On the other hand, the group made their way back to the pirate ship. Jack walked with a heavy brow, his mind racing with confusion over the recent events. He finally broke the silence, glancing toward his companion with a look of genuine bewilderment.
"Yamato, why did you do something like that just now?" Jack asked, unable to wrap his head around her actions. "Doflamingo is our business partner. Doing something like that wasn't very wise, especially since we still need him to provide a steady supply of artificial devil fruits. If the deal were ruined because of this, the loss would far outweigh any gain we might have had."
Yamato didn't look bothered at all. Instead, she offered a casual smile, her pace steady. "As a business partner, it's still necessary to test the other party's strength. If the other person is too weak, they don't have the qualifications to do business with us in the first place."
"That may be true, but what you did just now wasn't just testing him, was it? I thought you actually wanted to knock Joker down," Jack snorted, unconvinced. He knew very well how powerful Yamato's Conqueror's Haki had become. If she had truly gotten serious, it would have been no joking matter. Even if she claimed it was just a test, Doflamingo's reaction—looking like he was on high alert—showed it was clearly a form of intimidation.
"Haha, I'm not that aggressive! Why would I just beat down a business partner? Jack, in your mind, am I really that outrageous?" Yamato laughed, kicking him playfully as she passed by.
"Bastard Yamato! I've put up with you for a long time. Try touching me again and see what happens!" Jack snapped. He had finally reached his limit, his eyes turning bloodshot with frustration.
Seeing him on the verge of exploding, Yamato immediately held up her hands in a defensive gesture. "Alright, alright, I won't do it again. I'll be more careful next time, I promise."
Seeing Yamato admit her mistake so quickly took the wind out of Jack's sails. He felt like a breath was stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down. It was an unbearably uncomfortable sensation to have his anger neutralized so instantly.
"Alright, alright, let's go. We'll talk more once we're on the ship," Yamato said, striding forward toward the docks.
Haruko glanced at Jack, whose expression was twisted in a mix of rage and annoyance. she sighed silently for him, feeling a bit of pity, before motioning for her subordinates to follow the Young Master.
"Yamato, I swear..." Jack cursed her hundreds of times in his head. Every single time, it was Yamato who provoked him first, but the moment he actually got angry, she would change her attitude and apologize. It made it impossible for him to stay angry, yet he couldn't just let it go either. No one could truly understand how torturous it was to deal with her. He stood in place for a long while, trying to calm his nerves before finally catching up.
Yamato and the others soon returned to the pirate ship. They stored the goods safely in the cargo hold and prepared to set sail for home. By the time Jack stepped onto the deck, he found Yamato already comfortably lounging in a deck chair. Haruko was standing beside her, quietly brewing tea.
The sight immediately made Jack's blood pressure rise again. "You really know how to enjoy yourself, don't you?"
Hearing the sour remark, Yamato turned her head to look at him with a grin. "What's the matter, Jack? Are you jealous? Too bad your jealousy is useless. Haruko is mine." As she spoke, Yamato reached out and wrapped her arm firmly around Haruko's waist, looking as if she were guarding a prize.
"Childish," Jack muttered, rolling his eyes.
Haruko looked down at Yamato, who was clinging to her like a small child, and expressionlessly pushed her away. "Young Master, Lord Jack is right. It's not good to be so handsy."
"Huh? What's the problem? Aren't we both women? Haruko, do you think I'm not a woman?" Yamato asked, looking up at her with a confused expression.
Before Haruko could even respond, Jack's laughter echoed across the deck. "Can you even be considered a woman?"
"Jack, are you itching for a beating?" Yamato narrowed her eyes, her tone dropping an octave. This guy really had some nerve. Aside from her personality, which part of her didn't look the part?
Seeing that he had finally gotten under her skin, Jack felt a wave of satisfaction. His mood improved instantly. "That'll teach you to gloat." However, he wasn't foolish enough to keep pushing. He didn't want to actually fight her on the deck of a moving ship. Without looking back, he walked away, pretending nothing had happened. He waved his hand grandly toward the crew. "Hoist the sails! We're heading back!"
"Yes, sir!" The subordinates immediately sprang into action, scurrying across the deck to man the rigging.
Watching Jack's practiced "escape," both Yamato and Haruko found themselves amused. He really couldn't maintain a tough act for very long. The pirate ship soon set sail, carrying the artificial devil fruits as trial samples. They moved farther and farther away from Dressrosa, heading back toward the closed borders of Wano Country.
Once they arrived back in Wano, Yamato and the others prepared to deliver the important cargo. Jack took out a Transponder Snail to make his report as they walked.
"Big Brother, we have brought back the artificial devil fruits to use as trial samples. There are 1,000 in total," Jack reported to Kaido.
"Well done. Bring them over," Kaido's deep, gravelly voice echoed through the speaker.
Soon, the group returned to the headquarters on Onigashima. On the upper levels of the fortress, the high-ranking members of the Beast Pirates had already gathered. Kaido sat at the center, flanked by King, Queen, and Black Maria.
"Big Brother, these crates contain the fruits," Jack said, signaling his subordinates. They quickly moved to open all five of the large wooden crates. Immediately, the artificial devil fruits were revealed. They looked remarkably like apples, though with strange patterns.
The group looked over the haul with great curiosity. "So these are artificial devil fruits? Why do they look so weird? And why are they all the exact same shape?"
"That's just how these mass-produced ones are," Queen chimed in, leaning forward to inspect the fruit. "They're only slightly different in color from the one I created. The one I made has a green skin, but everything else is basically the same." King had already briefed him on the details of the deal, so he wasn't entirely surprised.
Hearing Queen's explanation, the confusion among the others lessened. They began to accept the strange appearance of the fruits.
"Then, what are the effects of these fruits? Can they achieve results at Yamato's level?" Maria's gentle voice rang out. It was a question on everyone's mind. Yamato was, after all, a very successful example of what an artificial fruit could do.
"Of course that's impossible. It took me over ten years to produce just one successful artificial devil fruit. Mass-produced goods from Joker like these are definitely of inferior quality. They don't even compare," Queen said, his voice dripping with professional pride.
"Indeed," the others murmured, nodding in agreement. It made sense that mass-produced items wouldn't be as potent as a custom masterpiece.
"According to the explanation Joker provided, these fruits have powerful side effects," King stated, his voice grave. "After eating them, aside from becoming a 'sea prune' and losing the ability to swim, there is a high chance the user won't even gain an ability. However, even if they fail to gain a power, the loss of their ability to swim is an irreversible change. Moreover, there is an even more severe side effect. No matter what emotion the person wants to express in the future, they can only smile. That's why these artificial devil fruits are called SMILEs."
As he spoke, King couldn't help but think to himself that Vegapunk was truly in a league of his own. The genius scientist was able to create artificial fruits without such horrific side effects. In comparison, the scientists working under Joker were pathetic. They weren't even worthy of carrying Vegapunk's shoes. All they could produce were these flawed fruits with such astonishingly severe consequences.
Hearing King's explanation, the expressions of the gathered pirates changed. The initial curiosity vanished, replaced by a sense of distaste. They couldn't bring themselves to like these red fruits anymore. A devil fruit with such a major flaw seemed like something even a dog would scorn. However, they all knew the reality of the New World. For ordinary people who were desperate for power, even a flawed gamble like this might still be considered an option.
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