The Gorilla-Gorilla Fruit

No matter how the world defined pirates.

First and foremost, pirates were thieves. They went to sea for wealth and stopped at nothing to achieve their ambitions.

If he could freely choose his identity,

Seven wouldn't mind being a Celestial Dragon, living in Mary Geoise with a crowd of servants, traveling with Marine escorts, and enjoying endless wealth without having to work for it.

But there were no ifs. Having crossed over into Pirate World and survived was hard enough. If he had to be a thief, then so be it.

"Mi-san, I'll be right back."

Mihawk held the chilled Iced Black Tea and silently nodded in acknowledgment.

Over the past month or so, Seven hadn't grown noticeably taller, but his body had become much stronger.

Even without using his Devil Fruit powers, Seven could now take on at least two and a half of his former self. That was Innate Divine Strength. That was the Big Eater physique.

No wonder everyone liked using cheat codes.

The first half of the Grand Line was known as Paradise.

But compared to the Four Seas, Paradise's weather was still extremely harsh. One moment, the skies were clear and sunny; the next, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

On the choppy sea, the captain of the Gorilla Pirates—a portly man with dark skin, codenamed Gorilla—stood proudly at the bow. His name was Gout.

"Men, bring the ship alongside theirs! Let's make a name for the Gorilla Pirates!"

"Awwooo!!!"

"Gorilla! Gorilla!"

"One Piece! One Piece!"

The Gorilla Pirates were a true reflection of the countless pirates, bandits, and refugees who had flooded into the Grand Line from the Four Seas after the Great Pirate Era began.

In a world where the average person was as ignorant as a rock, the allure of One Piece outweighed even the value of life.

Between the two pirate ships, hundreds of meters apart, a bolt of lightning crossed the distance in an instant—the most basic application of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit: Flash Step.

In terms of speed, only the sleazy guy who'd eaten the Glint-Glint Fruit was faster than the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in all of Pirate World.

Seven dispelled his elemental form and sat atop the Gorilla Pirates' sail. "Oi, I'm over here."

At the sound of his voice, the pirates, led by Gorilla, nearly had their eyes pop out of their sockets.

"Nani?!"

"Who are you? When did you get here?"

As an old hand from the previous era, Seven was ready to teach these rookie pirates a lesson.

"Thunder Dragon!"

A dragon-shaped creature made entirely of lightning charged straight at the pirates on deck. After it struck, only the portly man at the bow remained standing, fists clenched and chest heaving.

"I ate the Gorilla-Gorilla Fruit! I'm a Gorilla Man! You're dead!"

The portly man transformed into a four-meter-tall black-backed gorilla. He pounded his chest with a pair of black fists, then charged, stepping in a strange pattern.

"Just what you'd expect from a Zoan," Seven remarked. "They're tough to put down."

The gorilla smashed a fist into the mast, splintering it. Seven floated lightly in midair, then shaped the lightning crackling between his hands into a blue-glowing sword: the Plasma Sword.

He'd finally found someone with powers, so he wanted to use the fight to gauge his own strength.

After all, in the month since leaving Loguetown, Seven had challenged Mihawk several times, but their fights were so lopsided that they weren't a useful measure.

The gorilla kicked off the ship and leaped into the air, roaring, "Eight-Step Gorilla Fist!"

Squelch—

Holding the Plasma Sword in one hand, Seven imitated Captain Roger's sword-swinging stance and delivered a full-force strike. It sent the gorilla flying, slamming him hard into the deck.

Looking at the gorilla, who had passed out cold, Seven clicked his tongue and shook his head. "That's Innate Divine Strength for you."

Innate Divine Strength: You're a little strong.

This thing seemed to be a conceptual passive ability.

If Mihawk didn't use Armament Haki and they fought purely with strength, Seven was already stronger than him.

And now he'd taken down Gorilla with a single sword strike.

"No wonder everyone likes using cheat codes in games."

Seven dispelled the Plasma Sword, landed steadily on deck, and kicked the unconscious pirates awake one by one.

"Men to the left, women to the right. Line up. This is a robbery!"

The rookie pirates stood in a trembling line. The strongest person among them—their captain, Gorilla, who they believed could rival the King of the Pirates—was lying on the deck, unconscious and possibly dead.

The scorched wound on Gorilla's chest was still steaming.

"Anyone who can sail, step forward."

When no one answered, Seven kicked one of the pirates into the sea. "None of you can sail? Then what did you come to the Grand Line for?"

Wasn't knowing how to sail and steer a basic skill every crew member had to learn?

"Sir, our captain can sail."

Seven was even more exasperated when he heard that. "So your captain's been sailing the whole way?"

"Yes," the pirates hurriedly replied in unison.

"If you can't even sail, what use are you?" Seven cursed. "Don't go to sea in your next life."

The first rule of surviving in the underworld: leave no loose ends.

Because you never knew whether someone you spared might turn out to be the chosen one, then come back to take revenge after mastering his skills, going on and on about bonds and friendship.

After taking care of all the pirates and throwing them into the sea, Seven plundered every valuable item aboard. Then he took an apple and placed it beside Gorilla.

He beheaded Gorilla with a sword strike, then crouched beside the apple and waited quietly.

He was mainly trying his luck. Besides, the Gorilla Pirates' ship was the only one nearby that had any fruit.

About ten minutes later, the apple's smooth surface began to develop the distinctive swirls of a Devil Fruit.

"Huh, I'm that lucky?"

Seven hurriedly collected the freshly formed Zoan, Monkey Fruit, and listed it for direct sale in the system. That rip-off Trading Platform had offered only 1,000 points for Devil Fruits, while the direct-sale system paid 1,200.

Good thing he'd been cautious.

Otherwise, he'd have lost 200 points for nothing—the equivalent of 2,000 cases of Iced Black Tea!

"Ding! Congratulations, you've received 1,200 points. Current points balance: 1,266..."

Seven shattered the Gorilla Pirates' ship with a bolt of lightning, transformed into lightning himself, and caught up with Mihawk.

"Mi-san, let's stop at the nearest island to resupply. We should be able to reach Jaya Island after that."

The legendary Shandora and Skypiea were the main reasons Mihawk had stayed with him. If not for that, Mihawk would've already gone off to search the world for opponents.

In return for the free Iced Black Tea Seven provided, Mihawk offered him a reminder.

"If you want to form your own pirate crew, you'll need to find a decent ship at the very least. The one you have now won't withstand the storms of the New World."

"True," Seven said, nodding.

The ideal ship was the Oro Jackson, built by Mr. Tom from Treasure Tree Adam.

But the Oro Jackson belonged to the King of the Pirates. It was too conspicuous for Seven. His strength was still lacking, so keeping a low profile was the way to go.

Besides, Seven had already decided to turn Skypiea into a base and develop in peace for a while.

With Mihawk at the helm, Seven sat on deck, staring at the system's direct-sale page and falling into thought.

Swordsman Training Experience: 1,000 points

To be precise, Seven's swordsmanship wasn't bad. Cooking and swordsmanship had a lot in common: one involved chopping vegetables, the other chopping people.

"Mi-san, would you say I count as a swordsman now?"