The pirates were disappointed. This was just an uninhabited island.
There were fruits, wild animals, and fresh water, but the pirates preferred gold, jewelry, Beli, and slave girls.
The pirates had no choice but to start gathering fresh water and fruit, hunting wild animals, and collecting all the supplies they needed for the voyage.
Moya followed behind, watching from a distance as the pirates spread out to gather resources. He knew that some pirate would find the Slip-Slip Fruit and hand it over to Alvida.
Moya waited in silence, like a snake lying in ambush, waiting for its prey to come to him!
All Moya had to do was keep an eye on Alvida. He didn't need to look for the fruit himself.
He was afraid that if he went looking for it, another pirate might find it and hand it to Alvida, who would eat it.
Then it would all be over for Moya. He'd have no chance of turning things around.
If he got the chance, Moya would try to intercept the fruit when the pirates turned in their supplies.
He could use his position as a servant to trick someone into handing over the Devil Fruit.
Moya's rule was to succeed at the lowest possible cost. After all, most of these East Blue pirates didn't even know what a Devil Fruit was, let alone know what one looked like!
The gathering continued. Moya watched the surroundings near Alvida. As captain, she naturally didn't have to do any work.
She simply waited in a fairly open clearing. As the supplies piled up, a satisfied smile spread across her face.
There were heaps of fruit, piles of animal carcasses, and barrel after barrel of fresh water. All kinds of supplies were sorted into separate piles in the clearing.
Moya kept his eyes on the fruit and quietly moved in that direction.
If the Slip-Slip Fruit was found, it would surely pass through the fruit-gathering area. It was also possible that a pirate might realize the Devil Fruit was unusual and hand it straight to Alvida.
But that wasn't very likely.
Moya kept scanning the pirates gathering fruit, hoping to spot the Devil Fruit before anyone else and find a chance to intercept it.
At last, the moment that would decide his fate arrived.
Moya's pupils contracted, and his heart began to race.
There it was: the familiar, strange pattern, its surface smooth and shiny as glass. Pink and about the size of a melon, the Devil Fruit had appeared.
The pirate holding it was none other than Moya's superior, the fierce-looking pirate.
The fierce-looking pirate had no idea this Devil Fruit was worth over a hundred million Beli and could make someone as powerful as a superhuman.
He kept carrying the fruit toward the pile.
Moya knew his chance had come. He immediately sprinted over, stopped in front of the fierce-looking pirate, and pointed at the Devil Fruit, going, "Ah-ba, ah-ba."
The fierce-looking pirate was startled by Moya's sudden appearance. When he realized it was Moya, he relaxed, then angrily cursed him out.
"Weren't you supposed to be on the ship? What are you doing down here!"
The fierce-looking pirate's yelling attracted the attention of the other pirates.
But when they saw it was Moya, they went back to their own tasks and continued gathering supplies.
Moya was incredibly excited inside, afraid of drawing Alvida's attention. But on the outside, he just grinned foolishly, pointed at the Devil Fruit, and gestured to show that he wanted to help.
The fierce-looking pirate's expression darkened too. That brat Moya might be mute,
but he was really hardworking. He'd waited on him hand and foot these past two days.
Just as the fierce-looking pirate was about to hand the Devil Fruit to Moya, Alvida noticed what was happening and walked over.
When she saw the Devil Fruit, her brows furrowed. Then her eyes widened, as if she'd guessed what it was, and she shouted at the fierce-looking pirate.
"Hand that fruit over to me, now!"
Moya knew Alvida had figured it out: the fruit covered in strange patterns was the legendary treasure of the sea—the Devil Fruit!
After all, Alvida was a captain. In the East Blue, there were Devil Fruit Users like the pirate Buggy the Clown and the Marine Captain Smoker.
She knew Devil Fruits existed, even if she'd never seen one.
Still, she'd heard enough stories to know a little about what they looked like.
The fierce-looking pirate panicked when he heard his captain yell.
He wanted to hurry and hand the fruit to his captain. There was no need to bother with Moya, the servant.
Seeing this, Moya wasn't about to let the fruit slip away when it was practically in his grasp.
He reached out and started wrestling the Devil Fruit from the fierce-looking pirate. The pirate couldn't believe Moya was actually trying to steal the fruit his captain had demanded.
He flew into a rage and shouted, "You little brat, what do you think you're doing? You've really got some nerve! I'll kill you!"
When Alvida saw the little servant trying to snatch the fruit, she panicked too. She came charging toward them, picking up speed.
The ground trembled beneath her feet.
Seeing his captain running over, the fierce-looking pirate really wanted to punch Moya to death.
But both his hands were busy fighting Moya for the fruit, and he couldn't let go. He was just about to kick Moya away.
Moya saw Alvida charging toward them. He knew she was furious and in a hurry.
The fierce-looking pirate refused to let go, and Moya could only watch in anxious frustration.
Suddenly, Moya had an idea. He ducked his head and took a quick bite out of the Devil Fruit.
At the same time, the fierce-looking pirate kicked him, sending him flying.
The fierce-looking pirate immediately snatched up the Devil Fruit, now missing a bite, and fawningly handed it to Alvida.
"Captain, I got the fruit back! That brat tried to steal your fruit. What an ungrateful wretch! He's got a death wish!"
Alvida's forehead throbbed with veins as she stared at the bitten Devil Fruit. She swung her Spiked Club and knocked the fierce-looking pirate flying,
but she still popped the Devil Fruit into her mouth and swallowed it in one bite.
To Alvida, who stood three or four meters tall, the Devil Fruit was as small as a plum. She could eat it in a single bite.
But she didn't know that only the person who took the first bite would gain its power.
After swallowing it, she gagged in disgust. She bent forward and retched violently. Furious and utterly fed up, Alvida began to sneer and shout.
"Beat that little brat to death! Make sure he suffers!"
Lying on the ground, Moya felt his body changing.
Every inch of his skin was becoming smooth and slippery. His physical strength had increased more than tenfold, growing from his frail, Earthling body to several times stronger than an ordinary person in this world.
Somehow, Moya knew that this Devil Fruit was the Slip-Slip Fruit, and he also knew some of its basic uses.
Seeing the pirate underlings charging at him, Moya got to his feet and calmed down.
He wasn't all that afraid. Maybe all the negative emotions that had built up over the past few days had finally spilled over.
After eating the fruit, for the first time, he felt confidence born from his own strength.
Fast Slide!
Moya shouted the words in his mind and swiftly moved behind a sword-wielding underling. He put all his strength into a punch to the pirate's wrist.
Crack!
The pirate's wrist was already hurting, and his sword fell to the ground. As the pirate cried out in pain,
Moya was stunned too. He hadn't expected his full strength to be this great.
But now wasn't the time to hesitate. Moya quickly picked up the sword, then slid away again.
The pirate underlings were shocked that Moya had taken down one of their companions so quickly.
They were also wary of his speed. Just then, Alvida shouted her orders.
"Everyone, attack together! Surround him and limit his movements! Cut him down!"
At her command, the underlings surged forward.
Moya didn't try to meet them head-on. He used the Slip-Slip Fruit's speed to pick off the pirates at the edges.
He hacked wildly, taking down several vicious pirates. The other underlings began falling one by one.
Fortunately, Moya made sure to use the back of the sword or strike sideways. Otherwise, all the underlings would have been killed.
After all, Moya still needed the pirates to sail the ship.
That's right. Moya planned to bring the underlings under his control for the time being and become their captain.
Seeing things going badly, Alvida shouted, "Stand down!"
At the same time, she raised her Spiked Club and brought it crashing down on Moya.
Moya didn't dare take the hit head-on. He slid to the side, watching Alvida, whose strength was immense but whose speed was rather slow.
Moya's gaze hardened. He used his advantage in speed to keep moving around her, searching for an opening.
Mace Strike!
Alvida smashed the ground into a cratered, chaotic mess.
At last, Moya found an opening. As Alvida swung her club, turned around, and paused to catch her breath,
Moya slid behind her and slashed hard at the back of her leg, severing her lower leg.
Alvida crashed to the ground, wailing. Her Spiked Club swung wildly in her hands like a wounded beast's desperate last struggle.
Moya looked back at the underlings, who were all staring at him in terror. His expression turned ruthless again, and in an instant, they all dropped to their knees and begged for mercy.
Moya secretly breathed a sigh of relief too, because he had almost no strength left.
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