Usopp finally accepted the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, though he looked like he was wrestling with second thoughts.
"You're really giving this to me?"
"If you don't want it, how about giving it to Sanji," Marcus said with a shrug. "His kicking techniques combined with explosion powers would probably be pretty strong."
Sanji, who was busy preparing food nearby, overheard the conversation and chuckled. "Hey, I wouldn't say no to that kind of upgrade. Could make my kicks a lot more impactful."
That was all the motivation Usopp needed. "Then I'm eating it!" he declared, grabbing the fruit protectively.
Marcus gestured for him to go ahead, curious to see how this would play out.
Usopp took a deep breath, and bit into the fruit. He chewed twice before his entire face scrunched up in disgust.
"It's... it's absolutely horrible," he managed to say, forcing himself to swallow the pulp. "Like eating rotten garbage mixed with sewage."
Marcus nodded knowingly. "That's normal. All Devil Fruits taste like that."
Despite looking like he was about to be sick, Usopp choked down the rest of the Bomb-Bomb Fruit in just a few bites, eating it completely.
When he finished, he collapsed onto the grass, staring at the sky with dead eyes like someone who'd just experienced unspeakable trauma.
Marcus watched him, then pulled out another identical Bomb-Bomb Fruit.
"What the hell?!"
Everyone stared in shock at the second fruit in his hand.
"Wait, what's going on here?"
"Aren't Devil Fruits supposed to be unique? Only one of each type exists!" Sanji exclaimed, his cigarette nearly falling from his mouth.
The others looked between Marcus and the fruit. Even Vivi seemed stunned by this.
Usopp sat up quickly, looking betrayed. "Don't tell me what I just ate was fake!"
Marcus waved his hand dismissively, grinning at their reactions. "Relax. This one's a copy. It has exactly the same effects as the real Bomb-Bomb Fruit."
At that moment, Usopp became aware of new sensations flowing through his body. A strange instinct had awakened inside him, and he somehow naturally understood the power of the Bomb-Bomb Fruit. He was now immune to explosions, and any part of his body could detonate at will.
To test his new abilities, he plucked a single strand of his own hair and tied it to a lead pellet. He loaded it into his slingshot and fired it toward a distant tree.
With just a thought, BOOM!
The explosion was massive, sending dirt and debris flying everywhere. The blast was so loud it jolted both sleeping giants awake.
"What the hell happened?!" Dorry shouted, scrambling to his feet.
Both giants looked toward the source of the explosion, weapons ready for battle.
"The power is incredible!" Usopp stared at the smoking crater where his target used to be.
Marcus observed the destruction thoughtfully. The ability seemed identical to Mr. 5's power, no reduction in effectiveness at all.
So converting it to "Minecraft" format didn't change anything about how it worked?
He pondered this development. Had he really spent eighty million EMC just for the ability to mass-produce Devil Fruits? That wasn't exactly a loss, but it was slightly disappointing. He'd been hoping for some kind of enhancement or modification.
Looking at the second Bomb-Bomb Fruit in his hand, he wondered what would happen if Usopp ate this one too. But after thinking it over, he decided against experimenting. Whether it would do nothing or make Usopp explode from the inside, it wasn't worth the risk.
Vivi, having witnessed this entire exchange, asked for more details about how the Bomb-Bomb Fruit worked.
After hearing the explanation, her expression turned weird. "No wonder Mr. 5 was always called the 'Bomb Man,' he could only use parts of his body for attacks."
"Yeah, if I'm understanding this right," Usopp said, testing small explosions in his palm, "for long-range attacks, I have to use pieces of myself. For close combat, I can trade stamina to create explosions directly."
"And the power depends on the mass of whatever body part you use?"
"Exactly. If I shaved off all my hair, I could probably create one massive explosion. But there's a time limit once parts leave my body. The smaller the piece, the faster it loses power." Usopp demonstrated by pulling out another hair. "Like this single hair, after about five minutes, it loses some of its explosive ability."
Marcus nodded. That made sense from a game balance perspective. If body parts could be stored indefinitely, Usopp could theoretically stockpile biological explosives during bathroom breaks and launch... well, let's just say the mental image was deeply disturbing.
Anyone hit by that kind of attack would suffer in ways beyond just physical damage.
"If that's how it works, I'm gonna go bald pretty fast," Usopp groaned, running his hand through his hair. His fighting style was all about long-range sniping, which meant constantly sacrificing hair for ammunition.
Everyone burst out laughing at the image of a bald Usopp.
Marcus patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, if you go bald, at least you'll get stronger too."
Usopp looked at him with exasperation.
Marcus turned to the rest of the crew. "So, anyone else want one?"
The remaining fruit-less crew members all stayed quiet.
Sanji and Zoro had their own fighting styles and didn't rely on Devil Fruit powers. Sanji was still holding out hope for the Clear-Clear Fruit anyway. As for Nami and Vivi...
Nami definitely didn't want to be pulling out her own hair for weapons, let alone using other bodily substances for combat. The whole concept was deeply unappealing to her.
Vivi, meanwhile, didn't expect Marcus to offer her one anyway. They hadn't been traveling together very long, and she was technically still just a passenger.
All four remained silent.
Marcus didn't push the issue. "No problem. Just speak up if you change your minds."
Instead of putting the fruit away, he stored it in his inventory where it would be easily accessible. When he turned around, he found both giants staring at him with eyes bigger than car tires.
"So you people actually found Devil Fruits?" Dorry asked.
"Incredible," Brogy nodded, equally impressed.
Marcus glanced at the two massive warriors and asked, "You two want one?"
The giants looked at each other.
"Gahahaha! It's tempting," Dorry admitted.
"But we'll pass," Brogy added firmly. "Before we settle our duel, we won't eat Devil Fruits as shortcuts to power."
"Fair enough," Marcus said with a shrug.
He was curious though, if a giant ate the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, wouldn't the resulting explosions be absolutely ridiculous? Their sheer size alone would make them walking weapons of mass destruction.
In terms of raw mass, they were on a completely different level. A single strand of giant hair might be more powerful than all of Usopp's hair combined.
And their natural stamina far exceeded anything Usopp could manage.
After this exchange, both giants simply lay back down and returned to their naps, apparently considering the conversation over.
Marcus felt tired too after staying up all night watching their battle, so he decided to head back to the ship for some rest.
The others nodded in agreement, they were all exhausted.
Luffy, of course, had no such concerns. He just plopped down right where he was and fell asleep on the grass.
Nobody bothered to wake him.
Sanji announced he'd stay up to cook, since everyone would definitely be starving when they woke up after fighting and watching battles all night.
---
Back on the ship, Marcus had an idea. He placed the spare Bomb-Bomb Fruit in the hallway, pried up a wooden floorboard, and hid it underneath a trapdoor.
Just in case Vivi wanted it but was too shy to ask directly.
"If anyone wants to eat it later, just take it yourself," he announced before heading to his quarters.
The others didn't think much of his offer and went to their rooms.
In the women's quarters, the girls began changing clothes, preparing to wash up before sleeping.
Meanwhile, one of Kira's chickens waddled out of the room, wandering into the hallway. Its beady eyes were immediately drawn to something glinting under the loose floorboard.
When Marcus woke up hours later, it was already afternoon. He stepped out of his room planning to wash up, but after only two steps, he noticed an egg lying on the hallway floor.
He didn't think much of it at first. The chicken from the women's quarters belonged to Kira, and sometimes when doors weren't properly closed, it would wander around the ship. Finding eggs in random places wasn't exactly unusual.
Minecraft eggs were weird items anyway, sometimes useful, sometimes not. You could eat them raw or cooked, though even Sanji couldn't use them to make proper dishes. Their main purpose was being thrown against walls to hatch into chicks.
Marcus picked up the egg and headed toward the livestock area where they kept cows, sheep, and chickens together. He was planning to just toss it against a wall to spawn another chicken.
But the moment he touched it, something felt wrong.
This egg was too smooth. Minecraft eggs always had rough, angular edges with a sandpaper-like texture. But this one felt strangely round and sleek.
He looked more closely and spotted something etched into the shell.
"What the hell?"
"Exploding egg?"
He stared blankly at the "egg" in his hand.
Then, as if lightning struck, he spun around and saw that the trapdoor had been pried open. The Bomb-Bomb Fruit was still there, but it clearly had a chunk missing from one side.
He picked up the Devil Fruit to inspect it more closely. The name had changed completely:
Paramecia-type Bomb-Bomb Fruit (Invalidated).
He checked the recycle value in his interface.
Zero... Obviously, it was completely useless now.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..."
He made his way to the women's quarters and found the door locked. He hesitated for a moment, then knocked anyway.
Soon he heard movement inside, followed by footsteps approaching the door.
"What's wrong?" Kira asked, opening the door while wearing pajamas and rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Where's your pet?"
"Clucky? Um, Clucky?" She looked around confused.
The little chicken that had originally been in classic Minecraft style had undergone a transformation. While it still maintained the basic blocky aesthetic, its edges were no longer sharp and angular. Instead of the pixelated appearance, it now had actual feathers sprouting from its body.
"Just as I thought."
Kira picked up the chicken, looking puzzled and slightly worried. "What happened to Clucky? What kind of change is this? Why does it have real feathers now?!"
The commotion woke the other women, who gathered around to see what was happening.
"If I'm not mistaken," Marcus said, examining the transformed chicken, "it ate the Devil Fruit."
"What?!" Kira's face went pale, then flushed with embarrassment and panic as she realized what must have happened. "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to..."
Marcus waved his hand. "I don't care about that. I'm more curious about Clucky's condition right now. Let me borrow it for some research."
Kira hesitated, clearly reluctant to hand over her beloved pet. Anyone could see how attached she was to the little creature.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt it. I just want to understand what's happened."
He carried Clucky out onto the deck, where the morning sun was beginning to warm the wooden planks.
The chicken tilted its head and looked at Marcus with what appeared to be curiosity.
"So you really did get smarter."
"Can you understand what I'm saying? Nod if you can."
Without hesitation, Clucky nodded its blocky head.
Marcus wasn't particularly surprised by this development. In Minecraft, animals basically operated on simple code, run when hit, make noise when idle, follow food when hungry. They didn't have real intelligence.
But in the One Piece world, animals generally possessed at least some level of intelligence, though they typically couldn't understand human speech.
Clucky had been no exception to this rule before eating the Devil Fruit.
Now, however, its eyes were clearly much more alert and expressive. Marcus could actually sense emotions from the creature.
He pulled out some wheat seeds from his inventory.
Clucky's attention was immediately captured, its gaze locking onto the seeds with intense focus while making excited clucking sounds.
"Still attracted to wheat seeds, huh? But in this new state... do you even need to eat?" Marcus wondered aloud, but fed the seeds to Clucky anyway.
As usual, a small heart icon appeared above the chicken's head, indicating contentment. But in the next instant, an exploding egg dropped onto the deck.
Marcus picked it up carefully, turning it over in his hands. "Since the eggs you lay are technically part of your body... I wonder what happens to any chicks that might be inside?"
He was curious about the mechanics, but he couldn't experiment inside the ship where people could get hurt.
Taking Clucky with him to the ship's railing, he spotted a perfect test subject on the shore, a massive T-Rex that had been eyeing their ship hungrily for the past few minutes.
"Perfect timing."
He hurled the egg toward the dinosaur. It wasn't particularly fast, arcing through the air like a normal thrown object.
The T-Rex watched the egg flying toward it. In its primitive understanding, this round thing looked like food. Maybe this human was being kind and offering it a snack?
What a nice gesture. Perhaps it would chew more gently before swallowing the human in return.
The T-Rex opened its massive jaws and caught the egg, swallowing it whole.
BOOM!
An explosion shook the island. Shockwaves rolled outward, sending countless birds erupting from the forest canopy. Even the Going Merry rocked violently from the blast, and everyone still sleeping in the cabins was jolted awake by the sound.
Marcus wiped blood and gore from his face, looking at the smoking crater where the T-Rex used to be.
"Holy shit... that's some serious firepower. Not bad at all."
He looked at another egg that had appeared in his inventory.
"Clucky, can you lay bigger eggs?"
The chicken tilted its head thoughtfully, then nodded.
But it started clucking insistently, and Marcus couldn't understand what it was trying to communicate.
Seeing his confusion, Clucky began pecking at his palm repeatedly.
"You mean... seeds?"
Clucky nodded eagerly.
Marcus pulled out a single wheat seed, but Clucky shook its head.
"Not this?"
Another head shake.
"Not enough?"
Now Clucky nodded vigorously.
After thinking for a moment, Marcus directly pulled out a full stack of sixty-four seeds.
Clucky's eyes lit up immediately and it began gobbling them down with surprising speed.
Watching the rapid stream of heart icons popping up above the chicken's head, Marcus' mouth twitched. The density of those hearts was ridiculous, anyone who didn't know better would think someone was spam-clicking likes on a livestream.
"CLUCK!"
With a loud, triumphant cry, a slightly darkened egg appeared directly in Marcus' inventory.
Exploding Egg F1.
"What?!"
Marcus examined it. "Even the name changed? So a full stack of wheat seeds produces F1... what happens if I keep going?"
He thought for a moment, then pulled out 128 seeds, two full stacks.
While his inventory storage limit was now 1000 items per slot, the maximum amount he could extract from his transmutation interface at once was still 64.
Clucky immediately rushed forward and began eating frantically again, its enthusiasm seemingly unlimited.
Exploding Egg F2.
"Interesting..."
Marcus continued experimenting, feeding Clucky increasingly large amounts of wheat seeds and documenting the results:
Exploding Egg F3.
Exploding Egg F4.
Exploding Egg E1 (×2).
Exploding Egg E2.
The pattern became clear: every 64 wheat seeds increased the egg's power grade by one level, starting from F1 and going up to F4. After reaching E1, however, the required amount doubled, not just an additional 64, but 128 total.
If his theory was correct, the next level would be D1, requiring 256 seeds. Above that would be C1-C4, then 512 seeds for B1.
But first, he needed to test the destructive power of these enhanced explosives.
A normal exploding egg had roughly the same power as a single block of TNT.
He looked at the F2 egg thoughtfully, then threw it much farther away from the ship.
BOOM!
Another massive explosion sent shockwaves rolling across the island.
After the dust settled, he walked over to examine the damage. The crater was roughly ten times larger than what a normal exploding egg would create.
Next, he tested the F3 egg, lobbing it toward a different section of the shore.
This time, the explosion wasn't a hundred times stronger, but about fifty times more powerful than the baseline.
Finally, he pulled out the E1 egg, the most powerful one Clucky had produced so far.
The explosion was absolutely devastating, creating a crater that was easily a hundred times more destructive than a normal exploding egg.
"If this progression continues," he mused, "a C-level egg might reach small mushroom cloud territory."
As for feeding Clucky enough to produce something on the level of an atomic bomb... well, even magical chickens apparently had physical limits. Despite having more wheat seeds right in front of it, Clucky couldn't eat another bite.
If his estimates were correct, the chicken could produce at most one E4-level egg per day at full capacity.
While Marcus was conducting his explosive experiments, the massive commotion naturally drew everyone on the island to investigate.
Both giants wandered over to examine the smoking craters.
The other crew members who knew what was happening crowded around, examining the remaining eggs, especially Usopp, who was holding the last two exploding eggs Marcus had given him: one E1 and one E2.
"Wait a minute," Usopp said, turning the slightly darkened eggs over in his hands. "Why can Clucky's eggs keep their explosive power indefinitely?"
His concern was obviously different from everyone else's. The previous day, he'd secretly tested various aspects of his new Devil Fruit abilities.
No matter what he tried, any material that separated from his body lost its explosive properties within thirty minutes at most. Exhaled air was even worse, if not triggered within thirty seconds, it became completely inert, and the explosion power was pathetic anyway, no stronger than his regular gunpowder pellets.
Marcus thought for a moment before answering. "It's probably because they're actual eggs. Clucky's eggshell isn't the source of the explosion, the shell has to be broken to trigger the blast. That's the key difference. If you could lay eggs, you'd probably get the same effect."
This observation left Usopp speechless.
"If I could lay eggs, that would be a biological miracle!" he complained. "I'm a man, not a chicken!"
But despite his protests, he immediately became absorbed in studying the exploding eggs. After all, he was now a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user himself, and understanding how these worked could improve his own combat techniques.
"Clucky, can you lay one more normal egg?"