This was the first Devil Fruit aboard the Lexington, and the first time anyone had witnessed one being consumed firsthand. The atmosphere was tense, charged with a mixture of excitement and unease.
Even Ada Wong, who had seemed calm at first, grew nervous under the watchful eyes surrounding her.
She held the strange fruit in her hand. "So, how do I eat this? Just like any regular fruit?"
"All it takes is a single bite," Ethan Chen explained. "Devil Fruits only work on the first person who eats them, regardless of how much is consumed. But I should warn you it tastes awful."
"Got it," Ada nodded. She began peeling away the outer skin, revealing the bizarre inner flesh. With a small knife, she sliced off a piece and lifted it to her lips with a fork.
The moment the fruit touched her tongue, her face contorted in pain. Her features twisted as though she'd just swallowed a mouthful of sewage. She clamped a hand over her mouth, forcing herself not to gag.
It wasn't just unpleasant. It was revolting.
If she had to describe it, it was like squeezing the liquid waste from a restaurant dumpster, reducing it into a thick concentrate, and then serving it cold.
"Swallow it," Ethan encouraged. "The fruit only takes effect once it's been ingested. Spitting it out means it's wasted."
Swallowing hard, Ada forced the revolting piece down her throat.
"Well?" Mona asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Feel any different?"
Ada shook her head and took the glass of water Tifa handed her. "Nothing so far."
"Give it some time," Ethan said. "It's a Zoan fruit. Sometimes the effects aren't immediate."
"Right. Let's just eat first," Tifa said, pulling out a chair. "Maybe the effects will show up after dinner."
"This fruit... it looks like a regular snake fruit now," Ada observed. The intricate markings that had once adorned its surface were gone, replaced by an ordinary, almost mundane appearance.
"They say every Devil Fruit is home to a demon. Looks like this one just moved into your body."
Ada nodded quietly, growing more aware of how strange and mysterious this world truly was.
It defied all her old logic.
Conversation faded as they turned to their meal, choosing to enjoy dinner while they could.
Halfway through the meal, Ada suddenly stiffened.
"Where's the bathroom on the ship?"
"Back of the cabin deck. Just head toward the stern, you'll see it."
"Thanks." She stood up and briskly left the dining hall.
The urgency in her steps didn't go unnoticed. The others exchanged knowing glances.
The fruit was taking effect.
They continued their meal, but by the time they finished, Ada still hadn't returned. Tifa was just about to go check on her when the auxiliary system issued a warning.
"Alert. Large group of civilians gathering at the dock. They are surrounding the Lexington."
They immediately dropped their utensils and rushed outside to see what was going on.
...
The town had descended into chaos.
After discovering the pirate gang collapsed on the plaza felled by toxic smoke and witnessing Don Krieg's warship silently withdrawing at dusk, the townspeople realized what had happened.
The town had been saved.
That realization sparked a wave of collective rage. Years of fear and oppression boiled over. People emerged from houses and basements, armed with whatever they could find torches, tools, crude weapons.
They moved through the streets, executing any pirate who hadn't succumbed fully to the gas.
Mercilessly.
Once the town center was cleared, they turned on the pirate ships still docked at the harbor.
Most of the able pirates had already fled, having the strength to sail away after the chaos. Those left behind were either dead or too weak to move.
To the furious townsfolk, that didn't matter. They took out their fury on the ships themselves, setting them ablaze one by one. Fires lit up the harbor, the sky, and the fury on their faces.
They were not here to negotiate.
Seeing the rising flames and the angry mob, Mona quickly pieced it together. "After Krieg died, the townspeople finally rose up and turned on the pirates."
"Exactly," Ethan nodded. "Especially since most of the pirates were killed or incapacitated by the gas."
"Cowards," 2B muttered with a frown. "They were hiding in basements when Krieg took over, and now they come out swinging?"
"That's how people are. It's easy to pick on those who don't fight back," Ethan said as he slipped on his sunglasses. "Cover your faces. If anyone gets a photo of us, we'll be in real trouble."
What he feared most was Navy intelligence hidden among the civilians. If his face was captured and sent to headquarters, they could end up branded as pirates.
And their ship still flew a pirate flag they hadn't had time to change it yet.
2B and the others returned to the cabin to get disguises, leaving Ethan alone on deck.
He stood at the bow, staring down the enraged mob gathered at the dock.
"Get out of our town!"
"This isn't a place for pirates!"
"Don't waste time talking to them! They're probably poisoned already! Burn them alive!"
Someone flung a torch at the Lexington, aiming to set the ship on fire.
Ethan leapt into the air and kicked the torch back with a single swift motion. It arced through the air and struck the man who threw it right in the head, knocking him out cold.
Ethan landed at the prow of the ship, hands in his pockets, glaring at the crowd.
"That's how you treat the people who just saved your town?" he shouted.
"Don't flatter yourself!" one man shouted back. "It was Krieg and your kind that fought. The gas made him retreat. You had nothing to do with it!"
"No, I saw him!" another voice cut in. "He's the one who fought Krieg in the plaza. He's the one who beat him!"
"So what? A pirate's still a pirate! Get out before we make you!"
"We'll leave," Ethan said coldly, "but not because we're being chased off."
His voice dropped low and sharp, charged with fury.
"I want you to escort us out with gratitude. I want you to kneel and thank me!"
He understood their rage the misdirected outburst after years of fear and humiliation. But that didn't mean he'd accept it.
Especially not when they lashed out at those who helped them, refused to listen, and even after hearing the truth, still insisted on driving them away.
That was cowardice. That was betrayal.
And Ethan Chen wasn't going to swallow that silently.
If they dared go any further, he'd show them just how terrifying it was when a patient man finally lost his temper.
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