Three days later. Punk Hazard.
After dropping the prisoners off, Sakazuki collected a virus from Vegapunk and prepared to set sail.
At the foot of the warship, Carlo held the latest newspaper and reported, "Admiral Sakazuki, there's been another major battle in the New World."
He walked over. "What happened?"
"One of the Three Emperors, Kaido of the Beasts, clashed with Red-Haired Shanks on Bitter Island," Carlo explained. "Neither side gained the upper hand, and in the end, they both withdrew. The island sank... and the residents..."
Sakazuki narrowed his eyes. "Neither could win, huh. He's growing fast. Looks like the fourth emperor will appear in a few years."
Carlo was taken aback. "That fast? He's around the same age as Enel, isn't he?"
"Talent isn't something you can predict," the admiral said calmly. "Rosinante is the same age as Enel too."
Carlo's eyes twitched. "Uh... true. But they were all wiped out..."
Sakazuki shook his head. "Every year, countless towns are slaughtered by pirates. Some kill more, some less. This island is only a small reflection of that. We don't have time to dwell on it. Let's go. We have work to do."
They were heading out to retrieve Devil Fruits.
He climbed up the stairs toward the deck. Carlo folded the newspaper and followed. Soon, the entire crew was aboard, and the warship slowly started moving toward the first half of the Grand Line.
After the new Fleet Admiral's appointment, Sakazuki had volunteered to patrol the Grand Line to hunt pirates. As always, he chose to fight on the frontlines without pause, which gave Sengoku some peace of mind.
* * *
Inside the warship's cabin.
Sakazuki studied the map, tracing routes with his finger. Finally, he drew a large cross over a location marked "Land of Fire."
"We'll start here," he said.
Carlo glanced at the spot, recalling the data. "This is... the location of the Shroom-Shroom Fruit, right? Twelve years ago, the Drum Kingdom's former king exiled his eldest prince, Musshuru, who had that ability."
Sakazuki replied, "That's right. It's known as one of the most dangerous Devil Fruits. Aside from using spores as weapons, it has a special ability that can only be used once every ten years. The Fatal Bomb. Under the right conditions, it can destroy an entire nation in moments. The uproar he caused back then even reached the Marines."
Carlo thought for a moment. "Yeah, that was insane. The former king of Drum Kingdom was a good ruler, but both of his sons... there's not much to say."
Twelve years ago, Musshuru, the crown prince of Drum Kingdom, launched that once-in-a-decade Fatal Bomb at his own homeland while his father was attending the Reverie. He called it "a test of power." If not for the kingdom's fierce blizzards preventing the spores from spreading, the country would have been destroyed. Even so, the attack wiped out all life along the blast path and killed a tenth of the population.
The king, who was at the conference at the time, fainted on the spot and nearly didn't make it through. The Incident shook everyone at the Reverie, and the Marines heard about it too.
After he recovered, the king abandoned the conference altogether and returned home immediately. But at last, he couldn't bring himself to execute his own son.
Because the Shroom-Shroom Fruit's power weakens in hot climates, Musshuru was exiled to a nation ruled by his father's friend, King Zilavia, in the Land of Fire.
Sakazuki let out a short laugh. "Then let's end his line for good. I've already sent Bullet to Drum Kingdom. You'll take this virus and the Devil Fruit recovery device there."
He handed Carlo a small container and a spiked device. "Once this virus enters the body, it kills without leaving any trace. Even if the body is examined by the Marines' science unit, the result will still be ruled as natural death. As for this recovery device, you drive the spikes into a concealed part of the flesh. When he dies, his power will transfer to the fruit inside the container, turning it into a new Devil Fruit."
Carlo took the two items from him and scratched his head. "Got it... but how am I supposed to deliver them?"
Sakazuki pulled out a pale white Devil Fruit and handed it over. "Eat this, and you'll understand."
Accepting the fruit, Carlo examined it. "This is a Paramecia. Does it let me fly?"
After all, they had only just departed from Punk Hazard, and reaching Drum Kingdom in the first half of the Grand Line wasn't something an ordinary fruit could make possible.
Taking a deep breath, Carlo bit down, eyes squeezed shut. His brow furrowed tightly as he chewed a few times and swallowed with obvious discomfort. "I'm gonna die…"
Sakazuki chuckled and passed him a glass of water. He drank it in large gulps, then exhaled in relief. "Phew... I'm alive."
"Try it," Sakazuki reminded.
Carlo gave a nod and focused, trying to sense the new power. Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock as he looked at the admiral. In the next instant, his figure vanished from where he stood and reappeared on the sofa to the left.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
He flickered around the room without warning, appearing and disappearing in different spots.
Whoosh!
Finally, he returned to his original spot. The look of astonishment hadn't faded from his face. "This is teleportation."
Sakazuki nodded. "Yes. A Paramecia. The Warp-Warp Fruit. Its previous owner was a CP agent. The earliest records of him date back to the God Valley Incident. Later, during the Battle of Sgri, he was the one who brought back Quell. Not sure if you ever met him."
Carlo thought back. "I see... so Vice Admiral Quell was brought back by him. We had already set sail by then, so I didn't see it. Before the battle, it must have been him who rushed you and Fleet Admiral Sengoku over, right?"
"Hmm," Sakazuki responded. "This fruit was an unexpected gain. The government has been researching Devil Fruit recovery technology for a while, but with little progress. Eventually, Vegapunk took charge. After years of research, some results emerged, though the success rate is only 'one percent.'
"The previous user was already old, and injuries from missions in his younger days left him with little time. So they sent him here to see if the fruit could be recovered. They took a gamble. As expected, it 'failed.' As for the government trying to find the fruit now, good luck. It's probably already 'reborn' somewhere deep in the sea, waiting for its next host."
Carlo grinned and made an OK sign. "Understood."
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!