Prison-Prison Fruit

"What did you do?" Arlong suddenly realized that the Devil Fruit was gradually turning into an ordinary piece of fruit.

Before Sig could answer, a series of loud bangs rang out. Then two or three sections of the ballast chamber burst open, and seawater began pouring in!

Hachi and the others had clearly started taking action...

Arlong prepared to coordinate with them from the inside and break through the ballast chamber's outer armor. Sig, meanwhile, said, "I'll go up and lock those people away!"

That was what the ship had asked of him earlier—to keep those criminals imprisoned!

"Why bother with them... Hm? Lock them away?" Arlong was still puzzled by what Sig meant.

But there was no need to rush. Even if the ship sank, it wouldn't threaten the lives of Fish-Men.

Arlong followed Sig back to the deck, puzzled. He saw Sig run over to the "prisoners," who were still standing there in a daze, and hold out his palm...

The Monsters standing nearby had already vanished, turning back into all kinds of scrap.

"Take them into custody!"

More than a dozen chains shot out of Sig's palm from thin air. One by one, they pierced the "prisoners" in the chest. With a tug, they all surged toward Sig's palm.

As they drew near, the people rapidly shrank, then disappeared into the opening in Sig's palm...

It was called a "prison," but there was no trial. It was much like Impel Down and Enies Lobby—just going through the motions. As long as they didn't resist, they were all sentenced to life!

Arlong's eyes widened. "Hey! You idiot, don't tell me you ate a Devil Fruit?"

As far as Arlong was concerned, a member of the Fish-Man Race eating a Devil Fruit was undeniably stupid.

"I don't think it counts as eating one... I'll explain when we get back." With that, Sig leaped into the sea.

Sig was worried he might drown, so he made sure to jump in near Hachi.

Fortunately, once in the sea, Sig found that although he couldn't activate the power of the "Prison-Prison Fruit," his own strength was unaffected. As expected, being affected by "listening" was different from eating a fruit directly!

It seemed that if the "Sailor-Tyrant" Path of the Divine corresponded to abilities like those of Fish-Men... then the "Secrets Suppliant-Hanged Man" Sequence corresponded to Devil Fruits!

As expected, all the Sequences had been "localized"...

The only thing Sig was worried about now was what would happen if he heard another fruit's voice.

If he didn't have some special ability, wouldn't having two Devil Fruit abilities at once kill him?

[You want a second ability too?]

Sig suddenly heard something. He quickly spun around in the water and looked everywhere, but apart from Hachi, there was no one else nearby.

"What's wrong?" Hachi asked, puzzled.

"Nothing..." Sig's expression darkened, but he still managed a smile.

The five swam toward the faint light filtering through the sunlight and out of the fog. The fog, too, gradually began to clear.

Before long, they could see the Sea Bass again.

"What took you so long?" Fisher Tiger asked Arlong as he lowered a rope ladder.

"A lot happened... I think this kid can explain it better!" Arlong said, shooting a glance at Sig, who still looked somewhat dazed.

Fisher Tiger looked puzzled. It was just a ship in distress. At most, pirates had ambushed it... What was so hard to explain that Sig had to do it?

Sig had climbed aboard by then, and he recounted what had happened on the ship...

He didn't mention how he had gained the Listener's ability, but everything else was true. Basically, he'd been aboard a ship with a Devil Fruit ability, and he'd "heard" all of this from it—and "heard" the Fruit's ability as well!

The incredible story left Fisher Tiger, Jinbe, and the other Fish-Men dumbfounded.

"Could it be the legendary... Voice of All Things? They say the man known as the One Piece had this ability from birth, too." Jinbe considered the possibility.

As a former captain of the Ryugu Kingdom's guards, Jinbe knew far more than the average Fish-Man from Fish-Man District.

"But can the Voice of All Things really let someone take in a Devil Fruit's ability? And even partly avoid the sea's curse?" Fisher Tiger was still doubtful.

"I haven't heard of that. Besides... it might not mean the sea's curse has been avoided! The ancient records in Ryugu Kingdom have always regarded the sea as the guardian deity of the Fish-Man Race, and of all things in the world. The sea's ability to suppress Devil Fruits may actually be a form of protection for those with powers!

"If someone eats a second Devil Fruit—even just a bite, or a drop—they'll immediately explode and die... Sig, you must be careful if you come across another Fruit in the future!"

Jinbe's first concern was the same as Sig's.

Sig nodded at once, but after thinking it over, he asked, "Boss Jinbe, then why hasn't Kaido been killed? Why don't the Marines feed him another Fruit?"

Before crossing over, Sig had learned from some forum posts that Kaido was a Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Azure Dragon Form user.

"But the 'Prison-Prison Fruit'... it really suits our Sun Pirates!" Jinbe paused at Sig's question, then ignored it and turned to Fisher Tiger, changing the subject.

Jinbe probably didn't know the answer either. Seeing that, Sig didn't press him.

Fisher Tiger frowned. "Little Fei, what exactly can the Prison-Prison Fruit do? Can the prisoners be released?"

Sig shook his head. "Almost never. While they're alive, prisoners are heavily restricted from leaving the 'prison.' Only after they're 'executed' can their corpses be 'released.'"

That meant the "Prison-Prison Fruit" couldn't be used to transport or hide companions the way the "Castle-Castle Fruit" could.

As for the process of "taking someone into custody," the other person couldn't resist. It wasn't something that could be used in actual combat.

So...

Did this count as "not killing"?

Everyone looked at Boss Fisher Tiger expectantly—especially Arlong and Willy. For some reason, they found Sig a bit more agreeable now!

That ability was really useful...

Fisher Tiger had made "not killing" his bottom line to keep the "hatred" in his heart under control, making sure he wouldn't become a monster driven by hatred, spreading more fear and despair.

Now Sig's ability had undoubtedly cracked that resolve in Fisher Tiger's heart!

But after a moment of silence, Fisher Tiger still said, "Little Fei... from now on, focus on developing the Fruit's other abilities. Don't imprison enemies unless you absolutely have to!"

After all, there was barely any difference between Sig "imprisoning" someone and "killing" them.

"Yes!" Sig answered at once.

Well, at least when the time came that he "absolutely had to," he wouldn't be constrained by the rule against killing!

Arlong and Willy were already looking at Sig with grins—not because they meant him any harm, but because they were thinking they'd have to create lots of "absolutely necessary" situations from now on.