Nika Fruit Awakening
"I'm finally alive!"
Standing on the deck, Luffy roared at the sea, feeling the surge of energy coursing through his body. He felt that even if he encountered that Giant Dragon again, he could punch it so hard that its face would be covered in bruises!
In the past two weeks, under Vegapunk's intensive training, Luffy's physical strength has increased by three to five times, making him no less capable than he was before entering the New World after two years of training!
However, Luffy hasn't developed skills like Gear Second and Gear Third yet, nor has he mastered Armament Haki or Observation Haki. Furthermore, he has only become stronger physically, without improving his combat skills, so there is still a significant gap in his overall strength.
However, even in his current, unenhanced Luffy, with his strengthened physique, could still put up a fight against a weaker Marine Vice Admiral.
Of course, with this kind of strength, it's a pipe dream to think he can knock down the Giant Dragon created by Vegapunk. Luffy is just having a misconception about his strength because of his sudden surge in power.
"Very good, he looks quite energetic! It seems we can finally proceed to the second step of the experiment!"
With his arms crossed, Vegapunk looked at Luffy, who was smug and seemed to have forgotten his Luffy, and a smile appeared on his face.
When choosing test subjects, you have to choose someone like Luffy. No matter how much he messes things up, he won't be traumatized. On the contrary, once he makes any progress, he'll be overjoyed and contribute to the next experiment. That's the best kind of experimental talent!
A hoarse chuckle escaped Nico Robin's lips as she stood beside Vegapunk and spoke softly:
"Boss, I have a feeling that what you're doing is a bit like bullying a fool!"
"Exactly, exactly! Straw Hat hasn't offended the boss, has he? No, someone with his personality couldn't possibly have offended the boss!"
Nami, dressed in light clothing, looked puzzled as her orange hair danced in the sea breeze.
Vegapunk shrugged:
"You're overthinking it. Don't underestimate him just because he's an experiment now. If suffering this little bit could make you stronger, then the pirates willing to be my guinea pigs would stretch all the way to the Grand Line!"
"The only reason I chose Luffy is because his Devil Fruit ability is very interesting; it's probably unique even in the entire Pirate World!"
"Devil Fruit ability? He just has the Gum-Gum Fruit, right? That kind of ability shouldn't be anything special, right?"
Nami looked puzzled and asked.
The Gum-Gum Fruit isn't bad among Paramecia, but it's certainly not strong either; it's just average.
If it didn't Devil Fruit Awakening and become the Nika Fruit, it would probably only be considered a mid-to-high-level Devil Fruit.
Luffy was able to fight his way to the New World because he has the potential. While the Devil Fruit does have an effect, the fact that he has developed it to that level and has skills like Gear Second, Gear Third, and Gear Fourth is itself a manifestation of his potential.
Of course, the Nika Fruit in the later stages was a complete deus ex machina, a forced power-up. However, since this is the complete Pirate World, Luffy does indeed possess the Nika Fruit, not the ordinary Gum-Gum Fruit.
"In fact, Luffy possesses the Zoan Human-Human Fruit, specifically the Mythical Zoan Nika Fruit. This Devil Fruit so powerful that even the World Government is wary of it, and its nature is somewhat strange... well, you can think of it as a kind of ability reminiscent of a comedy manga."
Vegapunk casually explained the actual situation, which changed the expressions on Nico Robin and Nami's faces. They didn't doubt whether the Nika Fruit in Vegapunk's mouth was real, but they were just a little surprised by the power of the Nika Fruit.
How to describe the power of the Nika Fruit? It doesn't seem to have much destructive power, but in a way, it is indeed like the power of a comedic manga where you can do whatever you want. As people who read manga often know, the truly unbeatable powers are in children's manga and comedy manga!
With two loud shouts, Luffy triumphantly approached Vegapunk:
"Doctor, thank you for your experiment. I feel much stronger now!"
"Hey, what about the little boat you promised me? I'm all set to go out to sea again!"
Vegapunk glanced at Luffy briefly, a smile appearing on his face:
"Straw Hat, who told you the experiment was over? This is only the first step. Next, we'll proceed with the second step!"
"Wait, what does the second step of the experiment mean?"
A wary look appeared on Luffy's face. Even someone with a rubber head would develop a conditioned reflex after being tricked for half a month. Luffy felt a chill in his heart and had a bad premonition.
"You'll understand soon enough!"
With a faint smile, disregarding Luffy's wary expression, Vegapunk lightly pressed a button in his hand. The Devil Fruit Interference Field on the entire ship was immediately activated, and a large amount of Sea Stone Factor instantly caused Luffy to collapse to the ground.
"Very good. Your physique has met the standard in the last round of experiments. Next is your training in Haki! Perfect timing. I have prepared a top-tier, Limited Tsukuyomi Genjutsu training chamber. Go and work hard!"
"Wait... what is 'Haki Training'?... Explain it to me too!"
"You'll find out soon enough once you're in the Training Pod! Good luck, Luffy! Unleash the potential of your Conqueror's Haki's Haki! To compensate for the lack of subconscious life-or-death pressure in the Illusory World, I've designed hundreds of different perilous situations for you."
"I think we should just give up... Hey, help!! I don't want to do any more experiments!"
Vegapunk threw Luffy directly into the experimental chamber, closed the door, clapped his hands, and then Luffy was immediately secured. A helmet with many wires connected to it descended from above, and a spike inside the helmet pierced Luffy's brain.
"Very good. Begin intervening with Chakra and mixed electromagnetic waves. Limited Tsukuyomi activation. Training begins!"
"The time flow rate is tentatively set at 1:100!"
After the setup was completed, as electromagnetic waves and Chakra energy surged in, Luffy's face immediately showed a grotesque expression. The storyline that Vegapunk set up for Luffy was basically the kind of life-or-death situation with only one chance, and occasionally a few scenes of sacrifice were interspersed.
For example, characters like Ace, Sabo, Rayleigh, or other crew members were killed by Marine Admiral or Sea Emperor to protect Luffy, in order to stimulate the eruption of Conqueror's Haki within Luffy.
There is also a training process in the middle of the process of building a foundation in Armament Haki and Observation Haki. Unlike internal energy cultivation methods that require years of honing, Haki mostly comes from one's own mental will and spirit, and a part is related to one's physical strength.
With Luffy's physical strength already up to par, even if it's just virtual Haki training, as long as his experience and spirit are up to standard, he can quickly regain his training upon returning to reality.
Ten days later, when the Nutrient Solution in the Training Pod was drained and Luffy walked out, his eyes and demeanor were completely different.
A surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted instantly, but only for a moment before Luffy subdued it, making it even more remarkable than the outburst of Conqueror's Haki.
Admittedly, Conqueror's Haki is a kingly quality that only one in a million possesses. However, it is actually quite easy for someone with this quality to unleash it, but those who can control it are probably fewer than ten people on the entire ocean.
Being able to achieve this can basically be seen as a prelude to the Conqueror's Haki Infusion. Conqueror's Haki's Haki is extremely violent, and being able to restrain it is already considered to have entered the beginner level.
It can be said that Luffy, now, only needs to familiarize himself with his body and Haki a little more, and he will be almost back to the state he was in before his final battle with Kaido.
At this point, Luffy's body and mind are basically able to withstand the test of awakening Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit Awakening.
The Nika Fruit is definitely among the top-tier Mythical Zoan. However, because the Human-Human Fruit comes with a built-in rationality buff, the mental impact after Awakening is far less difficult than that Devil Fruit Mythical Zoan fruits of the same level. As long as the basic conditions are met, there will generally be no problems due to Awakening.
Of course, the fact that the mental impact after Awakening is less difficult does not mean that the Devil Fruit Awakening is less difficult. In fact, perhaps for the sake of balance, the Human-Human Fruit, which lacks some of the wild impulse, is the most difficult to Awakening among Devil Fruit of the same level.
Fortunately, Vegapunk now possesses a unique Awakening technique. He extracted serum from Luffy's body from the beginning and has already created Artificial Nika Fruit. The next step is the final Awakening process.
Compared to the initial physical training experiment, Luffy's personality changed a bit after this Haki training experiment. Although he was still optimistic and eccentric, he occasionally gave people a reliable feeling, which was somewhat similar to his idol Shanks.
"So next up is the experiment on Devil Fruit Awakening? The initial experiments were all to increase the possibility of Devil Fruit Awakening, right?"
Luffy, with a calm expression, as if he had matured a lot in a short period of time, spoke to Vegapunk in a low voice.
"Hey, you really are Straw Hat, or was someone impersonating you?"
Looking at the calm Luffy, Nami's face showed surprise. She reached out and grabbed one of his cheeks, then pulled hard, stretching Luffy's face by a meter or two, revealing a grotesque expression.
"Waaaaaaah!"
This sudden Luffy completely shattered Luffy's composure. His words were mumbled incoherently, and he barely managed to regain his composure, but instead, he wore a foolish grin.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Doctor. I also want to try out the power of the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit Awakening!"
Having experienced so many illusionary scenarios within the Limited Tsukuyomi, Luffy has gained not only mental fortitude and willpower, but also a vast amount of knowledge: the Three Types of Haki, Devil Fruit Awakening, Ancient Zoan, Mythical Zoan types, Logia, Marine Admiral, Sea Emperor, the World Government...
At least now Luffy's common sense has been largely filled in, and he naturally knows that with his original strength, becoming the Pirate King is not much different from dreaming.
But after being strengthened by Vegapunk, Luffy now truly has the ability to compete with the top players on the sea. If this Devil Fruit Awakening is also successful, then his dream of becoming the Pirate King will have a real chance.
In the original Luffy, Luffy was indeed a bit of a simpleton when he first set sail. It wasn't until he was first defeated by Kuma and his pirate crew was scattered, and then he witnessed the grand spectacle during the Summit War, that he calmed down and did two years of basic training.
Otherwise, given the Straw Hat Pirates' strength at the time, they probably wouldn't have even made it past Dressrosa. Doflamingo, a Shichibukai, wasn't as easy to deal with as Crocodile or Gecko Moria at the beginning.
Now that Luffy has gained experience in the limited Tsukuyomi Space, he naturally has a certain pursuit and desire for strength. Although he is not a martial arts fanatic like Zoro, he knows that the most important thing to become the Pirate King is his fists.
My current strength is not enough!
Lying in the coffin-like device, Luffy quickly fell into a state of suspended animation. The power of his Devil Fruit immediately became active and was quickly drawn away by the power in the device, entering an artificial Devil Fruit above him.
That was the artificial Nika Fruit. As the power of the Devil Fruit flowed in, the original Artificial Devil Fruit gradually underwent a change in its pattern, becoming more refined, and its color turned light purple. Soon, the original Nika Fruit reappeared.
A moment later, the blood-red liquid in the coffin lid had all drained away. Luffy struggled a few times, pushed open the coffin lid, and stepped out. Turning his head, he saw the "Gum-Gum Fruit" he had eaten.
Luffy is currently unaware of the truth about his Gum-Gum Fruit and still believes it's just an ordinary Gum-Gum Fruit.
Given the prestige of the Gum-Gum Fruit, Devil Fruit Awakening this type of Paramecia Devil Fruit might be a bit more difficult than Zoan, but it's generally not too dangerous. Luffy didn't think he couldn't handle it, so he casually picked it up and took a bite.
Vegapunk, standing to the side, didn't say a word of advice, but just smiled as he watched Luffy gulp down the Gum-Gum Fruit.
Then, the violent power of the Mythical Zoan erupted instantly. Luffy, who had been turning his face Luffy because of the smell of the Devil Fruit, suddenly revealed a big smile, milky white flames erupted from his body, and even his hair turned into white hair that stood up into the sky.
The pounding of his heart was as loud as a drumbeat, and Luffy's smile grew wider and wider, filled with a joyful feeling. He looked like a chibi version of a cartoon character.