Vine-Vine Fruit Development

Squelch!

The rapier was pulled from Taote's head, and blood sprayed from the front and back of his skull.

"Trash. I thought you were stronger. Ten years have passed—did you really think I was still that kid from back then?" Jelly withdrew his arm as blood dripped from the blade, a wide grin spreading across his face.

The Bloodhand Pirates' officers stared in shock. Taote was not the strongest among them, but none who became an officer were weak. Before joining the Bloodhand Pirates, Taote had carried a bounty of twenty-one million Beli, yet Jelly had killed him with a single slash.

"Devil Fruit user." Shield Mountain rumbled, holding his shield.

"Taote was too careless. He never expected this guy to have Devil Fruit powers. Be careful," the short Ali said warily, looking up at the others.

"There's also a fish-man. People of that race are stronger than ordinary humans. Be careful, but there are only four of them. Attack together and kill them." Dubois raised his cannon and aimed it at Jelly.

Boom!

The cannon roared, firing a shell straight at the four of them.

"Come at us together." Jelly smiled and sidestepped the shell.

"Careful!" Cook shouted.

"You fell for it." Dubois sneered, a button appearing in his hand.

Bang!

Jelly had barely dodged to the side when the shell suddenly exploded beside him, and the blast flames instantly swallowed him.

"Did that idiot die?" Ham asked with a dark expression.

"Who knows? If he died that easily, then he was stupid enough to get himself killed." Rogge laughed, not worried in the slightest. If Jelly died like that, there would be no point continuing to sail with him. The weak had no business going to sea.

"That's one down. Three left. My shells can be remotely controlled—I can make them explode whenever I want. I developed these remote bombs myself." Dubois laughed as he raised his cannon toward Rogge.

"So those are your last words. Sorry, but you're already dead." Rogge waved a hand.

"Pathetic. Those are the last words you leave behind." Ham relaxed and casually took out a cigarette, placing it between his lips.

"Have you lost your minds from grief?" Dubois thought Rogge and Ham had gone insane. They had killed their companion, and yet these two were imagining that he was dead. He was alive and well, so how had he become a dead man?

"Lord Dubois, careful!" A pirate stared toward where Jelly had been. When the smoke near the ground gradually dispersed and revealed something, he immediately shouted to Dubois.

"What?" Dubois had not yet come to his senses when a vine suddenly burst from underground and stabbed straight into the exit between his legs. It pierced through his abdomen and emerged from the top of his skull.

"My companion was right. You're already dead." As the smoke cleared, Jelly emerged from within it.

He looked very strange now. A shield woven from vines had formed around his left arm, embedded with countless cracked shell fragments. It had not harmed Jelly at all; only the shockwave from the explosion had slightly injured his internal organs.

Using the smoke as cover, Jelly had controlled vines into the ground and given Dubois a Ground Spikes attack, skewering him like a candied hawthorn stick.

"Another officer is dead. Seven kills—now there are only five left." Rogge clapped and laughed.

"I thought you were dead. Looks like this Devil Fruit power is really strong." Ham said.

"This isn't just a question of being strong. I think this power is downright terrifying. It's great that I got this ability." Jelly grinned fiercely as he looked at his body.

"What other abilities do you have?" Rogge asked curiously.

Giant Wood Soldier!

Jelly suddenly raised his arm. Countless vines spread from it and wove together, forming a crooked arm roughly as large as a giant's hand.

"Whoa." Rogge immediately grew excited. Ham widened his eyes, his gaze filled with envy. The Vine-Vine Fruit Jelly had eaten seemed far from ordinary.

Boom!

The giant hand slammed down, and the remaining five Bloodhand Pirates officers immediately fled. The impact sent dozens of pirates flying, while the five officers were left looking rather disheveled.

"Ha ha ha!" Jelly laughed madly and swept his arm sideways. Like a bulldozer, it tore through everything in its path, leaving the Bloodhand Pirates with no choice but to run for their lives.

"I'm jealous. If I'd known, I would've eaten that fruit." Ham was so astonished that he did not even notice his cigarette falling to the ground.

"Forget it. Now I'm wondering whether I should kill him. The Vine-Vine Fruit's power is actually this strong." Rogge cried out.

"I haven't even said anything yet," Cook said.

Rogge and Ham looked at him at the same time. "Why would a fish-man eat a Devil Fruit?"

Crash!

Jelly was having the time of his life fighting. He had not expected that, in a moment of crisis, he would think of a defensive method and develop the Vine-Vine Fruit to this extent.

At the instant the shell exploded, Jelly had only one thought in his mind: he needed a shield to block it.

When he raised his arm, countless vines emerged from his hand. Seeing them, Jelly instinctively used the vines to defend himself.

Even he had not expected that, in such a critical moment, he would awaken an ability that let him weave vines into a shield capable of withstanding a shell exploding at such close range.

After discovering that the vines could do this, Jelly thought of even more possibilities. He had thought of this giant hand after reading stories about giants, and he had not expected it to work so well. Now, he had the confidence to fight a thousand people by himself.

Boom!

Just as the giant hand continued to wreak havoc, a shield suddenly blocked it. Shield Mountain, an officer even larger than the giant hand, held up his shield and stopped Jelly's attack.

"Not enough strength," Ham said.

"It certainly looks powerful, but Jelly, you don't have enough strength." Seeing the giant hand stopped, Rogge mocked Jelly.

"You two, shut up!" Jelly saw his attack blocked, then heard his companions' sarcastic remarks. He turned around and glared at Rogge and Ham, roaring in embarrassment and anger.

"I'm taking his shield." Rogge leaped up onto Jelly's arm and ran swiftly along it.

Seeing Rogge charge over, Shield Mountain raised his shield and slammed it toward him.

Shattering Fist.

Rogge drove his fist heavily into the shield.

"He's dead for sure. Even the captain can't break Shield Mountain's shield." Obadaya smiled.

Bang!

The shield lasted less than a second before shattering beneath Rogge's fist. Rogge casually spread his fingers, grabbed the helmet on Shield Mountain's head, and squeezed hard.