Jasmine proudly held up two fingers and waved them in front of Van Augur.
"Even monsters from the Grand Line are no match for Lord Gawain!"
With that, she placed two fruit baskets between the cat brothers.
Buchi picked up one of the fruits and was just about to take a bite when he paused, raising an eyebrow.
"Isn't that just typical?"
He glanced around before continuing, half in awe.
"Captain Gawain is always full of surprises. You never know when he'll reveal another trump card or display a power that defies imagination."
Sham nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we're used to it by now."
Neither of them seemed surprised. In their hearts, Gawain was the strongest.
No matter the opponent, no matter the odds—as long as Gawain was there, they could overcome anything.
Jasmine, having witnessed two wars in Raven Harbor herself, felt the same.
Only Van Augur sat there, stunned. His mouth slightly agape, eyes filled with disbelief.
He had fought Lachet before.
He knew how powerful those brothers were—even without a Devil Fruit, they could dominate the East Blue with physical strength alone. After gaining the Cat-Cat Fruit, their power had grown to terrifying levels.
In Van Augur's memory, no one in the East Blue could match Lachet—not even the infamous Fishman Arlong or Admiral Krieg.
Wait… didn't Gawain defeat both of them?
It suddenly hit him. All the terrifying names that once loomed over the East Blue… Gawain had toppled them all.
He let out a long sigh.
"Ahh… this must be fate."
"Looks like I have no reason left to refuse that guy's invitation."
Sham blinked in surprise.
"The Captain invited you to join the crew?"
During the recent weeks, the pirates around Raven Harbor were handled mostly by the cat brothers and Jango. Van Augur had been in charge of maintaining internal security at the port.
Their teamwork had been seamless—and their mutual respect had grown.
Hearing that Gawain himself had extended an invitation, the cat brothers beamed with joy.
"You lucky bastard~"
"If you'd arrived just a few months later, you'd have missed your chance to get in on the crew dividends until next year!"
"Dividends?" Van Augur tilted his head. "What's that?"
Buchi scratched his head.
"Hard to explain all at once… but think of it like this: it's a martial arts tournament that ranks combat power within the crew. The higher you rank, the bigger your share of the profits!"
Van Augur's breath hitched.
He didn't know how much the Gawain Pirates earned in a year, but he did know how far their influence reached.
With the collapse of major pirate groups like Krieg and Arlong, Gawain's crew had become the undisputed rulers of the East Blue.
And once word of this latest victory spread, their reputation would soar even higher.
A positive reputation, no less.
After all, who else but Gawain would face monsters from the Grand Line just to protect those under his banner?
Even the Navy might hesitate—but not the Gawain Pirates.
Soon, nobles and town officials across the East Blue would likely line up to offer Berries—perhaps even gold—in exchange for Gawain's protection.
Just lying at home and watching money roll in!
It was a dream Van Augur had never dared to entertain before.
And according to the cat brothers, as long as he placed high enough in the rankings, he'd be entitled to a share of those profits.
Van Augur's eyes gleamed red with ambition.
"Everyone… please take care of me from now on!"
Suddenly—
Van Augur noticed the strange fruit in Sham's hand. His eyes widened.
"Wait—!"
Click!
Click!
Two crisp biting sounds echoed through the room.
A moment later, Sham and Buchi's faces turned purple. Their mouths twisted in disgust as they dry-heaved with no success.
"Is this thing expired?" Buchi gasped, tongue hanging out as he tried to cool the rancid taste. He looked down to find only half a bitten, bizarre-looking fruit in his hand.
"What even is this?"
Sham stared at his fruit, blinking.
"It looks... like a cat's head?"
Jasmine furrowed her brows in confusion.
"I'm sure I didn't buy anything like that. Just some apples and oranges... How did those get in there?"
As the three puzzled over it, Van Augur spoke up, tone grave.
"That's probably a Devil Fruit. I never thought I'd see not one but two—"
The words had barely left his mouth when the cat brothers began to change.
Their bodies expanded at an alarming rate. Within seconds, two giant felines—one fat, one thin—filled the ward nearly to bursting.
Caught off guard, Van Augur was flattened under Buchi's swollen form, completely pinned with no room to breathe.
Jasmine reacted fast. She darted out the door just in time, narrowly avoiding being crushed.
When she turned back to look through the doorway, she saw two enormous cats squeezed awkwardly into the room, blinking in confusion.
She gasped.
"A big cat and a cheetah?! You guys actually ate Devil Fruits?!"
Minutes passed before the chaos calmed.
Two desperate voices echoed in the aftermath:
"It's over… we're landlubbers now!"
Van Augur winced as pain shot through his healing wounds, but still managed to groan out:
"That's a Devil Fruit worth hundreds of millions of berries... and judging from the transformation, those are likely the very same abilities as those pirates from the Grand Line."
"How could this happen?!"
But the cat brothers weren't thinking about abilities.
They were reeling from something far worse.
"You mean... we just ate hundreds of millions of berries?!"
"Is it too late to spit it out?!"
Van Augur rolled his eyes.
"What do you think?"
"Waaaaaaahhh—!"
"This pain… it's unbearable!"
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters…
Reports from the East Blue had just arrived at Marineford.
In a tense conference room filled with high-ranking officers, the air was thick with silence.
Everyone stared at the document before them, eyes grim.
"Smoker… I remember him. He was an outstanding graduate of the Naval Academy."
"Stubborn as hell, always disobeying direct orders… but strong."
"And even he was defeated? In the East Blue, of all places?"
A murmur of tension rippled through the room.
"Seems like a dragon really has emerged from shallow waters..."
"But the Navy can't afford to let a seed of evil take root."
"Prepare to respond—immediately."