Chapter 276: Distributing Nine Devil Fruits
Shane's words left Jinbe momentarily stunned, but then a relieved smile spread across his face. "I was overthinking it. With your magnanimity, you were even able to let go of what happened with Arlong. How could you be concerned about them?"
And even if the Charlotte Family were to make a comeback someday, against the Curtain Call Adventurers, it would be a futile effort.
Shane glanced at Jinbe. The "Knight of the Sea" had such high moral standards. He hadn't expected Jinbe to come and apologize personally for Arlong's actions all those years ago.
Arlong… That man had certainly been a deep-seated nightmare from his childhood. He had once caused him so much anxiety that he couldn't eat or sleep. Not even his first encounter with Akainu in the first half of the Grand Line could compare to that feeling of oppressive dread. But it was precisely because of that experience that he was who he was today. Otherwise, he might still be picking tangerines in the countryside of Cocoyasi Village, never having even left the East Blue.
In any case, it was all in the past.
"My injuries have healed. I've come today for the same reason as Katakuri—to bid you farewell," Jinbe said, bowing slightly, his tone sincere and solemn. "Having received your forgiveness and been given the honor of joining the Curtain Call Adventurers to contribute my strength, I can rest much easier. However, I cannot stay here for long. It would be difficult to explain to Marine Headquarters if they were to investigate."
"I understand. Be careful on your journey," Shane nodded, watching Jinbe leave.
That's right. In their conversation a few days ago, Jinbe had expressed his desire to help and had officially joined the Curtain Call Adventurers as one of the top officers. As the strongest sea-fighter among the Seven Warlords, Jinbe was certainly qualified. However, precisely because of his status as a Warlord, Shane and Jinbe had agreed to keep his membership a secret for the time being. He would continue to act as a Warlord, serving as a covert asset for the Curtain Call Adventurers within the Marines. If the day came when the Marines summoned the Warlords for a full-scale confrontation with their crew, he could switch sides then.
Fortunately, the person Jinbe had intercepted was Greenbull, who had not yet officially taken his post and was not on any official Marine roster. If he had blocked one of the three Admirals, he would have most likely been stripped of his Warlord title on the spot.
After Jinbe's figure had also disappeared into the distance, Shane's gaze shifted to the castle. He raised his coffee, a thoughtful look on his face. "Next, I need to seriously consider how to utilize the resources from Whole Cake Island…"
The Curtain Call Adventurers had acquired a vast amount of resources by taking over Whole Cake Island. The "resources" Shane was currently prioritizing were the Devil Fruits collected from Cake Island, and how best to distribute them.
Before this, after Blackbeard had used up the Fly-Fly Fruit, Shane had only three Devil Fruits left in his possession: the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the Sand-Sand Fruit, and the White Tiger Fruit. This time, however, he had collected a total of six Devil Fruits just from the treasury in Big Mom's castle. Most of them were Paramecia types and could be categorized as food-related.
They were:
The Butter-Butter Fruit
The Cotton Candy-Cotton Candy Fruit
The Honey-Honey Fruit
The Cigarette-Cigarette Fruit
The Pea-Pea Fruit
The sixth was a Zoan type, the Elephant-Elephant Fruit. It was a lesser version of Jack's Mammoth Fruit, and Shane remembered it quite well. Its previous owner had been the sword of CP9's director, Spandam. He had shattered both the man and his sword last year, and now, it seemed the fruit had been reborn and found its way to Whole Cake Island.
"A total of nine fruits…" Shane mused. "How should I distribute them to maximize their use?" It was a real headache. In the end, he decided to let his officers choose for themselves. He already had the perfect candidate in mind for the most valuable fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, so he would hold onto that one for now. The other eight would be offered up for everyone to choose from.
"Hmm?" Shane glanced down from the terrace and saw a white bear passing by. He smiled and called out, "Hey, Bepo, could you do me a favor and go get a few people for me?"
An hour later, the conference room at the Garrison Corps headquarters was bustling with people. Nearly every officer who had joined the Curtain Call Adventurers after the Sabaody incident and didn't have a Devil Fruit ability had been summoned. This also included some of the most outstanding officers from the Garrison and Infrastructure Corps, as many of the fruits were better suited for production and construction than for combat.
However, there were a couple of exceptions among the attendees—
"So we're distributing Devil Fruits… then what am I doing here?!" Chopper asked, looking at Bepo in confusion. "I'm already a Zoan-type user!"
"Eh?" Bepo was dumbfounded. He turned to Chopper. "A Zoan-type user? Aren't you a Mink, Chopper?"
"I'm a pure-blooded reindeer, you idiot!" Chopper raged. "And here I thought we were good friends! I can't believe you didn't even know that I ate the Human-Human Fruit!"
"I'm sorry," Bepo lowered his head, looking guilty. "I-I wasn't thinking. I just heard that there was a Cotton Candy-Cotton Candy Fruit this time, so I came to find you right away…"
At the mention of that, Chopper's angry face froze, and his eyes lit up. "Eh? The C-Cotton Candy-Cotton Candy Fruit?" Is this real life? Am I in heaven?!
Bepo scratched his head with a goofy grin. "Yeah, I heard that if you eat it, you can produce an unlimited amount of cotton candy. I remembered it was your favorite…"
Sniffle, and I yelled at him. I'm a bad reindeer! Chopper threw his arms around Bepo's furry body, buried his face in the white bear's fur, and burst into tears. "WAAAH, I'm sorry, Bepo! I was wrong! You're… you're the best!"
Bepo, flustered by the sudden hug, awkwardly patted Chopper's back. "I-it's okay…"
Everyone smiled at the two adorable, fluffy friends, not wanting to interrupt their noisy reunion. However, they were not so patient with another "noisy duo."
"Hmph, what are you doing here, Mosshead?" Sanji lit a cigarette and shot a disdainful look at the person next to him. "Truly strong swordsmen have no need for Devil Fruits. A shameless guy like you obviously lacks that kind of conviction."
"Hah? What are you talking about? I came here just to laugh at you!" Zoro crossed his arms and sneered. "And just as I expected, you showed up. What, is the 50-Berry man feeling so ashamed of his low bounty that he needs a Devil Fruit to compensate?"
"What did you say?! You're bringing up the bounty again?! It's all because of your stupid idea that I didn't even beat my opponent and my wanted poster ended up looking like that! You wanna fight, bastard?!"
"Just what I was thinking! I'll slice you into sashimi!"
Ever since the new wanted posters came out, the two of them had felt utterly humiliated. Besides training harder, they spent their days picking fights with each other. Now, they both slammed their hands on the table and stood up, ready to brawl right there in the conference room.
Suddenly—THWACK! THWACK!
Lumps rose on both Zoro and Sanji's heads. Tashigi sheathed her sword, looking displeased. "If you want to fight, take it outside. Don't waste Lord Shane's time, you two brats."
"Oh." The two of them held their heads, tears in their eyes, and sat back down obediently, not daring to make another peep. A second later, something felt off. They looked at each other, and then Zoro spun around and roared at Tashigi, "Who the hell are you to tell us what to do?!" For a second there, I actually thought she was Kuina!
"What, you got a problem with it?" Tashigi snorted. "After this is over, I'd be happy to take you on."
Zoro gritted his teeth. He wasn't so sure anymore. When he first joined the crew, he hadn't thought much of this girl, assuming his swordsmanship was superior. But during the War of Whole Cake Island, Tashigi had held her own against Streusen for half an hour, displaying a level of swordsmanship that had stunned everyone. She's not that old, so who the hell taught her…
"Alright, settle down," Shane tapped the table, and the room immediately fell silent. He looked around at everyone and smiled. "A word of advice: the idea that strong swordsmen don't need Devil Fruits… that's not always true. Don't blindly follow such notions."
"Don't put strange shackles on yourselves. The truly strong are never bound by form, nor do they care what others think. Devil Fruits, pure physical combat, swordsmanship, or Haki—they are all just tools on the path to the top."
He gestured, and Bepo quickly opened the boxes on the table, revealing eight Devil Fruits of various shapes and sizes.
"Bepo, you can explain the abilities and characteristics of these fruits to everyone," Shane instructed. "Choose for yourselves. If you don't see anything you like, that's fine too. There will be other opportunities in the future."
Don't put useless shackles on yourself? Bepo was already at the front, explaining each fruit, but Tashigi's eyes narrowed in silent contemplation. She looked down at her hands, at the thick calluses on her palms, knuckles, and finger joints. Shane's words echoed in her mind.
He's right. I've been too obsessed with the pure path of the sword. She had even thought that was the only way to be worthy of the path of a swordswoman that Lord Shane had inspired her to walk, the only way to stand proudly beside Kuina, behind him.
But… but this world was unfair. Hard work could only take you so far; it couldn't bridge the chasm of natural talent between people. She had trained in the sword since she was a child. She had even been taught by the former World's Strongest Swordsman for nearly a year. Yet she wasn't even close to Kuina's level. She couldn't even see her back. She hadn't even managed to create much of a gap between herself and new recruits like Zoro and Sanji.
To be so weak, so unable to help Lord Shane, and yet still have the honor of being a member of his main crew… Every time she walked through their territory and saw the envious looks from the members of the Four Corps, she felt… unworthy.
Tashigi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Lord Shane is right. Perhaps it's time to break the shackles, to let go of my prejudice.
Tashigi's eyes snapped open. Her gaze swept over the eight Devil Fruits, finally settling on a sandy-yellow, cactus-shaped fruit.
"The Sand-Sand Fruit…" she murmured, the images of the three Marine Admirals flashing in her mind. There was a time when she had been a staunch believer in the Marines' justice, and besides Shane, she had once idolized those three Admirals. All three of them were Logia users. They were no longer her idols, but that kind of power… it couldn't be a mistake…
Tashigi's gaze hardened. She reached out and picked up the Sand-Sand Fruit. The rough texture of its skin was a strange sensation in her palm. "I choose this one," she said, her voice clear and bright.
The room fell silent for a moment. Everyone looked at Tashigi in surprise, including Zoro and Sanji.
"Hey! Are you really giving up on the pure path of the sword?" Zoro asked, unable to stop himself.
Tashigi let out a small laugh. She didn't look at him, but at Shane, her eyes shining. My greatest wish is to be able to help Lord Shane, to be his right hand. That is the path of my sword. How is that not pure?
Shane, not noticing Tashigi's gaze, nodded slightly. "A wise choice. Even among Logia fruits, the Sand-Sand Fruit is quite exceptional. It might not seem to pair well with swordsmanship, but Kizaru is a perfect example. If developed properly, it can complement your sword skills perfectly. It's yours."
"Yes, my lord," Tashigi said with a solemn nod, carefully putting the fruit away. She was already beginning to formulate ideas on how to integrate its abilities into her fighting style.
"Alright, next—" Shane looked around at the others. "Has anyone else decided?"
"I'd like to choose the White Tiger Fruit, my lord," Bepo said, hesitantly raising a furry paw. Seeing all eyes on him, he scratched his head sheepishly. "My specialty is close-quarters combat, but I've always been limited by my own strength. If I had the boost from a Zoan fruit, I should be able to make better use of my fighting skills…"
Shane nodded in approval. "A very logical choice. The White Tiger Fruit is a perfect fit for you. It's yours, Bepo." A significant physical boost? If he enters his Sulong form with that… After all, this was the bear who had rescued his own captain from a Yonko. Shane had always had high hopes for Bepo's potential.
"Yay! Thank you, my lord!" Bepo happily took the White Tiger Fruit and carefully put it away, just as Tashigi had done.
"Oh, there's a Cigarette-Cigarette Fruit," Sanji said, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Can you produce an unlimited supply of all kinds of cigarettes? How tempting. But alas, a true knight must always be ready to dive into the sea to rescue a lady. I simply cannot allow myself to become a dead weight in the water…"
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