Devil Fruits

Mosen had just used Observation Haki to get a rough sense of the situation. There were fifty pirates in the group, while the merchant ship had a little over thirty people. The difference in numbers wasn't all that great, and the merchant ship had five flintlock rifles. In theory, they shouldn't have had much trouble holding off the pirates.

But in reality, the merchant ship was on the verge of being captured. Aside from the five people with guns, who dared to stand and fight the pirates, everyone else was too terrified to do anything but cower and tremble inside the cabin.

It was hard for five people to hold off fifty attackers, even with guns.

And guns in the world of pirates were all flintlocks, to boot.

At last, while the five men were facing the main force of pirates, the first pirate quietly boarded the merchant ship from the stern.

He swung his long knife and charged in, cutting down one of the men with a gun.

The other four hurriedly turned and shot the pirate dead.

Mosen sighed. Those four had fallen for it.

That pirate had clearly boarded the ship just to be killed. His goal was to draw the four men's fire and leave a momentary gap in their firing line.

The other pirates could seize that opportunity to attack and capture the merchant ship in one fell swoop.

Seeing this, Mosen knew he couldn't stand by any longer. He hadn't wanted to reveal himself, since he'd told Chaton he was headed to the North Blue when they parted ways. The fewer complications, the better.

But the merchant ship clearly couldn't hold out. Without another moment's hesitation, Mosen chose to step in. Geppo and Soru combined to create an effect much like flight, and in the blink of an eye, he was above the merchant ship.

From his vantage point, Mosen confirmed the rough positions of the pirates coming aboard, then kicked twice toward the two main directions of their attack, unleashing two Rankyaku.

The first few pirates were struck by Mosen's Rankyaku and fell straight down.

Mosen's attack eased the pressure on the merchant ship. The four armed crewmen also reacted in time and hurriedly resumed firing to suppress the pirates climbing aboard.

Mosen, meanwhile, charged straight onto the pirate ship. His target was the person aboard with the strongest Life aura.

The pirates were startled when Mosen dropped from the sky. The pirate leader realized he was no pushover and hurried over. "Friend, I'm the captain of this pirate crew. Could we talk?"

"About what?" Mosen asked with interest.

"As you can see, we're attacking this merchant ship. It's only a matter of time before we take it. If you and your men stay out of it, we'll split what's inside the ship, thirty-seventy."

"Why only seventy percent?" Mosen asked, teasing him slightly.

The pirate leader's face immediately darkened. "Do you know what you're saying? I'm a Great Pirate with a bounty of 21 million Beli! You'll pay for provoking me."

"Twenty-one million! That's quite a lot of money. I'm a little short lately, so I might as well trade your head in for the cash."

As soon as Mosen finished speaking, the pirate leader saw him vanish from where he stood.

The next second, a sharp pain shot through the leader's chest. Mosen's voice came from behind him. "Shigan: Ice Condensation."

The pirate leader felt a chill spread from his chest throughout his body. It was as if his blood were freezing solid, and his limbs soon grew stiff.

"What—what did you do?"

Mosen didn't answer. Instead, he went to deal with the other pirates.

A few minutes later, the whole band of rabble had been beaten down by Mosen. The pirate leader had also frozen to death, his blood and internal organs completely frozen.

After dealing with the pirates, Mosen used Geppo to return to the merchant ship.

"Are you all right?" Mosen asked the four men with guns.

"We're fine. Sir, is there any way you can save Bran?"

Mosen sensed the gunman who had just been ambushed. His Life aura was already extremely weak. Mosen wasn't a doctor, and there wasn't much he could do.

So Mosen told the four of them directly, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for him in this condition."

"How can this be? Bran's only nineteen. His father is still waiting for him to come home!"

"Charl, calm down. We'll go to the village chief. He has a Devil Fruit. If Bran eats it, maybe he won't die," said the oldest of the four gunmen.

"Right! The Devil Fruit! Let's go to the village chief!"

With that, all four of them ran into the cabin.

A moment later, a heated argument broke out inside. Mosen could hear every word from the deck.

Naturally, they were arguing over the Devil Fruit.

From their argument, Mosen learned that everyone aboard the merchant ship came from the same village.

The villagers had found a Devil Fruit among the produce they were picking. The village chief had gone to sea when he was young and was well-informed. He knew that a Devil Fruit could sell for 100 million Beli in the Sabaody Archipelago.

With 100 million Beli, the village wouldn't have to worry about paying the Celestial Gold for years.

So after discussing it, the villagers decided to hire a merchant ship and send some young people to escort the Devil Fruit to the Sabaody Archipelago, where they could sell it for money.

Their plan was certainly risky, but if it succeeded, the next generation of their village wouldn't have to shoulder the burden of the Celestial Gold. They could look forward to a much brighter future.

With that hopeful vision in mind, the merchant ship set off. The village chief came along, naturally, since he was the only one with sailing experience and everyone trusted him.

After a heated argument, an old man with a head of silver hair and a stooped back came out carrying a fruit that was purplish-black all over, like a set of steel teeth clenched together.

Mosen frowned when he saw the fruit in the old man's hand. It looked an awful lot like Wapol's Munch-Munch Fruit!

The young man named Charl took the fruit from the old man, then knelt and held it to Bran's mouth. "Bran, the Devil Fruit is here! Open your mouth and take a bite! If you eat this fruit, you can stay alive!"

But no matter how much he called out, Bran didn't react at all.

Mosen used Observation Haki again and sensed that Bran was already dead.

He walked over and patted Charl on the shoulder. "There's no point. He's already dead."

"How can this be! It's your fault! If you hadn't hesitated and refused to bring out the fruit, Bran wouldn't have died!" Charl turned and roared at them.

"How is this our fault? We don't even know what this fruit can do, and there's no telling whether it could have healed Bran's injuries.

"Even if it could, it's only right that we discuss what to do with something worth 100 million Beli, isn't it?" one of the villagers who had come out with the village chief retorted.

The four armed men's expressions changed at his words. Charl immediately snapped back, "Only right? Bran sacrificed himself to protect you!"

The villager knew he'd said the wrong thing. He lowered his head and muttered, "Why are you getting so worked up? I never said we wouldn't give it to him!"

"Enough! All of you, stop arguing! Bran is dead. Nothing we say can change that now. The important thing is what we do next. Should we keep going to the Sabaody Archipelago?

"We've only been away from home for two days, and we've already lost someone. If we keep going, who knows how many more people will fall?" the village chief said gravely.

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