Chapter 91: The Fruit of Darkness
Skylark always carried a bag with her, but it was usually a small satchel. A large backpack was rare, as a sniper's agility could be compromised by excess weight. She had only brought this one because Major General Ian had specifically requested she prepare its contents.
"Open it," Ian commanded.
"Oh, right, Major General Ian, I meant to ask earlier," Skylark said as she unzipped the pack. "Did you pack all these pineapples and apples for a snack after the battle? If you need to replenish your energy, I could make you a special lunch box instead. I can prepare sweet and sour bento for you in the future. Pineapples and apples are a bit... huh? What's this?"
Her chatter cut off abruptly. Her eyes widened, and she tremblingly pulled out a strange, pale purple fruit from the backpack.
She had packed the bag herself and was certain this bizarre fruit wasn't one of hers.
Staring at the fruit's spiral, shell-like pattern, Skylark asked in disbelief, "Major General Ian, is this... a Devil Fruit?"
Having worked at Headquarters for a while, she had never held one but had seen plenty of pictures. The fruit in her hand was unmistakable.
"Correct," Ian confirmed, his own heart rate spiking slightly. "It's a Devil Fruit."
He didn't name it, stunned by the success of his experiment. He had only asked Skylark to prepare pineapples and apples on a hunch, unsure if it would work.
But now, resting in Skylark's palm, was the Logia-type: Dark-Dark Fruit. After Marshall D. Teach's death, it had successfully regenerated inside her backpack.
Based on the fragmented intelligence Ian possessed, the regeneration of Devil Fruits was shrouded in mystery. The first clue emerged when Blackbeard killed Whitebeard; the process was hidden under a black cloth. When Teach reappeared, he wielded the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. This led to the theory that the Dark-Dark Fruit's unique gravity could, for a short time after a user's death, draw out the power of another fruit and implant it into a new host. The Dark-Dark Fruit's own esoteric nature made this seem plausible.
But as the Blackbeard Pirates expanded, their subordinates were often seen hunting Devil Fruit users alone. Without the Dark-Dark Fruit's power, how could they ensure the fruit regenerated precisely for them? The secret likely lay in the parcels they always carried. The key to Devil Fruit regeneration was hidden within those packages.
The Punk Hazard incident later provided a clearer picture. After the poisonous slime died, the artificial Salamander Devil Fruit regenerated inside a nearby basket of apples. Furthermore, "apples" were frequently seen among the Blackbeard Pirates' belongings.
So, Ian had Skylark prepare apples and other fruits.
The conditions seemed to be:
The death of the current Devil Fruit user.
The proximity of a suitable fruit (like an apple).
But Ian had taken an extra precaution: pineapples. At the Summit War, both Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace died, yet Blackbeard's crew only acquired the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, not Ace's Mera Mera no Mi. If an apple was the only requirement, surely they would have brought one. The fact the artificial Salamander fruit regenerated in an apple suggested another possibility: perhaps the fruit regenerated into the nearest fruit of a similar shape.
The Dark-Dark Fruit's shape resembled a pineapple. Hence, Ian had Skylark prepare both apples and pineapples.
"Skylark, count them," Ian ordered, fully opening the backpack. "Is a pineapple or an apple missing?"
"One, two, three, four, five..." Skylark counted swiftly. "One, two, three, four... The pineapple! Major General Ian, a pineapple is missing! So, the Devil Fruit that looks like a pineapple regenerated from the missing pineapple?"
She was sharp, immediately grasping the significance.
The complete conditions for Devil Fruit regeneration were now confirmed.
"Keep it safe. This operation isn't over yet," Ian instructed. "Someone from Headquarters will likely arrive soon. Remember, tell no one."
"Understood, Major General Ian!" Skylark's eyes shone with determination, understanding the weight of his trust.
Suddenly, Ian's heart jolted. A powerful sense of crisis gripped him. A clear, vivid image of the future flashed in his mind...
A blood-red scene unfolded in Ian's mind's eye. The location was precisely where Saint Charlos had just been killed. In the vision, aside from the CP0 agents, Peacock, T-Bone, and Nami had also arrived on the scene to assess the situation.
Then, disaster struck.
A figure plummeted from the sky at incredible speed.
BOOM!
CRASH!
The moment the figure—an old man—impacted the ground, a powerful shockwave erupted, devastating the entire block. Surrounding buildings crumbled. The Marines stationed closer immediately rushed toward the epicenter.
Peacock and the others stood their ground against the terrifying force, shielding the soldiers behind them.
The old man appeared ancient, his face a web of deep wrinkles with sunken features. Long, light-colored hair was styled into very high, curved spikes atop his head, with symmetrical side spikes—a very distinctive hairstyle.