"Not bad. The taste is surprisingly fresh. Would've been perfect with a little more meat."
Shirogai finished off the grilled matsutake mushrooms in his hand, dusted the snow off his coat, and stood up, adding with a calm tone,
"Nami and Chopper would probably love these mushrooms. Luffy... he's not the type to appreciate anything that doesn't fill his belly."
Speaking of Luffy, Shirogai casually glanced at him—still buried in a mound of mushrooms, his skin slowly returning to its normal shade.
Shirogai called out with a smirk,
"Whose meat is this? If no one's claiming it, I'll just toss it."
"Meat!"
Luffy's pale, sickly body shot up from the pile, his voice hoarse and desperate,
"Meat?! Where?!"
"Oh no, a beautiful swordswoman snatched it already."
Shirogai stepped outside the snowy clearing.
With a single stride, he covered hundreds of meters and landed right in front of Luffy.
"Here, this'll do for now."
He stuffed a handful of grilled matsutake into Luffy's mouth, and at the same time, his other hand gently brushed over Luffy's body, [absorbing all internal toxins].
Luffy's skin rapidly shifted from a deathly gray to a healthy bronze hue.
"Chomp, chomp..."
As he chewed, Luffy's eyes sparkled.
"Shirogai, is this meat? It's so good! Got more? I'm starving…"
"All you think about is eating. We'll get to the meat later. First, I've got to clean up some trash."
Shirogai flicked Luffy's forehead and turned to face the royal pests—Wapol and Mushuru.
The two brothers were inching toward the mountain trail, sneaking away under the cover of fleeing pirate soldiers.
"Heh… where do you think you're going?"
Wapol turned around, clearly annoyed.
"Damn it! This King was sneaking off so quietly! How did you still spot me?!"
"You bastard! How dare you use something as despicable as fire! You're just like that long-nosed freak!"
Mushuru's voice trembled with a mix of rage and fear. He still couldn't understand what kind of ability Shirogai had used to release such deadly flames.
"This guy… he's something else."
The brothers exchanged glances, uneasy.
They'd faced strong enemies before—but never someone who so effortlessly dismantled their carefully crafted tactics.
Wapol clenched his jaw.
"Mushuru, we've got no choice left."
Mushuru nodded firmly.
"Let's do it. I'm ready."
Wapol faced Shirogai, sneering,
"You've forced this King's hand! Welcome the birth of despair! Munch-Munch Factory · Brother Fusion!"
Wapol's jaw widened unnaturally. In one horrifying gulp, he swallowed Mushuru, who had closed his eyes in concentration. Then he swallowed a massive cannon behind him.
Luffy's jaw dropped.
"He just… ate his own brother?!"
Shirogai nodded, calm.
"That's the Munch-Munch Fruit. He can fuse anything he eats into himself—people, weapons, objects… After fusion, he gains their powers and strength."
"Heh! So you know about this King's greatness after all!"
Wapol chewed loudly.
Moments later, his body started swelling. His muscles bulked up. His hair turned pink, and his face began to resemble Mushuru's.
His arms morphed into twin cannons. A giant muzzle protruded from his head. Mushrooms sprouted across his body, including a mushroom tail and a strange clock on his abdomen.
The mushroom pointer on the clock ticked—currently pointing to eight.
"Ahahahaha! Witness the ultimate form! Mushuru-Wapol-Cannon! The invincible trinity!"
Now towering over five meters tall, Wapol looked down on Shirogai and Luffy, kicking away his own soldiers like they were nothing.
His booming laugh echoed through the mountain pass.
"You're dead! Because you dared to provoke this King, I shall wipe out every ungrateful citizen in this country!
We shall build a kingdom that obeys only us!"
He suddenly smacked his head.
"Wait, it's us! Idiot…"
He hit himself again.
"No—don't call me brother! We're one person now!"
"Focus!" Shirogai muttered, unbothered.
Wapol clenched his massive fists.
"Fine! We kill the two pests first! Then unleash Spore Bombs to obliterate those traitorous citizens who dared to disrespect royalty!"
Ding!
The mushroom pointer moved to seven.
Whoosh!
Wapol vanished and reappeared midair above Shirogai and Luffy, slamming down a massive steel punch.
"Close-Range Cannon Strike!"
Both Shirogai and Luffy dodged nimbly to the side.
Luffy held onto his Straw Hat and exclaimed,
"Whoa! He's huge, but he's fast too!"
Shirogai's voice was calm, analytical.
"Fusion boosted both his defense and speed—combining Mushuru's agility with Wapol's steel durability. Makes sense Blackbeard would be interested in an ability like this."
Before he could say more, Wapol charged again.
"Double Cannon Blast!"
Shirogai stood still, unmoving, as the twin cannonballs blasted toward him.
The cannonballs struck him—but instead of exploding, they bounced off harmlessly and shot straight back at Wapol.
"What—?!"
BOOM!
The cannonballs exploded on Wapol's chest.
[Slippery-Slippery Fruit] · Modified Second Form: [Returner]
In this form, Shirogai deflects any projectile with enhanced velocity and zero friction.
Wapol grunted, pushed back by the blast, but stood up again—barely scratched.
He'd eaten enough steel to withstand such attacks.
Rage burned in his eyes.
"Damn you! What even is your ability?! No one's supposed to eat more than one Devil Fruit! But you—what are you?!"
Click.
The mushroom pointer ticked to five.
"You're always ruining everything for us Kings! But this time, we will crush you!"
His hands returned to human form, now covered in pulsating, toxic blood mushrooms, forming sinister gauntlets.
"Poisonous Corrosive Mushroom Punch!"
He smashed his fists into the ground.
The gas alone from the punch melted the snow and corroded a pit into the frozen earth.
Luffy jumped back, shocked.
"That's crazy poison!"
Wapol raised his fists triumphantly.
"Now, die!"
"Wait…" Shirogai tilted his head.
"What's that on your face?"
"On my face?" Wapol blinked, confused. "What's there—?"
---
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