"Captain Shiki, we've found something good."
Kozuki Oden and Kurozumi Higurashi had pursued that group of pirates, but they were ultimately a step too late. This bunch was under Shiki's command; the moment they discovered the Devil Fruit, they contacted him.
Devil Fruits aren't actually rare in the Grand Line; after all, the abilities are vast and varied, and you never know what strange thing might turn out to be a power. Even a standard Zoan-type fruit would be a treasure in an ordinary pirate crew.
And the value of an unknown fruit goes without saying.
The captain of this pirate crew was already a Devil Fruit user. If it were just a standard Zoan ability, he could have rewarded it to a subordinate, but with a fruit of unknown ability, he couldn't do that.
Not every pirate is honorable. There have been plenty of examples of subordinates gaining great power and killing their captain to take over. In that case, it was better to simply send the fruit up the chain. If it really was an excellent fruit, he would receive a reward as well.
"Hey, Indigo, bring out the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia." The Golden Lion picked up the strange, patterned fruit and looked it over. Discovering that he couldn't determine its ability just by its appearance, he turned his head and spoke to a weirdo wearing a white lab coat.
Indigo nodded, then walked inward on his strange shoes that made a sound like flatulence—"putt-putt." A moment later, he brought out an incomplete book, then picked up the Devil Fruit and began comparing it.
Shiki didn't look particularly interested. He had seen plenty of Devil Fruits, though almost all were Zoan types. At the same time, Zoan types are the hardest to identify from appearance alone. Therefore, Shiki didn't actually have high expectations for this fruit.
To be honest, as long as it was a tiger, wolf, or lion type, it would barely meet his expectations. If it were a Paramecia, then that would count as striking gold.
"Keh heh heh, it's a Zoan type—" Dr. Indigo let out a strange laugh.
"A Zoan type, as expected?" Shiki shook his head; just as he predicted. "In that case, then..."
"It's a Mythical Zoan..." Dr. Indigo continued the unfinished sentence. "The Vampire Fruit."
"I see, a Mythical Zoan. As I expected, it's useless—what? Mythical Zoan?" Shiki's mouth, clamping the cigar, dropped open, and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Indigo nodded. "Keh heh heh, unless the encyclopedia is wrong, it is indeed a Mythical Zoan."
The Golden Lion paused for a moment, then immediately burst into laughter. "Jahahaha! To think it's the rarest Mythical Zoan? We really found a nice treasure this time!"
Even for a great pirate like him, having set sail until now, let alone seeing a Mythical Zoan fruit, he hadn't even seen many of the users.
Strictly speaking, he had only seen one.
That was the user of the Human-Human Fruit, Buddha Form—Sengoku. At this point in time, even Marco wasn't on Whitebeard's ship yet.
Shiki took the fruit from Indigo's hand, then glanced around at his subordinates, considering how to dispose of the fruit. Even if it was a Mythical Zoan, if it wasn't eaten, it was useless.
Shiki wasn't like that pirate who turned it in, fearing his crew's strength surpassing his own. If he were stepped on by someone else just because of a fruit, it would prove he was a man who was only so-so.
As for turning it over to Rocks, that wasn't even within his consideration. He wasn't that loyal to that nominal leader.
However, after looking around, he didn't decide who to give the fruit to. It was a Mythical Zoan fruit, after all; if the user turned out to be a waste, it would be too much of a loss. Shiki then thought of Kaido.
If that intern kid was willing to follow him, he wouldn't mind giving this fruit to him.
It's just a pity...
"That annoying brat!" Shiki made a disgusted face. Thinking of that stubborn guy made him angry. He had invited that intern more than once, but even after being thrashed, that kid wouldn't bow his head.
Instead, he ended up getting quite close to that woman, Linlin.
Unless something unexpected happened, that kid was most likely at Charlotte Linlin's base right now.
Currently, the Rocks Pirates were settled on Hachinosu. After Rocks' downfall, this place would be in Wang Zhi's hands for the next few decades, until Blackbeard killed Wang Zhi and turned it into his own base.
At this very moment, the ones garrisoning Hachinosu were the Golden Lion and Big Mom. It was impossible for Rocks to send out his entire force for every operation; as a main base, someone always had to stay behind to guard it. However, recently the conflict between Rocks and the Marines was intensifying.
"Truly a madman." The Golden Lion laughed. But if he weren't like that, he wouldn't have chosen to follow this man.
Boom—
At that moment, he sensed a presence approaching from outside the island, followed by the sound of commotion.
"It looks like someone brought trouble back." Shiki stood up, looking down with disdain. That arrogant look made the pirate who had offered the fruit tremble. However, the Golden Lion had no intention of punishing or scolding him; he merely looked down on him.
Indigo hadn't noticed anything unusual, but he didn't doubt Shiki's Observation Haki in the slightest. He hurriedly said, "Captain Shiki, let me..."
"No need, that guy has already broken in." Shiki interrupted him, then walked toward the window.
Looking out the window, he could see the source of the commotion continuing to delve deeper.
"Jahahaha, looks like it's another monster." Shiki laughed heartily. He didn't dislike monsters, especially ones that could be of use to him. "Coming here to cause a ruckus, it actually reminds me of that kid Kaido. It would be great if I could take him under my wing."
Shiki figured it was very likely that the other person was chasing the Devil Fruit. If this person was willing to follow him, then he wouldn't mind giving this fruit to him either.
As the person causing the disturbance drew closer, Shiki clearly saw his appearance.
A samurai holding two swords, dressed strangely?
...
Several hours ago, aboard the Oden Maru.
"This place is..." Kin'emon squinted his eyes, gazing at the island with the skull-shaped building, feeling a bit timid in his heart.
"The base of the Rocks Pirates, Hachinosu. According to intel, Rocks himself isn't here. The great pirates remaining on the island are the Golden Lion and Big Mom." The navigator read out the intelligence she had received from Kurozumi Higurashi.
"But, this isn't what we agreed on, right?" Raizo's large face withered. "Not long ago, you said not to provoke the Rocks gang, and now today we're kicking down their door? Isn't this a bunch of dangerous guys?"
"What are you saying? It's not us provoking them; it's them provoking us now!"
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