Capítulo 146: Chapter 145: Devil Fruits
Smoker walked across the silent Onigashima.
The few remaining residents, mainly the cooks and medics, viewed him in fear.
Ignoring their reactions, he continued walking—as his Observation Haki located four notable presences on the basement floor of the Skull Dome.
Reaching the site, he blasted the locked door open. Walking in, he was met with the sight of—
"You are..."
King Riku Doldo III.
"..."
Kyros.
And finally,
"No doubt. You must be..."
Vegapunk, the greatest mind of the entire world.
With his eyes expressing fatigue, Smoker reached his hand out and crushed the metal bars in an instant. Making gaps for the three to exit the prison, Smoker spoke,
"First, let's get out of here. Then, we can talk."
...
After some time has passed by, Smoker's group, along with king Riku, Kyros, and Vegapunk were at the throne room of the Skull Dome, presumably used by Kaidou in the past.
None of them were in a normal state. Injured and drenched in red, some seemed close to passing out. However, they persisted for an unknown reason... as if competing with one another to see who faints first.
In this situation, Smoker was staring at one purple-coloured Devil Fruit in his hand.
Without a doubt, this fruit was none other than Gum Gum fruit, also known as Human Human fruit, model: Nika.
"Dressrosa is safe, you say."
King Riku asked in a shaky voice.
"And... Scarlett is alive as well...?"
"Yeah, they are,"
It was Maynard who replied to the question,
"Uh, do take a note to help out that king of Prodence in the future. Man's got no hand. Literally."
The room fell silent. Kyros, in particular, had his eyes twitching from the statement.
Squinting her eyes, Hina eyed Maynard,
"Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"Heh! You remember when I talked about how he's got a shitty personality-dara? Here it is!"
Bastille snorted before he gulped down the entire bottle of rum which he found somewhere in the Skull Dome.
"What did you say?!"
Maynard yelled angrily but was ignored by Bastille.
"Ignore them."
Parting his eyes away from the Gum Gum fruit, which he placed back in a chest ahead, Smoker looked at another stranger within the room.
White-haired, red-eyed, has red horns, and around his height. This girl, whose appearance indicated that she was, at best, around fourteen or so in terms of age, blankly stared back at Smoker in nothing but confusion.
"You said that your name is Yamato?"
"Yes!"
The girl, named Yamato, nodded vigorously.
"And you're Kaidou's daughter."
"No! I'm Kozuki Oden!!"
"...?"
Hearing the words out of Yamato for the first time, Smoker felt dizzy—even when he vaguely recalled her personality.
"Oden as in the guy who was killed by Kaidou?"
"Yes!"
"And you're Kaidou's daughter."
"NO!! I'm Kozuki Oden!!"
Unable to sit by and listen to the conversation, Senor Pink of all people cried out.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!!"
"I think she's in puberty."
Rosinante, with a hint of understanding, stated.
Robin, who remained silent up until now, thought to herself,
'The fact that Yamato was Kaidou's kin stands as the fact. Whether she disliked him or not, it's not an easy thing to speak the truth of what happened—'
"Anyway, Kaidou's dead."
Robin found herself frozen as Smoker casually dropped the bomb.
"Huh?"
"I was the one who ended his life."
Without cutting around corners, Smoker stated truthfully.
And surprisingly, the words invoked nothing out of Yamato.
"...Good."
In a shaky tone, that's all that she said.
Robin found her amazed, unable to believe the fact that Smoker managed to surprise her once again.
__________
Staring at the blue sky, Smoker was found sitting at the edge of Onigashima.
In his hand was the Gum Gum fruit, and he seemed to be in contemplation—of what to do with this fruit.
And then, a shadow loomed over him as someone approached him from the back. From the shadow alone, Smoker was able to tell who it was.
"...Dr.Vegapunk."
"I didn't get to say it before, but thank you for saving me, Smoker."
Others were now getting the rest that they deserved after the long work. Furthermore, the Onigashima's residents left the island upon learning of the defeat of Beast pirates. Simply put, the only ones awake within Onigashima at the current moment were Smoker and Vegapunk.
Vegapunk sat next to Smoker, then swayed due to the weight of his huge, elongated head.
He was about to fall into the water, and such would've happened, if not for the white smoke that appeared around him and supported his weight.
"This is..."
Vegapunk's eyes widened as he quickly regained his balance. Watching the movement of white smoke, he found his mouth opening before he became conscious of it,
"Devil Fruits, what do you know about them?"
Vegapunk wasn't asking for an answer, and Smoker too knew.
"They, upon consumption, grant their consumers the magical powers that no science of current level can achieve. Funnily enough, consuming more than two of them will result in an inevitable death... why is it so?
Because Devil Fruits have souls of their own."
"Souls... you say."
Vegapunk nodded as he looked at the Gum Gum fruit in Smoker's hand.
"They have souls, as well as the consciousness. It wasn't you who chose the Smoke Smoke fruit, but rather, the fruit that chose you."
Smoker recalled a variety of events from the past.
He'd never have imagined that Hina would get the Cage Cage fruit, that Dark Dark fruit would nonetheless end up in Blackbeard's hands.
Strangely enough, the fruits, even with how the future was twisted due to his actions, ended up with their respective owners as shown in the canon.
'Smoke Smoke fruit,'
Thought Smoker as he recalled how he attained it in the long past.
It was when he, along with Hina and Bastille, were on their way to Marineford. They were placed in a desperate situation as the marines atop the ship were wiped out and there were the entire pirate crew to deal with.
Upon his strong desire to save his friends, the Devil Fruit appeared.
"I am unsure of what kind of thoughts the majority of Devil Fruits harbour, but... I can make a few guesses regarding what is known as the 'original three.'"
"...Original three?"
And that's when Smoker realized, that Vegapunk was about to reveal something big.
"From the start of this world, there existed three 'God fruits', the lore said. Anyone who ate them would gain power unlike any other and be hailed as 'gods'. Three gods were introduced—or to be more exact, created in the world from these fruits. Do you understand what I'm saying by this?"
Smoker nodded.
"The faith born from those gods stemmed from the thoughts that the 'fruits' are the gods, rather than the consumers themselves. This happened because it is the fruits that choose their wielders, not the other way around."
"Yes, that's what I'm saying!"
With excitement, Vegapunk clapped his hands.
"Interestingly enough, upon digging the history, I found that the Devil Fruit that gives birth to the 'sun god Nika' seemed to resonate with those who valued freedom above most.
Likewise, all the users of the Devil Fruit gives birth to the 'forest god Mu' valued order—the state of peace where everything is laid in control. Existing as the king above all kings, the users of this fruit always stood at the peak of the world."
Smoker's eyes widened, knowing that what he just heard was a crucial piece of evidence.
Though Vegapunk didn't know, he knew the existence of the being named Nerona Imu. Putting the puzzles together... it was highly likely, that Imu was the user of said Devil Fruit.
"In contrast, the faith regarding the 'rain god' is scarce and vague. However, years ago, I managed to stumble upon one tribal village... one that believed in rain above all."
Vegapunk closed his eyes as he recalled an event from the past.
"Dr.Vegapunk!! Dr.Vegapunk!!"
"Hm? Morgans? I thought you were busy with that newly established newspaper company of yours?"
"I need an idea! What's the point of publishing newspapers if no one reads them?! I need some sort of way to attract viewers, something... unique!"
"Everything takes time. Have patience and continue doing what you're doing. Soon, they will take notice of you."
"Aw, c'mon! Instead of saying that, help me out here, doctor!"
"Haa... what about targeting youngsters then? Since all the other newspapers are rather, boring for them, place something like a comic strip for them. The curiosity of children will lead to the interests of adults."
"Comic strip? Comic strip?! WHAT A PERFECT IDEA!!!!
...What should the comic be about then?"
"Haven't I told you enough?"
"Pleaaasseeee!!! Pleaasssssseeeeeee, doctor!!!"
Vegapunk opened his eyes.
"It was a society that believed in the concept of justice—just like the Marine in today's world. However, something was different about it. Different in a way that's hard to explain, yet unique enough to draw my interest. I remained in the village for quite a few months, and... witnessed as the justice crumble down into pieces. But that's not what's important, I suppose."
Facing Smoker, Vegapunk stared Smoker in the eye.
"The one whom they believed in, they called it 'Zera, god of rain'... also known as the god of justice.
And I believe... that that may be the true name of your Smoke Smoke fruit."
Something pulsated within Smoker, and Smoker found himself chuckling.
"No, doctor. It isn't 'may.'"
Smoker, the moment he heard Dr.Vegapunk's words, knew.
"That is the true identity of Smoke Smoke fruit. That's what 'it' says to me."
"...Then, in that sense,"
Vegapunk, in a shaky voice that contained an exhilaration from the fact that his hypothesis was proven to be true, made a light joke,
"Your fruit would be Human Human fruit, model: Sora, Warrior of the Sea."
And that's when something clicked in Smoker.
"Oh, that," Bastille pumped his fist up high with enthusiasm, "I still remember that very day-dara, when I first came across the story of 'Sora, Warrior of the Sea.' The cool transformation with a seagull, beating down all those bad Germa 66 villains—I immediately knew that Sora was who I had to become-dara."
Smoker was unable to resist a burst of laughter. He said to Bastille back then,
"There must be Human Human fruit, model: Sora, Warrior of the Sea, out there somewhere. You should eat it before anyone else."
"Wahahaha!"
Who knew that this is how things would turn out?
"Is it truly fate?
...No, rather than fate, it is the bond that ties all of us together. Through the will, we communicate and vision for a better future... and that must be why you chose me to be your wielder."
Smoker stared at the Gum Gum fruit.
"Then, being the will that seeks freedom, you will, whether I guide you or not, reach the owner whom you seek."
There was no hesitation. Releasing his grip, Smoker watched as the Gum Gum fruit fell.
With a light plop, it fell into the sea and disappeared from the view.
"...Are you fine with that?"
Vegapunk asked with a surprise on his face.
With a satisfied expression, Smoker stood up from his spot.
"It is none other than the Devil Fruit of sun god Nika. By letting go like this... what if ones like Kaidou seize it again?"
"The fact that the Gum Gum fruit wasn't consumed by anyone, while under Kaidou's possession, serves as the proof."
Smoker assumed that Kaidou tried to feed the fruit to Yamato, but failed because Yamato had eaten something else.
"That Devil Fruit is the freest fruit in this world, doctor. And the freedom it harbours isn't harmful to anyone. Trying to entrap the embodiment of freedom... that doesn't sound right, does it?"
'Just as how you did in canon,'
Smoker believed,
'You will eventually reach Luffy. Then, we'll meet once more.'
With a newfound truth, the matter in Wano is finally resolved.
However, Smoker and his group were yet to learn, of what kind of chaos was ongoing on the outside.
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