Devil Fruit

Mosen had just used Observation Haki to get a rough sense of the situation. The pirate group numbered fifty, while the merchant ship had just over thirty people. The difference in numbers wasn't that significant, and the merchant ship also had five flintlock guns. Logically, they should have been able to fend off the pirate attack without much issue.

However, in reality, the merchant ship was on the verge of being overrun. Aside from the five men with guns who dared to confront the pirates head-on, everyone else had lost their nerve and was hiding in the cabins, trembling.

It was difficult for just five people to resist an attack from fifty, even with guns in hand.

Not to mention that guns in the pirate world were all flintlock models.

Finally, as the five men were engaging the main pirate force head-on, the first pirate quietly boarded the merchant ship from the stern.

He swung the long saber in his hand and directly cut down one of the men with a gun.

Seeing this, the other four quickly turned and shot the pirate dead.

Mosen sighed. These four had fallen into a trap.

This pirate was clearly a decoy. His goal was to draw the attention of these four, creating a momentary gap in their line of fire.

The other pirates could then seize this opportunity to attack and take the merchant ship in one fell swoop.

Seeing this, Mosen knew he could no longer stand by and watch. He hadn't wanted to reveal himself. After all, when he parted ways with Chaton, he had said he was going to the North Blue, and it was better to have fewer troubles.

But now, the merchant ship clearly couldn't hold. Mosen no longer hesitated and decisively chose to act. Geppo combined with Soru created an effect similar to flight, and in the blink of an eye, he was above the merchant ship.

Mosen, looking down from above, confirmed the general distribution of the pirates storming the ship. He then kicked two Rankyaku towards the two main directions of the pirate assault.

The leading pirates were hit by Mosen's Rankyaku and fell straight down.

Mosen's attack eased the pressure on the merchant ship. The four crew members with guns also reacted, quickly resuming their suppression of the pirates climbing onto the ship with their firepower.

Meanwhile, Mosen directly charged onto the pirate ship. His target was the person with the strongest life force on that pirate ship.

The pirates were startled by Mosen, who descended from the sky. The pirate leader also realized Mosen was not to be trifled with. He quickly walked over and said, "Friend, I am the captain of this pirate crew. Can we talk?"

"Talk about what?" Mosen asked with interest.

"As you can see, we are attacking this merchant ship, and it's only a matter of time before we take it. As long as you brothers stand by and don't interfere, we'll split the spoils three-seven after we take what's inside."

"Why only seventy percent?" Mosen asked with a hint of sarcasm.

The pirate leader's expression immediately turned grim upon hearing this. "Do you know what you're saying? I'm a Great Pirate with a bounty of 21 million Beli! Angering me will come at a price."

"21 million! That's quite a sum! Coincidentally, I've been quite poor lately. I'll just take your head for some money."

As soon as Mosen finished speaking, the pirate leader saw Mosen disappear from his original spot.

The next second, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and Mosen's voice sounded from behind him: "Shigan: Ice Condensation."

The pirate leader felt a chill spread from his chest throughout his body. His blood felt like it was freezing, and his limbs quickly became stiff.

"W-what did you do?"

Mosen didn't answer his question and instead dealt with the other pirates.

A few minutes later, this ragtag group was all defeated by Mosen. The pirate leader had also frozen to death due to his blood and internal organs completely freezing.

After dealing with the pirates, Mosen landed on the merchant ship using Geppo.

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

"We're fine. Sir, do you have any way to save Bran?"

Upon hearing this, Mosen sensed the gunman who had been ambushed earlier and found his life force to be very weak. Mosen was not a doctor and couldn't do anything about it.

So Mosen directly told the four, "I'm afraid I'm powerless in his condition."

"How could this happen! Bran is only 19 years old! His father is waiting for him to return!"

"Charl, calm down. Let's go find the village chief. The chief has a Devil Fruit. If Bran eats the Devil Fruit, maybe he won't have to die," said the oldest gunman.

"Right! There's also the Devil Fruit! Let's go find the village chief!"

With that, the four of them ran into the ship's cabin together.

A moment later, a fierce argument erupted in the cabin. Mosen could hear it clearly even from the deck.

The reason for the argument was naturally the Devil Fruit.

From their argument, Mosen learned that everyone on the merchant ship was from the same village.

When their village was harvesting fruit, they discovered a Devil Fruit among them. The village chief, having traveled the seas in his youth, was knowledgeable and knew that a Devil Fruit could be sold for 100 million Beli at Sabaody Archipelago.

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

So, after discussion, the villagers decided to find some young people to rent a merchant ship and escort the Devil Fruit to Sabaody Archipelago to sell it for money.

Although their plan was very risky, if successful, the next generation of the village wouldn't have to bear the heavy burden of Celestial Gold and could have a brighter future.

With this hopeful anticipation, the merchant ship set sail. The village chief, being the only one with sailing experience and someone everyone trusted, naturally came along.

After a period of argument, an old man with silver hair and a hunched back came out holding a fruit that was dark purple all over, resembling a set of bared steel teeth.

Mosen's brow furrowed when he saw the fruit in the old man's hand, because the shape of this fruit looked exactly like Wapol's Gulp-Gulp Fruit!

The young man named Charl took the fruit from the old man, knelt down, and stuffed it into Bran's mouth. "Bran, the Devil Fruit is here. Hurry up and open your mouth, take a bite! If you eat this fruit, you can live!"

However, no matter how he called out, Bran remained unresponsive.

Mosen used Observation Haki again and found that Bran had already died.

Mosen stepped forward and patted Charl's shoulder, saying, "It's no use, he's already dead."

"How could this be! It's all your fault! If you hadn't hesitated and refused to hand over the fruit, how could Bran have died?" Charl turned his head and roared.

"You're blaming us for this? We don't even know what the fruit's ability is, or if it could even heal Bran's injuries.

Even if it could, it's something worth 100 million Berries, so it's only natural for us to discuss it, isn't it?" a villager who had come out with the village chief retorted.

The expressions of the four armed men changed upon hearing this. Charl directly shot back, "Natural? Bran sacrificed himself to protect you all!"

The villager knew he had misspoke and lowered his head, muttering softly, "Why are you getting so worked up? I didn't say we wouldn't give it!"

"Alright! Alright! Stop arguing! Bran is dead now, and it's too late for us to say anything. The important thing now is what we do next, and whether we still want to continue on to the Sabaody Archipelago.

We've only been away from home for two days and we've already lost one person. If we keep going, who knows how many more will fall," the village chief said with a serious tone.

Daily request for collections and recommendations, thank you all for your support.