Redeeming a Devil Fruit

"What?" Ivan's pupils abruptly contracted, and his voice immediately turned grave:

"With Smoker stationed there, pirates actually dared launch a direct attack on Loguetown?

"Are they pirates who came back from the Grand Line, or Arlong and his scum?"

Tashigi's expression was somewhat strange, however. She held up her binoculars and stared at Loguetown ahead, hesitating for a moment before speaking haltingly:

"Ensign Ivan, I don't see any sign of attackers. Instead, the marines stationed at the harbor have aimed their cannons at us.

"They, they seem to have mistaken us for pirates!"

Black lines covered Ivan's forehead. He quickly said, "Have those two ships in front slow down. Our ship will take the lead. Raise the seagull flag immediately!"

After a moment's thought, he realized what must have happened. The harbor garrison must have seen wrong and mistaken them for incoming pirates.

Not daring to waste time, he hurriedly directed the ships to change formation, trying to correct the misunderstanding.

Fortunately, they were still some distance from Loguetown.

Once the formation had quickly changed, the harbor lookout immediately spotted the Marine flag.

After Ivan and the others came ashore, they saw a tough-looking man with short silver-gray hair and two cigars clenched between his teeth.

He approached with a frown, and as soon as he reached Ivan, he roared in displeasure:

"Damn it, Ivan! You're the brat who caused such a commotion again! Take this punch!"

Ivan looked at his superior and grinned.

"Hahaha, Captain Smoker, I'm not afraid of you anymore! Take this... Iron Fist: Blue!"

Azure light gathered around Ivan's fist. A terrifying gravitational field warped the air, and his punch, wreathed in lightning-like blue light, slammed straight into Smoker's fist.

Since it was a spar between friends, Smoker did not use the Smoke-Smoke Fruit's power to turn his body into smoke.

Their fists collided head-on.

The next instant, a terrifying shock wave spread outward from the two men.

The stone pavement beneath their feet cracked instantly, spiderweb-like fissures spreading several meters.

Smoker and Ivan each staggered back several steps. In that exchange, they had actually fought to a draw!

Seeing this, the marines watching looked at Ivan in disbelief.

Though Ensign Ivan's ruthless methods had earned him the title of "Butcher of the East Blue" among pirates,

in everyone's impression, his strength had been nowhere near this level.

In his previous spars with Captain Smoker, he had always been at a disadvantage and taken a thorough beating.

They hadn't expected him to hold his own completely against Captain Smoker this time.

Smoker also looked at Ivan in surprise, clearly not expecting his strength to have improved so much.

He grew even more excited and threw another punch. "Good lad! Come on, let me see just how strong you've become! White Snake!"

Smoker finally used the Smoke-Smoke Fruit's power. His arm turned into white smoke and abruptly stretched out like a giant white python poised to strike, instantly coiling tightly around Ivan.

Facing Smoker's attack, Ivan dared not be careless either. The azure light on his fist grew even brighter:

"Iron Fist: Twisting Field!"

Gravity burst forth from his fist, drawing in all the roiling white smoke around him and compressing it within the gravitational field.

Ivan swung his fist sharply at Smoker. The twisting field flew from his fist, landed beside Smoker, and exploded.

The forcibly confined smoke surged wildly outward in an instant, and the violent shock wave sent Smoker flying several meters.

The two went back and forth like this, the sound of punches colliding with smoke making the harbor hum.

An hour later, both were panting and drenched in sweat as they collapsed together on the cracked stone pavement.

Smoker took a deep drag, pushed himself up from the ground, and turned to look at Ivan beside him, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

That weak little boy from back then had grown up!

But what on earth was Ivan's strange ability? Was it a Devil Fruit?

Smoker asked curiously, "Ivan, your strength has improved a lot. What's that azure light? A Devil Fruit power?"

Ivan nodded and admitted:

"That's right, it's a Devil Fruit power.

"I got a Devil Fruit earlier, and when Alvida was hunting me down, I ate it and gained the ability to control gravity.

"Thanks to that power, I was able to turn the tables and kill Alvida, and my strength improved by leaps and bounds."

"Gravity?" Smoker was utterly astonished. "Could it be the Press-Press Fruit? No, that's not right either... But this is definitely a top-tier Devil Fruit power. You brat, your luck is incredible!"

Ivan chuckled but gave no answer.

This was only the beginning. After he "developed" Tengai Shinsei and Chibaku Tensei, there would still be time to call him lucky.

With their hard-fought battle over, the two walked side by side toward the Loguetown Marine Branch.

The streets bustled with people and were lined with shops, the calls of vendors mingling with the sound of the waves.

This place, known as the town of the beginning and the end, was far more prosperous than an ordinary East Blue town. Rather than a town, it was more like a small port city of considerable size.

Precisely because it had to govern such an area and guard the entrance to the Grand Line, the Loguetown Marine Branch was exceptionally powerful.

Its permanently stationed forces alone numbered a full two thousand.

For that reason, the Loguetown Marine Branch had always been well funded, and it received priority allocations of all kinds of military supplies in the East Blue.

Even the extraordinarily rare Devil Fruits were on the branch's redemption list.

On their way back to the Marine Loguetown Branch, Ivan suddenly turned to Smoker and asked:

"Captain Smoker, with the military merit I've accumulated, I should have enough to redeem a Devil Fruit, right?"

Smoker paused and looked at him, his face full of confusion:

"Haven't you already eaten a Devil Fruit? Why do you want to redeem another one?"

Ivan grinned and laughed, his tone casual:

"I did eat one myself, but the fruit I redeem would be just right for someone under my command.

"Besides, I'm quite interested in Devil Fruits. If I study one, I might uncover some secret."

Smoker grew no more suspicious and merely frowned as he cautioned:

"Ivan, make sure you remember: a person can only eat one Devil Fruit. If you eat two, your heart will rupture and you'll drop dead!"

After a pause, he continued:

"With the military merit you've accumulated, I can apply to headquarters for a Devil Fruit on your behalf.

"But you know the rules. If you exchange your military merit for a fruit, you can't also collect the bounties on those pirates. You can only choose one or the other."

For Marines, captured pirates could be exchanged for military merit or bounty money, but they could only choose one.

Ivan had expected this and nodded without hesitation:

"I know!"