The sunlight was strong.
Lola watched Luffy still training even at the moment of farewell. She couldn't help but murmur to Nami, "Straw Hat is already this strong, and he still works this hard?"
Nami looked at Luffy. A complex flickered in her eyes, but pride was more evident. "Yeah. He's always been like this."
"No wonder he's terrifyingly strong."
Luffy also thought he was terrifyingly strong. But not strong enough.
After saying goodbye to Lola and her crew, with Merry at the helm, the Thousand Sunny slowly sailed out of the Florian Triangle.
Setting off for the next adventure should have been a happy occasion.
Luffy's mood was complicated.
But it seemed someone else felt the same way.
Little Merry walked over with a preoccupied expression. She was the best helmsman she could control the ship's navigation without personally manning the rudder. Now she stood nearby, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitating.
"What's wrong, Merry?"
Luffy put down his dumbbell and walked over to ask.
"Luffy... I think I did something bad."
Merry shyly pulled out an antique-looking wooden box from behind her back. Her little face was flushed red. "Look at this."
"Something bad?"
Luffy crouched down, took the wooden box from Merry, and asked, "What happened?"
Merry said in a small voice, "This box was mixed in with the treasure when Lola and the others were loading it onto the ship. Later, some uncle from Lola's crew I didn't recognize tried to sneak onto the ship to take it away. I caught him! So I used my ability to secretly swap the wooden box."
The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became. Her big eyes were filled with restlessness.
"Does this make me a bad kid who steals from others?"
Luffy couldn't help but laugh. "Of course not. We're pirates. You did great."
"Exactly, exactly."
Nami had already walked over and pulled Merry into a hug, speaking with domineering. "If they were trying to sneak it back, that means this thing was probably valuable... But once it's on our ship, it's ours!
The one who tried to steal it is in the wrong! Next time I see Lola, I'll definitely ask her how she manages her crew!"
Everyone was already used to this kind of episode between pirates.
Lola herself might be trustworthy, but her crew was a mixed bunch. It was perfectly normal for someone to get greedy at the sight of treasure.
But since Lola, as captain, had decided to move all of Moria's treasure onto their ship, her underlings didn't dare say much.
"Nami's right."
Luffy also smiled and ruffled Merry's hair. "Merry protected what belongs to us."
Hearing both Luffy and Nami say that, Merry's tears turned into smiles. She became happy again.
"So... what's inside the box?" Usopp asked curiously, coming closer.
"I... I already looked."
Merry carefully opened the box.
Inside was soft velvet. And in the center of the velvet lay a strangely shaped fruit.
Its surface was covered in spiral patterns. Even more astonishing was its color—it shimmered with a dreamlike, rainbow-like luster.
It was a Devil Fruit.
"Is that a Devil Fruit?!"
Everyone exclaimed in unison.
Another Devil Fruit!
This was an unexpected bonus.
They had encountered a Devil Fruit back in Skypiea. Now they had encountered another one.
What they had said before seemed to be true—their entire Straw Hat crew was turning into Devil Fruit users.
"Who's going to eat it?" Merry asked.
Luffy looked at Merry's still slightly uneasy face and smiled. "Since you found it, of course you'll eat it. Just like with Vivi earlier—she found the Fū Fū no Mi too."
"M-Me?"
Merry pointed at herself, at a loss.
She looked around and realized everyone had already turned their eyes toward her.
This was a kind of unspoken understanding.
If someone who isn't a Devil Fruit user finds a Devil Fruit, of course they eat it themselves.
Vivi crouched down and examined the fruit carefully. She had seen the Devil Fruit encyclopedia back in the royal treasury, so she recognized this fruit.
Vivi also breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though she had seen the encyclopedia, she hadn't immediately recognized Luffy's fruit or the Fū Fū no Mi—that was so embarrassing.
If she encountered another Devil Fruit that wasn't recorded in the encyclopedia, she would start wondering if she had been looking at a fake.
"If I remember correctly, this fruit should be a Zoan-type Devil Fruit."
"Zoan?"
Chopper tilted his head.
Chopper had eaten a Zoan-type Devil Fruit himself, so he was even more curious.
"Yes, it's a Zoan-type." Vivi's tone carried a hint of exclamation. "And it's an extremely rare Mythical Zoan!"
"Mythical Zoan?"
Luffy remembered what Nika had told him.
His Gomu Gomu no Mi was actually the Zoan, Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika.
But his crewmates didn't know that.
Luffy knew a little about that category of Zoan, but not much—and his crewmates knew even less.
Chopper asked curiously, "What's a Mythical Zoan? Is it like my Hito Hito no Mi?"
Vivi explained, "Zoan-type Devil Fruits are mainly divided into Ordinary Zoan, Ancient Zoan, and Mythical Zoan.
Ordinary Zoan are existing animals. Ancient Zoan are animals from prehistoric times. Mythical Zoan are creatures or existences from mythology or legends. They not only have the physical enhancement and transformation abilities characteristic of Zoan-types, but often also possess special—even miraculous—abilities."
"They're even rarer than Logia-types!"
Everyone listened in stunned silence. Their gazes refocused on the rainbow-colored fruit, filled with wonder.
Even rarer than Logia?
Merry listened to Vivi's explanation, looked around at everyone, and finally rested her gaze on Luffy's encouraging smile.
She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. "I'll eat it, then?"
Luffy nodded. "Of course! Finders keepers!"
Merry reached out her small hands and picked up the rainbow-colored fruit, which was larger than her palms. She closed her eyes, as if facing some kind of torture, and cautiously took a small bite.
She had heard that Devil Fruits tasted terrible.
But she hadn't expected them to taste that terrible!
Ugh!
Instantly, Merry's entire little face scrunched up. The indescribable taste—like rotten garbage mixed together—shot straight into the depths of her soul.
Her instinct was to spit it out.
"Don't spit!"
Luffy's eyes and hands were fast. He covered Merry's small mouth and warned her with the voice of experience, "If you spit out the first bite, it won't work! Swallow it!"
Tears streaming down her face, Merry forced herself to endure the disgusting taste and swallowed with difficulty that small piece of fruit.
Then—Wah!—she threw herself into Luffy's arms and buried her small face deep into his chest.
"Now that you've swallowed it, it's fine."
Luffy patted Merry's back to comfort her.
He remembered how he had gulped down an entire Devil Fruit in one go. He was practically a hero.
After eating it, he had fasted for an entire day before recovering.
***
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