Chapter 196 Scheming with the Devil Fruit (4k)
One by one, towering trees rose from the ground, forming a vast island. Bubbles constantly rose, shimmering dreamlike in the sunlight.
Aoki gazed ahead: "Is this the Sabaody Archipelago?"
The man beside him said, "Yes, Mr. Aoki, the Sabaody Archipelago is actually composed of a forest of mangrove trees, each numbered.
For accommodation, go to numbers 70 to 79; for sightseeing, go to numbers 30 to 49, where there's a bubble park, tourist shops, and souvenir shops. Numbers 50 to 59 are where the shipyard and coating craftsmen are located; numbers 60 to 69 are the naval base.
Oh, and numbers 1 to 29 are lawless zones, teeming with pirates, wanted criminals, and a human trafficking market. Be careful when passing through."
"Thank you!"
Aoki said.
After leaving Mary Geoise, he originally intended to find a place to stay, gather information, and then make further plans.
But he quickly realized he had oversimplified things.
Sailing at sea was far more difficult than traveling on land.
Without any landmarks, it's easy to lose your way.
And compared to the normal world, the pirate world is vast, mostly covered by ocean with very little land.
He flew for half a day, not only failing to find an island but also losing his bearings.
Just when he was having a headache, he encountered this ship.
Afterwards, after some inquiries, he sadly discovered that he hadn't flown very far at all, still circling around the Red Line.
"We'll be staying in Area 53 for a week. If Mr. Aoki needs another ship, you can come find us anytime!"
the man said enthusiastically.
It wasn't because he was charmed, but because Aoki had paid him a large fare.
"I understand, until we meet again."
Aoki greeted the man and disembarked alone.
Outside the dock stood a straight, thick tree, its branches lush and verdant, its exposed roots resembling a giant dragon, and the number "53" imprinted on its trunk.
Just as Aoki reached the tree, a giant soap bubble rose from the ground, slowly drifting into the sky.
The roots of the mangrove tree secrete a special natural resin through respiration. This resin expands when exposed to air, forming bubbles.
People use these bubbles to create bubble cars, bubble Ferris wheels, and even houses built on top of bubbles; bubble culture permeates every aspect of the Sabaody Archipelago.
However, these bubbles can only survive in the climate of the mangrove forests; once they leave the mangrove range, they automatically burst.
Continuing on, they soon arrived at a town.
Bubbles of all sizes floated around, and people rode bubble-made vehicles back and forth, creating a fairytale-like atmosphere.
Aoki walked leisurely down the street.
He planned to buy a Log Pose first.
The Grand Line's magnetic field was chaotic, and the climate was harsh; without a Log Pose, travel was impossible.
As the end of the first half of the Grand Line and the entrance to the New World, the Sabaody Archipelago certainly wouldn't lack Log Pose technology.
Another thing that intrigued him was
that Fish-Man Island lay ten thousand meters below the surface.
"Shirahoshi should have just been born by now, right?" Aoki thought.
He had already inquired about the timing while on the ship.
It is now the year 1506 of the Sea Calendar.
Luffy is only three years old this year.
Roger has been dead for less than 10 years.
The Great Pirate Era was in full swing.
Edward Newgate reigned supreme, unmatched by anyone, and the Whitebeard Pirates were at their peak, enjoying unparalleled power.
Charlotte Linlin and Kaido ascended to the throne of Pirate Emperor.
The three Pirate Emperors dominated the New World.
And Shanks was just beginning to emerge.
After figuring out the timeline, Aoki's plan to trade the healing potion also failed.
Although he hadn't seen it yet, Whitebeard at this time was certainly not as terminally ill as he would be in the future.
The healing potion wouldn't fetch a good price.
He'd rather not sell it than sell it for a high price.
Anyway, he couldn't let it become a burden.
In a general store in the 28th district, Aoki bought what he needed, then found a bar nearby, ordered a drink, and sat down.
As everyone knows, bars and pubs are good places to gather information.
However, in reality, the information circulating there is either common knowledge and worthless news, or unsubstantiated rumors that are difficult to verify. There isn't much truly valuable information.
Fortunately, Aoki only wanted to learn more about the basic situation of this time and world; he didn't need any classified information.
While listening to the boasting and chatting around him, Aoki pondered his next plan.
There were two key points:
the mission and the Devil Fruit.
The mission, needless to say, was about completing more missions and leveling up as quickly as possible.
Among them, "the end of the World Government" was of paramount importance.
The good news was that Luffy still had 14 years before setting sail, giving him ample time.
"I need help,"
Aoki said, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.
Unlike his previous small-scale operations, this time he was tasked with destroying a super-organization that had ruled the world for eight hundred years.
The mission required him to kill Im and the Five Elders.
They were already very powerful, and they also had numerous allies such as the Knights of God, CP0, and the Navy.
Even if "Infinite Dragon Beast" reached its maximum level, he would find it difficult to fight against so many people alone.
A single drop of water cannot form an ocean, and a single tree cannot form a forest.
He needed to find someone to share some of the pressure.
However, allies were not easy to find.
Although the Celestial Dragons' brutality was widely known, few dared to oppose them.
The first names that came to Aoki's mind were those of four Pirate Emperors:
Edward Newgate (Whitebeard), Kaido (Beasts), Charlotte Linlin (Big Mom), and Shanks (Red-Haired).
However, after careful consideration, he realized that while these four were powerful, they weren't suitable allies.
Edward Newgate was known as the strongest man in the world, and the Whitebeard Pirates were equally powerful.
However, Whitebeard had little ambition.
His dream was simply to have a "family" and live with his loved ones; he didn't even care about becoming the Pirate King. How could he possibly risk annihilation by taking the entire Whitebeard Pirates to fight the Celestial Dragons?
Charlotte Linlin and the Big Mom Pirates were more focused on becoming the Pirate King and probably wouldn't want to raise the banner against the Celestial Dragons.
Moreover, Charlotte Linlin was extremely brutal.
Given the chance, Aoki would rather kill her and loot her equipment than cooperate with her.
Shanks is still a newcomer, and even the Red-Haired Pirates aren't fully formed yet.
Moreover, Shanks might actually be a Celestial Dragon.
Kaido, on the other hand, offers some potential for cooperation.
Kaido's dream is to wage the world's greatest war, drawing all nobles and powerful figures to the battlefield.
However, firstly, Kaido is capricious and unpredictable, making him an unsuitable partner; secondly, he's violent and self-centered, making cooperation extremely difficult—one would need the strength to speak to him as an equal.
As for Captain John, Wang Zhi, Crocodile, and others, they likely have their own agendas and aren't suitable partners.
Dragon and the Revolutionary Army are natural allies.
However, the Revolutionary Army has only been formed for six years and its strength is far from sufficient.
Contact could be made, but it's best not to have too high expectations.
Furthermore, it's not just about finding allies; one also needs a team of their own.
Even in solo combat, someone like Hawkeye can only achieve that level; a team is needed to become one of the Four Emperors.
This is no easy feat.
The second key point is Devil Fruits.
Personal strength is fundamental.
Missions are for leveling up, and leveling up is essentially about becoming stronger.
There are two powerful forces in the One Piece world:
Haki and Devil Fruits.
Judging from Kizaru and the Supreme Commander of the God Knights, both his Haki and Devil Fruit power levels have reached four stars.
If he could obtain another four-star profession, he would have two four-star professions, potentially breaking through the limits of this world.
Absolute strength can overcome anything; the question is, how to obtain absolute power?
Haki is out of the question.
According to the system's rules, obtaining a transcendent profession requires possessing the corresponding physical foundation.
Haki is an innate power in the One Piece world.
But Aoki comes from another world and doesn't have this potential.
The simplest way to obtain a transcendent profession is to first acquire the corresponding transcendent power.
In the previous world, he went to great lengths to obtain the "Infinite Dragon Beast" bloodline.
However, in the One Piece world, achieving this is simple:
just eat a Devil Fruit.
Aoki believed that with his strength, obtaining a Devil Fruit wouldn't be difficult.
There were Devil Fruit auctions on Sabaody Archipelago.
However, obtaining a sufficiently powerful Devil Fruit was not easy.
Even among Devil Fruits, there were differences.
Just like the vast differences in power between Imperial Arms.
He wanted to eat the best.
Currently, the most powerful were undoubtedly the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruits!
The most famous were Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit (Azure Dragon form) and Fleet Admiral Sengoku's Human-Human Fruit (Buddha form).
Aoki carefully recalled the Mythical Zoan-type fruits he knew.
The Mythical Zoan-types from Wano Country should all be owned.
He didn't know if the Dog-Dog Fruit (Nine-Tailed Fox form) and the Horse-Horse Fruit (Pegasus form) were owned, nor where they were.
A copy of the Azure Dragon form of the Fish-Fish Fruit probably hadn't been created yet, and it was uncertain if it had any flaws; he didn't want to eat a copy.
After much thought, Aoki felt the most likely fruit to obtain was the Bat-Bat Fruit (Vampire form).
He remembered needing Robin's help deciphering the ancient documents in Sleeping Town.
"Robin should still be in the West Blue, right?"
Aoki thought.
Six years had passed since the Ohara incident, and Robin was now fourteen years old, so she shouldn't have entered the Grand Line yet.
"Wait, there seems to be another Mythical Zoan fruit that's temporarily unclaimed."
Aoki's expression turned strange.
The Human-Human Fruit, Nika form.
It used to be called the Gum-Gum Fruit.
Aoki stroked his chin. What would happen if he stole Luffy's fruit?
The Nika Fruit was absolutely powerful.
It possessed both the characteristics of a Mythical Zoan and a Paramecia type, giving it the ability to grant wishes.
As for the fact that the Nika Fruit had never awakened in 800 years, he didn't care.
With the system, as long as he could obtain a power, he could push it to its peak.
However, obtaining the Nika Fruit wouldn't be easy.
The Nika Fruit possessed a power akin to destiny; even with the World Government's resources, they had searched for eight hundred years without success in retrieving it.
It seemed destined to belong to Luffy.
The information he knew was that four years later, the Red-Haired Pirates stole the Nika Fruit from a ship belonging to the World Government's CP9 intelligence agency.
Aoki's thoughts began to wander.
His goal didn't have to be solely focused on Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits.
While they were currently dominant, they weren't invincible.
Whitebeard, with his Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit, still reached the top.
The Paramecia-type Op-Op Fruit was likely still unclaimed, its spatial abilities undeniable.
Logia-type Devil Fruits, though weakened, were still incredibly powerful, especially for him.
He already possessed the powerful physique of Mythical Zoan types.
Logia-types, focusing on natural forces, might be more suitable for him.
Of course, the strength of Logia-types varied greatly.
For example, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit and Swamp-Swamp Fruit were practically useless.
The Flame-Flame Fruit was unappetizing.
But right now, he had an unclaimed top-tier Logia-type Devil Fruit—the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Enel likely hadn't obtained it yet.
There was also the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Not only did it counter Devil Fruit users, but it could also steal their abilities, making it strategically significant.
With these thoughts in mind, Aoki's mind began to stir.
"The Dark-Dark Fruit can steal abilities, so could I get a Devil Fruit from the Revenge Chest?"
Some of the chests he'd opened before came directly from the system, like special lollipops and Wind Spirit Boots.
But some had questionable origins.
Money, suits, daggers, and most importantly, that tattered pair of women's underwear—he strongly suspected that some of the chests' prizes might be items from the bodies of the people he'd killed.
Killing monsters for loot, right?
The key question was whether Devil Fruits were among the loot.
If this guess was true, he'd have more options.
Actually, his favorite was Guy's Azure Dragon form Fish-Fish Fruit.
Aoki sorted through the information, and his plan gradually became clearer.
First, and most importantly, he needed to continue leveling up and increasing his strength.
He wanted to max out "Revenge Soul" as soon as possible.
Even if he could get a Devil Fruit, a Mythical Zoan type certainly wasn't something a level 2 chest could produce.
Second, he needed to find Robin in the West Blue.
Now that he knew about the Vampire Form Bat Fruit, there was no reason not to take it.
Furthermore, the Bat-Bat Fruit's power in its vampire form is related to blood.
And the essence of a demon lies in blood.
This Devil Fruit might help him overcome the weaknesses of demons.
He could also keep an eye out for information on other Devil Fruits.
There are many Devil Fruits in this world he hasn't heard of, and perhaps one of them is more suitable for him.
As for finding allies and building a team, there's no rush.
He already has a plan in mind.
Overthrowing the World Government isn't something that can be accomplished overnight; he needs considerable patience.
(End of Chapter)