Chapter 66: Devil Fruit
The sailors and guards worked with impressive professionalism, executing their salvage operations with expert precision. They quickly stripped the pirate ship of everything valuable, working with the efficiency of seasoned veterans.
When the bearded captain approached Rhodes with the inventory list, he hadn't even finished his meal yet.
"Rhodes-san, these are all the treasures we salvaged from that pirate vessel," the captain said respectfully.
He glanced at Elsa with surprise, then bowed his head with a quiet internal sigh. Foolish girl... someone like him is a hidden dragon among men. How could we possibly reach such heights?
Rhodes took the inventory and scanned through it casually. Suddenly, his eyes widened in genuine surprise.
"There's actually a Devil Fruit?"
"Yes, sir."
The bearded captain presented an ornate wooden box containing a red fruit that resembled a coconut in shape, covered with the characteristic swirl patterns of a Devil Fruit.
"So this is one of those legendary Devil Fruits that supposedly taste worse than garbage," Rhodes mused aloud. "The Barry brothers probably didn't eat it because they couldn't decide who should get it?"
Rhodes examined the fruit with mild curiosity, but after a few moments of scrutiny, his interest began to wane.
He'd done his research back at Revolutionary Army headquarters and had consulted their Devil Fruit encyclopedia, but there was no record of this particular fruit.
It was clearly an unknown Devil Fruit.
However, judging by its appearance and other characteristics, it was most likely a Paramecia-type ability.
If someone had to choose between three types of unknown Devil Fruits, they'd definitely pick a Logia first, followed by a Zoan, and only then consider a Paramecia.
Consuming any Logia-type Devil Fruit, regardless of the specific element, would grant someone the power to dominate Paradise—the first half of the Grand Line. Even in the New World, Logia abilities were incredibly rare and powerful, commanding respect from countless pirates and Marines alike.
The three current Fleet Admirals were all formidable Logia users, after all.
Zoan-type Devil Fruits would be the second choice.
This was because eating any Zoan-type was essentially a guaranteed improvement. Even the most common animal transformations could enhance the user's strength, speed, durability, and other physical attributes significantly.
If someone was lucky enough to obtain an Ancient Zoan or Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, they'd hit the jackpot. With dedicated training, becoming a powerful pirate captain would be almost guaranteed.
As for Paramecia types...
Well, that was entirely a matter of luck. All kinds of bizarre abilities existed—some incredibly powerful, others utterly useless, some practical, others completely absurd.
The uncertainty was simply too great.
While the saying "a Devil Fruit's strength depends entirely on how its user develops it" held some truth, most people weren't blessed with otherworldly imagination. It was genuinely difficult to develop truly extraordinary applications for weird powers.
The most obvious example was probably Buggy the Clown—a guy whose potential should theoretically be terrifying, but who'd somehow managed to waste it completely.
Buggy and Shanks had both been apprentice crew members aboard the Pirate King's ship. Back then, both had been incredibly cocky kids, bold enough to talk back to Whitebeard himself. Even if there had been differences in their natural talent, it couldn't have been that significant.
Yet twenty years later, Shanks had reached the absolute pinnacle of piracy, becoming one of the Four Emperors who ruled the New World, while Buggy was still messing around in East Blue—the weakest of all the seas—and had even become one of Luffy's early stepping stones.
It was clear evidence that while betting on the other two fruit types was relatively safe, gambling on a Paramecia was putting your entire future on the line.
Shaking his head to clear these wandering thoughts, Rhodes returned his focus to the present.
With his swordsmanship and lightning powers, his combat system was already more than complete. He wasn't particularly excited about acquiring new abilities—they would merely be icing on the cake at this point.
Furthermore, the side effects of Devil Fruits were far too severe for his liking. Not only were users weakened by seawater and Seastone, they were also completely vulnerable to the Yami Yami no Mi's power. He had absolutely zero interest in accepting such limitations.
But just because he wasn't interested didn't mean others felt the same way.
Case in point: Elsa.
Her eyes practically glowed as she stared at the Devil Fruit, her expression revealing barely contained desire and longing.
For people at the bottom of this world's power structure, Devil Fruits represented practically the only reliable path to advancement and strength.
Unlike her father, who was already contemplating retirement from the seas, she harbored her own dreams and ambitions—especially after witnessing Rhodes' incredible display of power.
Dreams without the strength to back them up were nothing but empty fantasies!
Her intense gaze was impossible to miss.
Rhodes sensed it almost immediately and couldn't help but chuckle. "I have no use for this Devil Fruit. I'll sell it to you for 100 million Berries."
The bearded captain looked slightly taken aback. One hundred million Berries for any Devil Fruit was actually a bargain—no matter what ability it granted, Devil Fruits were always in extremely high demand with limited supply.
He considered this for a moment, then caught sight of Elsa's expression from the corner of his eye. Understanding dawned on his face as he bowed respectfully.
"Thank you very much for your generosity, Rhodes-san."
"Enough with the formal stuff. Just pay up," Rhodes waved dismissively.
He genuinely had no use for the Devil Fruit. He wouldn't eat it himself, and none of his friends needed it either. In the end, he'd have to sell it anyway. Rather than dealing with auction houses or brokers, he might as well do a favor and sell it directly to the captain.
Besides, Elsa seemed like a decent person.
The bearded captain paused briefly, then quickly produced an unusual card and handed it to Rhodes.
"Sir, this is a bank card commonly used throughout the New World, with a balance of 200 million Berries."
In reality, the total treasure aboard the Twin Pirates' ship was worth maybe 60 or 70 million Berries, but the captain—clearly a man of honor—had rounded up generously in Rhodes' favor.
"A bank card?" Rhodes examined it curiously. "Is this issued by the World Government?"
"No sir, it's from the Golden Emperor—an underground banking system run by Gild Tesoro. The World Government's authority doesn't carry much weight in the New World, so only figures like the Golden Emperor have the influence to operate international banks."
"This card is completely anonymous and can be used on any island," the captain explained hastily.
"Golden Emperor?" Rhodes paused thoughtfully.
He knew about this guy—Tesoro was a Paramecia-type Gold-Gold Fruit user whose abilities had reached the awakened stage, putting him roughly on par with someone like Doflamingo in terms of raw power.
But his actual influence was even more outrageous.
Tesoro was the owner and operator of Gran Tesoro, the world's largest entertainment city, controlling numerous industries across the globe. Most incredibly of all, he controlled an estimated 20% of all the Berries in circulation worldwide!
The impact of wielding such vast wealth was simply immeasurable—enough to manipulate Celestial Dragons, influence World Government policy, and dominate the underworld through sheer financial power alone.
He represented true authority in both the legitimate and criminal worlds.
"No wonder he's so wealthy—turns out he runs his own banking system," Rhodes muttered with grudging admiration.
Fortunately, this was still a world where strength ultimately reigned supreme. While the power of money was formidable, it had its limits when facing overwhelming force.
In the eyes of those who stood at the very pinnacle of power, Tesoro was probably little more than a useful fool with deep pockets.
The rest of their voyage passed without incident. The merchant ship arrived safely at its destination and slowly entered the harbor.
"Farewell, everyone."
Rhodes lightly leaped onto the dock, waved goodbye to Elsa and the others, then headed into the city without looking back.
"And just like that, we're parting ways," Elsa murmured, her eyes flickering with complex emotions.
Her delicate hand gripped the Devil Fruit tightly as her expression grew determined.
"Have you truly made up your mind?" her father asked quietly.
"Yes," Elsa nodded with calm resolution. "After we leave the New World this time, I'm going to start over from Paradise and make my own journey through the Grand Line until I'm strong enough to return to the New World."
Without further hesitation, she bit into the Devil Fruit.
"Otherwise, how could I ever hope to stand beside someone like him?" she whispered to herself.
Her face immediately twisted in disgust. Ugh, it really does taste absolutely horrible...
End of Chapter 66
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