The Hell Pirates watched Brook with bated breath, their eyes glued to his every move. When he rummaged through the first crate and came up empty, a wave of disappointment rippled through the crew.
The higher the hopes, the harder they crash.
Had their captain Brook poured all that time and effort into this plan, only to come up short?
"Yohohoho! Got one!"
Brook's skeletal hands pulled out a gray banana-shaped Devil Fruit, etched with swirling vine patterns. Its tip split into a double-pronged shape, like an axe—or the head of a hammerhead shark. No need to guess: this was the Hammerhead Shark Fruit!
"Hell yeah! We did it!"
Shakky and Stussy leapt onto Brook's arms, one on each side, swinging with excitement and nearly toppling the skeleton.
"Hold on! There's still two crates to go!"
Brook set the duo down, handing the Hammerhead Shark Fruit to them to inspect. He dove into the second crate, tossing fruit after fruit aside. No Devil Fruit in sight. He dumped the entire crate out—still nothing.
A flicker of doubt crossed Brook's bony face. Could a Mythical Zoan Fruit really have a mind of its own, slipping away despite Seastone and seawater barriers?
The crew fell silent, tension thick as fog.
"Don't sweat it, Brook! The last crate's gotta have two Devil Fruits!"
Shakky, Stussy, and Linlin rallied around him, pumping him up.
No time for dawdling. Brook ripped open the third crate and upended it, spilling a cascade of fruit onto the deck. The crew leaned in, holding their breath.
"There it is, Captain!"
"No way, Brook! It's real!"
"Holy crap, two of 'em?!"
The deck erupted in chaos. Even Newgate and Redfield were shouting, while Golden Lion Shiki just kept yelling "Hell yeah!" The Hell Sisters—Shakky, Stussy, and Linlin—clung to each other, tears of joy streaming down their faces.
Even Scarlet was losing it. Three Devil Fruits? Even if they weren't Mythical Zoans, the Hammerhead Shark Fruit was a beast. It belonged to Hammerhead Shark Dalma, the Sea Siren Pirates' top officer, after all. A carnivorous Zoan like that was no joke.
Scarlet's mind raced. If he could snag a 600-million-Belly bounty with this fruit, he'd be laughing for life. The Hammerhead Shark Fruit was his ticket—nobody else seemed to want it. Perfect. Greed never pays off, but this? This was a sure bet.
...
Brook held up the two Mythical Zoan Fruits. One bore a striking resemblance to the Yamata no Orochi Fruit, with eight leafy protrusions. Had to be the Octopus Siren Fruit, right?
The other was probably the Mythical Zoan Siren Fruit Stussy had her heart set on. Better double-check to be safe.
Luckily, the crew had compiled a Devil Fruit encyclopedia. A quick flip through confirmed it: no mix-ups. Stussy didn't hesitate. She chomped into the Siren Fruit, gagged at the foul taste, and tossed the rest aside, ignoring Brook's teasing about eating the whole thing.
In a flash, Stussy sprouted wings and took to the air, soaring with ease. Brook gaped at the former CP agent's natural talent.
"Brook, let's give the Hammerhead Shark Fruit to Scarlet," Shiki said, grinning. "He's not gunning for that Octopus Siren Fruit, so let's hook up our old crewmate!"
Shiki's loyalty to his former subordinate shone through, speaking up for the guy too shy to ask.
"Sounds good! Scarlet's one of us, a billion-Belly man already!"
Brook hadn't expected Scarlet to go for the Hammerhead Shark Fruit over a Mythical Zoan. He'd even considered offering him the Octopus Siren Fruit. But if that's what Scarlet wanted, Brook would find a worthy owner for the Octopus Siren later.
Shakky handed the Hammerhead Shark Fruit to Scarlet. The crew's casual trust, passing him a fruit worth billions of Belly, hit him hard. Emotion welled up.
"Sorry, Captain Shiki," Scarlet thought, tears in his eyes. "I'm done with the old crew. I'm a Hell Pirate for life now. You're just Shiki-san from here on out—no more Captain."
Without a second thought, Scarlet swallowed the Hammerhead Shark Fruit whole, not even chewing. The crew stared, slack-jawed at his sheer audacity.
Brook flashed back to Buggy scarfing down the Chop-Chop Fruit. These guys' throats and stomachs must be made of rubber!
"ROAR!"
A jagged-toothed shark-man emerged. Not bad for an ex-Flying Pirate officer. Mastering a Devil Fruit on the first try? Scarlet was the real deal.
"Yohohohoho! Streusen, enough chit-chat! Let's get this banquet back in gear and make up for the food we missed!"
Brook's laughter echoed across the deck. His experiment was a roaring success. Would the Hell Pirates ever run short of Devil Fruits now?
One thing was certain: Wano's Seastone couldn't leak to the open seas. The World Government's scientists must never crack this method.
...
Brook caught Silva and Crocus eyeing the Octopus Siren Fruit. He wasn't keen on handing it over. A close-combat warrior was the right fit for that beastly power, not them.
"Yohohoho! Quit staring, you two! This fruit's not for you. But we've got a Seastone vault now—think we'll run out of Devil Fruits tailored to your tastes?"
Brook's words snapped Silva and Crocus out of their trance. The duo scrambled for the Devil Fruit encyclopedia and bounty posters, hunting for their dream fruits.
The crew burst into laughter at their antics. For now, Brook stashed the Octopus Siren Fruit, awaiting its true master.
The ship was already brimming with Devil Fruit users. Good thing Tom and Tiger had no interest in becoming landlubbers—they were the crew's underwater lifelines.
Besides Silva and Crocus, only the Memory Seahorse, Qilin Lion, and Parrot lacked Devil Fruits. Brook had big plans for Parrot: a mobile storage unit. The Castle Fruit, Book-Book Fruit, or Mirror-Mirror Fruit were top contenders.
As for the Memory Seahorse dreaming of dragonhood, maybe an Ancient Zoan Dinosaur Fruit—or even King's Pteranodon Fruit—would do the trick.
Brook mused: if he recruited Kaido early, would King ever hit the seas? Or would the poor guy be lab-rat fodder forever?
The Qilin Lion was already a Mythical Zoan in all but name—flight, sonic roars, scorching blasts, and unbreakable claws. What fruit could top that?
...
"To Stussy and Scarlet!"
Golden Island rang with the Hell Pirates' cheers. Their power was skyrocketing, and the best was yet to come.
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+188 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg