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worm novel 200 . xyz '
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Rumble...
Less than half an hour later.
A massive flock of spot-billed ducks crested the dunes and arrived at the pier, kicking up a billowing cloud of dust.
The commotion immediately drew gasps of surprise from the countless people at the port.
A single-masted, double-decked sailboat with reinforced plating on its hull sat quietly docked at the shore.
It was about the same size as their previous pirate ship but far cleaner. Ancient reliefs decorated its snow-white hull, giving it an elegant and cultured appearance.
Inside, the cabin was fully stocked with essential sailing supplies.
There were no heartwarming farewells.
Under the watchful eyes of the public, Lius and his crew played the part of competent pirates, exchanging their hostage for the ship in a seamless trade.
"Your Highness!" Pell stepped up beside Vivi. He looked at her sad, face, sighing with deep emotion as they watched the vessel drift away.
Vivi only snapped back to reality after the ship vanished into the vast sea, nodding with firm resolve. "Yes, I know. This country still needs me!"
Deep down, she secretly looked forward to the future. She still owed Lius his reward, and she wondered when he would return to collect it.
The pedestrians around the pier finally gathered around the princess, terrified that another pirate might snatch her away.
...
Lius only let his guard down after they exited Alabasta's port and sailed far away from its territorial waters.
Realizing the marines would not be able to catch up anytime soon, he jumped down from the bow and clapped his hands, calling out to the crew members who lingered in separate corners looking incredibly awkward around one another.
Lius flashed a secretive smile. "Nami, didn't you mention before that you wanted a devil fruit with the ability to fly?"
Everyone froze in surprise.
Nami widened her bright eyes. "A devil fruit?"
Ace and Robin glanced over in shock.
Devil fruit users were a dime a dozen in the Grand Line. However, aside from Pell, the royal guardian spirit they had seen earlier in his falcon form, they had essentially never met anyone who possessed the power of flight.
Even someone like Crocodile in the desert could only achieve brief, low-altitude flight by turning his lower body into sand.
That relied on specific environmental conditions rather than the intrinsic power of the fruit itself.
Robin recalled the texts she had read in the past. "According to the encyclopedia, devil fruits that grant the ability to fly generally belong to the Zoan class."
Nami looked surprised. "Ah, the Zoan class?"
"Yes, but this one is a mythical Zoan!" Lius nodded. He pulled a devil fruit from his shirt and placed it on the deck right in the middle of the seated group.
Robin gasped sharply.
Others might not know, but with her vast pool of knowledge, she understood perfectly well just how precious a mythical Zoan was. It was even rarer than a Logia type fruit.
Regaining her composure, Robin forced herself to look calm, though a massive storm raged in her heart. "A mythical Zoan is truly an invaluable treasure!"
Yet this teenager had casually pulled such a priceless artifact from his shirt and tossed it out for everyone to see.
He acted as casual as if he had just handed out an ordinary apple!
Robin's gaze toward Lius began to change.
She had never in her life seen someone give away a priceless mythical Zoan fruit to a crew member so freely.
Her decade of life on the run had shown her the darkest sides of humanity.
Even close spouses might stab each other in the back when faced with a mountain of treasure, let alone pirates.
Nami tilted her head. "What mythical Zoan? What priceless treasure? Robin, can you explain it to me!"
After listening to Robin explain the intricacies of the devil fruit, both she and Ace looked absolutely stunned.
"Does that mean this devil fruit is worth at least several billion beli?"
"Yes. In fact, it's so rare that you couldn't buy one on the open market even if you had the money!"
"Ah! Lius, you're the best!"
Nami's eyes sparkled. She threw herself at Lius and locked him in a tight hug. If there hadn't been an audience, she might have offered herself to him right then and there.
She didn't fully grasp the rarity of a devil fruit, but translating its value into beli delivered an unimaginably powerful shock. At the end of the day, Nami was highly sensitive to money.
The fact that Lius casually handed her a fruit worth billions of beli sent her over the moon. A trace of genuine tenderness softened her gaze as she looked at him.
Once Nami calmed down, Lius pushed her away gently. "Ahem! Let's just have you eat the fruit first. I'm actually really curious to see exactly what kind of power this mythical Zoan holds!"
Truth be told, he didn't even know if this devil fruit had ever existed in this world. After all, it was a reward from his system check-in.
Not to mention, the fruit's name sounded like it came straight out of a fantasy dimension.
"Okay!" Nami cheered, scooping up the devil fruit with boundless joy.
The swirling patterns on the fruit's skin resembled feathers, and it radiated a pure, holy light. Its mere appearance gave off an aura of flawless divinity.
Yet, it was ultimately just a piece of fruit.
Nami studied it closely. "How amazing. Are all devil fruits like this?"
Ace shook his head. "No. This is my first time seeing one like that too!"
His experience was quite limited. Aside from his own Flame-Flame Fruit, he had basically never seen another devil fruit in person, so he couldn't make a solid judgment.
Robin took a deep breath, dropping her voice into a serious register. "If my memory serves me right... This is a devil fruit that has never been recorded in any book!"
Nami looked stunned, but then her joy only multiplied.
An unrecorded devil fruit would undoubtedly fetch an even higher price, yet Lius was giving it to her to eat.
Nami looked at Lius with a gentle expression. "Lius, thank you!"
Lius chuckled, genuinely surprised to see Nami acting so sweet for the first time. "Hahaha, I'm not really used to this!"
He quickly urged her on with a smile. "Hurry up and eat it. Let's see what kind of power it gives you first!"
"Right!" Nami took a deep breath. Cradling the crystalline white fruit in her hands, she took a delicate bite.
Rich juice instantly burst into her mouth. A split second later, her face turned completely green. She gagged, nearly vomiting on the spot.
Ace and Robin watched from the side, a lingering fear flashing across their faces.
It was no secret that while devil fruits granted immense power, they were an absolute disaster for the taste buds.
It showed that even though devil fruits had evolved to taste terrible just to avoid becoming food, they still could not escape the fate of being eaten.
Lius watched Nami. "How is it?"
The moment he spoke, a loud boom echoed out.
A brilliant light suddenly erupted. Like a rising sun, Nami slowly floated up from the deck into the air.
Bathed in this holy light, Nami's body instantly transformed. Her skin turned a flawless, pale white. Her short orange hair rapidly grew down to her waist, shimmering with strands of sacred gold light. She looked absolutely stunning.
Her youthful figure filled out, developing the voluptuous curves of a fully mature woman.
She kept her eyes closed as four pairs of snow-white wings unfurled from her back. Enveloped in the holy light, she looked exactly like a sacred angel descending from heaven.
"It really is the one. Zoan class, Human-Human Fruit, mythical Zoan, Heavenly Maiden Model!"
Seeing Nami's transformation, the most shocked person in the entire group turned out to be Lius himself.