Pirate: Invincible from the Start

"I... I've never used humans in my experiments."

A red glint flashed through Kuta's eyes. He stared at Indigo for a moment before looking away and withdrawing his imposing aura.

He could tell from Indigo's emotions that he probably wasn't lying, and he hadn't seen any humans in the laboratory.

Besides, the man wasn't truly evil. He was just a doctor.

So Kuta formally invited him to join.

"Dr. Indigo, as captain of the Free Adventure Crew, I'm formally inviting you aboard as our ship's doctor."

Indigo let out a long breath when Kuta withdrew his aura. He had felt certain that if his answer had failed to satisfy Kuta, the man really would have killed him.

Then he heard something even more startling.

He looked up at Kuta, saw the earnestness in his eyes, and froze.

"Y-you really mean that?"

He couldn't believe he could still become the doctor aboard Kuta's ship.

The man might be a pirate who had only just set sail, but he had just killed Golden Lion!

Being invited aboard by a pirate like that felt like a dream.

Kuta smiled at Indigo.

"My ship happens to need a doctor. Will you join us, Dr. Indigo?"

Indigo finally came to his senses and hurriedly nodded, accepting Kuta's invitation.

He and Golden Lion had spent decades together, but they hadn't been close. He couldn't really call this a betrayal, either.

Golden Lion was dead, after all. Indigo had to go somewhere, didn't he?

If he refused, there was no telling whether Kuta would spare him. And the Marines certainly wouldn't.

"Oh, right, Dr. Indigo. Now that you've joined my crew, you can't research this stuff anymore."

Kuta helped Indigo to his feet and said sternly, "From now on, stick to researching medicines for injuries and diseases."

"Can you do that?"

"Yes, yes, of course, sir."

Still shaken, Indigo answered in a rush.

"Call me Captain."

"Yes, Captain."

Fate Always Loved Playing Tricks

"Do we really have to burn it all?"

At the laboratory entrance, a Chemical Magic projectile appeared in Indigo's hand. He gazed reluctantly into the laboratory.

"Of course. What, should we leave it here for the World Government?"

Kuta stood beside him with his arms folded, a derisive smile on his face.

"Or do you want to keep researching this stuff?"

"No, no, Captain! Don't get me wrong."

Indigo waved his hands and protested loudly, "It's just hard to part with. I've been researching IQ for almost twenty years. It's a shame to lose all these notes."

"Make it quick. We still need to check the vault. When the Marines get here, I can leave. You might not be able to."

At the mention of the Marines, Indigo hurriedly threw the projectile into the laboratory.

He didn't want the Marines to catch him and lock him up in Impel Down.

He might not have a bounty, but the Marines would arrest him all the same.

He was Golden Lion's ship doctor, after all. The World Government had him on record.

The projectile struck a cultivation tube as soon as it entered the laboratory and exploded. Flames from the blast spread rapidly throughout the room.

Indigo watched the fire with a flicker of reluctance in his eyes. But when he saw Kuta heading outside, he pushed that feeling aside, and his eyes filled with hope for the future.

Following a captain like him should be interesting!

He was so young, after all.

Rumble!

Kuta gazed at the thick iron door with anticipation.

"With a door this thick, there must be plenty of good stuff inside!"

But when he opened it and saw what lay beyond, he was dumbfounded.

The vault was piled high with weapons.

Blades, spears, swords, staffs, muskets, cannons—it had everything except gold and jewels. Even the amount of Beli was pitiful.

Kuta turned stiffly toward Indigo, his expression darkening.

"Indigo, this is what you've gathered over nearly twenty years?"

Indigo missed the look on Kuta's face and grinned proudly.

"Keh-heh! Yep. We were planning to destroy the world, so of course we had to stockpile enough weapons!"

"What about the gold and jewels?"

"Traded them all for weapons."

"And the Beli?"

Kuta's voice grew colder.

"Weapons, of course. Come on, Captain, what use is Beli? Aren't weapons great? And—"

"Uh...!"

Indigo stopped short. He had finally noticed Kuta's dark expression.

He let out a cautious, awkward laugh.

"Keh... ha-ha!"

"What's wrong, Captain? Isn't it good to have this many weapons?"

"Good? Of course it is."

Kuta looked at the vault crammed with weapons and mountains of cannonballs, so frustrated he could have cried.

"Like hell it is."

There were enough weapons here to equip an army and fight a massive campaign.

But to him, they were utterly useless.

He liked gold

and jewels. He liked Beli. He didn't like these cold lumps of iron!

Something occurred to him. His eyes lit up, and he turned to Indigo with an expectant look.

"Right, Indigo. You've spent nearly twenty years roaming the world. You must have found plenty of Devil Fruits!"

Indigo thought for a moment.

He was afraid to speak, worried he would upset Kuta.

He knew what Kuta wanted now, but everything Kuta wanted had been traded for weapons!

As Kuta's gaze grew more dangerous, Indigo had no choice but to answer cautiously.

"Um... well..."

Kuta cut him off sharply.

"Stop stammering. Spit it out."

Indigo flinched at Kuta's shout and said plaintively, "Captain, you don't have to yell! I'll tell you!"

"We found a few Devil Fruits, but we sold them all to buy weapons."

"Sold them?"

Kuta felt awful.

Was there something wrong with that old man Golden Lion's head?

Why not let his subordinates eat them? What use were these lumps of iron in the vault?

"But..."

Kuta's eyes lit up at the hint of a silver lining. "But what?"

"But there are still two Zoan Devil Fruits that aren't much use."

Hearing that two remained, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as there were some. He had thought this trip would be a complete waste!

The higher his hopes, the harder the disappointment. At first, he had imagined piles of gold, jewels, Beli, and Devil Fruits!

The old man had planned to destroy the world. How could he not have money?

Who would have thought he'd bought so many weapons instead?

If the Revolutionary Army got this many weapons, they'd be unstoppable.

He rubbed his chin and stared blankly into the vault.

Then he shook his head. Even if he gave the weapons to the Revolutionary Army, they couldn't haul them away before the Marines arrived.

It seemed he would have to destroy them all. He wasn't leaving them for the World Government.

Even if it had no shortage of weapons.

Indigo stole a cautious glance at Kuta. Seeing that his expression had clearly improved, he let out a relieved breath.

He was still afraid of Kuta. He had only just joined and didn't know what kind of person his new captain was.

Kuta turned to Indigo and said irritably, "If there are two left, go get them."

"Yes, Captain!"

Indigo hurried into the vault and dug two pineapple-sized fruits out of a pile of scrap metal behind the door.

To Golden Lion, the two fruits had been worth less than the weapons, so he had simply tossed them into a corner of the vault.

Kuta's mouth twitched as he watched Indigo retrieve the fruits from what looked like a heap of rubbish.

He wanted to see what kind of trash fruits had earned such contempt.

He took the fruits from Indigo and turned them over, but he couldn't tell what either one was.

He looked up at Indigo.

Sensing

Kuta's gaze, Indigo hurriedly explained, "The black one is an Ant Zoan Devil Fruit. We have no idea what form it is."

"Based on past experience, it's just an ordinary Zoan Devil Fruit. Eating it would turn someone into an ant-human. The strength boost from an ant is too small, so we couldn't even sell it. That's why we still have it."

"An ant, and nobody wants it? Shouldn't it be strong? It has armor and plenty of strength."

Kuta stared at the black Ant Fruit, which looked like an oversized grape, and asked in confusion, "How could nobody want it?"

"Ants might seem strong among insects, but it's different when a human eats the fruit. At first, it only doubles your strength or so."

"And..."

"What?"