Despite his complaints, Lancelot immediately said, "In that case... I'll ask the Marines who come to take over to escort Vivi and Igaram back to their kingdom, to avoid any further incidents on the way."
Cobra nodded, his voice filled with relief. "Thank you, Rear Admiral."
After exchanging a few more brief pleasantries, they ended the call.
Then, Lancelot laughed.
He never imagined that Devil Fruit abilities could be seized in such a way.
'Heart's blood... splashed onto a fruit.'
He couldn't help but recall a post from his previous life, a fan theory he had read online.
The post went like this:
'Ordinary people can gain various powerful abilities by eating Devil Fruits, but they lose the ability to swim. Once eaten, the Devil Fruit remains within the Ability User's body. Only when the Ability User dies will the Devil Fruit's "spirit" reappear elsewhere, waiting to be consumed by the next user.'
'However, there are exceptions. In the story, two people successfully stole others' abilities. One was Blackbeard, who could directly seize Devil Fruits from others and transfer them to himself or his crewmates. During the Summit War, Blackbeard seized the Tremor-Tremor Fruit from Whitebeard. Later, he helped his crew members acquire many powerful fruits.'
'But this raised a question: How did Blackbeard steal others' Devil Fruits? Many initially thought it was due to the Darkness-Darkness Fruit, but as other members of the Blackbeard Pirates also seized fruits, this theory fell apart. The other crew members hadn't eaten the Darkness-Darkness Fruit.'
'The other person was Charlotte Linlin, Big Mom. She was the Ability User of the Soul-Soul Fruit, but that fruit originally belonged to Sister Carmel. After an incident where Carmel disappeared, the Soul-Soul Fruit became Big Mom's ability. From plot clues, it's highly likely that Sister Carmel was eaten by Big Mom, which is how Big Mom inherited the fruit.'
'If that's truly the case, could the method of inheriting others' Devil Fruits be related to the Ability User's body? After all, Big Mom hadn't eaten the Darkness-Darkness Fruit either. When Blackbeard inherited Whitebeard's fruit, he covered both himself and Whitebeard with a black cloth, clearly performing some kind of procedure on Whitebeard's body.'
'Based on the above, the original poster speculated that the method to inherit another person's Devil Fruit was to consume a certain part of their body raw. Because this method was too horrifying, no one discovered it, or even if they did, they wouldn't dare to try it. Only the extremely vicious Blackbeard was an exception. He taught this method to his crew.'
Lancelot's mind raced.
'At that time, Whitebeard's chest was covered in wounds. Drawing a bit of heart's blood wouldn't have drawn anyone's attention! Could one directly drink the heart's blood? Or simply swallow the heart?'
So... he concluded, splashing the heart's blood onto a fruit to transform it into a new Devil Fruit is actually a relatively conservative, clean method. And Cobra just confirmed it.
His gaze fell upon the bound and unconscious forms of Crocodile, Moria, Absalom, and Perona.
These four individuals were equivalent to four extraordinary Devil Fruits.
And each one was more unique than the last.
At the same time, he thought of Mr. 1's Paramecia-type Dice-Dice Fruit, which was an incredibly powerful Devil Fruit for a swordsman.
'What a pity... If only I had spared his life earlier.'
Immediately, Lancelot found four ordinary apples from the Merry's galley and walked up to the four prisoners.
"Swish..."
The Sandai Kitetsu in his hand was instantly drawn, with Armament Haki Entanglement wrapped around it.
Then, with a single, precise thrust, he pierced Crocodile's heart.
"Gush..."
Blood gushed out violently, splashing onto the apple Lancelot held.
Then, Lancelot watched with anticipation as the fruit in his hand began to change.
Although its appearance didn't change much, the skin now bore the eerie, swirling patterns characteristic of a Devil Fruit.
'Now... I need to find someone to test this on.'
After a moment of thought, he walked out of the prison room and onto the deck.
He called out, "Gin..."
Gin, who was coiling a rope, quickly approached.
"Lancelot-san!"
Lancelot directly handed the newly-patterned "fruit" to him.
"Eat it."
"Huh?" Gin was completely baffled.
He didn't understand why Lancelot had come all this way just to make him eat a strange-looking fruit.
Nevertheless, he immediately took it.
With some confusion, he took a bite.
His brow immediately furrowed. "What kind of strange, disgusting taste is this...?"
"Eh..." Gin then let out a surprised exclamation because he felt a new, strange power awakening within his body.
An incredibly powerful, arid force.
Yet, this power felt as if it had always been a part of him.
If he weren't absolutely certain that he hadn't possessed this ability before, he would have thought he had been born with it.
He raised his hand, and to his astonishment, it began to crumble and transform into sand.
"Gulp..."
Gin couldn't help but swallow hard.
Although he had realized what he had probably eaten shortly after consuming it, witnessing this scene with his own eyes still left him utterly shocked.
It took him a long time to regain his composure.
"This... this... is this Crocodile's Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit ability?"
The shock in his heart made his words somewhat faltering.
Lancelot, however, was ecstatic.
First, this proved that Cobra's method was feasible.
Second, Gin's talent and strength were already considerable.
Now, with the addition of a Logia ability, he would undoubtedly become a key, cornerstone asset under his command.
Third, since the Sand-Sand Fruit had succeeded, the abilities of Moria, Absalom, and Perona would naturally follow.
However, he quickly suppressed his overwhelming joy.
With a stern and grave expression, he said to Gin, "Keep this matter absolutely confidential. For the next period of time, avoid engaging in fights with others unless necessary. Develop this ability in secret. I want you to elevate your strength to the level of a Headquarters elite Vice Admiral."
Gin, understanding the gravity of the situation, snapped to attention.
"Yes, sir!"
He wasn't foolish.
Crocodile, a Shichibukai, had just died.
And Lancelot had immediately presented his ability to him.
The implications behind this were even more shocking than him obtaining the Sand-Sand Fruit itself.
At the same time, his attitude toward Lancelot had subtly undergone a significant, final transformation.
If he had joined for Krieg's sake before, and stayed for Lancelot's power, now he was sincerely pledging his life and allegiance.
First, because Lancelot had shown him what true strength looked like.
Krieg, who had once dominated the East Blue, was nothing in the Grand Line.
Second, because Lancelot had actually given him the incredibly precious, world-changing Sand-Sand Fruit.
What immense generosity was this? And what profound, unshakable trust it represented.
After all, the information this Devil Fruit revealed—that Lancelot could steal abilities—could shake the entire world.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator