Chapter 14: Devil Fruit

The moment the captain, Whitebeard, was struck down by my blade, the fight had no choice but to end.

The remaining pirates, realizing they had no hope left, dropped their weapons and began pleading for mercy.

However, the Kusa Pirates, who had a sense of honour, didn’t kill those who surrendered. Instead, they seemed to sell them into slavery… but, well, that was beyond my control.

The money made from selling the slaves was used to purchase supplies from other places to be sent to the island of women.

I couldn’t really complain about it, to be honest.

The Kusa Pirates’ pillaging wasn’t anything malicious either.

They mostly hunted on deserted islands or robbed other pirates.

They were warriors, and they didn’t target innocent weaklings.

There was no need to go that far to sustain the island of women, so I nodded in approval of the Kusa Pirates’ methods.

Soon, amidst the cleanup on the pirate ship, Captain Bellusa called for me.

“…So, how was it? The real battle?”

“It was fine. And honestly, the enemies were trash. They weren’t even worth killing.”

“Hmm. Our warriors don’t stain their hands with innocent blood.”

As I spoke, Bellusa nodded and, passing by the others cleaning up, began leading me somewhere.

“Where are we going?”

“In our Kusa Pirates, there’s a tradition. When a warrior has their first real battle, they’re allowed to claim one treasure.”

“A treasure??”

“Yes, that’s right. Whatever treasure you want from what we’ve taken from other pirates. Now, let’s head to the treasure vault.”

My eyes sparkled at the mention of treasure. If they had a proper sword or something valuable, I’d be happy to claim it…

I knew gold and jewels could be found elsewhere, so it would be great if I could find something rare and useful.

Seeing Hancock walking faster with excitement, Bellusa smiled warmly, thinking to herself that even a grown-up pirate like her had the innocence of a child. She led me to the treasure vault.

“Wow…”

Although I knew gold and jewels could be acquired elsewhere, seeing gold coins and various treasures piled high in front of me left me speechless.

There was a certain magic to it, something that made me marvel at its sheer grandeur.

I gazed at the treasure and, after some time, snapped out of it, starting to search for something else.

I checked out swords hanging on the walls and began opening boxes to see what was hidden inside.

There was an old map that seemed like a treasure map, various gold coins and jewels, and some swords that looked like they might be decent.

None, however, seemed to be swords of legendary renown.

Feeling disappointed as I continued searching, I finally came upon the last remaining box. When I pried it open, my face immediately transformed.

“…This! I’ll take this!!!”

“Hmm? That’s…”

Captain Bellusa looked inside the box I had chosen and her face, too, changed drastically. She turned to me once more.

“Do you know what this is? And you’re choosing it?”

“Yes!!! I know!!”

“…I don’t know how you know, but let me explain it anyway.

This is a cursed fruit from the sea, known as a Devil Fruit. If you eat it, you gain the power of a monster, but in exchange, you’ll be cursed to never be able to enter the sea.

Still, are you sure you want it?”

“Yes!!! I just have to avoid falling into the sea!!”

‘That’s easy once I learn the Water Breathing technique! And even if I fall into the sea, I can train to control my power to some extent!!’

I nodded firmly. I never imagined I would come across a Devil Fruit in such a shabby pirate crew. Why it was kept and not eaten, I didn’t know, but to me, it was a great find.

Now, I just had to figure out what kind of fruit it was and decide if it suited me. If not, I could always sell it for capital.

As I examined the fruit’s shape, I made my way to where the books were kept on the ship.

Seeing me do this, Belusa shook her head with a smile.

“Did Gloryosa tell you about this…?”

The people on the island of women didn’t know much about the Devil Fruits… she thought to herself as she shook her head.

Even though the fruit was cursed, if used properly, it could grant incredible power. It was a matter of knowing how to use it.

‘They must have kept the fruit because they thought it wasn’t worth using. That’s why they stored it…’

Lost in thought, I soon found the book on Devil Fruits. The page was only half-opened, so it was easy to figure out what kind of fruit this was.

[Copy Copy Fruit]

[It’s said to allow the user to copy the appearance of another person by touching them. The person who first used it was notorious as a con artist, making this fruit known as the “fraudster’s fruit.”]

“…The Copy Copy Fruit?”

‘Bon Clay’s fruit??’

I stared in surprise at the fruit. Mr. 2 Bon Clay’s fruit.

It allowed the user to copy the appearance of anyone they touched. But that was the extent of its power. It didn’t seem like it could be used for much in terms of strength.

In the anime, Bon Clay’s power appeared briefly and was never really brought up again.

But…

‘…What if it’s not the end of it?’

What if the Copy Copy Fruit could be awakened? What if it could evolve?

I began to entertain various scenarios in my mind.

‘Should I take it? Or not?’

If it could awaken, the Copy Copy Fruit could become the ultimate fruit. But if my theory turned out to be wrong… I would have to rethink everything.

Just as I was deep in thought, a sudden message popped up.

[In the world of Yuhui, the world can be altered depending on the user’s consciousness.]

[Changes are possible depending on the effort made, as long as they don’t disturb the balance of the world.]

The message startled me, and at that moment, my choice became clear. With no more hesitation, I bit down on the fruit.

“…Ewwwww…”

The taste was revolting, like mint chocolate mixed with spoiled seafood, making me gag, but I managed to swallow it.

Then, the power of the Copy Copy Fruit surged into my mind!

As expected, the fruit allowed me to copy the appearance of others by touching them.

It was just the basic ability for now… but I believed I could develop it further with training!

“…I’ll train with this Devil Fruit slowly. But first… if I’m going to copy someone’s power, I might as well copy the strongest in the world…!”

‘It’s about time Gol D. Roger was executed. If I head to Log Town now, I could see him with my own eyes!’

If I could touch him and copy his abilities…!!

I walked out of the room, my eyes alight with determination.

I was going to see Roger’s final moments with my own eyes, and I wouldn’t waste this opportunity.

A short while later, a smaller but sturdy ship was launched from the Kusa Pirate ship, heading toward the East Blue.

Bellusa, the captain, had granted Hancock’s request to see the Pirate King’s last stand.