Next Bonus, 100!!
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[Note: Requirements met. Initiate evolution?]
"Evolve."
[Notice 1: Evolution initiated. Please clear all living beings from the ship within 1 minute.]
[Notice 2: During evolution, all ship functions will be suspended. Please wait patiently for the upgrade to complete.]
[Notice 3: Avoid any damage to the hull during evolution. Damage will consume energy and may even lead to evolution failure.]
[Upgrade Time Remaining: 47:59:54]
The moment the evolution began, every crew member with an assigned position on the demonic carrier felt it.
An invisible pressure, supreme and absolute.
A brilliant, dazzling golden light.
For Jin, the sensation was the most direct.
The boiler erupted—not with steam, but with a torrent of roiling golden flames, burning fiercely as they merged with the Devil Fruits, triggering a stunning transformation.
He was immersed in it.
He felt as if he were becoming one with the demonic carrier itself.
The golden flames surged out.
They seeped into his flesh and blood, cleansing his organs, his very bones swallowed by the inferno.
His cells renewed, old wounds healed, and his blood began to pump with a ferocious speed.
Faintly, he could hear his own heartbeat resonating with the roar of the carrier—each thrum a purification.
He was evolving. Like a video game character after a patch, his base stats were being raised.
This was shattering the "limiter" of what it meant to be human. He was undergoing a subtle metamorphosis, transcending his past self to welcome a new one.
And through it all, Jin's mind remained perfectly calm, observing each Devil Fruit, exploring their pasts.
His five senses were sharper than ever before.
From within the Devil Fruits, he could feel something more than the "demons" they contained.
He could feel the raw "emotion"—the countless beliefs that gave them form.
———————————
East Blue.
A port in a certain sea.
A ship flying the flag of the East Blue Trading Company was being intercepted by two other vessels—one Marine, one CIU.
The ship's owner, Ron, felt a cold knot of dread form in his stomach at the sight.
"Routine inspection!" a voice boomed. "Everyone to the side! Hands on your heads! And don't even think about moving!"
Captain Lambert of the 165th Marine Branch strode arrogantly onto the deck of the cargo ship.
Ron cursed inwardly.
He was a friend of Kaya's parents and one of the founding members of the trading company, responsible for the southwestern routes of the East Blue. He knew all about Captain Lambert—a greedy, difficult man who demanded two or three times the "toll" of any other officer.
But the man was a noble, with a powerful family backing him. Sometimes, to expand the market, you had to play by the local rules.
Ron forced a smile. "Captain Lambert, welcome aboard. You must be exhausted. Here, have a smoke—the finest from the North Blue."
He offered the man his cigar box.
But Lambert, uncharacteristically, didn't even glance at it. He slapped the box away. "Cut the crap," he sneered. "This is a special inspection, in cooperation with the CIU. Orders from above. Every ship gets a thorough search."
Ron's heart sank.
He'd heard of the CIU—the Counter-insurgency Taskforce. Those guys were a hundred times more rabid than the Marines.
They had supposedly destroyed the Revolutionary Army's headquarters last year, but that hadn't slowed them down. They were now scouring every sea, using their mandate to "hunt revolutionaries" as a license to do whatever they wanted, demanding the full cooperation of the Marines and every kingdom.
Anyone who defied them was branded a "suspected revolutionary" or an "accomplice."
And this year, with the dissemination of the Poneglyphs and the means to translate them, they had become even more like mad dogs. If you were caught with so much as a single document, you were arrested on the spot. Your family, too. Execution was the best you could hope for.
Now, in every sea, the mere mention of the Poneglyphs, the Revolutionary Army, or the CIU was enough to make people's blood run cold.
Compared to them, pirates seemed almost friendly.
Was this really a routine inspection? Or...
Ron's anxiety grew. But he was a cautious man. He never touched that revolutionary stuff. He stayed far away from black market goods and contraband. The profits were smaller, but it was safe. And with the recent company-wide directive to avoid all illicit goods, he had been even more careful. He had personally inspected every piece of cargo, every person who had come aboard.
He was clean.
But he was still afraid...
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a Marine soldier emerged from the captain's cabin.
"Captain Lambert! We found the mark of the Revolutionary Army in the captain's cabin! And some forbidden books!"
A roaring filled Ron's ears. He was completely floored.
How is that possible??
"Oh? What kind of forbidden books?"
A man stepped off the CIU ship. Vergo. He leaped, clearing the twenty or thirty meters between the ships in a single bound, and landed silently on the deck.
"Sir! These!" Captain Lambert said, fawning, as he presented the confiscated items to Vergo.
A Revolutionary Army flag.
A copy of A Guide to Translating the Poneglyphs.
And several other related books.
Ron's blood ran cold. "That's impossible!" he cried, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "I've never seen any of those things before! This is a frame-up! You planted them!"
"Hmph," Captain Lambert sneered. "We caught you red-handed. What's there to explain? Arrest them!"
"Sir!"
The Marines swarmed forward.
"A frame-up! This is a frame-up!" Ron screamed as he was slammed to the deck. "I don't have any of those things! You planted them!"
He knew he had been set up. These men had come here with a purpose.
"We are the righteous Marines," Lambert said, kicking him hard in the ribs. Ron curled into a ball, tears squeezing from his eyes. "Would we frame you?"
BANG!
A gunshot rang out.
Lambert looked down in shock. His shoulder was bleeding.
"Agh! I've been shot! Medic! Help me! Cover! Get me some cover!" he screamed, his face pale with terror as he scrambled to hide behind his men.
Only Vergo remained impassive. He was working with the man, but he had no respect for him. He had pulled Lambert back a split second before the shot. Otherwise, the bullet would have hit him in the chest.
Vergo looked up.
"Hey! You guys! Let go of Uncle Ron!"
A long-nosed boy was standing on the mast, a 98k rifle in his hands, trembling slightly as he pointed it at Vergo and the others.
"I saw you!" he shouted. "You're the ones who brought that stuff onto the ship! It's not ours!"
Vergo's brow furrowed. He shot a cold glare at the Marines. They can't even handle a simple task like this?
Two of the Marines, unnerved by his gaze, turned on the boy. "Hey! What are you talking about, you little brat?? Get down from there!"
"Dammit! How dare he shoot me! He's a revolutionary! He must be!" Lambert shrieked. "Kill him!"
"Usopp! Run!" Ron screamed.
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~ 70 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon
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