Devil Fruit

Richard first led everyone to an unnamed island. It was likely an uncharted island far from the usual route, barren and uninhabited, without the slightest trace of human development.

"Why did you bring us here?" Xia Mi asked in confusion.

"You'll know once we get up there." Richard was the first to jump off the yacht, then headed toward the dense forest ahead. There was no one here, so there was no need to worry about the boat being stolen.

Though the others were puzzled, they followed him. Before long, they found a fiery red fruit in a low-lying area, resembling a dragon fruit.

"A Devil Fruit?" Lin Feng cried out.

"So this is a Devil Fruit? Your radar is pretty useful. Can you find every unclaimed Devil Fruit in the world?" Xia Mi narrowed her eyes, as though she had made some major discovery.

"What do you think? This thing isn't much use to us. If it's on the way, I don't mind picking one up, but if it isn't, forget it," Richard said.

Then he asked Lin Feng beside him, "Can you tell what Devil Fruit this is? I haven't watched much One Piece. I'm just a casual fan."

"It kind of looks like the Mera Mera no Mi?" Lin Feng said uncertainly.

If it really was the Mera Mera no Mi, then they had stolen Ace's opportunity.

But so what if they had? Who was Ace? They didn't know him.

At the rate they were sightseeing, they might wipe out the Celestial Dragons before Ace even set sail.

By then, what would the plot matter?

"Put it away for now. We can find a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia later and identify it properly. By the way, does anyone want to eat this Devil Fruit?" Richard asked.

"They say Devil Fruits taste like shit. I'm kind of curious what this thing tastes like," Lin Feng said.

"How about it? Want to take a bite?" Xia Mi suggested.

"Forget it. Why don't you take a bite?" Lin Feng shot back.

"I don't need this kind of ability. I have the Authority of Bronze and Fire," Xia Mi retorted, perfectly reasonably.

"But you can't turn into an element. The Logia Devil Fruits here can," Lin Feng pointed out.

"Do I need that little bit of elementalization? Besides, it doesn't make you invincible. Armament Haki alone can counter it in this world, and who knows how many abilities in the Heavens and Myriad Worlds can counter it too? Forget everything else—can elementalization block mental attacks?" Xia Mi said.

"Enough, stop arguing. Kuina, put it away first," Richard said.

"Me? But I don't need this Devil Fruit." Kuina was at a loss.

"You'll get used to it. It was found in your world, so naturally you get a share. If we needed it, we would trade something else with you for it. But none of us do, so it belongs to you," Xia Mi said as though it were only natural.

After all, mutual benefit among group members was not just empty talk. No one wanted to leave an impression of greed in the minds of the other members over something so minor.

Otherwise, who would dare invite them to their own world in the future?

Kuina nodded and stored the Devil Fruit in her Storage Ring.

There was nothing else of value on the island, so the group turned and left.

A day later, a yacht sped across the calm sea like a sharp sword dividing the surface of the ocean in two. Only after a while did the waters merge together again.

By then, they had reached the waters near Alabasta.

The Pirate World was not that large to begin with. Even the original protagonists had not taken long to sail around in a wooden sailboat.

They were not even traveling at full speed. Sometimes they stopped to beat up pirates, and along the way they even hunted a Sea King several hundred meters long. It could only be considered a small Sea King, perhaps. Afterward, they started grilling Sea King meat.

It had to be said that the stuff was truly nourishing, no worse than the meat of the King of the Land. Yet it was far larger than the King of the Land, and its flavor was exceptionally delicious. This world truly was filled with treasures everywhere.

Kuina would not have to worry about lacking points in the future. She could simply sell Sea Kings in the group.

They did not keep it all for themselves, either. They cut off part of the Sea King's meat and sent it out in red packets through the group, allowing the members who had not come along to taste the rare delicacy as well.

Richard even tried to comprehend the laws of this world along the way. The Law of Water was extremely active here.

When Richard used Water Release Ninjutsu, he received an enormous environmental boost. A Great Waterfall Technique could produce something like a tsunami.

He decided that unless necessary, he would not use any other abilities in this world and would stick solely to Water Element abilities.

They had come here to have fun in the first place. An unexpected gain would only make it better.

Other than that, they found no more Devil Fruits. After all, they were treasures of the sea and exceedingly rare.

After making landfall, they once again dealt with a group of obnoxious pirates. Richard put away the yacht.

They were used to it by now. Every time they showed up, someone would try to rob them.

In Lin Feng's words, they had turned on a map-wide taunt. The aggro effect was incredibly obvious.

Kuina quite liked this situation. Aside from being dissatisfied that the enemies were somewhat weak, everything else was great. Traveling was comfortable, there was good food and drink, it did not waste time, and enemies came straight to them.

It was completely different from the arduous training she had imagined. But if she had to choose, she would definitely choose this. Why make herself suffer when she could travel comfortably?

After getting off the boat, they saw a huge catlike creature emerge from the sea in the distance, kicking up wave after wave.

This should have been Alabasta's guardian beast, the Sea Cat. It was said to represent good fortune.

The group was powerful enough to see that it was merely a sea beast whose upper body resembled a cat.

Still, it was Alabasta's national treasure, so it would not be appropriate to catch it and find out how it tasted.

After going ashore, they would first have to cross a stretch of desert, then visit the famous gambling city of Rainbase, and finally head to the capital, Alubarna.

But walking all the way there was too far. None of them wanted to eat sand in the desert, either.

So Richard stepped in again and built four hulking steel machines—four-legged, beast-shaped robots. They were powered by magic crystals and could reach speeds of around eighty kilometers per hour. Other than being a little bumpy, they were quite good.

This way, the group could cross the desert in just a few hours. They climbed onto the two-meter-tall robots and set off.

While passing through the desert, they encountered a group of ugly-cute animals—Kung Fu Dugongs.

These creatures loved challenging the strong, and after losing, they would cling to their opponents and beg to become their disciples. Just like that, they blocked the group's path.

After Lin Feng explained the creatures' traits, Kuina stepped forward. She would never refuse a challenge.

"Does Erii want to give it a try?" Seeing that both Erii and Fenrir were eager to move, Xia Mi thought for a moment and suggested that Erii go have some fun. As for Fenrir, she was afraid he would not know his own strength and accidentally beat the Kung Fu Dugongs to death.

Neither girl drew her blade. They simply struck down one Kung Fu Dugong after another, swiftly knocking the entire group flat.

When Richard had previously gone to the Dragon World, Erii did not know how to use a sword. Even though Richard had given her the Kusanagi Sword, she relied more on Spirit Speech in battle. The Kusanagi Sword was more like an ornament to her.

Later, Xia Mi felt that with Erii's White King Bloodline concentration so high, it would be a waste not to train with the sword given her tremendous physical gifts. So Xia Mi taught her swordsmanship, and there was also the Battle Qi Secret Manual Richard had left behind.

After training for two years, and with her exceptional physical abilities, she was now reasonably skilled. Her physical strength was likely around the level of a Level 7 Warrior. Her amount of Battle Qi was still somewhat lacking, but that could only be improved through steady practice.

Though she definitely still could not compare to Kuina, Erii did not make a living through swordsmanship. Her strongest ability would always be Spirit Speech: Judgment.

Just like Fenrir: although his physical strength was formidable, his true strongest state was undoubtedly when he used World-Ending Words of Power.