In the town of Whiskey Peak, Mr. 8 sat in a bar, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. His legs fidgeted restlessly, betraying his anxiety.
"Calm down, Mr. 8," said Miss Monday, who sat beside him, her brow furrowed in displeasure, clad in her tight-fitting attire.
"I really don't know how Mr. 8 became our leader," the muscular nun sighed, shaking her head.
"Because he's very strong. Below the top agents, he's arguably the strongest. Even top agents can't match his strength. If it weren't for his personality, he'd already be Mr. 6," the wide-brimmed swordsman observed from a distance, his gaze fixed on the man.
"When it comes to strength, I don't think I'm afraid of him," the muscular nun scoffed.
Beside the bar, Mr. 8 spoke with concern, "It's been six days, and Mr. 11 still hasn't returned? Our food supplies are running low."
"They were supposed to be back in two to three days when they set out, but this time..." Monday also frowned.
Mr. 8 anxiously asked, "Then what should we do?"
Monday thought for a moment and said, "There are still boats in town. We'll just have to send more people out to hunt."
"Then who should we send?" Mr. 8 immediately inquired.
"I'll go."
Monday stood up and looked into the distance. Before she could speak, the woman in the nun's habit and the wide-brimmed swordsman stood up and said, "Take us two with you."
"Alright."
Monday nodded and was about to leave when suddenly the door burst open, and a figure rushed in, shouting, "Pirates are here!"
"Pirates?"
Monday's eyes lit up at the words. "Quick, go meet them!"
All the bounty hunters in the bar stood up and ran towards the entrance.
...
Boom.
With a deafening roar, a massive pirate ship slowly sank. The people on board jumped into the water with splashes, only to be swallowed whole by a colossal black fish.
After finishing its meal, the black fish submerged and vanished without a trace.
On the shore, the onlookers stood frozen, their expressions grim.
"The pirate ship was attacked," the wide-brimmed swordsman murmured blankly.
Mr. 8 bit his fingers, sweat beading on his forehead and dripping down. "It's been almost ten days since we've seen a pirate ship, and it gets attacked by a sea fish. Damn it," he said in a flustered voice.
"But worrying now is useless," Monday said with a cold snort. "Let's go back and keep waiting. We'll set sail to hunt tomorrow."
The next day, Whiskey Peak sent out another hunting party, numbering fifteen people.
They were all lost.
Monday, the wide-brimmed swordsman, and the muscular nun, all powerful bounty hunters of Whiskey Peak, never returned from the sea.
Five more days passed, and Whiskey Peak's food supplies dwindled further.
Whiskey Peak's food reserves were originally scarce, enough to last about ten to twenty days.
They fished every five days, and the nearby waters also yielded sea fish. Combined with supplies transported from other islands, they could generally maintain the town's food supply.
But now, both fishing boats had vanished at sea, taking with them many livestock bait. By now, Whiskey Peak had almost no food left.
Therefore, three days prior, Mr. 8 had reported the situation to headquarters.
Recently, three ships were slowly approaching Whiskey Peak from the sea.
The two ships behind bore the letters "BW," signifying Baroque Works.
The leading ship, however, had no "BW" logo, and its prow was adorned with a giant, sharp horn.
"We're almost there."
At the prow of this ship stood a seductive woman, dressed in desert-style women's attire, her head covered by a scarf and her eyes hidden behind sunglasses. Light green hair cascaded out.
On the deck of this ship stood a burly man, clad in armor, a broadsword gripped in his right hand. "What a bunch of useless people, unable to even secure food for an outpost," he said.
"That's why Mr. 0 is very angry. We're here to deal with Mr. 8," the woman said with a light smile, then glanced at the man. "Mr. 8's strength is among the best in all of Baroque Works. If it weren't for his poor execution, why would he only be ranked eighth?"
"But he's only an intermediate agent," the man sneered. "I'll take care of him."
"Then I look forward to it, Mr. 5."
The woman said softly, a hint of mockery in her expression, clearly not placing much trust in her partner.
The three ships sailed towards Whiskey Peak, the cactus-shaped mountains appearing faintly in the distance.
But at this moment, shouts erupted from one of the distant ships.
"What happened?" Mr. 5 frowned, looking into the distance.
Boom.
The distant sea vessel shuddered again, a massive crack splitting it open as it slowly began to sink.
"Quick, get closer, rescue them!"
Mr. 5 shouted. Not only his ship but also another vessel moved towards the sinking ship, attempting to rescue those who had fallen into the water.
Rumble.
The ship beneath Mr. 5's feet shook violently.
"What in the world is that?"
The green-haired woman extended her right hand, reaching upwards.
Whoosh.
A vine shot out from her palm, directly coiling around the mast above. She stepped onto the mast, standing there and looking down at the sea.
"Miss Valentine, what do you see?" Mr. 5 shouted up at her.
"Sea fish, there's a black fish underwater."
Miss Valentine, standing on the mast, shouted as she watched the black fish charging towards them at high speed, "It's coming, be careful."
Following Miss Valentine's words, the black fish slammed directly into the pirate ship.
Crack.
A large hole split open in the hull of the pirate ship. Immediately, a shipwright ran up and shouted, "Lord Mr. 5, if it hits one more time, the ship will sink."
"It's only been hit twice, and the ship can't take it anymore?" Mr. 5's face turned grim. This ship was made of extremely hard wood, yet after just two hits, it was already severely damaged.
"This black fish is very powerful. Let's get to the intact ship first."
Mr. 5 thought this and looked at the other ship. Just as he was about to shout for them to move closer.
Whoosh.
Miss Valentine swung down from the mast using her vine, leaping towards the distant ship. Midway, the vine disappeared, and Miss Valentine extended her hand, shooting out several more vines that coiled around the mast of the opposite ship, before landing on that vessel.
"Valentine, bring me over," Mr. 5 shouted when he saw this.
But Miss Valentine ignored him and said to the bounty hunters beside her, "Set sail, full speed towards Whiskey Peak."
"But Lord Mr. 5…" one of the bounty hunters said hesitantly.
"If you can't even deal with a sea fish, you don't deserve to be Mr. 5. I'm a Devil Fruit user, I can't go into the water, so of course I have to leave." Miss Valentine spoke, glancing at the people around her, and said, "If he dies, you guys can get his vacant position, right?"
"This…"
The bounty hunter's expression showed a hint of temptation.
"Hurry up and set sail,"
Miss Valentine said coldly, "Don't worry about him."
"Yes."
The ship immediately set off, heading into the distance.
"Damn it."
Seeing this, Mr. 5's face contorted with rage. He hadn't expected her to abandon him.
But then his expression turned fierce, and he gripped his broad-bladed sword, saying, "I can only kill this fish. Everyone, prepare."
...
Fifteen minutes later, only a single figure remained on the vast expanse of the sea.
"No, don't."
Miss Valentine lay on a sea ship formed from the vines that spread from her body, floating on the ocean.
Her face was filled with terror, and she stared blankly ahead. A colossal black fish was right in front of the sea ship. Its massive ramming horn emerged from the water, pushing against the sea ship and charging towards the deep sea.
Slap.
Miss Valentine pulled out a vine from her right hand and lashed it across the black fish's head, but it didn't leave even a scratch.
Useless.
Miss Valentine's face was full of fear, she didn't know what to do.
She had barely managed to create a ship with her abilities, but her attacks couldn't even harm this black fish.
What kind of thing was this black fish? It was enormous, but its strength was even greater. It could sink a ship, and even Mr. 5 couldn't inflict any damage on it.
Furthermore, it targeted humans. Even though there was plenty of food on the three ships, it didn't eat, but instead attacked the bounty hunters.
But what surprised Miss Valentine the most was that it hadn't killed her.
It had never attacked her, only attacking the other bounty hunters who had fallen into the water, and restricting her movements.
Only after killing all the other bounty hunters did it approach her and push the pirate ship she had created with vines towards the deep sea.
What was it trying to do?
Miss Valentine was a little terrified, looking at the sea fish, but it was useless. She didn't know what to do.
Actually, Xia Qiu was also a bit lost.
What should he do with her?
She was a Devil Fruit user. Although he hadn't seen her in the manga, she should be a high-ranking agent of Baroque Works.
I'm still not entirely sure how Moo Moo became a Devil Fruit user.
He ate a corpse and became a Devil Fruit user.
But after so long, the Devil Fruit power should have transferred.
So Xia Qiu looked at the woman in front of him, unsure how to proceed.
"What exactly do you want?"
Miss Valentine looked at Xia Qiu and asked softly.
"Puff puff puff."
The air holes on Xia Qiu's head rhythmically expelled three streams of water.
"You killed so many people, but you didn't kill me. Do you not want to kill me?" Miss Valentine asked, her voice trembling.
"Puff puff puff."
Xia Qiu sprayed out three more streams of water.
"Please let me go?"
Miss Valentine pleaded, looking at the increasingly distant sea, filled with immense fear.
But Xia Qiu was unmoved and continued to push her into the deep sea.
"What do you want?"
Miss Valentine was confused. This Sea Fish was strange; it wasn't killing her, just pushing her into the deep sea.
But at this moment, Xia Qiu, underwater, suddenly sensed a colossal creature approaching from afar. Judging by its shape, it should be a Sea Beast.
"That's enough."
Xia Qiu sensed the Sea Beast was still five hundred meters away and suddenly dove underwater.
"Is it leaving?"
Miss Valentine saw this and let out a sigh of relief. Although she was pushed into the sea, as long as she wasn't killed, she could still return.
But just then, she felt a tremor coming from beneath the surface of the sea.
*BOOM.*
Five massive tentacles shot out from the seabed, shattering the pirate ship and sweeping towards Miss Valentine.
"Huh?"
Miss Valentine saw this, raised her hands, and countless vines spread from her palms, enveloping her.
*WHOOSH.*
Xia Qiu's tentacles wrapped around Valentine, but the vines resisted their constriction.
"This ability is really troublesome," Xia Qiu thought. With a flip, his tentacles wrapped around her and pulled her into the sea.
The vines couldn't stop the seawater from seeping in. Miss Valentine, coming into contact with the water, immediately became weak, but the vines remained.
Seawater could weaken Devil Fruit users, but their abilities wouldn't disappear.
Luffy's body was still rubber underwater.
And Aokiji, using his ability, once plunged his hand into the sea and froze it.
Furthermore, the future Mr. 3, a user of the wax-wax fruit, could use his created wax to build a boat on the water.
Although the vines hadn't disappeared, the seawater caused her to suffocate. Combined with the tightening tentacles, her lungs had less and less oxygen.
"Ugh."
Miss Valentine struggled violently, but it was useless. She opened her mouth, only to swallow seawater.
Xia Qiu tightened his tentacles, moving away from the Sea Beast, maintaining a distance from it while waiting for Valentine's death.
"Gulp."
As her oxygen ran out, Miss Valentine's eyes bulged, and her body gradually weakened.
"Is she dead?"
Xia Qiu sensed the woman was no longer reacting. After waiting a while longer, he suddenly turned back and swam towards the Sea Beast. Upon approaching, he discovered it was a giant Sea Cat.
"Huh?"
The Sea Cat was slightly taken aback upon seeing Xia Qiu, looking somewhat suspicious. They were roughly the same size, and the Sea Cat hesitated, unsure whether to attack.
But the next moment, Xia Qiu released his tentacles and dropped the woman.
Miss Valentine's corpse sank with the seawater, while Xia Qiu swam away from the area.
"What's that?"
The Sea Cat saw the corpse, slowly approached, and bit down on it.
*CRUNCH, CRUNCH.*
Miss Valentine was swallowed into its mouth after just two bites. Xia Qiu sensed this and, relieved, continued to move away.
After the Sea Cat devoured the corpse, it didn't pursue Xia Qiu. Instead, it swam off in another direction, its massive pectoral fins moving.
Once it had swum a certain distance away, Xia Qiu followed again, maintaining a specific distance.
Moo Moo's previous transformation was complicated, so he needed to experiment further.
This was a Sea Cat, also a Sea Beast, perfect for experimentation.
Five minutes, ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes passed, and the Sea Cat in the distance showed no change at all.
"It seems eating the corpse of a Devil Fruit user is fine; at least, if it's eaten within a minute of death, it won't transform."
Xia Qiu had only let the corpse of Miss Valentine remain for less than a minute this time before having the Sea Cat eat it.
And after fifteen minutes of eating, the Sea Cat hadn't transformed into a Devil Fruit user.
This proved that the ability transfers within one minute of a Devil Fruit user's death.
As for shorter durations, Xia Qiu felt there was no need to test further.
It seemed Moo Moo's transformation was an anomaly, and he wasn't sure why.
Xia Qiu relaxed, knowing that in the future, after killing a Devil Fruit user, he could leave the corpse for one minute, wait for the ability to transfer, and then eat it.
This way, his subsequent plans could proceed without worry and be implemented even better.
Xia Qiu thought this as he charged towards the Sea Cat.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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