Fruit in Hand

"Mosen, will he do?" Paddy asked, tossing the man down at Mosen's feet.

"Oh! An old acquaintance!" Mia came over and took a look.

Mosen also remembered this prisoner. He was one of the men who'd shouted that he would kill Mosen after Mosen had taken down a burly pirate to establish his reputation.

"How much was his bounty again?" Michael asked.

"I think it was 270 million Beli," Ian replied.

"Were pirates with bounties of 270 million Beli frozen to death too? Something doesn't seem right. Did something happen outside?" Michael asked worriedly.

"Pirates with bounties over 300 million must have joined forces! I noticed it when I went to look for Carmain Rodornado earlier. The pirates with bounties over 300 million are acting together now, and they've shut out all the others," Mia said after thinking it over.

"Pirates with bounties over 300 million joined forces? Then why is Carmain Rodornado still alone?" Ian pressed.

"This guy's too weak. Even with Seastone Handcuffs on, I can take him down easily. He clearly relies entirely on his Devil Fruit Ability and doesn't train in Body Technique or Haki. And with the Seastone Handcuffs on, he can't use his ability. Who'd want him?"

"I see. So, Mosen, how are you planning to get Carmain Rodornado's Devil Fruit?"

"I have a theory. If I can prove it, getting the Devil Fruit should be easy." As he spoke, Mosen clenched his right hand, and an ice blade appeared in it.

Mosen raised the ice blade and slashed the pirate's throat.

The instant the pirate died, an apple in the basket of fruit changed. Its color turned green, and a swirl pattern appeared on its skin.

(ps: The foreshadowing in this chapter is explained in chapter 194, where the connection between Impel Down and God's Country is revealed. If you think it doesn't make sense, you can skip ahead and check it out. This foreshadowing is a core part of the story's setting, so I recommend reading through everything bit by bit. There's a lot of foreshadowing, and skipping ahead will affect the overall experience.)

Seeing this, Mosen smiled. His theory had been right.

"T-this is a Devil Fruit! Mosen, what did you do?" Michael asked, stunned.

Mosen then told the four of them about the Devil Fruit's reincarnation.

The four reacted in different ways. Mia looked like a miser; to her, a Devil Fruit was worth 100 million Beli. She'd been poor for too long and wanted as much money as possible.

Michael was utterly shocked. He'd never imagined a Devil Fruit could reincarnate like this.

Ian examined the fruit with interest, clearly having some ideas about it.

Paddy alone remained his usual simple-minded self, standing there with a silly grin.

"Mosen, do you know what kind of fruit this is?" Ian asked.

Mosen shook his head. He'd never read the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, and no similar fruit had appeared in the original story, so he had no idea what this one was.

"I know. It's the Paramecia Condense-Condense Fruit. It can condense anything that isn't solid into a solid, but it doesn't work on living things," Paddy said.

"Paddy, how do you know what this fruit is?" Mia asked.

"I fought him before I was captured. His Devil Fruit Ability was to condense seawater into solid chunks and throw them at me. If I broke them, they'd turn back into seawater and splash all over me. Then I couldn't use my Devil Fruit Ability, and I'd grow weak.

"I didn't know what his ability was back then, so he caught me off guard. But he didn't realize my fruit wasn't much use, and I'm not that afraid of Seastone either. He let his guard down, and I took him down."

"I see! The Condense-Condense Fruit, huh? It could be useful. Ian, do you want to eat it?" Mosen turned to ask Ian.

"If I eat it, can I condense liquid into an arm?"

"In theory, yes."

"Then I'll eat it!" Ian said, picking up the fruit and taking a big bite.

"Ugh! That tastes awful! What is this flavor?" Ian complained.

You only had to take one bite of a Devil Fruit to gain its power, but Ian clearly didn't know that. Fighting off the urge to throw up, he forced himself to eat the whole thing.

After eating the fruit, Ian sensed the changes in his body.

"So that's how it works! What an interesting ability." Ian went over to where they kept their water and plunged his hand into it.

The next second, all the water in the barrel solidified. He could control the solidified water as well.

Ian shaped one piece of solidified water into an arm and attached it to his stump. Then he tried moving it and found it caused no hindrance at all. It was remarkably easy to use.

Ian's actions reminded Mosen of Perospero, Big Mom's eldest son in the Big Mom Pirates. After losing an arm, he'd simply made one out of syrup, and it had barely affected his fighting ability.

"Knock, knock." Mia tapped the hand Ian had made with his Devil Fruit Ability. It felt about like crystal and looked like a big chunk of it too.

"Ian, can you cover that arm with Armament Haki?" Michael asked.

"Yes." Ian used his Armament Haki, and the artificial limb instantly turned black.

"It's become a complete part of your body? Then your missing arm is no longer a problem!"

Ian nodded, looking thrilled.

"Ian, the walls and door of this place were reinforced with Seastone mixed in. Don't get carried away. If your arm touches a wall, it'll probably turn back into water," Mosen warned.

At that, Ian immediately moved to the center of the room, away from the walls, afraid he might accidentally touch one.

"Paddy, sorry for the trouble, but could you go get Carmain Rodornado again?" Mosen turned to Paddy.

Paddy scratched his head. "Mosen, I don't know Carmain Rodornado."

"Uh, I almost forgot. Mia, go with Paddy, then."

"Sure." Mia and Paddy headed out together.

A few minutes later, Mia and Paddy returned with Carmain Rodornado.

Unlike the previous prisoner, Carmain Rodornado hadn't been frozen unconscious yet. He stared at the people in the room in terror and asked, trembling, "W-what do you want?"

Mosen's sword was his answer. He couldn't stand people who preyed on children, and he couldn't be bothered to waste words on scum like this. He slashed the man's throat.

A few seconds later, the pear in the basket changed. It slowly turned into a glowing light bulb. Its skin turned green, and swirl patterns appeared on it, gradually unfurling.

"Another Devil Fruit? Is this method really that successful?" Michael asked with a frown.

"I think there could be other factors at play. Mosen just said Seastone was mixed into the walls when this room was built.

"Everyone knows Devil Fruit Users are afraid of the sea and Seastone. Could the Seastone in the walls have trapped the devils inside the Devil Fruits, leaving them no choice but to possess these fruits instead?" Ian pointed at the basket.

The protagonist getting a Devil Fruit here has nothing to do with other factors. It's simply because he's in Impel Down. My story absolutely won't have any obvious plot holes. I really can't explain this plotline yet. If you're willing to trust me, please keep reading. When the truth is revealed later, I promise you won't be disappointed. Also, the methods of inheriting Devil Fruits mentioned so far are all fan theories; there's no official explanation. The most widely accepted fan theory is that when a Devil Fruit User dies, the devil hidden in their Lineage Factor randomly possesses the nearest fruit of the same type, turning it into a new Devil Fruit. It also suggests that the presence of Seastone or seawater in an enclosed space increases the chances of successful inheritance. This is currently the most widely accepted fan theory, but the protagonist getting the fruit has nothing to do with it.