Kapitel 287: Chapter 287: Shanks: The Matter of My Devil Fruit
The following afternoon.
"Whooooo—!!"
A strange, low roar echoed from beneath the distant sea.
Before long, the surface of the water began to bulge slowly, and then a massive whale broke through, revealing the scarred upper half of its head. It opened its jaws wide, displaying an array of interlocking teeth, and let out a thunderous roar.
"Whoa—!!"
The whale's roar was deafening. Its large, round eyes fixed on the Abyss, the ship anchored in front of the tower keeper's hut, with a hint of human-like curiosity.
"Wow! That's a huge fish!!"
Love leaned on the railing of the Abyss, her face brimming with excitement as she watched Laboon breach the surface.
As if driven by some instinct, the little fox suddenly threw its head back and let out a long howl.
"Awooooo—!!"
You pesky dog…
Ahem.
A fox's howl really doesn't pack much of a punch.
Standing nearby, Adrian reached out just in time to grab the little fox's arm, preventing her from falling backward.
"Is falling over really that much fun?" Adrian lightly knocked Love on the head, scolding her gently.
"But it's so big, Adrian-sama!" Love was still extremely excited, her voice full of enthusiasm. "I bet it tastes really good!"
Huh?
Adrian glanced at the little fox, then asked out of the blue, "So, Love, are you planning to take on this island whale? I can cheer you on with Rumi."
Without even looking back at Laboon, Love immediately chickened out, retreating, "But I can't beat such a big fish…"
Adrian rolled his eyes. "And you still want to eat fish?"
Thud!
This time, Adrian knocked on Love's head much harder, causing the little fox to yelp in pain and clutch her head.
Adrian's expression remained unchanged as he coldly continued, "And Laboon is so cute. Why would you want to eat him?"
"Adrian-sama, you know this big fish?"
Love looked up, her eyes brimming with tears.
"It's so big, and its head is covered in scars, and it has so many sharp teeth. It could eat hundreds of foxes in one bite. It doesn't look cute at all…"
Adrian was momentarily at a loss for words.
Well, some stories are best left untold.
The real whale Laboon looks absolutely astonishing and breathtaking, even more that from just looking through the screen.
This island whale, known for its massive size, has an eyeball alone that is many times larger than a typical medium-sized three-masted sailing ship.
For those with megalophobia, the island whale is undoubtedly one of the scariest monsters in the world!
The little fox's words do have some merit.
"How dare you talk back!" Adrian bent down and forcefully rubbed Love's furry head, asserting his authority as the captain.
After petting the fox's head for a while, a sudden flash of red appeared in Adrian's eyes, and his hand stopped moving.
He looked out towards Reverse Mountain and saw a huge pirate ship rapidly sailing towards Twin Capes.
The figurehead was a peculiar iron-gray robot, and on the black pirate flag, behind the white skull, were four crossed...
"Fan blades?"
Adrian said uncertainly.
Whether it was because of Shanks or because the Great Pirate Era had truly begun, this was already the third pirate crew to successfully cross Reverse Mountain.
Earlier this morning, Adrian had encountered another pirate crew from the West Blue. Without any Devil Fruit users among them, Adrian swiftly sank their ship.
Unexpectedly, another pirate crew appeared this afternoon.
This frequency was far higher than the two or three per week that Crocus had mentioned…
Moments later, the pirate ship successfully approached Twin Capes and docked steadily beside the lighthouse.
A group of fierce-looking pirates, armed with swords and muskets, quickly disembarked from the ship.
Leading them was a tall, lanky pirate dressed in a brownish-yellow coat with black hair styled into a four-leaf clover shape, similar to Dr. Clover's hairstyle.
Beside the clover-haired pirate was a thin pirate holding a wildly spinning compass with trembling hands, drenched in sweat and looking extremely nervous.
This navigator-like pirate rushed out of the crowd, ran to Crocus, raised the compass with his left hand, and tried to grab Crocus's neck with his right.
"Old man! Why doesn't the compass work here?"
Crocus frowned and took a small step back, avoiding the pirate's grasp.
"A clueless rookie pirate daring to rush into the Grand Line so recklessly? Are you all looking to die?"
Upon hearing this, the clover-haired pirate immediately shouted angrily, "Old man! What nonsense are you spouting?! If we knew about the Grand Line, would we have come to ask you?"
A pirate minion beside him also chimed in, "Old man! Our captain is the infamous 'Spiral Durai' of the South Blue! His bounty is a whopping 59.9 million Berries!"
Crocus didn't even bother to lift an eyelid, replying indifferently, "Oh, 59.9 million Berries, huh."
'Spiral Durei' frowned, preparing to lift his hand and teach this impudent old man a harsh lesson, showing him what a 60-million-Beri bounty pirate really meant.
Ah, not 60 million, but 59.9 million Beri
Suddenly, one of his underlings reported, "Captain! There's a fucking impressive ship over there! I only saw one man on board, skinny and frail-looking!"
'Spiral Durei' looked in the direction indicated and immediately saw a man who, apart from a handsome face, had no other notable features. The man was looking at them with a relaxed expression.
The "Great Pirate" nodded in satisfaction. He indeed looked like a weakling.
"Just arrived at the Grand Line and already a catch! Boys, watch me take that guy's head first! I'll show this old man what a real pirate is!"
As he finished speaking, the clover-shaped hair on the back of 'Spiral Durei's head moved upwards, like a bamboo-copter, and positioned itself atop his head.
Moments later, the clover-shaped hair began to spin like a propeller, whipping up strong winds, lifting 'Spiral Durei' into the air as he flew toward the Abyss.
"Hmm? A Devil Fruit user."
Adrian nodded in satisfaction.
He extended a finger, aiming at the bamboo-copter man, and a white ghost slowly emerged from his fingertip.
Negative Ghost.
The emotional ghost shot through 'Spiral Durei's chest like lightning. The propeller that was keeping him airborne suddenly stalled as if it had encountered a mechanical failure.
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
Panicked shouts erupted from the Twin Capes. The pirate crew members saw their captain stop in mid-air for some unknown reason, his propeller halted, and it seemed like he would fall into the sea any moment, prompting them to cry out in alarm.
Adrian's hand formed a ghostly blue whip, which flew out like the wind and wrapped around the bamboo-copter man, preventing the Devil Fruit user from falling into the sea and drowning.
"Rumi, steer the ship over there. Shanks is still in the lighthouse keeper's hut."
This nameless pirate crew had no other Devil Fruit users besides 'Spiral Durei.'
After easily dealing with the group, Adrian dragged 'Spiral Durei' like a dead dog and stepped onto the land of the Twin Capes.
Facing the White Ghost, Crocus didn't dare to be as dismissive as he had been with the clueless rookie pirates earlier. Nervously, he looked at Adrian and asked in a low voice, "Adrian, what do you want to do?"
"Relax, Mr. Crocus," Adrian said lightly. "I'm just conducting an experiment."
"An experiment?"
Crocus glanced at the still despondent 'Spiral Durei' muttering humiliating words in his negative state.
"An experiment on a Devil Fruit user?"
"Don't worry, it's not the cruel and bloody human experiment you're imagining," Adrian replied. "I am not that heartless."
"Please bring out Shanks, Mr. Crocus."
A moment later.
Shanks, who was already feeling much better, slowly walked out of the keeper's cabin.
Looking at the 'Spiral Durei' on the ground, Shanks showed a puzzled expression and looked at Adrian. "Who is this?"
"A bad guy," Adrian replied curtly.
"Are you ready, Shanks?"
"Ready for what?"
Shanks' confusion deepened. He had no idea what Adrian meant.
Adrian didn't intend to explain to Shanks.
With a ripple of energy.
Adrian, Love, Shanks, and the 'Spiral Durei' on the ground simultaneously disappeared from the surface of Twin Cape.
Crocus, left behind, frowned deeply, his mind racing.
"What are you up to, White Ghost?"
...
Rumi's castle.
Although experiments with Devil Fruits like this one were not difficult and were quite straightforward, the only secret lay in the 'Golden Leek.'
Still, Adrian wasn't planning to let Crocus know.
After all, this method of 'Devil Fruit generation' was a secret, albeit a minor one.
If Shanks wanted to tell Crocus, Adrian had no objections. But he himself would not reveal it to Crocus.
In a room within the castle.
Everyone slowly appeared.
As the master of the fortress, Rumi had the ability to freely manipulate the space of the fortress, gathering everyone into a single room as easily as breathing.
It was then that Adrian explained to Shanks, "I just want to conduct a simple Devil Fruit experiment."
"Like the time with the Float-Float Fruit?" Shanks seemed to recall an unpleasant experience.
There was once a sweet yellow peach in my hand.
But I couldn't cherish it. {Are you really… }
I could only watch it turn into a Devil Fruit… {My God!}
"The rebirth of the Float-Float Fruit was purely due to luck, right?" Shanks looked at Adrian, bewildered. "Do you want to kill this pirate to see if his Devil Fruit can be reborn?"
Snap!
Adrian snapped his fingers, satisfied. "Right!"
"But, but..."
Shanks muttered several words but still couldn't find any scientific or plausible explanation. He scratched his head helplessly. "This is completely unreasonable!"
Adrian patted Shanks on the shoulder. "It's okay, I believe in you."
I believe more in your Protagonist's Lucky halo!
At least for now, I still do!
The influence of the Negative Ghost didn't last long.
During these few exchanges, 'Spiral Durei' had already snapped out of the Negative Ghost's influence.
Too late—
Or rather, unwilling to think about the extremely embarrassing scene just now.
'Spiral Durei' glared fiercely at Adrian and the others. "You bastards! How dare you destroy my pirate crew! Do you know who I am? I am 'Spiral Durei'!!"
"What kind of Devil Fruit did you eat?"
Adrian's expression remained unchanged as he waved his hand, and a large group of uniquely shaped fruits and vegetables immediately appeared on the floor of the room.
With Rumi's subtle manipulation, the floor slowly rose into a staircase-like platform, organizing these fruits into neat rows.
"You—"
Dream Ghost: Phantom Pain.
Adrian couldn't be bothered to waste words and directly used his ability.
A faintly crimson glowing mini-ghost emerged slowly from his fingertip, hollow eyes, with a smile of invisible terror on its lips.
With a max-level Ghost Domination, Adrian could extend the development of the Ghost Fruit to other psychic abilities.
The Dream Ghost was one of them.
'Phantom Pain' could subject the struck individual to continual mental torment, destroying their resistance.
The Dream Ghost silently penetrated 'Spiral Durei's' body.
"..."
'Spiral Durei's' mental world suddenly plunged into a horrifying illusion, the fluctuations of the spiritual world continually feeding back into his physical body. His skin rapidly reddened, veins bulging like twisted green snakes.
The intense pain originating from the spiritual world even prevented 'Spiral Durei' from screaming; his mouth on the verge of tearing apart!
After experiencing such mental torment in his spiritual world, 'Spiral Durei', as if crawling out of a pool of sweat, loosened and fell down. His eyes filled with fear as he looked at Adrian, remembering all the things he had learned about the new emerging pirate.
"Ghost... Mr. Ghost..."
Hmm?
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "You know me?"
Mr. Ghost, one of the titles Adrian earned after stopping the "Child Incident" in the South Blue, was renowned.
This pirate had heard of this title, proving he must be from the South Blues.
"I-I know."
After enduring the torment of the Dream Ghost, 'Spiral Durei' had lost all his previous arrogance and anger, trembling as he spoke.
"I've heard your story."
"Good, can you cooperate now?"
Adrian's fingertips conjured up an illusory Pale Reddish Ghostly once again.
Seeing the terrifying Ghostly again, 'Spiral Durei'" trembled violently all over, wracking his brain to scrape his memories.
After a moment, he shakily pointed to a bright red apple in the room.
Adrian instructed, "Shanks, pick up that apple."
"This doesn't make sense..."
Muttering under his breath, Shanks complied with Adrian's command.
He picked up the apple.
"Mr. Ghost, can you spare me now?"
Adrian nodded. "I'll make it quick for you."
Mini Ghost: Withering Heart Piercer.
Spiral Durei's pupils contracted to the extreme. His chest swelled for a moment, then slowly calmed down.
Although he appeared unharmed on the outside, his internal organs had been completely destroyed by the Mini Ghost, leaving no trace of life.
Shanks's eyes flickered with emotion. Despite aspiring to be a pirate, he wasn't fond of killing.
Adrian was unaware of Shanks's inner turmoil.
But even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
"Based on his previous behavior, the fruit he consumed should be a Paramecia-type." Adrian stated. "Now, let's see how you perform, Shanks."
What perform? I can't perform! Never!
Right now, I feel like a fool!
Shanks held the large apple in his hands, silently cursing.
One minute passed...
Three minutes passed...
Five minutes passed...
Not just the apple in Shanks's hand, but the rest of the fruits in the room showed no signs of change.
Adrian patiently waited for another five minutes.
Using his Color of Observation Haki to monitor everything in the room, but still detecting no changes.
"It's a failure…"
Adrian sighed.
In fact, aside from Shanks's protagonist halo, Rumi's staunch fortress was also one of his backup plans.
If a Devil Fruit could be confined by Rumi's fortress's spatial power.
Even if he lost Shanks in the future, he could still use Rumi's fortress as a Devil Fruit processing factory.
But unexpectedly.
In this experiment, not only did Shanks's protagonist halo fail to work.
Even the alternative plan of Rumi's fortress's spatial isolation lost its effect.
"I told you this method was unreliable!"
Shanks suddenly felt excited for some reason.
"What Devil Fruit? All of this is random!"
"Even the Float-Float Fruit from before, it only appeared in my hands because I was lucky then!"
Adrian glanced lightly at Shanks and unexpectedly said. "Remember, Shanks, now you owe me a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit."
"Huh?"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein