5 Devil Fruits

The torn clouds stretched endlessly, a spectacular sight to behold.

This was the upheaval of heaven and earth caused when powerful figures who had mastered Conqueror's Haki infusion clashed.

I wonder if I have the aptitude for that? Dimon thought.

The floating platform carried everyone through the clouds, soon returning them to the deck of the Jebec Sword.

Golden Lion turned back. "I'll go bring Rocks up. You all stay here for now."

Stussy tossed the two Celestial Dragons down. The siblings sat shoulder to shoulder, staring fearfully at the group of ruthless figures before them.

At that moment, their status as Celestial Dragons brought them no sense of security.

Dimon walked up to them and calmly asked, "What are your names? Which family are you from?"

"I'm Topman Gregori Saint, and she's my younger sister, Princess Topman Alexia. Don't kill us. You want Devil Fruits? We can give them to you!"

The Topman family?

Dimon thought back and vaguely recalled that one of the Five Elders was named Topman.

The Five Elders all had rather tongue-twisting names. He only remembered that Saturn's full name was Jaygarcia Saturn Saint—the one who turned into a giant spider.

At that moment, Stussy chuckled. "Minister of Justice, Topman Warcury Saint. Descendants of one of the Five Elders' families... it seems our luck is quite good."

With that, Dimon immediately understood.

It was Mercury—the one with the handlebar mustache who transformed into a massive warthog.

"You have a Den Den Mushi on you, don't you?"

Gloriosa pointed at them, and the snake coiled around her slithered down her arm toward them.

The two Celestial Dragons trembled all over, not daring to make any sudden movements. They could only let the snake search their bodies.

A moment later, the snake pulled a Den Den Mushi from the male Celestial Dragon's pocket.

Charlotte Linlin narrowed her eyes and threatened, "Make the call. Contact the adults in your family and prepare the ransom!"

At the same time.

A thunderous boom erupted below. The aftershocks of two King-level powerhouses fighting could even reach above the clouds.

Dimon did not continue involving himself. He walked to the ship's railing and looked down.

Unfortunately, the clouds blocked his view. All he could see was a sea of clouds, not the battle below.

Intense explosions rang out without end. Wave after wave of Conqueror's Haki shockwaves swept through the air; ordinary people would likely have fainted long ago.

Dimon, however, was unaffected. They were merely aftershocks, and his status as a demon rendered him completely immune.

A few days ago, Kaido had taught him Haki, and he had tried learning it too, but he had not achieved much in such a short time.

Suddenly, two figures broke through the clouds and landed on the deck.

Rocks sheathed his blade and swiftly ordered, "Let's withdraw first. We won't be able to decide a winner against Garp anytime soon. If we keep dragging this out, Marine Headquarters' reinforcements will arrive."

"...This is troublesome."

Sabaody Archipelago, Area 24.

Garp stood atop a pile of ruins and gazed into the sky. Within his Observation Haki's perception, the auras of Rocks and the others were rapidly moving away.

There was no way to catch up with them. He could only report to his superiors first.

Elsewhere.

Marine Headquarters, less than half an hour's voyage from the Sabaody Archipelago.

At the top floor of the fortress-like headquarters building, in the Fleet Admiral's office.

"Steel Bone" Kong roared furiously at the Den Den Mushi, his face ashen.

"Are you an idiot, Garp?! You let someone capture Celestial Dragons right in front of you?"

Garp's helpless reply came through the Den Den Mushi's receiver. "What was I supposed to do? That was half of the Rocks Pirates."

"Rocks... that bastard again!"

Kong clutched his forehead in pain. "At the Reverie more than a decade ago, he killed one of our admirals, and that position is still vacant even now. That damned bastard has set his sights on the Celestial Dragons again!"

"What do we do next?" Garp sighed. "They're demanding ten Devil Fruits as ransom..."

Ten Devil Fruits?!

Kong drew a sharp breath. Where was he supposed to find that many Devil Fruits?

If the Marines had that many, they would have long since used them to reward outstanding and promising recruits.

"This is no longer something I can decide. I'll contact the government first and see what they say."

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Kong immediately dialed the Five Elders' contact number.

Once the call connected, he was just about to explain when a cold snort came from the other end.

"This is a grave failure on the Marines' part! Kong, you cannot escape responsibility!"

"Saint Warcury..." Kong froze for a moment, recognizing the voice. "My deepest apologies. It seems you already know."

"Hmph, Rocks's group has already contacted us directly." Saint Warcury's tone brimmed with anger. "I have agreed to give them five Devil Fruits. No matter what methods you use, bring them back safely. Understood?"

"Yes!"

Kong did not dare argue and could only nod in agreement.

Aboard the flying ship, the Jebec Sword.

On the deck.

Charlotte Linlin curled her lip and kicked one of the Celestial Dragons.

"Your status doesn't seem all that impressive. The people above are only willing to give five fruits—they even cut it in half."

The Celestial Dragon siblings trembled violently, not daring to retort in the slightest.

Dimon also felt that the World Government was being rather stingy. The Devil Fruits held by those Celestial Dragons were definitely more than this.

They were even willing to use Devil Fruits to feed slaves, yet they were only willing to offer five as ransom.

Rocks did not mind. Instead, he said with interest, "If they give half, then we'll return half. When the time comes, chop off their legs before sending them back."

"Jiehahahaha, good idea." Golden Lion wholeheartedly agreed.

Whitebeard could not be bothered to get involved, but Stussy shook her head. "There's no need to chop them off. We're only trading one person, so wouldn't it be fine to keep one?"

Listening to this conversation among monsters, the Celestial Dragon siblings were nearly scared into wetting themselves.

Dimon had no choice but to step forward. "Let me say something fair."

Everyone turned to look at him.

Dimon continued, "If you borrow something and return it, borrowing again won't be difficult. We need to be trustworthy. Return them this time, and it'll be easier to negotiate when we capture them next time."

Did you even hear what you were saying? Was that supposed to be fair?

Kaido grumbled inwardly. Everyone was still discussing this ransom, but Dimon was already considering the next time.

Still, he liked it!

"Worororo, makes sense. Celestial Dragons are valuable goods. If we catch them in the future, we can exchange them with the World Government for ransom. This is a long-term business."

The others stared speechlessly at the two apprentices. Had they turned capturing Celestial Dragons into a business?

Rocks grinned. "Then it's settled. But five fruits can only be exchanged for five cups of wine. How are you going to divide them?"

Other than Kaido, everyone present needed it.

Rocks would definitely take one cup, leaving four.

Golden Lion, Whitebeard, Streusen, Charlotte Linlin, Gloriosa, Stussy...

Six people in total.

The six looked at one another, sparks faintly flashing between them as though they might turn on each other at any moment.

Seeing this, Dimon secretly shook his head.

No wonder the Rocks Pirates, who would become powerful enough to run rampant two years later, would fall apart. A bunch of pirates with their own ulterior motives would start infighting at the slightest issue.

While Rocks was around, he could still suppress them. Once he died, none of the others would submit to anyone else. Other than scattering like birds and beasts, what else could they do?

"I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious just yet."

Dimon stepped forward once more and smiled. "Five fruits can brew five bottles of wine, for a total of twenty cups. There's enough for everyone. Consider this my discounted service."

"Good, worthy of being our brewer." Rocks smiled. "There's no need for you to fight over it anymore. Thank Dimon."

Thus, the atmosphere became harmonious once more.

The next day.

New World, a certain sea.

A warship drifted across the ocean. Admiral Sengoku stood at the bow, gazing at the man floating in midair ahead.

"The goods are ready. Where are the Celestial Dragons?"

"Jiehahahaha, bring out the Devil Fruits first and let me have a look. I don't trust you Marines!"

Golden Lion laughed wildly.

He was about to obtain the Elixir of Immortality and gain the power of eternal youth and immortality. How could he not be excited?

He had been sent to handle the transaction, and he had to ensure that nothing went wrong!

At that, Sengoku looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru beside him.

Tsuru carried a treasure chest in her hand. She opened it before Golden Lion, revealing five Devil Fruits of distinctly different shapes inside.

"The goods are here! Release them, and these will be yours."

Golden Lion narrowed his eyes and used Observation Haki to probe the situation aboard the ship.

The only noteworthy combatant on the warship seemed to be Admiral Sengoku.

Should he just seize them?

As he pondered, Golden Lion suppressed the thoughts in his heart.

There was no need for that. As long as the deal went through smoothly, he could obtain the Elixir of Immortality. If he turned hostile now and somehow ruined everything, the others would never forgive him.

Golden Lion snapped his fingers. The next moment, two Celestial Dragons floated down from the Jebec Sword high above and arrived at his side.

"Give me the Devil Fruit first, then I'll release them!"

"That's impossible," Vice Admiral Tsuru said calmly. "You don't trust us, so how can we trust pirates?"

The two sides remained deadlocked for a long while, neither willing to yield.

In the end, Sengoku endured the humiliation and coldly gave the order, "Tsuru, give it to him."

They had no choice but to bow their heads. With the Celestial Dragons involved, the Rocks Pirates held the advantage.

"Sengoku... understood."

Vice Admiral Tsuru reluctantly agreed.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong during the hostage exchange. Once Golden Lion had the fruit, he released the two Celestial Dragons.

"Jihahahaha! Thank you for your gift! Just wait—you'll be astonished by it! Jihahahaha..."

Amid his unrestrained laughter, Golden Lion flew higher and higher until he vanished into the sea of clouds.

The Celestial Dragon siblings landed on the warship, and people immediately rushed over to untie them.

The female Celestial Dragon flew into a rage. "Too slow! You useless trash! The Marines are all useless, letting me get captured by pirates! Damn it! My wrist is broken—get a doctor, now!"

Sengoku's mouth twitched. He immediately ordered someone to fetch the ship's doctor, then patiently asked:

"Saint Gregory, those pirates didn't do anything to you, did they?"

"I'm fine."

Unlike his arrogant, overbearing younger sister, the male Celestial Dragon was much calmer. "They wanted the Devil Fruit. It seemed like they wanted to brew wine with it..."

"Brew wine?"

Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru exchanged glances.