Night.
The sea was a black void. No moon; thick clouds smothered the sky.
Sharn lifted the Demon Compass — visible only to him — and a pale light spread across its face.
[Choice 1: Abandon everyone and flee alone when the enemy strikes soon — reward: Fishman Traits + Devour-Devour Fruit lineage factor]
[Choice 2: Face the enemy without fear, take all crewmates, fight until sunrise — reward: Fishman Traits + Mutated Exoskeleton]
Huh?
Sharn had seen fate choices before. Usually the harder the path, the greater the reward. Or the choices multiplied and he took them all. This time there were only two options — both generous. Fishman Traits were the baseline reward in either path; the difference lay between the Mutated Exoskeleton and the Devour-Devour Fruit lineage factor.
The Exoskeleton was the product of years of research by the Vinsmoke line: once activated it could literally make blades shatter against a weapon hardened by Armament Haki. It's a terrifying technology that boosts a human's combat potential dramatically — a hint of how far science can push humanity. If a peacekeeping force, angelic weaponry, exoskeleton troops and clone soldiers combined, it would be world-dominating. Any faction wielding such numbers could rule the seas.
The Devour-Devour Fruit sounded simpler: a Paramecia-type that eats anything — steel, stone — and either absorbs or recomposes it into new materials. Crucially, Sharn remembered: the Devour-Devour Fruit can let an ordinary person acquire a second Devil Fruit power by devouring other Devil Fruit users — exactly like Big Mom (Big Mom ate and obtained the Soru? actually the story reference) gaining a soul power. If Sharn obtained the Devour-Devour lineage, he could become the only person in the world to wield four different Devil Fruit powers.
Both options were lethal in their own way. The exoskeleton granted near-invulnerability when combined with Sharn's Black-Dragon form and doubled amplifications from serums and biological modifications; the Devour-Devour Fruit, however, offered a stacking "bug" — the ability to consume and inherit other fruits. Sharn liked both.
"Exoskeleton is basically a 'super serum' on an industrial scale; Devour-Devour is a stacking exploit — I want both," he mused. In his memory, the Devour-Devour user Wapol (Wapol would only be born years later in canon) was still far off. In the pre-Great Pirate Era, fruits were scattered — some eaten, others hidden.
"Alright — I'll wait."
Sharn studied the Compass; there was no countdown on the choice itself — only on the accompanying task timer. If he held on until sunrise, the task would count as "survive until sunrise." If he waited past midnight the timer would shift, changing the task in real time.
"Compass — is Wapol not even born yet? Is this fruit already claimed?" Sharn asked the waves aloud, though the Compass could not answer. He peered at the horizon. An island rose into view: great trees standing sentinel, carrying the weight of ages and secrets. Devil Fruits were numerous in the world — impossible to predict — yet Sharn felt oddly unwilling to choose immediately.
At that very moment, Ohara's archaeologist Olivia (Robin's future mother) was only seventeen — and the Hana Hana Fruit remained uneaten. Sharn's intuition burned. "I've got a hunch — I'll gamble." He needed chips first.
The Compass responded, inexplicably spinning. "If fate can pick, why can't I gamble?" Sharn thought. "During God Valley the Dragon form and Paw-Paw fruit were right there — is there a pattern?" He listened to multiple heartbeats in the night. He wanted both the fruit and the exoskeleton: a near-indestructible body plus the stacking bug of Devour-Devour. Missing this chance could mean waiting decades.
"Okay, little Compass, what's up? You spun all day and only now gave me the choice. Why?" Sharn guessed aloud. "Maybe Ohara, the West Blue's second-best port, has a ship leaving now with a Paramecia fruit destined to be eaten years later by Wapol." He let the Compass whirl like a top and watched.
A ship's horn sounded. The lighthouse swept its eye across the sea; a night freighter was making for the Grand Line. A battered pirate raft drifted three miles away — nearly a brush pass. If Sharn simply waited for the incoming threat, the Devour-Devour Fruit might slip past him. The Demon Compass wasn't wholly random — it was offering a life-defining chance.
"So fate singularities are just rare life windows," Sharn decided.
He didn't wake the crew. With a single repulsive bounce — far faster than his Geppo — he appeared on the freighter's deck in an instant. The night was quiet, but sailors and first mate noticed the pirate flag and warned the ship off. "Keep away — pirates near Ohara! This ship carries priceless relics and texts…" The freighter altered course, unaware that a sudden shadow moved through every hold, kitchen and private vault.
Sharn searched with Observation Haki — every storeroom, every crate, every nook. "Nothing? Just archaeology texts and records." He moved through the Berries of the ship until — there! The Compass stopped dead. The sensation said the Devour-Devour Fruit had a pending new owner; the next host would only fully manifest in nine years.
"It's headed to be eaten — and the kitchen is the key!" Sharn darted toward the probable layout and materialized in the galley. A pile of fruit sat on the prep bench; a strange fruit teetered toward the floor: purple, shaped like a snapping-mouthed carnivorous bloom. The cook reached without looking, knife raised — and the fruit vanished from his hand as if snatched by a dream. "Huh? Weird — thought I was holding a dragon fruit."
On the ship's deck Sharn bit into the Devour-Devour Fruit.
He spoke quietly to the stopped Compass: "I choose Option 2."
[Choice Completed]
The Demon Compass flashed: ancient gold and dim purple, the material seeming to upgrade in quality. "Upgraded?" Sharn muttered, and tossed the half-eaten fruit into the sea before popping back to the raft with a heavy bounce.
Kaido stood on Wolf's sleeping belly, alloy club in hand, blinking. "Where did you just go?" he grunted. A Haki-user should perceive such movements — if you don't, you're flirting with death.
"Went to free food," Sharn replied. The fruit tasted awful.
"Idiot!" Kaido spat, watching the freighter sail into Ohara's port. Unseen by the crew, Sharn's mutation had just opened his Fourth Door.
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