Speculation on the Fruit

In a room aboard a naval warship, Dawn sat blankly in a bucket filled with hot water, feeling the strength coursing through his body with a dazed expression.

"I don't feel weak at all? But even if it's not seawater, this shouldn't be the case, right?"

Dawn found himself confused. He knew that Devil Fruit users would feel weakened even when soaking in freshwater if the area was large enough.

Yet right now, he felt no fatigue whatsoever.

Getting Dawn to figure out the principle was impossible—after all, who knew what bizarre mutations this fruit had undergone while on the Stomach Baron, that it had erased the Devil Fruit's weakness to water?

It couldn't be because "I've become sweeter, and also more perfect," could it?

Could the Stomach Baron actually have gene-optimization functions?

Or was it because two Devil Fruits had been squeezed together, leaving no room for so much mass?

So, had the Stomach Baron selectively transferred the Devil Fruit energy absorbed into its body into a sub-organism?

Thinking about it, the Stomach Baron, as a massive plant that relied on delicious food to attract prey, seemed to have an instinct for producing tasty fruits, thus rejecting the Devil Fruit's foul taste.

Furthermore, the Stomach Baron grew on the sea, so it naturally resisted the weakness to water.

Thus, acting on biological instinct, after consuming the Devil Fruits, the Stomach Baron expelled the rejected portions of energy while absorbing and transferring the superior parts into a sub-organism, eventually growing this peculiar fruit?

But after a moment's thought, Dawn felt that wasn't right. Could a plant really capture Devil Fruit energy—or frequency?

As far as Dawn knew, only Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit could do that. The Stomach Baron's ability to capture Devil Fruit energy seemed unlikely.

But suddenly, Dawn recalled the situation when he had picked the fruit. The plant that bore this fruit seemed a bit different too?

Thanks to the blessing of his transmigration, good memory was the only golden finger perk Dawn had brought with him.

So he began to recall the image of the plant that had borne the fruit when he picked it.

Because the "Abyssal Maw" had been too intimidating, and for some reason, visibility had dropped sharply at a depth of three or four meters, plus he had been in a hurry to pick the fruit, he hadn't paid attention to the plant itself.

But fortunately, his memory was godlike, allowing him to recall anything he had seen.

It was like finding an accidentally taken photo in a memory palace.

And when Dawn froze the image in his memory, all his doubts seemed to have an explanation!

Though it was a bit blurry and the light was dim, Dawn still saw it!

That plant—the one that bore this strange fruit—had Devil Fruit patterns on its surface!

Its color was a mix of blue and cyan.

What differed from a Devil Fruit was that the patterns were extremely chaotic, like a tangled ball of yarn.

It seemed the Stomach Baron didn't have the ability to capture Devil Fruit "frequency." Instead, after consuming the Devil Fruits, it had transferred them.

More accurately, it had severed them.

For the Stomach Baron, the sub-organism was also part of itself, but the Stomach Baron likely had another ability: to sever it into an independent life form.

Having lived on the Stomach Baron for so long, Dawn had noticed that some of the food plants grew tall and delicious, while others were weaker and didn't taste as good.

If the Stomach Baron managed them uniformly, that wouldn't happen.

That meant many plants on the Stomach Baron were independent lives.

And the moment the Devil Fruits were eaten and granted the Stomach Baron its abilities, it grew a sub-organism to contain the Devil Fruit powers.

After this life form contained the Devil Fruit abilities, the Stomach Baron severed it, making it an independent plant life.

This life form, which held the two Devil Fruits the Stomach Baron had consumed, began to mutate.

But the plant itself couldn't simultaneously contain the powers of two Devil Fruits.

So, to avoid exploding and dying, the plant condensed the excess energy into a fruit.

As for the weaknesses to water and bad taste, they might have remained in the plant's main body. Since every Devil Fruit shares the weakness to water, that might be part of their inherent ability.

The shared traits of the two fruits occupied the entire plant.

Meanwhile, the energy of the two distinct abilities, repelling each other and threatening death, was condensed into the fruit and transferred out.

And based on the food plant's genes, this fruit became delicious.

After thinking it over, Dawn felt this was the most plausible answer.

As for why Dawn didn't die after eating this dual-energy fruit, it might be because the two energies had merged when the fruit formed.

Or... it could be because the soul of the original Dawn, who had already died, housed one of the abilities.

Since Dawn had merged with the other's memories after transmigrating, he guessed that while the original's consciousness had dissipated, his pure soul, carrying those memories, had fused with Dawn's own.

Otherwise, his mental strength couldn't be this powerful, granting him a photographic memory—even able to recall things he hadn't consciously noticed.

As for which reason it was, Dawn didn't know.

After all, Dawn wasn't a scientist.

"Another secret, and one I have to guard with my life." Dawn shook his head and decided to put it out of his mind.

This secret could never be leaked. If anyone found out he had eaten a fruit without the weakness to water, he'd probably be fought over by countless ability users for slicing and dicing in research.

After washing up, Dawn stood, changed into the new clothes a soldier had prepared for him, and opened the door.

"Mm, so blinding."

As soon as the door opened, the brilliant sunlight shone directly into Dawn's eyes, making him squint involuntarily.

He shielded his eyes with his hand, and it took him a good while to adjust before he began to take in the warship he was on.

Dawn was currently in one of the rooms on the second deck of the warship.

With the door open, he could see the sea view ahead as the ship's bow cut through the waves.

Though not as high as the lookout tower, it still offered a view stretching far into the distance.

The sea breeze blew in his face, carrying the unique salty tang of the ocean.

The massive warship sailed toward the boundless sea under the sunlight, and Dawn knew their destination was Marine Headquarters.

There, a new beginning awaited him.