The Strange Fruit

With Dawn carving tally marks on the tree to count the days, half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, because Dawn had persistently stuck to running and the preparatory training method for "Shave," he had thoroughly exercised the muscles in his legs, granting him impressive mobility now. His height had also grown sufficiently under the combination of nutritious food and relentless training. At this rate, he figured reaching over two meters wouldn't be a problem. Back in his previous life, people might have thought he was raised on growth hormones, but who could blame this world for being so unscientific?

After training, Dawn slowly exhaled. At this moment, drenched from exertion as if pulled from water, sweat dripped endlessly from him. The daily, unbroken variety of training was both a test of the body and a trial of the will. The only good news, capable of lifting his spirits, was the diverse array of delicacies on the island. After over half a year of life here, Dawn had already tasted most of the island's cuisine. Now, having honed his willpower for six months, he could perfectly control his meal portions. The temptation of delicious food, once a refining challenge, now felt like a light drizzle to him. Thus, the island's provisions became a way for Dawn to unwind after training.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!!!

The familiar earthquake-like sound rang out again. As the petals of Stomach Baron closed once more, countless plump, well-fed "meatballs" went to fill its belly. Dawn once again watched the surrounding creatures scream in despair and flee wildly, causing chaos across the island until it finally subsided. Lying on the tree, observing the animals' frenzy, Dawn couldn't help but shake his head—who could they blame for getting so fat themselves?

"Huh? That plant's fruit hasn't just grown bigger—could those colors and patterns be a Devil Fruit?" Just as Dawn was idly lying on the tree, he suddenly spotted the fruit that had grown beneath the "Abyssal Maw." Its appearance made his pupils contract sharply. Before his eyes was a strange blue fruit, its surface covered in bizarre patterns, impossible not to catch his attention. "Should I pick it?" Dawn hesitated, after all, he'd never heard of a Devil Fruit growing like this. When he'd seen it before, it was only the size of a fingertip.

He knew that all Devil Fruits were unique, reappearing only after their user died. This fruit was likely one of the two Paw-Paw Fruit users from before. But logically, the fruit should have transferred directly into a mature fruit, becoming a Devil Fruit on the spot. Yet this one had grown, which struck Dawn as very odd. Regardless, a Devil Fruit was precious—even if he didn't eat it, he could sell it for Berries or use it later to nurture subordinates. So, for once, Dawn didn't train after the island's feeding; instead, he hurriedly wove a basket.

He'd just seen that the fruit was already very plump, bending the branch with its weight, looking like it might fall at any moment from its own heft—then it would be lost. The basket was woven using a cross-hatch method, interlocking vertical and horizontal strips to make it sturdier. Dawn only remembered this from watching short videos on UC in his past life when bored. After much effort, he managed a very ugly basket; its only merit was probably its toughness. Securing the vines at both ends, Dawn lowered the basket, fixed it beneath the fruit, then used a stick tied to his standard-issue sword to reach it. Luckily, it was only about three or four meters away, so the tied stick had enough leverage to bring it up. But once he had it in hand, Dawn's face twisted with confusion.

Because the fruit had been hanging below, he'd only seen the upper part, which was blue with circular patterns. But the lower part, which he hadn't seen before, gradually shifted into a neighboring shade of cyan! And its patterns were completely different from the blue part's circles—they resembled the shape of Sanji's eyebrows. "Can this even be eaten? Why does it smell like fruit fragrance?" Dawn stared at the fruit in his hand, baffled, unsure what to do with it. Based on his understanding of Devil Fruits, each fruit had only one color and one pattern. But now, he was seeing two colors and two patterns on a single fruit! Following that logic, didn't that mean... this fruit, with two types of patterns and a gradient color, had become a dual fruit!?

For a moment, Dawn was startled by his own speculation—after all, the anime had never shown such a thing. But this was the real world, and with its wonders, anything happening wouldn't be surprising... Unable to decide, Dawn resolved to first analyze the fruit's situation. After sorting out the information, he'd decide whether to eat it. First, those two Paw-Paw Fruit users had been rammed into Stomach Baron by a giant Sea King at the same time, becoming its meal.

Second, the bottom of the Stomach Baron is definitely stomach acid—otherwise, there's no way so many prey would fall in and go silent without a trace.

And what does its base connect to?

The answer is seawater!

Its roots are driven deep into the ocean; otherwise, it couldn't remain so stable as a fixed island, instead of drifting across the sea like a ship.

Third, it's a living thing—it's a living island!

If animals that eat a Devil Fruit can gain its power, and even inanimate weapons can "eat" a Devil Fruit through some method, then what about plants, which are also living things?

Normally, plants can't "eat," but the Stomach Baron is no ordinary plant—it's a massive island!

So if the Stomach Baron ate a Devil Fruit and became its vessel, wouldn't it be weakened by seawater after gaining the ability?

Would the Stomach Baron, completely powerless, be unable to close its petals?

If that's the case, then it's certain this outcome would never be accepted by the Stomach Baron.

Faced with this situation, Dawn had an extremely bold speculation!

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