Devil Fruits, Joy Boy, and Im

It must be noted that the world more than 800 years ago was even more closed off than it is today.

More backward navigation technology, equally harsh natural environment, and more impoverished countries made cross-sea communication a very difficult task.

Most countries can only establish connections with a few countries in the nearby seas.

Anyone who dares to venture out to sea and explore other waters is a true hero among heroes.

In many cases, countries prohibit overseas exploration.

After all, this is a time-consuming and laborious task that is unlikely to yield any results; it is often just a waste of effort.

Even in Birka, where the people live with technology far surpassing that of the ocean, they are not particularly interested in exploring the outside world.

After all, they are outsiders to this world, and for the peace-loving Pikachu, unauthorized contact with other countries could easily lead to disputes.

After all, the world at that time could indeed be described as a dark forest.

Joy Boy was born in Birka under these circumstances.

He was not a human, but a giant, or more precisely, a descendant of giant immigrants born in Birka.

When Ian got to this point in his story, Solemn and Shimir were both greatly surprised.

"Giant?"

Solemn's mouth dropped open. "The great figure who led the Giant Kingdom to fight against the World Government eight hundred years ago was actually Giant tribe? I've never heard of such a thing before!"

The average lifespan of Giant tribe is over two hundred years, and it's not uncommon for the longest-lived to live for over three hundred years.

Eight hundred years is indeed a long time for ordinary humans. If we convert it to a generation of twenty years, this is roughly forty generations.

But this is not the case for giants.

Perhaps the great-great-grandfather of some giant was a witness to that thrilling period of history.

"Don't rush,"

Ian laughed and said, "There's more to come."

Joy Boy was never a settled man.

Even as a child, he roamed freely throughout the country of Birka, yearning for freedom, adventure, and anything that could bring new excitement.

So when he grew up, it was only natural that he went to sea.

After disembarking from the Red Line, he embarked on his journey in his boat.

This has never happened before.

Because Joy Boy wasn't just exploring the surrounding seas; he wanted the whole world.

Joy Boy didn't say exactly how many hardships and obstacles he went through; in fact, he only mentioned it in the Poneglyph with a very proud tone.

"In the end, I traveled all over the world and hosted parties on every island in the world!"

Pirate King Roger, was only the second man in history to circumnavigate the globe.

The first one is Joy Boy.

He was not only the first person to circumnavigate the world, but also the first pirate in history.

Because he was indeed a man who disliked being bound by anything, his frequent visits to certain islands caused a commotion.

Then, naturally, they would be pursued by the local rulers.

Over time, the term "pirate" naturally came into being.

However, these were not the greatest disturbances Joy Boy caused in the world more than 800 years ago.

The world more than 800 years ago was not only technologically backward compared to the world today, but also in its systems.

Back then, there were no such things as future islands. Apart from a few islands that remained in a primitive era due to extreme isolation, most islands were in slave societies.

Slaves were not treated as human beings; they had no human rights and were no different from livestock.

Strictly speaking, although Joy Boy came from Birka, he wasn't actually very interested in things like systems and institutions.

But what can he do? He likes making friends.

However, the slave population was quite large.

This led to Joy Boy making friends with slaves every now and then.

Then, for the sake of his friends, Joy Boy would often start a huge fight.

Later, it even developed to the point of directly liberating slaves.

But this guy was outrageously strong, and there was practically no one on the high seas who could stop him.

At this point, Joy Boy interjected with a digression.

Regarding why he is so strong.

The reason is simple: he not only inherited the terrifying power of the Giant tribe, but also mastered the domineering Haki that has been passed down among humans.

More importantly, he is a person with superpowers.

Before the arrival of the Bikans in this world, there were no people with superpowers on the sea.

Devil Fruit were invented by the Bikans.

By the time Ian translated this part, Uncle Queen was already bursting with excitement.

"Mwahahaha! As expected! Devil Fruit are also products of technology! Science and technology are the most terrifying forces in this world!"

"It's truly unimaginable."

Luo couldn't help but sigh.

No one knew better than him just how amazing the Devil Fruit power he possessed truly was.

But was this wondrous power actually created by certain people back then?

Just how advanced was the technology of the Bikans back then?

It's truly unbelievable.

However, strictly speaking, Devil Fruit are not entirely manufactured.

When the Bikans arrived in the Blue Sea, they also brought a special plant with them.

The depletion of lunar resources is largely due to the existence of that plant.

That plant was a tree, and it was named Eden.

It is said that the ancestors of the Bikans found it while exploring the starry sky. It was originally just a small seedling, and it took a huge amount of resources to grow into a large plant.

Vast areas of land on the moon were depleted of nutrients by that one plant.

After being brought to the Blue Sea and planted on the Red Line, this plant finally bore fruit.

Those fruits seemed to connect to another dimension; they appeared ordinary, but contained a mysterious power within them.

And most amazingly, when someone eats these fruits, the energy changes according to the user's wishes.

However, initially, that energy was completely unusable.

Strictly speaking, the Bikans modified these fruits, materializing their energy into specific abilities to modify the human body.

That's Devil Fruit.

The reason why ability users cannot swim is probably because the way this plant grows is rejected by the world.

Joy Boy was among the first Devil Fruit User.

He possesses the ability of rubber to freely stretch his body.

"Rubber Fruit?"

Teacher Kai was somewhat bewildered, "Someone like Joy Boy actually possesses such an ordinary Devil Fruit ability?"

"No, Kaido,"

Knowing the inside story, Red-Haired spoke up at this moment, saying, "That's probably just because the true power of the Rubber Fruit hadn't been revealed yet at that time."

"That's right,"

Ian chuckled and said, "During the adventure that followed, Joy Boy encountered some crises, and these crises triggered the Awakening of his abilities."

"He possesses unparalleled, terrifying wrist strength and the ability to change shape at will, as well as a heart drum that will never lose its fighting power as long as it keeps beating!"

"Nika, the Sun God, is the name so respectfully given to him by the slaves he freed."

"The Sun God!!"

The two giants spoke in unison.

Is that Joy Boy the god worshipped by their Giant tribe?

"In short, it's truly an amazing ability."

Ian said.

He has actually been keeping an eye on Luffy all these years, but the Rubber Fruit has never appeared.

The Awakening of Devil Fruit is, strictly speaking, a further extension of the user's will.

The original Devil Fruit would grant the user's wish and modify them the moment they were eaten.

Awakening is an evolution based on this.

This could be a further intensification of physical modification, or assimilation into the external environment.

It can be said that all the Awakening achieved by subsequent ability users were merely manifestations of the original ability users' intentions.

After Nika Awakening his abilities, no one on the high seas could stop Joy Boy.

His journey was smooth sailing; he traveled the world with ease, and incidentally freed countless slaves in the process.

"Huh? What about the next twenty kings? And how did the war break out?"

Aunt Linlin couldn't help but ask.

It seems like Joy Boy is having a pretty smooth ride, isn't he?

"Because Joy Boy made many friends during his travels."

Ian said.

Joy Boy's friends weren't just slaves; many of them were important figures.

For example, the two princesses from Fish-Man Island and the Alabasta Kingdom at that time.

For example, the ancestors of Wano Country, the ancestors of the Bakalya Tribe.

For example, there was a prince named Narona Im.

It's hard to believe, but in the beginning, Im and Joy Boy were indeed good friends.

At that time, Im was not yet the king of his country, but an enlightened and benevolent prince.

After meeting Joy Boy, he even became Joy Boy's companion and traveled with him.

Yes, although Joy Boy started out alone, his party kept growing as his journey progressed.

People from all countries and ethnic groups joined his team to explore this beautiful world with him, Im was one of them.

They traveled around the world together, and finally returned to Birka together.

Im then decided to stay in Birka and learn about the local culture.

The turning point came after the trip ended.

Joy Boy's actions during his travels sparked a massive global movement to liberate slaves.

This greatly displeased the King on the high seas who insisted on slavery.

They joined forces and attacked Birka.

However, the technological power possessed by Birka was far beyond their ability to match, and they repelled the allied forces without even deploying their ultimate weapon.

Meanwhile, among Joy Boy's friends, Lily, who had succeeded as King of Alabasta, began to actively respond to the movement to liberate slaves, and even took the initiative to help mediate with those countries that were hostile to Birka.

Logically, everything should be moving in a positive direction.

But at this very moment, a certain man joined the national forces that were fighting against Birka, and the situation changed drastically.

It's Im, of course.

Joy Boy's former best friend and most trusted confidant betrayed him.

He seized the ultimate weapon of the Bikans, gaining the greatest power in the world, and launched a direct attack on Birka.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Ace, somewhat bewildered, exclaimed, "I won't even mention the betrayal by friends, but how did that guy get the weapons of the Bikans?"

"Because he also turned another group of people against him."

Ian said, "They were a special group of Bikans with black wings and flames burning behind their heads."

"Lunarian tribe?"

Uncle Queen immediately exclaimed, "So Jhin's ancestors were also traitors?"

"The Bikans are not a monolithic group; just like before they arrived in the Blue Sea, they were already divided into two factions."

Ian said, "The group later known as the Lunarian tribe were also unique among the Bikans."

"They pursue power, and for that they are willing to borrow the power of Devil Fruit to modify themselves."

"And unlike other peace-loving Bikans, they covet this world."

"To compensate for their numerical disadvantage, they even created a group of outstanding warriors through Lineage Factor modification."

"A group of special soldiers with human physiques and animal characteristics."

"The Mink Tribe?"

Enel raised an eyebrow.

He was the one who climbed onto the elephant's back and recruited that herd back then, so he naturally left a deep impression on me.

Ian nodded slightly.

After the Mink Tribe's experiments were discovered, the Lunarian tribe faced collective hostility from the Bikans.

For the peace-loving Bikans, such a disregard for life is unacceptable.

This hostility became an opportunity for Im to win over the Lunarian tribe.

In short, the final result was that Im turned the Lunarian tribe, and the two sides joined forces to seize the Bikans's ultimate weapon.

Then Im returned to his country to seize the throne, and together with the other nineteen dynasties on the high seas, launched the final war against Birka.

It's worth mentioning that at this time, another good friend of Joy Boy, King Lily, was also deceived by Im, believing that Joy Boy and Birka would destroy all the countries in the world, and thus led Alabasta to join the coalition.

Upon seeing this, Ian was speechless with disbelief. Were they really that easily deceived?

In short, facing Im had obtained the ultimate weapon, the Bikans began to retreat steadily, and even though there were many Devil Fruit User among them, they were still unable to resist.

This situation only changed after Joy Boy secretly created Pluton in Water 7.

Thus, the world entered a period of Ancient Weapon clashes.

With the addition of the mermaid princess, who already possessed the ability to communicate with Sea King, the situation reached a stalemate.

However, at this point, Im's advantage of having no bottom line becomes apparent.

Taking advantage of the world's poor communication, he began to wantonly destroy the world with his ultimate weapon. It can be said that he bears the vast majority of the responsibility for the rising sea levels.

Ultimately, this forced Joy Boy to risk a final battle with him.

And the result?

Joy Boy was defeated.

"Huh? That's it?"

Luo's face immediately fell.

Teacher Kai stroked his chin. "I feel like I've seen this guy somewhere before."

Ian almost burst out laughing.

That's true.

"But why did Im betray Joy Boy?"

Black Maria asked, "Weren't they best friends before?"

"Well..."

Ian's lips curled up.

That would be even funnier.