Inside the Snow-Capped Royal Palace of the Drum Kingdom.
Countless Blood Shadow Bats streamed through a window, coalescing into an elegant figure.
"Who are you!?"
The king of Drum, busy reviewing state documents, leapt up and shouted when a shadow suddenly appeared at the window.
His cry sent the guards stationed outside rushing in.
"A diligent, capable ruler indeed!"
"I don't want to waste anyone's time either."
Fang Huo watched the elite soldiers charge in, slowly drawing the seven star demon sword; an eerie, ghost-green light flooded the council chamber.
Before these elite soldiers could react, even the king of Drum could only clutch his head and stagger a few times before his eyes flashed crimson.
As everyone's pupils turned red, Fang Huo once more dissolved into Blood Shadow Bats and re-formed in front of the king.
"Does your royal treasury happen to hold any Devil Fruits?"
Fang Huo looked at the king, now under the seven star demon sword's control, and cut straight to the chase—he had no desire to waste time.
If there weren't any here, he would have to search elsewhere.
Even with Soul Fire that could sense Devil Fruits, scouring the entire Drum Island would still cost considerable time.
"Yes—one dangerous Paramecia, the power of the Fungus-Fungus Fruit."
"My chief royal physician advised against eating that hazardous fruit."
"History already recorded a user of the Fungus-Fungus Fruit; every decade the ability erupts in a massive wave of toxic spores capable of poisoning half the kingdom."
The king of Drum answered in a daze, his face blank.
"Fungus-Fungus Fruit?"
Fang Huo had hoped for a pleasant surprise, but hearing it wasn't the Gulp-Gulp Fruit, he couldn't help feeling disappointed.
He remembered that in the future this ability would belong to Wapol's elder brother, Mushuru, the crown prince of Drum Kingdom.
That former heir's cruelty dwarfed even Wapol's.
While their father attended the World Conference, Mushuru—out of sheer boredom and to test the Fungus-Fungus power—unleashed a nationwide storm of toxic spores.
That brilliant move left Drum Kingdom with countless dead and wounded.
Had Drum not been a world-renowned medical powerhouse with formidable treatment skills…
…Mushuru's stunt might have wiped out more than half its citizens.
Even so, the toxic spores still caused heavy casualties.
When the king returned from the World Conference, he flew into a rage, stripped Mushuru of his succession rights, and banished him forever.
He even sent Mushuru to the Fire Country, whose environment could suppress the Fungus-Fungus ability.
Thanks to Mushuru's antics, Wapol the second son got his chance to inherit the throne.
Besides stockpiling the once-a-decade mega-spore toxin, this Paramecia Fungus-Fungus Fruit could cultivate many mushroom-spore techniques.
All sorts of toxic spores, clones, and binding fungal moves.
"Better than nothing."
"Come, fetch the Fungus-Fungus Fruit."
Fang Huo issued the order; as a pirate, leaving empty-handed was unthinkable.
Had he possessed spatial storage, he would have looted treasure too.
But for the current Fang Huo, wealth no longer held much appeal.
Strength was what he pursued.
Under the king's own guidance—escorted by brainwashed royal guards—they reached the treasury without alerting anyone.
Thus no one noticed anything amiss.
Inside the royal treasury of Drum Kingdom.
The king opened a chest and handed Fang Huo a purple, mushroom-shaped Devil Fruit.
"Worried about the Fungus-Fungus hazard, you locked it away. People of this era are indeed kind-hearted."
"In that case, allow me to dispose of this menace for you."
Fang Huo smiled faintly, stowed the fruit, and casually pocketed several fine jewels as gifts for Charlotte Linlin and Stussy.
Just as he prepared to leave, he spotted a warship blueprint.
"A large-scale submersible warship design?"
Drum Kingdom's black tech?"
Intrigued, Fang Huo picked it up; he hadn't expected medical black tech plus submersible warship black tech.
This long-standing nation that attends the World Conference was indeed no simple matter.
Though the tech was currently useless to him, why leave it behind?
He tucked the blueprint away as well.
"Thanks for the gifts!"
"Let's pretend none of this ever happened."
With the Devil Fruit and blueprint secured, Fang Huo departed, leaving final orders for the king and soldiers.
"Yes, sir!"
The king answered slowly, watching Fang Huo's silhouette vanish.
The seven star demon sword's control persisted, yet they could still live normal lives.
—On Drum Island's bustling Medical Main Street.
Fang Huo pondered his next search area.
The fruit should still be undiscovered, so it wouldn't lie within populated areas.
Later the royal family would collect it, eventually to be eaten by Wapol.
"I'll scout the wilderness first—royal hunting grounds have higher odds."
He flew toward a snowy forest, the royal family's favorite hunting zone.
Besides the vicious rabbit mink Lapin, herds of reindeer, bison, and even ice-wolves roamed there.
Speaking of which, Chopper the reindeer's Zoan Human-Human Fruit, Common Model: Goody-Two-Shoes, should also lie within this snowy forest.
Dalton's future Zoan Ox-Ox Fruit, Common Model: Bison, would probably be found here as well.
With the Fungus-Fungus Fruit added, this snowy forest's Devil Fruit output rate was impressively high.
Comparable to tiny Green Bit's four fruits: the Tontatta's Heal-Heal, Stitch-Stitch, Hornet, and Rhinoceros Beetle.
Indeed, according to the king's intel, the Fungus-Fungus Fruit had been found in this very snowy forest.
That was Fang Huo's main reason for choosing it as his first stop.
As he entered the woods, the transponder snail in his pocket rang.
"Fang Huo, which island are you on? We're coming to you!"
Rocks' voice boomed through the snail, eager to retrieve his first mate and Prophet.
Each passing day raised the fear that the World Government might snatch Fang Huo away.
"I'm hunting Devil Fruits!"
"Go to Little Garden first and befriend the Giant Warrior Pirates' Blue Demon Dorry and Red Demon Brogy—they've dueled over some trifle for decades."
"I want you to become good friends with them; they're close pals of Harald."
"Winning over Harald might hinge on those two."
Fang Huo had no idea how long finding the Gulp-Gulp Fruit would take; he didn't want the entire Rocks Pirates swarming Drum Island.
That would surely expose their location.
If the World Government and Marineford surrounded them, he'd have to abandon the search and sail away.
Thus he insisted on hunting the Gulp-Gulp Fruit alone.
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