Chapter 68

Tom was certain of that!

The profound bond between Roger and his crew is something that ordinary people simply cannot imagine!

Therefore, the "intelligence" that White Ghost deliberately mentioned must have involved some extremely important information, which is why Crocus gave the choice to Rayleigh...

However, Crocus, who disembarked early on, still doesn't quite understand the true situation of the Pirate King ship that once reached Laugh Tale...

Tom sighed. "Actually, I know where the Oro Jackson is."

Adrian perked up. "May I ask if Mr. Tom could tell me?"

"Come with me..."

Tom led Adrian into the warehouse behind the workshop, and from the warehouse piled with all sorts of junk, they found a hidden door. They opened the hidden door and came into a semi-open pit.

The "walls" of this pit are entirely made up of the remains of various ships, with no smoothness whatsoever. At the bottom of the pit is a deep pool of water.

The pale sunlight slanted down through the circular hole several meters in diameter in the sky, illuminating the sailboat moored on the surface of the pit-like pool.

This is a weathered, giant three-masted sailing ship.

The crimson canvas was sun-dried to a grayish-white, tattered and worn, with faint scorch marks from the burning of incendiary ammunition visible; the rough, brightly painted striped hull bore countless deep scratches, and the cannons on either side were badly corroded.

The two symmetrical mermaid prow sculptures, made of gold, show the right mermaid missing half of its tail; the massive, dark brown iron ram shaped like a spear, protruding from the front of the prow, has been violently broken off by some unknown and brutal means.

The most serious damage to the entire ship was the massive cleavage between the cabin and the deck, which almost split the ship in two, to the point that the bow section had completely separated from the main body of the ship!

It's hard to imagine that just two years ago, this badly damaged sailing ship carried the Roger Pirates on an unprecedented Great Voyage!

"This is the 'Oro Jackson' you've been looking for..."

Tears welled up in Tom's eyes as he introduced the child to Adrian with reluctance and regret.

Adrian silently stepped forward and examined the completely damaged Pirate King ship up close.

It's hard to imagine what kind of destructive power could have caused such massive and dense damage to this Great Pirate ship, which was primarily made of Treasure Tree Adam.

"Since Roger's Execution in Loguetown last September, the World Government, in conjunction with the Marine Headquarters, has been hunting down and executing anyone associated with the Pirate King, with the remnants of the Roger Pirates being the first to be targeted..."

Tom recounted the story of how the Oro Jackson died in an extremely calm tone, as if he had witnessed it firsthand.

"... The sea surface seemed to explode, the tides that had been churning and surging in the lightless depths roared and crashed against the entire sailboat... Under the dazzling golden light of Buddha, an extremely powerful shockwave struck the deck of the Oro Jackson, its indestructible Haki piercing through the incredibly tough wood, the unbelievable weight tilting the ship forward..."

"... The precious wood was cracking, the scarlet sails were burning, and the painful groans of the Dragon Bone of the sailboat echoed in Pluton's ears as it bore a load beyond its design limits... The timbers that had crossed the endless ocean snapped one after another, the carved wooden railings were smashed to pieces, and a giant Buddha's hand gripped the iron ram at the bow..."

"... The lower half of the Oro Jackson was almost perpendicular to the sea surface, with Seawater surging in from the front half... A massive, cloud-like slash came from Pluton's hand, the Dragon Bone breaking like thunder... Several veteran crew members were submerged by the closing Seawater along with the waves, foam, whirlpools, and splinters, leaving behind a string of silent bubbles..."

"... Finally, it was the final leg of the journey on the boat that took us away from home—the return journey on the Seven Waters..."

Adrian closed his eyes slightly, carefully sensing every detail aboard the Oro Jackson.

Just then, a peculiar and faint mental fluctuation entered his mind, a pleading emotion.

The Oro Jackson, this supposedly "dead" Pirate King ship, is calling for his help!

Adrian suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with excitement.

"Mr. Tom, this ship is not dead yet!"

"What?"

Adrian raised his palm with a hint of urgency. In the dim, crater-like environment, a faint, eerie blue fluorescence flowed from his palm, spreading forward and gradually covering the Oro Jackson completely.

As time slowly passed, a faint, eerie blue fluorescence focused on the mainmast, or more precisely, on the Pirates flag at the highest point of the mainmast!

The Roger Pirates' flag emblem is a giant white skull with two wavy white whiskers growing from the upper jawbone, and a pair of slender, crossed skeletons standing behind it.

Under the illumination of Ghost Energy, this legendary symbol belonging exclusively to the Roger Pirates was gradually tinged with a ghostly blue color.

Just then, the Ghost Energy suddenly detached from the Pirates flag, transforming into a ball of light in mid-air and slowly flying towards Adrian. Within the ball of light, faint phantoms could be seen flickering.

The pale blue orb gradually settled on Adrian's raised palm, collapsing inward until it finally transformed into a semi-illusory Ghost about the size of an adult's palm!

"This is..." Mr. Tom's eyes widened in shock, "Ship Spirit?!"

Even though he was a legendary Shipwright, Mr. Tom had never sailed with a Pirates crew, and he had never seen Ship Spirit in his entire life, let alone lifted Ship Spirit directly in his hands like this!

"That's right! This is the Ship Spirit of the Oro Jackson!"

[Chapter 128. The Birth of the Castle Ghost]

Adrian lowered his head slightly, carefully examining the miniature Ship Spirit born from the Pirate King's ship, the "Oro Jackson," in his palm.

Apart from its size, its appearance is not much different from the description in the fairy tale.

Wearing a crimson raincoat the same color as the sails, holding a small wooden mallet in her hand, her large hood covered the upper half of her face, revealing only her fair and delicate chin.

Its entire body shimmered with a faint, ethereal blue light, and its surroundings were filled with faintly floating, mesmerizing particles of light.

The Oro Jackson was severely damaged, and it seemed that the Ship Spirit itself had also suffered considerable harm. At this moment, it was curled up, lying quietly on its side in the palm of the hand, fast asleep.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Adrian's head.

He raised his left hand, and a small ball of Ghost Energy condensed at the tip of his index finger. A thin, semi-illusory, glowing tentacle extended from the surface of the sphere, passing through the air and touching the crimson raincoat on the surface of the Ship Spirit.

Silent ripples began to spread.

With the continuous replenishment of Ghost Energy, the Ship Spirit's condition seemed to have improved considerably.

'It feels a bit like having a small pet...'

A strange thought suddenly popped into Adrian's mind, and he couldn't help but smile slightly.

This sight made Mr. Tom burst into laughter. "Ta-ha-ha--really! Really! Absolutely amazing! White Ghost!"

"In all my years, this is the first time I've ever witnessed a real Ship Spirit! I always thought Ship Spirit were just ancient myths and legends among the Shipwright of Water 7!"

"Perhaps it's because my abilities are rather unique," Adrian said calmly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tom, but due to its past experiences, this Ship Spirit is still very weak. Do you have a quiet room here?"

Mr. Tom quickly said, "It's alright! It's alright! I'll leave! You stay here, and I assure you, no one will bother you!"

After saying this, Mr. Tom left immediately, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in amazement before he left.

Adrian stood still, continuing to channel Ghost Energy into the Ship Spirit's body.

As time goes by.

The Ship Spirit's condition has further recovered, and its body has fully stretched out. Its originally miniature size is slowly increasing in size, and two White Sea patterns, similar to the Roger Pirates' flag, have appeared on the back of the crimson raincoat that covers its entire body except for its hands and feet.

When the ship's body grew to about thirty centimeters, the Ship Spirit finally regained consciousness.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with me...?"

The Ship Spirit spoke softly to itself, its tone tinged with a sense of bewilderment.

How does it feel to be fully awake?

An unfamiliar voice rang in the Ship Spirit's ear, startling it so much that it immediately took flight.

It was at this moment that the Ship Spirit finally discovered the Ghost Energy tentacle connected to its body. It could clearly feel that this Ghost Energy tentacle was constantly replenishing the "nutrients" it needed!

As it followed its antennae and looked up, it saw the owner of the voice that had just spoken.

The Ship Spirit naturally asked, "Oh my! Who are you?"

"My name is Adrian. Is Oro Jackson your name?"

"No, Oro Jackson is the name of the ship." The Ship Spirit shook his head. "Roger liked to call me 'Lumi,' so my name is Lumi."

The Ship Spirit, with its slightly quirky speech patterns, is inexplicably adorable...

Adrian said, "So the Roger Pirates had already discovered your presence?"

The Ship Spirit Lumi said, "Actually, only Roger can [hear] my presence. He has a peculiar ability called [Voice of All Things], which allows him to directly hear the [mental voices] of other beings. Oh dear."

Adrian nodded slightly.

Ship Spirit are inherently shy and dislike appearing in front of other creatures. Even with companions they spend every day with, Ship Spirit won't appear unless it's a truly critical moment, just like Merry later on.

During a pause in the conversation, Lumi finally spotted the dilapidated "Oro Jackson" moored on the surface of the pool not far away, and at the same time, memories of its experiences before it fell into slumber surfaced in its mind.

"Oh, thank you for saving me."

Adrian smiled slightly. "Lumi, what do you want to do now?"

What to do?

Lumi wanted to say that she would continue to sail with the Pirates crew, but she suddenly realized that neither the Roger Pirates nor the Oro Jackson existed anymore.

The Ship Spirit was instantly bewildered.

"If you have nowhere to go, why don't you come with me?" Adrian said. "Let me formally introduce myself; I'm a rookie Pirates."

"You..." Lumi hesitated, but after thinking it over, it couldn't come up with a better solution. "Alright."

Adrian initially intended to take Lumi directly out, but noticed that Lumi kept looking longingly at the location of the Oro Jackson, and a thought struck him.

He asked, "Lumi, do you want to continue living with the Oro Jackson?"

"No way..." Lumi snapped out of her daze, shook her head, and said, "The Oro Jackson is completely destroyed and can no longer continue its voyage."

"Although we can't continue sailing, there are still ways to keep the Oro Jackson with us."

As Adrian spoke, he raised his right palm, and a dark gray Devil Fruit with arabesque spiral patterns on its surface appeared out of thin air in his palm—the [Castle-Castle Fruit] he had obtained long ago!

As one of the system rewards, the Castle-Castle Fruit can be stored within the system. (Minor patch)

Adrian's original plan was to feed the [Castle-Castle Fruit] to the awakened [Ship Spirit]!

Isn't this the perfect moment?

Lumi flew over, curiously examining it. "Oh my, is that Devil Fruit?"

"That's right, it's the Paramecia Castle-Castle Fruit," Adrian explained. "The fruit's power is to transform the user's body into a castle, and to shrink other things and place them inside the body."

"Adrian, are you going to eat this fruit?" Lumi asked. "But you already seem to have the power."

Adrian shook his head, then nodded, and said, "That's right, I'm already a Hollow-Hollow Fruit user. So the one who has to eat this Devil Fruit isn't me, but you, Lumi."

"Oh my god? Me!" Lumi exclaimed in surprise, "Can Ship Spirit eat Devil Fruit too?"

"Don't you like Devil Fruit abilities, Lumi? I've heard that the members of Roger Pirates were all non-Devil Fruit users."

"No, it's just that the Ship Spirit feels a little strange after eating the Devil Fruit..."

"It's alright, the essence of Devil Fruit isn't the fruit itself, but the Devil Power residing within it!"

Ultimately, out of deep reluctance to part with the Oro Jackson, and with Adrian's constant encouragement, Lumi decided to eat the Castle-Castle Fruit.

After taking just a small bite, Lumi pouted, "Ugh! It really does taste as awful as the rumors say!"

[129. Chapter 122 Lumi's Abilities]

The moment Rumi ate the Castle-Castle Fruit, the demonic power that had been residing within the fruit instantly flowed into Lumi body, subtly exerting its influence.

The most obvious change is that Lumi's hood gradually transforms into a Gothic-style pointed wizard's hat, but the wide brim still covers most of his face.

However, Lumi seemed particularly pleased with the new hat, exclaiming with delight, "Oh my! How beautiful!"

Adrian asked, "Lumi, do you sense anything different?"

Lumi stopped paying attention to the new hat, nodded, and held the Castle-Castle Fruit with a small bite mark in its hands. It activated its newly acquired fruit power and gave a soft shout.

"Oh my!"

The Castle-Castle Fruit, which was originally half the size of Lumi's body, began to shrink slowly under the interference of a mysterious and profound Spatial Power, eventually becoming a black dot the size of a sesame seed, which then floated into Lumi's body.

"I can feel that Devil Fruit inside my body..." Lumi lowered her head and patted her lower belly. "What an amazing feeling!"

"Lumi, can you sense roughly how big the castle space inside your body is?" Adrian glanced at the Oro Jackson not far away. "Is it big enough to fit a ship inside?"

"I don't know," Lumi tilted his head, "But I want to try!"

Adrian said, "Go."

With permission, Lumi flew directly toward the Oro Jackson. As a semi-phantom spirit, it naturally possessed the characteristics of a spirit.

Lumi slowly flew to the front of the mermaid figurehead statue on the Oro Jackson before stopping.

It reached out and gently stroked the mermaid statue's mottled, faded gold hair, its mind filled with memories of its adventures with the Roger Pirates.

After a long while, Lumi finally activated his ability.

"Oh my!"

The Ship Spirit's two translucent little hands rested on the front of the ship's prow statue, and the power from the Castle-Castle Fruit continuously acted on this completely damaged Pirate King ship.

Under Lumi's power, the giant three-masted sailing ship was shrinking at a visible rate!