Brook gazed toward Punk Hazard, a sly grin spreading across his skeletal face. The World Government would never guess that their secret research island's location and intel had already been sniffed out by the Hell Pirates' captain.
"Jahaha! That old codger swore he didn't have any Devil Fruits! If Redfield hadn't caught his little scheme, I might've fallen for his pitiful act!" Golden Lion Shiki cackled. "Well, too bad for him—I cleaned out his entire treasury! Let's see him try to hide anything from me now!"
Shiki, true to his flair for the dramatic, had hauled back an entire luxurious building—Prodence Kingdom's treasury, complete with its underground foundation and a chunk of earth. It now sat proudly on Golden Island, a testament to his plundering prowess.
"Brook, don't blame me!" Shiki said with a shrug. "The Prodence King wasn't straight with us. I was gonna leave him half his loot, but he had the nerve to stash a Devil Fruit! His loss!"
BOOM! With a thunderous crash, Shiki plopped the treasury onto Golden Island. If time weren't so tight, he'd have probably nabbed the royal palace too. But Brook was already itching to hit the next target, and even Shiki knew better than to derail the captain's plans.
He tossed a cucumber-shaped Devil Fruit to Brook.
"Here's the only fruit they had. Whaddya think it does?"
Shiki sidled up to Redfield, curious about the "King Punch" technique Redfield had been tinkering with. Could it inspire a way to supercharge his own limitless sword aura?
Down below, the Elizabello royals of Prodence Kingdom stared at the departing airship fleet, their faces pale as ghosts. Their treasury—gold, jewels, and that precious Devil Fruit—was gone. But at least they were still breathing.
The king broke into a cold sweat, realizing how close they'd come to disaster. First, they'd attacked the Hell Pirates, then tried to outsmart them by hiding the fruit. Yet, somehow, they'd escaped the wrath of two legendary pirates. Was it dumb luck? Or were the Hell Pirates' officers just... merciful?
Unbeknownst to them, Brook had a philosophy: Rob the loot, spare the lives—give the kingdom time to rebuild, and you can come back to "harvest" their treasury again. A pirate's version of sustainable farming!
Shakky and Stussy gave this approach a standing ovation, spreading the "rob, don't kill" gospel to the crew. It became their golden rule—except when dealing with enemy pirates or Devil Fruit users, of course.
Brook examined the cucumber-shaped fruit, flipping through his Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. His eye sockets lit up.
"Yohohoho! Not bad at all!"
It was the Paramecia-type Long-Long Fruit. It let the user extend anything they touched—swords, spears, you name it—but not their own body. Brook's mind raced to Sun Wukong's magical staff or Pinocchio's lie-fueled nose, stretching to poke the heavens or plunge into the underworld.
He vaguely recalled the Long-Long Pirates' captain, a New World upstart who'd made a name for himself with a sword that could stretch for miles. The stronger the user, the longer the extension.
If Kaido ate this thing, could he jab a spear from here to Mary Geoise, hundreds of miles away? Fujitora was yanking meteors from space, so it wasn't that far-fetched! A forty-meter blade was no longer a dream—it was a promise.
Brook tucked the Long-Long Fruit into his Devil Fruit vault, joining his growing collection: Octopus Siren Fruit, Bone Fruit, Mark-Mark Fruit, Barrier Fruit, Clone Fruit, Corrupt Fruit, and now the Long-Long Fruit.
Staring at his hoard, Brook felt a rush. This was why he collected Devil Fruits. The thrill! The satisfaction! His collecting obsession was in overdrive.
The Rhino Beetle Fruit had already been handed out during the World Draft, gifted to Merveille's new leader, turning him into a beetle-winged juggernaut. Brook had pulled a few strings to make it happen, naturally.
He even toyed with the idea of "borrowing back" the Stitch-Stitch Fruit he'd given to the dwarf leader. His Devil Fruit Collecting Syndrome was flaring up—knowing a fruit was out there, in someone else's hands, made his bones itch!
But Brook wasn't about to waste these treasures. He needed to find worthy wielders for each fruit, and fast.
Now he understood why heroes loved slaying dragons or bosses. Those hoarders—dragons, bosses, pirates—were just like him, obsessed with collecting rare goodies. Easy targets for a hero to swoop in and "liberate" their loot.
Brook vowed never to become that kind of boss. No one was bursting his treasure stash! If anyone was doing the bursting, it'd be him, raiding someone else's haul.
The Celestial Dragons in God Valley probably had a Devil Fruit collection to put his to shame. The thought set his heart—or lack thereof—pounding.
No, no, it's the syndrome acting up again!
To calm his nerves, Brook started fondling his Devil Fruits, basking in their glory.
"So satisfying! I love Devil Fruits! Yohohoho!"
...
When Admiral Devo arrived at Prodence Kingdom with his small Navy fleet, the Hell Pirates' airship armada was long gone.
No smoke, no screams, no chaos—Prodence's losses seemed light. Devo stepped ashore to console the Elizabello royals, but their grim faces told a different story.
A quick chat revealed the truth: the Hell Pirates had cleaned out their treasury. Every last Belly, jewel, and Devil Fruit—gone.
Devo had no leads on where the Hell Pirates were headed next. Even if he did, he couldn't exactly reimburse Prodence's losses. With a few half-hearted words of comfort, he used "pursuing the Hell Pirates" as an excuse to hightail it out of there.
Chasing the Hell Pirates was a pipe dream. Their fleet, powered by the Float-Float Fruit and Wind-Wind Fruit, was untouchable. Devo's warships couldn't keep up, and even if they did, they'd get smoked in a fight. Worse, he had to worry about Brook turning the tables and ambushing him.
"Admiral, it looks like the Hell Pirates are heading toward Punk Hazard. Could that be their target?"
Devo's personal strategist, Tsunaki, studied a map with concern. He knew Punk Hazard's value to the World Government—packed with rare research materials, unique species, and top-tier scientists recruited (or "persuaded") from across the globe. Those researchers were the government's prized assets.
"No way! Punk Hazard's never been exposed. It's just another island to outsiders!" Devo said, trying to sound confident. But doubt gnawed at him.
He immediately fired off calls on his Den Den Mushi to Punk Hazard's director and Admiral Kong, who was en route to reinforce. Better safe than sorry!
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+400 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg