Chapter 160: Akainu: How About Killing the Game Merchant?
He paused, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Has no one noticed? That rifle—like a Devil Fruit—actually enhances the user's physical ability?"
The entire meeting room froze. Even the two admiral candidates and Akainu were momentarily stunned.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Sengoku frowned. A gun that enhances its user's body? Was this a tale from West Blue's Norland the Liar?
"It's true!"
"Did none of you see? Buggy had already exhausted his stamina—he shouldn't have been able to reload armor-piercing rounds. But after obtaining that rifle, not only did his stamina recover, but the rounds became even more powerful."
Everyone furrowed their brows.
Reports from the East Blue had confirmed that these skills consumed "energy points," a unique resource converted from the user's spirit attribute.
Buggy had clearly been drained of energy before.
"Report!"
"Fleet Admiral! A pirate contract-holder has been discovered."
Just then, a Marine came in to report.
This pirate, a small-time criminal from the Grand Line, had stumbled upon a strange fruit and become a contract-holder.
Most contract-holders were found in the East Blue, but over the past few days, it was inevitable that some fruits would drift across the seas into other regions.
Though rare and random, it was still possible.
This particular pirate had been lucky.
Though, it seemed he used up all his luck finding the fruit—he was quickly captured and brought to Marine HQ.
"Bring him in!"
Sengoku's eyes lit up and he immediately gave the order.
He had been wondering how they'd found a contract-holder so quickly after ordering the East Blue branches to search for the fruits.
Even Borsalino's Devil Fruit powers weren't that fast.
Turns out they'd just gotten lucky.
Soon, a rough-looking man in chains was escorted into the meeting room.
He was glaring fiercely at the Marines—
Until he walked in and realized where he was.
Then, he broke into a cold sweat.
He hadn't met these people before, but even the most remote island in all four seas and the Grand Line had posters and dossiers on these top Marine officers—
Used to intimidate pirates.
Buddha Sengoku, Akainu, Kizaru, Aokiji, admiral candidates like Tsuru and Momousagi...
He was just a rookie pirate with a 40 million bounty. Any of these people could kill him with one hit.
Seeing them all in one place, his legs gave out.
Was this hell? Had one of the civilians he'd killed been a Celestial Dragon in disguise?
"You're a contract-holder?"
Sengoku raised his head, smiling kindly.
Thud!
The pirate dropped to his knees, kowtowing frantically.
"Spare me! I was forced into piracy by the oppression of allied nation nobles! Please don't kill me!"
He had no will to resist.
He knew the gap in power was insurmountable.
Unlike reckless fools like Morgan who dared to challenge Garp, most pirates wouldn't even dream of resistance.
Sengoku frowned, stroking his goat-like beard. "Answer the question."
"Y-yes! I picked up a contract fruit. After completing a mission to capture a Sea King, I got a skill.
Then I completed more tasks and received a weapon."
The pirate spilled everything in hopes of leniency.
As he spoke, he pulled the weapon from his inventory.
It was a beginner's hand crossbow.
Sengoku held it up, looking intrigued. The pirate eagerly explained,
"This is a weapon from the Reincarnation Game. It enhances my eyesight—not by much, but enough to improve my aim."
"Enhanced eyesight?"
Sengoku didn't feel any change.
As a non-player, he couldn't use Reincarnation Game equipment.
Still, the claim made him glance toward the weapons expert vice admiral who'd brought up the concept of body-enhancing weapons.
He asked,
"Is it due to the crossbow's design improving accuracy? So it's not the user's vision that's better, but the weapon's aim?"
That seemed reasonable.
A good sword cuts deeper, a well-made gun shoots farther. Quality gear = better performance.
"No."
The pirate carefully replied,
"My eyesight really got better. With the crossbow in hand, I could clearly see distant moving targets."
It sounded absurd.
But he knew what he felt.
Meanwhile, more vice admirals were noticing details from the live broadcasts.
Players besides Buggy had started acquiring loot:
Shields that boosted strength, blades that enhanced sword energy, armor that improved stamina...
"Impossible!"
Sengoku's brow knotted as he struggled to digest these increasingly fantastical reports.
How could this be? Was it really a Devil Fruit power?
It defied all logic.
Maybe a Weapon Fruit?
But they knew about those—like the Donquixote Family's fruit user who could turn into weapons.
That didn't explain these effects.
A Smith Fruit?
A Devil Fruit that let someone forge enchanted weapons?
But then how did they explain the Trial Tower, the skill menus, the projectiles, and everything else?
Could the Game Merchant have eaten multiple Devil Fruits?
That was impossible.
Everyone knew that eating more than one Devil Fruit was fatal.
Moreover, the powers he demonstrated didn't match any known fruit recorded in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia—
A catalog the World Government had compiled over centuries.
Nothing matched this.
This wasn't a Devil Fruit.
These powers didn't belong to this world.
Sengoku drew a deep breath and asked,
"Would you be willing to join the Marines?"
"Yes! Of course!"
The pirate nodded fervently.
He wasn't stupid.
He knew he'd committed countless crimes. Under normal circumstances, he'd be thrown into Impel Down.
If he had a chance to survive, it had to be because of the Contract Fruit.
So he told them everything.
"Very good."
Sengoku listened carefully, then promoted the man to the rank of corporal and dismissed him.
An awkward silence filled the room.
Akainu broke it first, his tone stiff:
"These abilities might be varied and strange, and yes, they seem to improve the user's body.
But they're still weak. Any pirate with a bounty over 100 million could crush them."
"So clearly, the Game Merchant himself can't be very powerful."
"In fact, it's likely that he's some new kind of Devil Fruit user—
One who gives people these weird tools and skills to boost his own power.
We can't just sit here doing nothing."
"Before he becomes truly uncontrollable…
Let's kill him."
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