So sleeping was never easy for him

"Oh..."

Brook nodded, finally understanding.

He had wondered how such a tiny gun could fire bullets with so much power. They were even bigger than real cannonballs.

So it was a gun that had eaten a Devil Fruit!

"How fascinating. This is my first time seeing an object that has eaten a Devil Fruit."

"Yeah!"

A flicker of recollection passed through A-Luo's eyes as he looked at Hell Hound. Then he said, "According to Kuta, the technology that lets objects eat Devil Fruits was developed by a World Government scientist, Dr. Vegapunk, who supposedly possesses knowledge five hundred years ahead of this world."

"The World Government?"

Brook stared at Hell Hound in A-Luo's hand. Its muzzle had turned into a dog's head and was licking A-Luo's hand. He asked in amazement, "Then the World Government must have more weapons like this!"

"No idea."

A-Luo lowered his hand, let Hell Hound return to its gun form, and tucked it into his waistband before continuing:

"Anyway, since we set sail, this gun is the first weapon we've encountered that's eaten a Devil Fruit."

"But Kuta said that even if an ordinary object eats a Devil Fruit, it isn't actually much use. Hell Hound is just a special object that happened to combine perfectly with a Devil Fruit, creating a unique gun suited to a gunman. Other objects that eat Devil Fruits aren't nearly as powerful as Hell Hound!"

"Right!"

Brook nodded in understanding, then turned to glance at the pirate ship they had passed. Flames engulfed it, and the pirates' screams kept ringing out. An indescribable gleam flashed in his eyes.

Aboard the Freedom, he felt safer than he ever had before.

Was it their strength?

No.

It was the unparalleled confidence they inspired in him, the confidence that even if the