Chapter 9
Changing the Devil Fruit User
The Going Merry sailed calmly across the vast sea,
blue waters stretching endlessly beneath a clear, reassuring sky.
Inside the ship—specifically in the small kitchen—
Nami sat at a medium-sized wooden table,
while everyone waited for the food.
"We have a kitchen," Nami said, glancing around thoughtfully,
"but the only one who knows how to cook is Arthur.
We really need to find a cook for the ship."
At that moment, Arthur had finished preparing the meal,
and he began serving it to everyone.
A delicious aroma filled the air,
and as soon as the plates were set down, everyone smiled and began eating.
"This is really delicious!"
Luffy said, his mouth full.
Arthur merely offered a faint smile,
and after everyone had finished, he brought cups of tea and served them.
Arthur sat beside Zoro,
then gestured with his eyes toward a book resting beneath Nami's hand—
a strangely shaped book,
its pages written in a completely unfamiliar language.
"Nami, what is that book?" Arthur asked calmly.
Nami looked down,
then smiled slightly as she handed it to him.
"Oh, this is the Devil Fruit encyclopedia…
or rather, part of it."
She continued explaining:
"It contains the names of the fruits,
their illustrations,
and the properties and abilities of each fruit.
It's a very useful book."
Arthur took the book and began flipping through its pages with focus,
then closed it quietly.
"May I borrow this book?"
Nami smiled her familiar sly smile.
"Of course…
I'll sell it to you for five hundred Beli."
Arthur smiled;
he knew very well Nami's passion for money.
He slipped his hand into the pocket of his trousers beneath the long black kimono,
then opened his private storage without anyone noticing,
took out five hundred Beli, and handed it to her.
Nami's eyes shone with delight as she quickly took the money.
Arthur opened the book again.
'What language is this?
Why can't I understand a single word?'
| It is one of the languages of the One Piece world.
If you wish to learn it,
you must pay 250 points. |
'Damn…
250 points?
That's daylight robbery!
I only have 250 to begin with…
If I pay it, I'll have nothing left!'
Arthur sighed deeply,
then reluctantly agreed.
The moment he confirmed,
he felt a calm, gentle energy
slowly flowing into his mind.
It was strangely comforting,
and he felt a deep sense of ease.
Suddenly—
his eyes glowed white for a fraction of a second,
then the light vanished.
At the same time,
both Luffy and Zoro sensed a strange energy emanating from Arthur,
but it disappeared too quickly for them to determine its source.
Arthur opened his eyes with a smile,
then opened the book once more.
He began reading about Devil Fruits,
their types,
their abilities,
and the laws governing their use.
'System, I have a question.'
| What is it? |
'It says here that a normal human cannot eat more than one fruit…
Is that true?'
| To know the answer,
you must pay fifty thousand points. |
'By the Creator of the universe!
Are you kidding me?
How am I supposed to get fifty thousand points?
I barely had 250!'
No response came.
'Damn you, arrogant system…
You only speak when you want to steal my points.
Tell me then…
How can I take a fruit from someone who has already eaten it?
Or does that also require a billion points?'
| There is a method.
Bring an ordinary natural fruit,
place it beside the user,
then kill him.
After his death,
the ability will transfer to the nearest natural fruit and turn it into a Devil Fruit. |
'…That simple?
Good…
I was already wondering what I would do with Buggy.'
Arthur closed the book,
took an apple that had been prepared for cooking,
then left the kitchen, heading to a quiet spot on the ship.
He placed the fruit on the ground,
then took out Buggy's head.
Buggy was unnaturally quiet,
as though life had withdrawn from him.
He did not even move his eyes.
Arthur thought he was dead,
but when he checked his pulse…
it turned out he was still alive.
Arthur smiled coldly,
then raised his hand without a word or warning,
and brought it down forcefully.
Buggy's head was completely crushed.
His skull shattered easily,
blood flowed heavily,
and fragments of brain matter scattered across the ship's deck.
Arthur stood calmly,
watching the fruit and waiting.
Nothing happened…
then after a few seconds,
the apple began to tremble.
The green apple
transformed into a slightly larger fruit,
of a different color,
covered in numerous spiral patterns.
'Yes…
it seems it has transformed.'
Arthur wiped the blood from his hand and from the deck,
threw the remains of the head into the sea,
then took the fruit and placed it in storage.
'It may be useful to me someday…
Who knows?
I'll keep it for now.'
Arthur returned to the front of the ship,
where he found everyone in discussion,
along with two unfamiliar men he had never seen before.
It later turned out they were Yosaku and Johnny,
acquaintances of Zoro.
Everyone welcomed them,
then one of them said:
"It seems you're looking for a cook…
Let us take you to the best cook of the seas."
Luffy's face lit up immediately,
and the next destination was decided.
Baratie Restaurant.
After a journey lasting nearly half a day,
the Going Merry reached the floating restaurant.
Two Marine ships were stationed in front of it.
The Marines looked at Luffy's ship with suspicion.
Arthur stood at the front of the ship,
enjoying the air and the sea…
when suddenly,
he felt an immense danger rushing toward him.
He turned quickly
and saw a cannon rotating in their direction,
ready to fire.
Damn…
Damn everything!
He shouted at the top of his lungs:
"We're under attack!"
Arthur's sharp cry pierced the air,
and the entire crew heard it at once.
They rushed toward him,
their anxious heartbeats preceding them.
The moment they arrived, their eyes widened in shock.
Before them was a Marine ship frighteningly close,
its cannon aimed directly at Arthur.
Luffy ran with all the speed he could muster,
stretching out his hand as he called his name,
but time was too cruel to grant him a chance.
The cannon fired.
The projectile tore through the air at unbelievable speed,
and in less than a second—
It struck Arthur in the chest.
The explosion roared,
the air around him shattered,
and his body was hurled violently across the length of the ship
before being thrown overboard into the sea.
It all happened in a single instant.
No one could move,
or scream,
or even think.
The Marine ship was too close…
so close that it left no room for survival.
Luffy froze in place,
his hand still extended into the empty air,
his eyes wide as he stared at the sea.
Arthur's unmoving body fell into the blue waters
and disappeared beneath the waves.
A heavy silence descended…
a suffocating silence that paralyzed everyone.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Then, as though reality itself began to crumble,
a trembling voice rose from within the ship.
"H-he… he's… he's dead…
Arthur is dead!"
The voice was broken,
choked with tears.
Then two screams rang out at once—
Nami's and Usopp's—
filled with terror and pain
as they called out to their companion who had fallen into the sea without movement.
The air grew heavy,
and the sea that had been calm moments before
now seemed to have swallowed one of them without mercy.
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