Devil Fruits in the Government's Collection

"Something was seriously wrong—"

"Indeed. Why did it feel like there were so many more Navy warships? This was already the fourth one we'd encountered!"

"Could they be here to capture us? After all, Luffy defeated Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and his bounty shot up to 100 million Beli."

"Zoro, turn the helm! Don't let the Navy spot us—"

In the waters near Jaya Island.

A pirate ship slowly sailed by. At the bow, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Robin all held binoculars.

The first three looked pale and terrified.

Even Robin, who had only recently boarded and had yet to earn the Straw Hat crew's trust, furrowed her delicate brows.

Since entering these waters, they had encountered four warships.

The first two had chased them for a long time. Luckily, they had been fast enough to escape.

"Oh no, they spotted us!"

"Run!"

"You idiot, Zoro, turn right—"

"He has no sense of direction. He can't tell left from right, so why is he steering?"

"Aaaaaah—"

Amid the chaos, Sanji sent Zoro flying with a kick and took the helm himself.

As Usopp and Chopper watched the warship pursue them, they anxiously ran in circles.

At the same time.

On the flattened Jaya Island, the Navy was constructing a new base.

Out on the sea, a tall, thin figure rode a bicycle, freezing the churning waves along the way into a narrow path.

After taking a distant glance, he pedaled toward Water 7.

In waters farther away.

Aboard a warship.

Smoker, who had pursued the Straw Hat crew all the way from Loguetown, clenched three cigars between his teeth, his expression resolute.

He would definitely capture Straw Hat.

"Zehahaha—We finally escaped!"

A massive log floated on the sea as Marshall D. Teach wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken.

Under the Buster Call's bombardment, they had broken through alongside numerous pirate crews and narrowly escaped.

Fortunately, Kizaru and Iron Fist Garp had not noticed them.

Perhaps it was because he had not yet become truly famous.

Unfortunately, they had run into terrible weather along the way, causing the stolen pirate ship to fall apart. In the end, only this log remained.

"Captain, surviving such a disaster means good fortune awaits us!"

On the log.

Lafitte performed a little Latin dance. After removing his top hat, he flashed a sinister grin.

"Wihahaha—"

"This is fate!"

"Damn it, Stronger! Stop biting my ass! I'm going to fall off!"

At that same moment.

A small boat, flames blazing from its stern, sped toward Blackbeard and the others.

It was moving very fast.

"From this angle, it really looked cool!"

Dusk fell.

Red clouds met along the horizon.

Sumer lay quite comfortably in Califa's arms, one hand around her slender waist and the other eating Water 7's specialty, Water Water Meat. Like a princess, he was being carried in a princess hold.

At that moment.

They stood atop the highest fountain in Water 7. From this vantage point, they could take in every bit of the city's scenery.

"After wandering around all day, I'm tired too!"

"Let's head back!"

After eating the last piece of Water Water Meat, Sumer wrapped both arms around Califa's fragrant neck, signaling that they could go down now.

"Yes!"

Califa's long golden hair danced in the wind. Her expression remained cold as she lightly leaped from the fountain more than twenty meters high and landed steadily on the ground.

Rob Lucci, Kaku, and Bruno had been waiting beneath the fountain the entire time.

They were now Sumer's personal CP0 agents and had to protect him at close range.

And around the perimeter.

There were also Navy soldiers arranged by Doll following them.

That day.

Sumer had enjoyed himself immensely. He properly experienced Water 7's "Bulu" transportation, the Sea Train, and more.

He had also sampled all sorts of food.

Whenever he got tired from walking, he simply had Califa carry him in a princess hold. She was soft and fragrant, and he could take advantage of her openly.

At first.

Califa had been extremely uncomfortable with it, and several times she had nearly blurted out her usual catchphrases.

Such as, "This is sexual harassment," and "You rude fellow."

But whenever she remembered Sumer's identity as a World Noble, she could only comply.

Of course.

Sumer had not spent the entire day eating, drinking, and playing. He had seriously sought instruction in the Six Powers from Rob Lucci, Bruno, Kaku, and Califa.

Overall, it was similar to what Doll had taught him.

However, their techniques, methods, and personal understanding differed greatly, as different people saw things differently.

During that time, he had also asked the four of them whether they knew about Haki.

Unexpectedly.

All four did.

Thinking about it, that made sense.

They were all CP9 elites. There was no way they could be unfamiliar with Haki. As for why they had not awakened it, there was only one answer.

They had never systematically studied it, or rather, they had not had the time.

Because Rob Lucci and the others had infiltrated Water 7 five years ago in order to seize the Pluton blueprints.

It could be said.

Those five years had been completely wasted.

Even so, in the later storyline, Rob Lucci and Kaku not only awakened their Devil Fruits but also mastered powerful Haki in just two years.

That showed that every member of CP9 was truly a monster in terms of talent and potential.

Unfortunately, they had wasted five whole years searching for the Pluton blueprints.

After returning to the hotel.

Saint Marcus Mars was already dining elegantly. Water 7's most renowned chefs and servers had all been brought over by the Navy.

The food was prepared and eaten on the spot.

The ingredients and red wine were all the freshest and most expensive—

Saint Marcus Mars certainly knew how to enjoy himself.

"Saint Sumer, what would you like to try?"

Sumer naturally sat across from Saint Marcus Mars. Then a tall, beautiful waitress approached with a menu.

It was packed with Water 7 specialties.

"Sea King steak, spicy, well-done!"

Sumer took only one look before settling on the third dish.

After transmigrating here.

Not only had he instinctively learned the language of the pirate world, he could also read and write its words. It counted as a small cheat ability.

"Saint Mars, the World Government should have collected plenty of Devil Fruits, right?"

After the beautiful waitress left, Sumer looked at Saint Marcus Mars, who was drinking red wine.

With the World Government's eight-hundred-year foundation.

It had surely collected many Devil Fruits that had never appeared in the original story.

Although Sumer already had a detailed plan and had decided which Devil Fruit he wanted to eat.

Before that, he could see whether the World Government's collection held a powerful one.

Maybe there would be a pleasant surprise?

"You want to eat a Devil Fruit?"

Saint Marcus Mars set down his wineglass. His thin, imposing face seemed to have expected this already and remained exceptionally calm.

"Of course."

"It's the most fascinating concept in the pirate world."

Sumer nodded naturally and without reservation.

"Once we return to Mary Geoise, you can search the treasury yourself. But I advise you not to get your hopes up too high."

"Hm?!"

Sumer did not quite understand what Saint Marcus Mars meant.

"Most powerful Devil Fruits have either been selected by others or privately collected by other Celestial Dragons."

"The Devil Fruits collected by the government itself rarely include anything particularly rare. Most of them are awarded to others as well."

After hearing Saint Marcus Mars's words, Sumer fell into thought.

In the original story.

The Celestial Dragons had been extravagant enough to feed Devil Fruits to slaves, and some of those Fruits were incredibly powerful.

He felt that Saint Marcus Mars was trying to fool him.

No matter what.

Once he returned to Mary Geoise, he would definitely take a look.

Because the Devil Fruits Saint Marcus Mars considered powerful might not necessarily be powerful in his eyes.

Conversely.

The ones he considered powerful might seem like trash to Saint Marcus Mars.

After all, Devil Fruits required "imagination," and coincidentally, many people in the pirate world did not have imaginations as wild as Sumer's.

Besides.

There were also certain special and rule-based Devil Fruits. Those were difficult to evaluate as strong or weak.

The next chapter, Chapter 25, was banned for being pornographic and vulgar. I'll revise it first.