"One Piece:The True Codex"Chapter 387: Poison
Garp's expression shifted slightly. He wasn't worried about his own life but rather about the lives of the other captured Marines in William's hands.
William noticed his concern and smiled. "I won't kill any of you. After all, I'm now a partner of the Marines."
"What do you mean?" Garp asked.
A voice echoed from the open doorway, reaching into the cell: "William is now one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, as well as the king of a World Government-affiliated nation. He's on the same ship as the Marines and the World Government. Why would he kill you?"
As the voice trailed off, Dampier strolled leisurely into the cell, stopping behind William with a grin as he looked at Garp.
Garp, however, decisively shook his head. "Impossible! With the crimes you've committed, there's no way the World Government or Sengoku would compromise with you. Your strength isn't enough to force the government or the Marines to end the war!"
"Whether it's possible or not, you can confirm it yourself when I send you back to Marine Headquarters to meet Fleet Admiral Sengoku," William said with a smile. He then picked up a small piece of fruit from the bowl with a fork and brought it close to Garp's mouth. "But for now, let me feed you something."
Garp kept his mouth shut, his lips pressed tightly together. His gaze flickered between the fork near his mouth and William, and he spoke through gritted teeth, "Even if you've won, even if I fell into your trap, you can look down on me, you can kill me—but there's no need to humiliate me like this!"
William's smile faded. He turned and handed the bowl to Dampier before stepping closer to Garp. Gripping the back of Garp's head, he locked eyes with him and said, "Vice Admiral Garp, you may have misunderstood something. It's precisely because I respect your strength and your will that I've gone to such lengths to deal with you. Of all the enemies I've faced since setting sail, you've been the most challenging. Those insignificant nobodies I've encountered—I can't even be bothered to remember their names before killing them. But with you, I'm constantly on guard. Even in your current state, you're a threat with the ability to escape. Do you think keeping you captive is an easy task?"
William glanced down at the small piece of fruit on the fork and continued, "I've even prepared a special gift for you..."
Garp's eyes shifted back to the fruit, and he asked, "What is this...?"
Before he could finish his question, William suddenly reached out and grabbed Garp's jaw.
Even in his weakened state, Garp's reflexes were sharp. He tried to turn his head to avoid William's grip, but in his current condition, it was impossible to succeed.
William forcefully pried Garp's mouth open, pushed the fork into his mouth, and shoved the piece of fruit down his throat. Only after Garp swallowed, coughing and bleeding from William's rough handling, did William remove the fork and close Garp's jaw.
"This is... this is..." Garp panted heavily, blood dripping from his mouth as he struggled to speak.
"A Devil Fruit," William said, handing the fork back to Dampier. He took two steps back, observing Garp's reaction closely.
Devil Fruits granted immense power—power that brought influence and wealth. In this chaotic world, the value of power was immeasurable.
Thus, Devil Fruits were highly sought after, their exorbitant prices and mysterious origins only adding to their allure. The most famous legend surrounding them was the idea that each Devil Fruit contained a demon within.
This myth likely stemmed from the fact that a single bite of a Devil Fruit was enough to grant its consumer extraordinary abilities. According to this legend, the fruit itself was merely a vessel for the "demon," the true source of the strange powers.
William didn't know how to test or verify this theory, so he focused instead on the more practical aspect: the idea that a single bite was all it took to gain the fruit's power.
He was curious about the exact quantity required for the fruit's effects. The piece he had fed Garp was no larger than a fingernail. Would it be enough?
William had also considered experimenting with juicing a Devil Fruit to see if the juice retained its effects. However, he didn't have the resources to waste Devil Fruits on such experiments. Moreover, he feared opening this Pandora's box might lead to unforeseen consequences.
It was said that a person could only consume one Devil Fruit, as eating multiple would result in death due to the conflict between the demons within. If juiced Devil Fruits retained their effects, the juice could become a deadly poison for Devil Fruit users.
Though the cost of such an experiment—over a hundred million Beli—was steep, it wasn't entirely unaffordable for some.
Ever since this idea had crossed his mind, William had been cautious about drinking unknown beverages, especially fruit juices.
Inside the cell, Garp sat with his head bowed after swallowing the Devil Fruit fragment. Blood dripped steadily from his lips onto the floor.
His chest rose and fell erratically, and his labored breathing was the only sign to William and Dampier that he was still alive.
William frowned, while Dampier pulled out a pair of Seastone handcuffs. At William's signal, Dampier stepped forward to cuff Garp's wrists.
Just as Dampier moved in, something unexpected happened.
The hair on Garp's head and face, which had grown slightly during his captivity, suddenly began to grow wildly. The dense hair seemed to come alive, spreading rapidly over Garp's shoulders and reaching toward the needle marks and restraints on his arms.
Dampier reacted quickly, snapping the Seastone cuffs onto Garp's wrists. Instantly, the hair lost its vitality, drooping lifelessly onto Garp's chest.
"Truly worthy of the title 'Marine Hero.' You can't let your guard down for even a moment," William remarked, watching the scene unfold.
"And you're worthy of being called a 'Sea Emperor.' Feeding a Devil Fruit worth over a hundred million Beli to a prisoner like me without a second thought... You've got no heartache at all," Garp said, slowly lifting his head to glare at William.
...
Outside the cell, William and Dampier were immediately surrounded by Harden, Edmond, Sherlock, and the others.
Edmond glanced curiously into the cell and asked William, "How did it go?"
"It worked," William replied with a nod.
Harden grumbled, "Such a precious fruit, and you just wasted it on him. What a shame."
"I know what I'm doing," William said. "When I deliver Garp back to Marine Headquarters, I can't exactly parade him around like this—with tranquilizers, chains, and guards all over him."
Sherlock, however, frowned at William's words. Hesitantly, he asked, "You're delivering Garp to Marine Headquarters? Isn't that too dangerous? Why not let someone else handle it?"
"What if the Marines turn on you when they see Garp and the others like this?" Harden grinned, licking his lips. "I wouldn't mind going. Visiting Marine Headquarters as a pirate would be a rare experience!"
"The next Seven Warlords of the Sea meeting is being held at Marine Headquarters. I'm delivering Garp as part of attending that meeting. Besides, I'm already a Warlord—I can't keep avoiding the Marines," William explained, patting Harden on the shoulder. "And with Big Mom's people still lingering in the East Blue, the Marines won't dare make a move against me."
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