I Am the Embodiment of Darkness!

The Pirate World was on the verge of turmoil, but Bane had kept himself locked at home these past few days without stepping outside once.

On the very night he obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit, after giving it some thought, Bane decisively chose to eat the Devil Fruit.

The reason needed no explanation. There was only one: he wanted to grow stronger.

Whether it was the inexplicable World-Crossing Gate inside him or the increasingly turbulent state of this world, if he wanted to gain more benefits and live a better life, he needed greater strength!

As it turned out, the rumor that Devil Fruits tasted like dog shit was false. Before eating the Dark-Dark Fruit, Bane had thoroughly prepared himself mentally, repeatedly telling himself things like, "Those who achieve great things do not fuss over trifles," and "Heaven grants great responsibilities to those it intends to test."

But when he finally steeled himself and took a bite, his mouth filled with fragrance. It was juicy, tender, and unexpectedly delicious!

He had originally planned to suffer through a single bite, but after realizing it tasted good, Bane forcibly ate the entire watermelon-sized Dark-Dark Fruit.

And afterward, just as he had expected, even after leaving the Pirate World, the Dark-Dark Fruit still possessed its miraculous power. It seemed the world he lived in was highly compatible, capable of accommodating all kinds of power from other worlds.

After eating the Dark-Dark Fruit, Bane felt as though his entire body had been immersed in the power of darkness. An endless stream of Darkness Element flowed freely through him, surging and roiling.

He was the embodiment of darkness!

But in truth, that was merely an illusion brought on by suddenly acquiring great power. The Dark-Dark Fruit was indeed formidable, and the Darkness Element energy it contained could be called inexhaustible. Yet after calming down from his initial swelling confidence over the past few days, Bane had noticed something: although the Darkness Element within him seemed endless, drawing upon and using its power consumed his physical stamina.

The Dark-Dark Fruit was like a reservoir. There was plenty of water inside, but how much could be used depended on how much the faucet could release. His body was that faucet. The stronger he became, the more of the fruit's power he could unleash!

"No wonder people say that it isn't the fruit that makes the person, but the person who makes the fruit. Take the Three Marine Admirals, for example. Even without Devil Fruits, those Logia users would still be among the strongest powers on the seas," Bane thought with feeling.

A Devil Fruit merely gave someone an opportunity. Whether they could seize that opportunity and keep climbing depended on the person.

In the end, a person had to rely on themselves!

Bane was currently sitting on the sofa in his living room. Darkness Element flowed between his fingers like Flowing Water, dripping onto the floor and completely dyeing the already somewhat dirty flooring black.

Once the surrounding floor had been completely stained, the coffee table standing upon it began to sink continuously, gradually sinking into that seemingly bottomless darkness and being swallowed whole.

The instant the coffee table vanished into the darkness, Bane suddenly clenched his hand into a fist. Along with his motion, the pool of black water spread over the floor instantly compressed into an energy sphere radiating a dense aura of darkness, floating in the living room.

A moment later, Bane slowly loosened his hand. The sphere of dark energy immediately collapsed, and large amounts of crushed wood chips and coffee table debris fell from the darkness onto the floor.

"After staying indoors these past few days, I've finally gained a preliminary grasp of the Dark-Dark Fruit," Bane said with a smile as he stood.

Looking around now, his home was a complete mess, as though a hurricane had swept through it. It looked even worse than the billiards hall he had led people to smash up a few days ago.

The reason was that during the first two days after eating the Dark-Dark Fruit, Bane simply could not control this power. To put it another way, it was like suddenly growing a tail. It was obviously part of his body, but since he had never had any experience with one before, he could not control it at all and kept stumbling about awkwardly.

He had eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit on the first night. The next morning, when he woke up and farted, a cloud of black smoke carrying a massive amount of Darkness Element leaked out and directly blew his bed apart.

So Bane had not dared leave the house these past few days, afraid that if he lost control for even a moment and farted on the street, he might blow someone to death.

Then he would really become famous!

It was not until today that he had finally adapted to this power and gained preliminary control over the Dark-Dark Fruit's abilities. That was why he planned to go out for a walk, assess the situation, and think further about how he should begin his new life.

His original plan would probably have to be scrapped. After all, now that he could suddenly open the World-Crossing Gate himself, he had far too many options. If conditions on this side became unfavorable, it would not be impossible for him to simply settle in the Pirate World and stir up trouble there.

In short, after crossing over for so many days, he finally felt as though he had some confidence.

Walking down the street and observing New Dar City, Bane found that it was not much different from a few days ago. It seemed The Empire's success in the Westward Expansion had not yet affected this place so quickly.

After buying a newspaper from a street vendor, Bane made his way to Sphinx Street with practiced ease. Along the way, he ran into quite a few lackeys who respectfully greeted him as Boss.

But Bane was absorbed in the newspaper and ignored them entirely.

Turning a corner and entering a Fighting Gym, Bane casually slapped the newspaper onto the bar counter. His expression also became bored. Clearly, there had been no news worth his attention these past few days.

"Hey, Bane, how come I haven't seen you in days? Don't tell me someone smashed your head in again?" A hulking man on the training platform, even more muscular than Bane and nearly two and a half meters tall, greeted him with a teasing grin.

Bane took out a cigar, clipped and lit it, then put it between his lips before smiling and cursing back, "Believe it or not, I'll go up there and smash your head in right now?"

"Hahaha, looks like you're in good spirits." The burly man laughed, then eagerly asked, "Want to come up and trade a few blows for real?"

"No. Where's Frant?" Bane waved him off.

"I'm here."

Following the voice, Bane saw the door behind the bar open. A lean man carrying an exquisite combination briefcase came out and sat across from him.

Before Bane could speak, Frant raised a brow and said, "I've got something new. Want to try it?"

"What new thing?" Bane asked with some curiosity.

Frant was a black-market dealer in New Dar City. Strange items always passed through his hands. Bane had helped him resolve several minor troubles before, so the two had a fairly good relationship. As a black-market dealer, Frant was well informed, and Bane occasionally came here to hear all sorts of rumors and gossip so he would not end up clueless about the underworld.

"Let me broaden your horizons." Frant arrogantly lifted his chin, then swiftly opened the combination briefcase.

There was no large object inside the briefcase, only something resembling a biological injection tube. The tube was transparent and filled with a crimson liquid like blood.

"Blood?" Bane guessed.

"Ahem, this is a special drug that can improve a person's physical qualities. More precisely, it's called Rc Cells," Frant said in an affected tone.

Hearing the word cells, Bane felt it sounded familiar, though only vaguely so.

"Another thing from another world?" Bane asked.

"Of course. Aren't you a Physical Enhancement ability user? I figured this would suit you pretty well, so I picked it up at the black market and planned to give it to you," Frant said with a chuckle.

"You definitely don't have good intentions. Give it to me?" Bane said disdainfully. "Go on, tell me. What are the side effects?"

Although he had helped Frant solve a few problems before, people like them, who operated in illegal circles, were not truly so loyal. If Frant could really be that righteous, he would not be doing so well in the black market. He should have died in some stinking gutter long ago.

Having been seen through by Bane, Frant was not embarrassed. He merely grinned and said, "How can one gain power without paying a price?"

"Stop beating around the bush." Bane tapped the table and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

Frant looked around, then leaned closer to Bane and lowered his voice. "Half a year ago, didn't a World-Crossing Gate appear in Vandir City?"

"I remember. The newspaper mentioned it not long ago. They said there's a psychopathic serial killer over there now who likes eating people..." Bane trailed off, suddenly freezing.

RC Cells!?

Frant did not notice the change in Bane's expression and continued in a low voice, "The authorities said at the time that the World-Crossing Gate had gone out of control, but in reality, it was breached. It's just that the Osaria Family, which controls Vandir City, suppressed the news because they wanted to monopolize the benefits. They seized this power from beyond that gate—Rc Cells. Supposedly, they took it from some race called Ghouls or man-eating demons."

"So the side effect is eating people?" Bane rolled his eyes at Frant.

"That was the first-generation version. After more than half a year of research, the Osaria Family has achieved great success. The one I have has already had those side effects removed. You won't eat people, but your appetite will become enormous..."