jack replied, crossing his arms. "You build up a meter during combat, and once it's full, you can activate the awakening. It's powerful, but the clock is ticking the moment you use it. After that, you're back to normal until you charge it up again."

Reed scratched his chin, frowning. "That sounds… situational. What if you waste it on weaker enemies or run out of time before taking down the boss?"

Jack further clarified, "The charge can be maintained as long as you keep dealing damage." He paused, letting the thought sink in, then continued, "Think of it this way: you have a cup, and you're filling it with water. When you activate the race awakening, it's like poking a small hole in the bottom of the cup. Water starts leaking out, but as long as you're dealing damage, you're essentially pouring more water into the cup to keep it from emptying completely."

Reed blinked, processing the analogy. "So as long as you keep fighting, you can prolong the transformation?"

Jack nodded. "Exactly. The key is staying aggressive. If you stop attacking, the cup empties, and the awakening ends. But if you're consistent, you can stretch it out for much longer than the usual time limit."

Reed finally stood up, brushing himself off and no longer feeling the fatigue. "Alright, let's head back to the waterfall lake," he said, taking the lead and walking toward their earlier spot.

Jack watched for a moment before shrugging and following behind. As they made their way back, Jack opened his system and checked the missions tab, curious if he'd completed any tasks.

As Jack scrolled through his system's missions tab, his eyes widened upon spotting a new entry in the completed missions section.

"Gain Devil Fruit Abilities - Hidden" was listed with a glowing claimable reward icon next to it.

"Wait, what? A hidden mission?" Jack exclaimed, stopping in his tracks.

Reed turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Hidden mission? What's it say?"

Jack tapped the claim button, curious and eager. "It says I get a reward for gaining devil fruit powers… but I didn't even know this mission existed."

"What's the reward?" Reed asked, moving closer

Jack paused, pondering for a moment. "Wait… I didn't hear any ding when I gained the fruit powers," he muttered to himself, furrowing his brow.

Reed raised an eyebrow. "You sure it's not a bug or something?"

Jack shrugged, dismissing the thought. "Eh, who cares? Reward's a reward." He tapped the claim button, and the system rewarded him with 3 extra stat points.

"Three stat points?" Jack said aloud, staring at the screen in disbelief.

Reed burst out laughing. "That's it? After all that buildup, you got three measly stat points?"

Jack looked at Reed, utterly baffled. "Excuse me!? But 3 extra points is essentially an extra level!"

Reed stopped in his tracks, turning to Jack with a raised eyebrow. "And? It's still just three points. Doesn't seem like a game-changer."

Jack threw his hands up in exasperation. "Are you even listening to yourself? That's three points I didn't have to grind for! That's huge! It's like leveling up without doing any of the work!"

Jack paused mid-stride, rubbing his temples. "Wait a second… Why am I even arguing with you? You didn't even play the game!"

Reed raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Doesn't mean I can't have opinions, genius."

Jack waved him off, opening his system to claim the rewards. "Yeah, yeah. Opinions are fine, but you have no idea how valuable these stat points are in the long run." He quickly allocated all three points into Fruit, his face lighting up. "Alright, now I'm really ready to pack a punch!"

Stats (Jack):

Melee - 3

Defense - 0

Sword - 0

Gun - 0

Devil Fruit - 3

Money » 3500

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

Time passed as they bickered their way back to the waterfall lake.

Reed, now sitting on a smooth rock near the edge of the lake, was deeply engrossed in the system's shop menu. His eyes scanned the various items, occasionally muttering to himself.

"I wonder how these ships work..." he said under his breath, narrowing his eyes at the prices. After a moment of hesitation, he selected the cheapest boat available, which cost 1000 Beli.

[3500 » 2500]

A soft glow appeared on the lake's surface, and suddenly, a small wooden boat materialized in the water. It rocked gently with the ripples of the lake.

Jack raises an eyebrow, walking closer to Reed. "Seriously? You thought a boat would just appear anywhere?" He crosses his arms, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You're lucky the lake's deep enough to hold it."

Reed looks at the boat, clearly feeling a bit embarrassed. He rubs the back of his neck. "I didn't know how this system worked, alright? It's not like I've had any experience with spawning ships out of thin air!"

Reed, feeling embarrassed, decides to ignore Jack and swims towards the boat, which hadn't spawned near the edge.

Jack, seeing Reed ignore him, decides to sit down and watch as Reed swims toward the boat and boards it.

Reed examines the boat, noticing the small sail and compact size, just enough for two people. Disappointed, he mutters, "This cost 1k? What a rip-off," before testing the steering wheel.

Reed ensures the sail isn't spread, turns the steering wheel to test it, then gets off the boat and swims back to Jack, who's still sitting on a rock, watching.

Jack, tossing rice balls in the air and catching them, notices Reed swimming back. He stands and walks closer to the lake.

Now beside Jack, Reed suggests, "We should figure out how to store fresh water so we can finally leave this forsaken island."

Jack nodded, then after some thought, said, "Why don't we just find you a devil fruit and trade it for a 'Bottle Fruit' or something?"

Reed's eye twitched as he replied, "You think finding devil fruits is that easy?"

Jack smirked and countered, "I don't see you coming up with any better ideas."

Reed lightly smacked Jack's arm and said, "Shut up," before letting out a sigh. "Let's leave finding fruits up to fate."

Jack, ignoring Reed's comment, opened his system and started searching for a 'Bottle Fruit.'

Jack's eyes lit up as he saw the 'Bottle Fruit' listed, but his excitement quickly turned to disappointment when he saw the price—over 100k Beli.

Jack muttered, "I guess that makes sense, since you can basically store anything inside a bottle." He sighed, then turned to Reed, who appeared deep in thought, and suggested, "Let's find a place to sit first and get you dried off."

Reed, snapping out of his thoughts, nodded. "Yeah, let's find a place to sit down. I'm getting cold."

The two spotted a nearby tree and headed toward it. Once under its shade, Reed took off his wet shirt, laying it aside to dry. He then sat down, shivering slightly, and muttered, "I regret swimming now."

Jack chuckled, shaking his head. "That's what you get for not thinking it through."

Reed only nodded, too focused on coming up with a way to store water for their journey. As Reed sank back into his thoughts, Jack pulled up his system, scrolling through the devil fruit shop in search of a fruit that could help store water.

As nightfall approached, Jack and Reed decided to postpone their plans until the next day.

Reed picked up his now-dry shirt, slipping it back on. "It's going to be a cold night," he said, glancing at the darkening sky. "We still don't have a reliable way to start a fire."

Jack nodded in agreement. "And it's going to get real dark too," he said, glancing above Reed's head. A green marker shone brightly, indicating their alliance. "Good thing we're on the same team, huh?"

Reed nods in agreement, saying, "I'm turning in early tonight. Hand me some rice balls to eat first."

Jack produces five rice balls, handing them to Reed. Afterward, he makes a few more for himself and starts eating. "Let's hope tomorrow's better," he says between bites.

After finishing his rice balls, Reed sighs and says, "I love rice, but it's so bland without any flavor." He stretches before lying down, adding, "I'm calling it a night; it's getting too dark."

Jack watches him for a moment, then shrugs and follows suit. Without further words, both settle in and drift off to sleep, passing through the night safely.

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

As daylight breaks, Jack is the first to wake up. He glances at Reed, who is still sound asleep, before producing a rice ball. Taking a bite, he pulls up his system and begins scrolling through the shop again.

After a while, Reed slowly wakes up, stretching and yawning. He makes his way to the lake, scooping up a handful of water to drink. Turning to Jack, he asks, "Can you toss me a rice ball? I'm starving."

Jack tosses a rice ball toward Reed, who catches it and begins eating. Jack then continues scrolling through the devil fruit shop. After a few moments, his eyes land on the 'Bamboo Fruit.' He pauses, noticing the price: 75k Beli. "Huh, bamboo fruit," he mutters, tilting his head. "This could be useful, but that's a lot of money."

Jack hears a *ding* and immediately checks his mission tab. He notices a new mission under the active side titled "Survive in stable conditions - Daily Mission."

Reed, hearing the *ding* and already checking his system, exclaims, "Alright!"

Jack, sharing the same excitement, says, "This helps us immensely." He claims the reward but notices that the mission remains on the active side instead of moving to completed.

Jack shrugs, muttering, "Makes sense, it's a daily mission," and sees that the reward is just 1.5k beli.

Reed, having also claimed the reward, says, "Hey, better than nothing!"

Jack nods and replies, "We can use this money to buy you the 'Bamboo Fruit' so we can store water."

Reed asks, "How much is it?" to which Jack responds, "75k."

Reed pauses and says, "Why is it less expensive than the 'Bottle Fruit'?"

Jack thinks for a bit before answering, "Who knows? I won't complain."

Reed nods before asking, "So what now? We have to wait for the money, right? What do we do in the meantime?"

Jack looks at Reed, then sighs, muttering, "This is going to be a long month."

Time passes, and not even a week later, Jack and Reed manage to make the best of their situation. They turned their daily routine into a game by throwing rice balls everywhere, with Reed getting creative in the chaos. It wasn't exactly fun cleaning up afterward, but it kept their minds off the monotony of the island.

Exactly 22 days later, Jack wakes up first, claims the daily mission reward, and moves to wake Reed. "Hey, we have enough now!" he says, excited to finally make progress.

Reed, irritated, wakes up, rubbing his eyes before processing what Jack just said. He then immediately claims the reward, which lands him with exactly [37,000] beli. "Alright, let's get this over with," he mutters.

Jack rolls his eyes before checking his money, which amounts to [38,000] beli. He then asks Reed how much he has, quickly doing the math and arriving at the total of exactly [75,000] beli, the exact amount they need. "Perfect," Jack says, "Let's get that Bamboo Fruit."

Reed nods and requests [38,000] beli from Jack through the system, which Jack promptly accepts. Now Reed has exactly [75,000] beli in his system.

Reed moves to the shop section, searches for the 'Bamboo Fruit,' and purchases it. He pauses for a moment, reading through the details of his newly acquired ability thats being directly fed to his brain, analyzing the information before deciding what to do next.

Jack stays quiet, having already gone through a similar experience when he first acquired the Rice Fruit. He watches Reed, knowing it's a useful fruit, but feeling no need to comment.

After a while, Reed finally says, "Great, it's done," before shooting a sharp bamboo spear towards a tree, lodging it firmly in place.

Jack watches, impressed, and says, "Wow! And you don't even have fruit stats yet!"

Reed quickly replies, "Oh! I almost forgot!" He claims the reward for gaining Devil Fruit powers and sets his stats.

Stats (Reed) :

Melee - 2 » 3

Defense - 1

Sword - 0

Gun - 0

Devil Fruit - 0 » 2

Money » 0

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

Jack walks over to the bamboo lodged in the tree and says, "Damn, that's some serious firepower."

Reed, finishing his stat allocation, walks over and replies, "I know, right? And that's just my 'Basic Attack'."

Jack responds, "Really? Damn, mine doesn't even have an Ultimate move."

Reed raises an eyebrow. "The Rice Fruit doesn't have one?"

Jack sighs. "Yeah, I mean, it's a low-tier Devil Fruit from the shop, so..." He shrugs.

He then says, "Show me your first unlocked move."

Reed nods, then faces an empty spot and stomps the ground. Sharp bamboo shoots upward one after another from the ground in front of him in a straight line, stopping after a few bamboo spikes.

Jack watches, then says, "Sheesh, that's deadly, but pretty easy to dodge with how slow it is."

Reed nods, adding, "Yeah, but if I do it right in front of you, it could impale you before you realize." He shrugs.

Jack agrees, "True." He pauses for a moment, then continues, "Now, let's gather some of these." He shoots a rice fist toward one of the bamboo shoots that had risen, breaking it in half.

Reed, noticing Jack's move, heads over to the tree where they had been resting and locates both his and Jack's katanas.

Jack, grabbing his katana, begins cutting the bamboo into manageable pieces for water storage, while Reed does the same, ensuring the bamboo is ready for use.

After crafting around 20 bamboo containers, they stop and take a break, both feeling the end of their island life approaching.

As the afternoon quickly approaches, Jack and Reed finish making around 50 bamboo containers. Jack is the first to get up and begins filling them with water from the lake. Meanwhile, Reed looks at their now unusable katanas and sighs.

Reed stands up and joins Jack in filling the bamboo containers with lake water. After a while, Jack comments, "You know, maybe we should've been gathering materials we can use instead of just playing around."

Reed nods in agreement, "I know, if we had vines, we could've used them as ropes by now."

Jack suddenly gets an idea and exclaims, "Wait, hold on!" before running towards the boat they had spawned when they first arrived.

Reed, noticing Jack's sudden realization, follows and says, "The boat! Maybe it has rope!

Jack exclaims, "Exactly! Now how are we going to reach the boat?" He thinks for a moment.

The boat isn't near the edge of the lake, and since they both have devil fruits, they can't swim towards it.

Reed, noticing Jack deep in thought, moves towards the edge and uses his [Move One » Bamboo Spikes]. The sharp bamboo shoots out, quickly moving toward the boat, leaving stalks in the water. After using the move, Reed realizes there are gaps between the bamboo, so he keeps using it until the gaps are filled.

Jack watches Reed's progress and sighs, knowing that Reed is going to tire out quickly. He then creates a giant rice ball for Reed to fall back on when his energy runs out.

As expected, Reed eventually collapses, and Jack comments, "Nice job, idiot. Now you can't stand up."

Reed, lying on the rice ball, replies, "You're welcome, bastard. Now go get that rope."

End of chapter.