Luffy's Nika Fruit Is Mine

"The box is mine!"

Benns lunged at the liquor cabinet.

Luffy also crawled out from the right side of the long table, both hands reaching for the exposed bronze corners at once.

"Get lost!"

The muzzle pressed against the lid. A flash erupted, and the bullet punched through the wood, splinters grazing Luffy's cheek.

Luffy halted for half a step.

Benns grabbed the box's handle and kicked at his chest.

"A brat like you dares touch something that belongs to the government!"

Su Hang stepped onto a tilted barrel and charged along its slick surface into the blind spot, driving his shoulder into Benns's knee.

"And who are you?"

"The one you failed to investigate at the fish market."

Su Hang seized the shattered lid and flipped it upward. The bronze lock and a strip of wood were torn clean off.

A purple fruit rolled into his palm, its skin covered in curling patterns and its stem bent into a strange arc.

The dark golden specks of light fully lit up.

[Target confirmed.]

[Completion of the original destiny loop: 19%.]

[The host must establish final ownership before the target leaves his hand.]

Benns saw the fruit clearly and immediately raised his gun.

"Put it down!"

"You tell me to put it down, and I should?"

"This is the World Government's highest lost secret. If you eat it, the whole village will be buried with you!"

"Then you should have stopped the World Government."

"Enough nonsense. Give it to me!"

Benns stepped forward, his finger curling around the trigger.

Luffy climbed back up and grabbed Su Hang's wrist.

"That's Shanks's fruit!"

"I know."

"Put it back in the box first!"

"Too late."

"How is it too late? You haven't eaten it yet!"

Su Hang looked at Luffy, the fruit already at his lips.

"Luffy, this fruit is mine now."

His teeth broke through the peel. A sour, bitter taste surged into his nose, and the base of his tongue immediately went numb.

Su Hang's throat tightened, nausea churned in his stomach, and he nearly spat the flesh he had bitten off back into his palm.

"Ugh, this thing..."

Luffy grabbed his arm.

"If it tastes bad, don't eat it!"

"That's exactly why I can't waste it."

"What kind of twisted logic is that?!"

Su Hang tore off a second piece and swallowed it without even chewing.

The bitterness stuck in his throat, forcing tears from the corners of his eyes, but he still stuffed the rest of the fruit into his mouth and swallowed it bite after bite.

Benns stepped over the barrel, pressing the muzzle close to Su Hang's forehead.

"Spit it out!"

"Once something's in my stomach, how do you plan to take it?"

"I can still find it by cutting open your belly!"

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a wine glass flew through the smoke and struck Benns's wrist.

The muzzle veered aside. The bullet grazed Su Hang's ear and buried itself in the liquor cabinet.

Shanks was still surrounded by Higuma and the bandits, his raised right hand remaining in its throwing pose.

"Killing someone in front of me isn't very appropriate, is it?"

Higuma drew his sword and stepped back.

"Red-Hair, you really dare resist?"

"The box is empty. There's no point in putting up with you anymore."

"Brothers, fire!"

Several muskets rose at once, and the Red-Haired Pirates finally left their seats.

Lucky Roux single-handedly knocked over an entire row of bandits.

Higuma had barely turned around when Shanks was already standing before him.

"Consider that glass of wine from earlier your treat."

His fist came down, and Higuma crashed through the wooden door before tumbling into the muddy roadside ditch.

Su Hang did not look over there.

The last mouthful of fruit was lodged in his throat. He raised his chin and forced it down, and a heavy thud sounded from his chest.

Thump.

Blood rushed past his eardrums. His arms and back heated up in succession, and an unfamiliar power appeared inside his body, yet he could not find any way to release it.

[Key causality has been altered.]

[Zoan · Human-Human Fruit · Mythical Zoan · Nika Form ownership has transferred.]

[Opportunity Interception Determination in progress.]

Benns shoved aside the shattered liquor cabinet, supporting his right wrist with his left as he raised his gun again.

"It's not over yet. As long as you die here, the fruit will reappear!"

"Then try it."

Su Hang raised an arm to protect his head.

Benns pulled the trigger repeatedly.

The first bullet struck his forearm.

His skin caved inward, his entire arm stretched half a meter from the impact, and a tearing pain shot through his shoulder.

"Su Hang!"

Luffy crouched down, clutching his Straw Hat.

The next instant, the bullet embedded in Su Hang's arm was pushed out by rubbery force.

The bullet ricocheted, grazing Benns's cheek before flying into the wall.

"What is this?"

Benns took half a step back and fired again.

The second bullet hit Su Hang in the chest. His clothes tore open in a round hole, his body stretched backward, and his back slammed into the liquor cabinet.

Su Hang's chest felt tight, but he saw no blood.

"So it really is rubber."

"How is that possible? How can you use the ability immediately?"

"I'd like to know too."

His stretched right arm went out of control, and his fist shot forward with the rebound, striking Benns squarely on the jaw.

Teeth and blood flew into the air.

Benns's feet left the ground, and the back of his head struck the edge of the bar.

Bang.

A Den Den Mushi rolled from his clothes, still transmitting voices from the other end.

"Benns, report the situation!"

Benns braced himself on the floor, but only muffled gasps came from his mouth.

"The fruit... was eaten..."

"Who ate it?"

"An outsider named Su Hang..."

The sound of a chair toppling came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Kill the ability user immediately. Seal off Windmill Village. Have the patrol ship dock at full speed!"

Shanks stepped on the Den Den Mushi's shell, cutting off the call.

"The government found out faster than I expected."

Su Hang pushed himself upright against the liquor cabinet.

His right arm still hung below his knees, and even the slightest sway sent pain through his shoulder.

"Can you help me put my arm back?"

"You stole my fruit, and you still want my help?"

"The box wasn't locked properly. Whose fault is that?"

"The chains and clasps were shot apart."

"Then blame the one who fired the shots."

Benns raised his bloodied face.

"You'll die. Everyone who has seen you will die. The government will never let Nika disappear again!"

Shanks lowered his head to look at Benns.

"You said Nika just now?"

Benns clenched his teeth and immediately fell silent.

"Looks like this fruit has another name."

Shanks turned to Su Hang.

"How much do you know?"

"Only that it was worth the World Government's pursuit for eight hundred years."

"How did you know that?"

"Answering that now won't do me any good."

"You used that informant, brought Higuma here, and even caused the smoke in the tavern?"

"The smoke never reached the roof, and the stray bullets didn't hurt any villagers."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I did it."

Luffy stood beside the empty wooden box, looking down at the purple juice left inside.

"You wanted to steal it from the beginning?"

"Yes."

"You lied when you told me to take the children away too?"

"I didn't lie about that. With no one on the street, the bandits and government informants couldn't hurt them."

"You also told me to go from the right."

"You would've been shot from the left."

"But you knew I would go for the box."

Su Hang reached out to pat Luffy's Straw Hat, but his stretched arm passed over his head and slammed into the wall behind him.

"I needed you to distract Benns."

Luffy raised his fist, his arm tensing tightly.

"Was that fruit supposed to be mine?"

Su Hang did not answer right away.

A system screen unfolded in his vision, the name of the original recipient still flashing.

"According to the original destiny, it was yours."

"You knew, and you still stole it?"

"I knew."

"Why?"

"Because I got it first, ate it first, and because every pursuit from here on out will come for me."

"I don't need you to decide for me!"

"I never planned to make you forgive me."

Luffy punched Su Hang in the stomach.

Su Hang's rubbery abdomen caved inward, the fist bounced back, and Luffy fell onto the floor, the back of his hand turning red.

"You bastard!"

"You're right to call me that."

"One day, I'll find something even stronger than this fruit!"

"Then find it and show me."

"I'll beat you too!"

"First learn how to hurt a rubber man."

Shanks stepped between them.

He grasped Su Hang's stretched wrist with his right hand, released it, and sent the arm springing back to his shoulder.

"Once you eat the fruit, you'll lose the ability to swim. You know that, right?"

"I know."

"The Government will hunt you down. You know that too?"

"I know."

"You may not truly understand what Nika is."

"I'll get the power first. I can look for the answers later."

"What if this power turns you into someone worse than the Government?"

Su Hang rolled his still-aching shoulder and looked up at Shanks.

"Then let someone capable kill me."

Shanks picked up the empty wooden box, his palm brushing over the shattered bronze lock.

"Su Hang, you stole more than just a fruit."

"The pursuit, the enemies, and the future that's been changed—I'll take it all."

The system interface turned deep crimson.

The countdown reached zero, and a new warning covered his entire field of vision.

[Fusion Warning: The World Government has detected that Nika has changed hands.]