Chapter 523: Supplementary Fruit, Rampage
A week had passed since the old man dove into his laboratory.
During this week, Fish-Man Island's citizens had more or less gotten used to the artificial sun floating in the sky.
The light released by the artificial sun wasn't much different from the sunlight Eve brought. This wasn't difficult to adapt to.
The citizens even found this sun that rose in the morning and set in the evening quite novel.
In a sense, this was the first time the vast majority of Fish-Man Island's citizens had seen sunrise and sunset in their lives.
Though artificial, this was quite moving.
Fish-Man Island's days proceeded in orderly fashion, but the Navy was somewhat overwhelmed.
Marine Headquarters' high-ranking officers still hadn't left Fish-Man Island. During this week, or rather adding the previous week, most of their lives had been spent busily making phone calls.
They continuously contacted Navy branch commanders across the sea, trying to gain their support.
In fact, their work results weren't bad. They'd successfully won over several G-series branch Vice Admirals. With the Navy now nearly half-crippled, these guys were already high-ranking officials of significant authority. Nearly every one commanded over ten thousand Navy soldiers.
However, even so, the situation remained terrible. Most Navy bases still followed the World Government, especially the various branch bases in the Four Blues.
These bases either remained loyal to the World Government or had already had their military authority seized by nearby kings who'd sent people in advance.
The final result was that despite Headquarters being bombed and the Fleet Admiral directly killed, most of the remaining Navy's forces still belonged to the World Government.
This was quite troublesome.
What Vice Admiral Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru and the others were doing was continuously trying to gain support.
Brett didn't disturb them.
After all, strictly speaking, though the Navy officers were now their partners, they had no intention of joining any of their factions, not even NEO Navy.
They planned to rebuild the Navy.
This was actually fine. Brett didn't particularly care about this.
He didn't want to rule the world, so he didn't need to unify all internal factions.
He just wanted his Fish-Man Island compatriots to have their own place on the surface. In fact, the current alliance's each-doing-their-own-thing situation was quite good.
The human camp should be fragmented. Only then could minority groups like them survive comfortably.
Even with allies, Brett hoped for this.
During this week, Brett's main daily work was running to Vegapunk's laboratory to silently wait.
Then finally at noon on this day, Brett had just finished lunch and was preparing to take a brief rest when the laboratory door was pushed open excitedly.
"Hahaha! It's successfully cultivated, Brett!"
The old man held up a blue Devil Fruit in his hand. The fruit was covered with dragon-scale-like shell.
"What you wanted already has results!"
The drowsiness in Brett's mind vanished in an instant. He flipped up and approached Vegapunk. "I've been looking forward to this!"
"Hahahaha! Take it!"
The old man unceremoniously threw the fruit in his hand directly to Brett.
Brett caught it without even wiping it, opening his mouth wide to bite down immediately.
But just then, Vegapunk suddenly spoke. "Wait a moment, Brett!"
"What?"
Brett asked.
"I suddenly remembered a problem!"
The old man's expression became somewhat serious. "Remember what I told you before? So-called Devil Fruit ability awakening is the result of ability users successfully transcending their predecessors' shackles and leaving their own mark on the Devil Fruit!"
"This fruit in your hand does indeed contain the Azure Dragon Fruit's awakening ability, but this is Kaido's awakening!"
Brett raised an eyebrow.
In other words, even eating this fruit and mastering awakening ability would inevitably be interfered with by Kaido's will, right?
"It's fine!"
Brett grinned. "If Kaido could break free of the shackles his predecessors placed on him, why couldn't I break through Kaido's seal on this fruit?"
The most critical point was, this was the method specified by the world's number one fortune teller, Miss Shyarly. Brett naturally trusted Shyarly immensely.
"Very well."
The old man nodded gravely. "In any case, Garp and the others are here now. If something really happens, I'll have them restrain you."
Brett smiled.
Not that he looked down on the Navy or anything, but mainlyâ€"if he truly mastered awakening, would they really still possess the power to stop him?
"Then, Doctor, please step back a bit."
Brett solemnly held up the Devil Fruit in his hand.
"Good!"
The old man's two short legs moved rapidly, running all the way to the doorway. He gripped the doorframe, watching Brett somewhat worriedly.
Brett took a deep breath, then finally swallowed the fruit in his hand in one bite.
Initially, all was calm.
After eating the fruit, he felt nothing.
But soon, strange sensations already began.
First, scales began growing involuntarily on his skin.
Then horns, finally a tail.
"This is..."
Brett's eyes gradually widened.
The ability seemed to have lost control, activating on its own.
All his muscles twitched slightly, driving his entire body to tremble faintly.
At this moment, Brett's body first expanded, then contracted again. Crackling sounds throughout his body were crisp and pleasant.
"Is this awakening?"
He could feel it. The ability was bit by bit breaking through some shackle. Power continuously surged up.
Was it going this smoothly?
Brett thought this.
Then.
"Ngh!"
Brett suddenly felt his vision blur. Surrounding sounds became faint.
He felt himself continuously falling, as though dropping into a bottomless well.
Falling continuously.
Falling continuously.
As though without end.
Brett instinctively wanted to do something, but somehow at this moment his mind had already gone completely blank.
"Orororororo!!"
Around him, familiar laughter began echoing continuously.
Outside, Vegapunk stared blankly at Brett, now lying on his back on the ground.
His body kept expanding and contracting. Even the color of his scales was changing. A large section of originally bright red scales had now turned azure blue.
"Brett..."
The old man silently clenched his fists. "Do your best!!"