Is he a Devil Fruit user?
After slamming into Leon, Xia Qiu saw what Leon looked like: a giant lion-man.
Unless he was a beastman, he had to be a Devil Fruit user.
The latter possibility seemed more likely.
A lion-man, it should be the lion form of the Cat-Cat Fruit.
In the One Piece, the Cat-Cat Fruit had only appeared once, which was Lucci's leopard form.
Lions were stronger than leopards, but judging by the strength just displayed, this person was nowhere near Lucci's level.
However, his strength was considerable.
To be able to crack bones when colliding with his ramming horn, such strength was not weak.
Xia Qiu thought, swam to a distance, then turned back and charged again.
Boom.
Xia Qiu hit the pirate ship again. With a loud bang, the pirate ship broke open another large hole.
The ship could no longer stay afloat and began to sink.
The people on board were terrified. Some clung to the mast and the ship's hull, some ran towards the small boats, and others jumped off the other side of the ship, swimming towards the distant island.
Crack.
Xia Qiu swam around, bit to death a pirate who was trying to escape, and swallowed him whole.
At the same time, he positioned himself between the pirate ship and the island, preventing their escape.
"No, if this continues, we'll die. Prepare to attack."
The white-haired man shouted loudly. The combatants gripped their long swords and spears, some holding harpoon guns, and pulled the triggers towards Xia Qiu.
Puff puff puff.
Three spears were shot out. Only two hit their mark, but they caused no damage to Xia Qiu.
"It's useless," one of the pirates shouted.
"Even the boss's transformed state was useless. I, we're no match for him at all," another pirate said, trembling.
Seeing the pirate ship smashed and Captain Leon directly killed, they were filled with fear of Xia Qiu.
"Damn it."
The white-haired man's face turned ugly. He knew he wasn't a match either, but if they all worked together, victory might not be impossible.
At this moment, Xia Qiu was already charging towards the ship with immense momentum. Amidst a deafening roar, Xia Qiu crashed into the ship again.
The fourth impact accelerated the sinking of the pirate ship.
Boom.
Xia Qiu turned, swung his tail, and smashed a pirate ship that had just been lowered. The three pirates on board fell into the sea, swimming desperately towards the distance.
Xia Qiu immediately pursued them, swallowed them whole, and then returned to continue ramming the pirate ship.
"It's over, what should we do?"
"Help! I don't want to die."
The pirates on the ship looked desperate. Seeing the black fish charging towards them, one pirate fell into the sea and was swallowed by the black fish.
"Don't be afraid, let's attack together," the white-haired man shouted. He suddenly leaped forward, lunging at the black fish.
"Follow Lord White and charge!" Several pirates jumped into the sea with the white-haired man.
"Let's run."
The pirates still on the ship saw this and said, "Let's take this opportunity to run."
One by one, they jumped into the sea and swam towards the distance.
The white-haired man, White, lunged towards Xia Qiu's head, holding a curved saber and stabbing down fiercely.
Xia Qiu quickly dove down, entering the water.
Clang.
His blade struck the top of Xia Qiu's head, but it didn't even break through the scales, leaving only a white mark.
Clang, clang, clang.
White swung his curved saber, slashing at Xia Qiu's head, but it had no effect.
"Gill?"
White saw the gill behind Xia Qiu's head and gritted his teeth, about to lunge.
"Your strength is decent. You're not a Devil Fruit user."
Xia Qiu felt the force transmitted. To be able to attack him underwater with such power, he was not a Devil Fruit user.
Kill him.
Xia Qiu's tentacles shot out, striking White.
"What is this?"
White saw a black shadow lunge at him and raised his cutlass.
Thwack.
The cutlass pierced the tentacle, but the tentacle still struck White.
Boom.
White was sent flying, crashing to the side.
Xia Qiu immediately turned and lunged, biting White and clamping his jaws shut. White was crushed and swallowed whole.
Xia Qiu then ignored the pirates who had followed White down and instead charged at the pirates attempting to escape, devouring them one by one.
Not a single one can be left behind.
Xia Qiu attacked the pirates who had fallen into the sea but were still mobile, eating them. In the blink of an eye, he had consumed seven or eight people.
At the same time, Xia Qiu rammed the pirate ship, accelerating its sinking.
The pirate ship gradually sank beneath the water. About ten pirates remained on board, with nowhere left to run as they were about to go into the water.
But at that very moment, Xia Qiu stopped.
His sonar had detected something approaching from the direction of the island. There were many of them, and based on the sonar frequency, they were sea snakes.
Why are they here now? Don't they live on the other side?
It seemed he wouldn't be able to eat all the pirates.
Xia Qiu gritted his teeth, looking at the pirates sinking into the water, and prepared to leave.
But then, he saw a lifeless, well-built man slowly sliding off the deck, falling at a slower speed than the pirate ship.
He was tall and muscular, and on deck, he was likely the user of the Cat-Cat Fruit, Lion form.
Xia Qiu immediately rushed over and bit him, but he didn't swallow. Instead, he swam away, further and further into the distance.
Away from the sea snakes, Xia Qiu released the man, letting him fall. Then, he wrapped his tentacles around him, squeezing tightly.
Crack, crack.
The man's bones were crushed under the pressure. His claws dug into the man's body, ensuring he was completely dead.
He's a Devil Fruit user.
Xia Qiu didn't dare to eat a Devil Fruit user directly. After Big Mom consumed the nun, she gained the nun's Devil Fruit ability.
Therefore, eating a Devil Fruit user might grant him a Devil Fruit ability.
If he were to gain an ability, he wouldn't drown, but he would become weak.
However, Devil Fruits do transfer, provided the host dies.
For example, after Ace died, the Flame-Flame Fruit appeared elsewhere.
The transfer method is to enter a nearby fruit.
For instance, the Slime created by Caesar using Gas ate the Axolotl Fruit (Axolotl form) and transformed into an axolotl.
After the Slime died, releasing poisonous gas, along with his death, the Axolotl Fruit quickly appeared in an apple not far away.
So, when a Devil Fruit user dies, the Devil Fruit transfers.
Secondly, there's the timing. How long does the transfer take?
Based on the Slime's transfer, the Devil Fruit transfer was very quick. Shortly after the Slime stopped moving, the apple displayed the pattern, and the transfer was complete.
Only then did the Slime, after losing the fruit, lose control of his body and explode, turning into the Death Realm.
This process was quite fast; the Slime didn't stop moving for long.
There was also the case of Whitebeard's fruit being taken by Blackbeard.
The reason Blackbeard could take the Devil Fruit was likely based on his own fruit ability and his body structure.
But regardless, Blackbeard took the ability after Whitebeard died. There was an interval of about ten to thirty seconds, possibly longer, in between.
In other words, death doesn't immediately result in the loss of the ability; it takes some time.
Xia Qiu estimated this time to be less than a minute.
Furthermore, there's the issue of the fruit itself. Devil Fruits transfer to fruits, possibly any random fruit, but more likely, they transfer to a similar type of fruit.
For example, if the original Devil Fruit was in the form of an apple, it would still transfer to an apple.
If the original Devil Fruit was in the form of a banana, it would still transfer to a banana.
Of course, this is just speculation based on existing information, and the outcome might not be correct.
Based on the current information, as long as Xia Qiu waited for a period of time after the Devil Fruit user's death, he could consume them without worrying about absorbing the Devil Fruit.
But Xia Qiu wasn't willing to take the risk.
Xia Qiu restrained him for about five or six minutes, feeling that it was enough time.
So, Xia Qiu swam towards his resting place, found Moo Moo, and placed the man in front of it.
"Eat."
Xia Qiu patted Moo Moo's head with his pectoral fin.
"Huh?"
Moo Moo glanced at the man, a little confused. His older brother had always told him not to eat people, that he ate them all himself.
Why was he being allowed to eat now?
It seemed his big brother considered him one of his own.
No more delays, he was eating.
Moo Moo happily leaned in, bit down on the man in one go, crushed him, and swallowed him whole.
"How did it go?"
Xia Qiu looked at Moo Moo, his expression full of anticipation.
In the world of One Piece, animals could also eat Devil Fruits.
Although he had theorized that after a Devil Fruit user died, one could eat them after a few minutes, he still needed to conduct an experiment.
He didn't dare experiment on himself, but Moo Moo was fair game.
After all, even if something went wrong with Moo Moo, he was confident he could push him out of the water and to a nearby island.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Moo Moo looked at Xia Qiu, puzzled, not understanding why he was staring.
So, he lay down and stared back at Xia Qiu.
Slap.
Five minutes later, Xia Qiu turned and slapped Moo Moo, then relaxed. It seemed his theory was correct.
Xia Qiu was relieved. From now on, he could use this method to eat Devil Fruit users.
"You hit me again."
Moo Moo, having been directly hit, looked indignant. His big brother was truly infuriating.
Time to breathe.
Moo Moo shook his head and slowly swam towards the surface of the sea.
He surfaced, exhaled the air in his lungs, and then took deep breaths, storing fresh air in his lungs.
But just then, a wooden crate drifted towards him.
"What's this?"
Moo Moo's head smashed into the crate, breaking it. Several fruits rolled out, including apples, pears, bananas, and oranges, scattering on the surface of the sea and floating around.
"It smells good."
Moo Moo sniffed and opened his mouth, sucking all the fruits in.
Among these fruits, one of the pears had strange patterns drawn on its surface.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com