Reiju Sees Them Off, the Fruit's Owner

The morning sun shone brightly as Van and his group packed their luggage and arrived at the port on Kogia Island.

Germa had prepared a twin-masted sailing ship nearly thirty meters long for them. The cabin had been remodeled, and its overall layout was similar to the castle they had lived in before, only much smaller.

Judge was a busy man and would not be seeing them off, but he had sent Reiju instead.

A hint of longing showed on the young girl's face as she stood at the bow, gazing out at the sea. Ten young men and women stood on the deck behind her.

"What is this?" Van looked at Chavik in confusion. "Who are those people?"

"Miss Reiju said you were used to life in the castle and would definitely need attendants to handle various chores."

"They are ordinary people selected from the Kogia Kingdom. They are familiar with the affairs of sailing and the surrounding seas, and they will obey orders."

Hearing Chavik's answer, Van frowned slightly but did not state his opinion right away.

If this had been Judge's arrangement, he would certainly have refused, but Reiju was different.

This princess only appeared cold on the surface. In truth, she was kindhearted and willing to help others.

There might be some deeper meaning behind her arrangement.

"Board the ship first."

Van called out and led Drake and the others aboard.

Reiju immediately turned around but did not move. She simply watched him silently, as though waiting for him to approach.

ROOM!

Van raised his hand and unleashed his ability. The Operation Room swiftly enveloped the entire ship, cutting off all sound between the inside and outside.

Then, with a wave of his hand, everyone else on the ship was transferred into the cabin, leaving only him and Reiju on the deck.

"So this is your Devil Fruit ability?"

Reiju tilted her head toward the cabin, a rare look of surprise appearing on her face.

"Miss Reiju, are you curious about me?" Van asked in return.

"No. I was just asking."

Reiju shook her head, though her expression carried a trace of guilt.

Van did not expose her. Instead, he smiled. "The people on shore cannot hear us. You don't need to beat around the bush. Just tell me what this is really about."

"Really?" Reiju's eyes lit up.

"I am in a hurry." Van pointed toward the shore. "If you do not say it soon, I will send you back down."

"Well..." Reiju hesitated for a moment. "They are all nobles of Kogia. I want you to take them away from here."

"Are you not afraid Mr. Judge will blame you for this?" Van's expression turned strange. "And why should I agree to your request?"

"Father will not care about such a trivial matter. As long as you do not object, Chavik probably will not tell him either."

Reiju bit her lip and said in an almost pleading tone, "Help me take them away. Consider it a favor I owe you, all right?"

"They have only lost their freedom. It is not as if they are going to die immediately. Is this really necessary?" Van shook his head in confusion. "In their eyes, Germa is their enemy!"

Kogia was now Germa's logistical base. The nobles had not only lost their power and status, but also had to perform relatively lowly work. They certainly would not accept that willingly.

As for the commoners, although they still had to pay taxes and had lost their freedom, they no longer suffered direct oppression and endless exploitation from the nobles. Nor did they have to worry about pirate attacks. Their lives were actually better than before.

"That is precisely why I do not want to see them go mad in despair and eventually die by my hand."

"These ten people did not commit any serious wrongs in the past. They should not be trapped on the island like the other nobles, waiting to die."

Reiju took a deep breath and continued, "I cannot save everyone. I can only do what I can, so I will feel a little less guilty."

"Remember what you said. You will have to repay the favor you owe me someday."

"You had better warn them not to get any crooked ideas on board. Otherwise, I will not be polite."

After saying that, Van beckoned and "pulled" the ten people out of the cabin.

Then he vanished from the deck and entered his room.

Not long afterward, Qiangbalu's voice came from outside, saying that Reiju had left.

"Set sail!" Van ordered.

The ship raised anchor and unfurled its sails, slowly leaving the harbor. Soon afterward, the ten former nobles came looking for him.

"Mr. Van, my name is Elena. We have remembered everything Miss Reiju told us."

"Please rest assured. We will obey the rules aboard the ship and will never cause trouble."

The speaker was a young woman with a high ponytail. She was beautiful and fair-skinned. Though she wore only a coarse short shirt, she could not conceal the nobility in her bearing.

"You will live in the lower deck. All chores aboard the ship will be your responsibility. I will send people to keep watch over you."

"That is all for now. I have things to do. Handle the rest yourselves."

Van left as soon as he finished speaking, not lingering for even a second. Elena, who had prepared many things to say, stood there in a daze.

It was only when a companion behind her reached out and patted her shoulder that she came back to her senses, a defeated expression appearing on her face.

"What do we do? This man is hard to talk to."

"How about we stop trying to approach him? Once we reach the next island, we can leave and figure something out ourselves. He probably will not stop us."

"Exactly! He is a great pirate with an 80 million beli bounty. If we anger him, we are done for..."

Hearing her companions' discussion, Elena felt a wave of irritation.

"Enough! This is a rare opportunity. We cannot give it up so easily. Let us wait a little longer!"

Her former status seemed to have been the highest among them, and the others were still willing to listen to her. They immediately fell silent.

"It seems Reiju is still too young. She was fooled by these people's act."

"I hope they do not bring this upon themselves. Otherwise, I can only be ruthless with a beauty."

Inside the cabin, Van withdrew his attention and looked at Drake, who was hurrying over.

"Brother Van, this is that Devil Fruit." Drake handed over a box. "Do you know what its ability is?"

"Germa's database contains a Devil Fruit encyclopedia that records information on most Devil Fruits. I happened to see it."

"This is the Paramecia-type Spring-Spring Fruit. I actually killed its previous user. I did not expect you to obtain it by chance."

Van took the box, opened it, and placed it on the table before sweeping his gaze over everyone.

"The Spring-Spring Fruit's ability is fairly ordinary, but it can still greatly improve one's strength. Who among you wants to eat it?"

He already had suitable candidates in mind, but after exchanging glances, none of them spoke.

It was clear from their expressions that it was not because they did not want it, but because they were yielding to one another.

"Law can have a better choice. Qiangbalu has an excellent physique, and Bepo is from the Mink Tribe. Even if he eats a Devil Fruit, a Zoan ability would suit him better."

Van pushed the box in front of Shachi, Penguin, and Baiyan, then joked, "So I can only trouble you three to pick someone to try the taste of shit."

Everyone immediately burst into laughter. Drake and Baby-5 recalled their own experiences eating Devil Fruits, and even more "evil" smiles appeared on their faces.

"I am the best swimmer. There is no need to give up that advantage so soon. I will consider it later." Shachi was the first to refuse.

"I am stronger than both of you. You need to improve more than I do, so I can consider it later too." Penguin found an excuse as well.

Everyone's eyes immediately fell on the quiet Baiyan. After hesitating for a moment, he reached toward the box.

"Thank you, Brother Van. Thank you, everyone!"

After thanking them, Baiyan did not hesitate again. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed the Spring-Spring Fruit whole.