"That powerful Commander Dalton went down in a single blow!"
Dalton is similar to Bear Guard. The boost from an Animal-type Devil Fruit probably makes him even tougher at taking hits.
For the Drum Kingdom, Dalton might not be the absolute ceiling, but he's still a height ordinary people can hardly reach. Someone like that being taken down instantly was far too shocking for the other guards.
"Meowth."
"Coming, Meowth!"
Meowth immediately jumped out.
"What Pokémon should I pick… so hard to decide, I want everything, Meowth."
As soon as Meowth said that, a Pokémon Ball appeared in its hand.
"Eh? That's it? It works already?"
For a moment, Meowth couldn't figure out what was inside the Pokémon Ball in its hand.
"Don't worry about it, Meowth. Deal with what's in front of us first."
After Dalton was defeated, the king of the Drum Kingdom finally appeared. This king had driven away his eldest son; Wapol was his only remaining heir.
"This gentleman whose name I don't yet know, I am the king of a World Government member nation. I don't know whether my son offended you. I'm willing to offer compensation—please don't harm him."
A father knows his son best. His boy had, in all likelihood, provoked this terrifying existence.
That was exactly what Vane wanted.
"I like dealing with smart people. This guy actually prepared to rob my ship at the dock! He didn't even look at who he was provoking."
Vane lowered his voice to make himself sound more frightening.
"If you want his life, trade it for a Devil Fruit. You must have Devil Fruits in your possession!"
As he stated his purpose, Vane activated Observation Haki with mind-reading.
After mastering mind-reading, Vane would speak key words so the other party's thoughts would inevitably drift toward related matters. That way, the king had no way to hide the existence of the Devil Fruits.
Inside the king's mind:
[Devil Fruits… damn it, this guy must be a pirate. There are still two Devil Fruits in the treasury. I was planning to use one of them as part of the Heavenly Tribute as collateral…]
Reading the king's thoughts, Vane was delighted. He hadn't expected there to be two Devil Fruits in the Drum Kingdom's treasury. One of them had to be the Munch-Munch Fruit.
The other was the fruit that was going to be handed over to the World Government.
The World Government and the Celestial Dragons being able to produce so many Devil Fruits must mean the member nations around the world support them with a portion.
This extra Devil Fruit was an unexpected windfall.
"Charizard."
Charizard pressed one claw onto Wapol. Its ferocious look made Wapol scream in terror.
"I'm willing, I'm willing to trade Devil Fruits for Wapol's safety."
"A very wise choice. Take me to your treasury. Don't worry—I won't touch anything except the Devil Fruits."
If he brought him into the treasury, wouldn't he lose both Devil Fruits?
But if he didn't… Wapol's screams badly affected the king's judgment. In his anxiety for his beloved son, he ultimately agreed to Vane's request to enter the treasury.
Because of environmental limitations, the Drum Kingdom's palace wasn't very large. With the king's hesitant guidance, Vane easily entered the treasury.
A royal treasury never lacks gold and silver and the like—things that are immensely tempting to others.
Fortunately, Vane had just made a fortune, and he had already said beforehand that he wouldn't touch anything besides the Devil Fruits.
"These are the Devil Fruits."
The king took out a small chest and slowly opened it. Inside was a green, apple-shaped fruit. Judging by the pattern, it was indeed a Devil Fruit.
However, in Vane's memory, the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia didn't record this fruit. In other words, its ability was unknown.
"King, you're not being very honest."
Vane used Soru to step in front of the chest the king was silently praying wouldn't be discovered, and smashed it hard.
Bang!! The chest exploded, and the second Devil Fruit appeared.
This fruit that looked like a man-eating flower was the Munch-Munch Fruit!
The Munch-Munch Fruit has all kinds of rumors on the internet. It's said that even Blackbeard wanted to obtain it. It was one of the fruits Vane had originally envisioned for Meowth.
This is also a powerful strategic fruit. It can fuse materials to create new ones. Meowth's scientific pursuits are often limited by materials. With the Munch-Munch Fruit, handcrafting Pacifistas would no longer be a dream.
"You're taking both Devil Fruits?!"
"I never said I'd only take one Devil Fruit."
An unknown-ability Devil Fruit is still a fruit.
With both fruits in hand, Lena immediately appeared and used the Through-Through Fruit's ability to take Vane and the others away from the treasury as fast as possible.
Only Vane's voice was left behind in the treasury.
"King of Drum, discipline your son well. Next time, you might not be able to trade a Devil Fruit for his life."
The king ground his teeth in anger, yet there was nothing he could do. He could only go use a Den Den Mushi to seek help from the Navy.
...
"Looks like they're Paramecia-type Devil Fruits."
Vane obtained two Articuno energy feathers. The Munch-Munch Fruit is Paramecia, and this unknown-origin Devil Fruit is obviously Paramecia as well.
A Devil Fruit without a clear effect is like buying a lottery ticket. A strong Paramecia could be something like Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit or Law's Op-Op Fruit.
If you're unlucky, it could turn you into a jacket or into beans.
Vane didn't dare to gamble. He's holding the Gold-Gold Fruit in his hand—how could he gamble on this Devil Fruit?
On the way back, Lena asked, "You got two more Devil Fruits, Captain. How are you planning to distribute them?"
How to distribute them?
The Munch-Munch Fruit would be hugely important for the whole team's growth, and it would need to work with Meowth for experiments at any time. So Vane planned to give this fruit to a Pokémon—most likely Electivire.
Lightning abilities paired with the Munch-Munch Fruit could definitely create a lot of materials.
After all, Enel once used lightning for metallurgy.
The Munch-Munch Fruit goes to Electivire.
That leaves the fruit with the unknown effect.
Since the effect is completely unknown, it can't be given to a Pokémon—what if it doesn't match the Pokémon's attributes?
If it's given to someone else, then their loyalty to Vane has to be guaranteed—the kind of loyalty where they'd raise both hands and worship him like the sun at any time.
Dice is loyal enough, but he's a major executive seed Vane has his eye on. He can't gamble him on an unknown fruit.
Burgess's loyalty can't be confirmed.
Most of the others have already eaten fruits, or Vane doesn't think they're qualified to eat a mysterious fruit.
"Monet and Sugar."
Vane trusts these two's loyalty—especially Monet's.
"Maybe I can let her take a gamble."
For the moment, Vane had already decided in his heart where this mysterious fruit would go.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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