Chapter 194: The Five Elders' Shock, The Second Fruit!
Holy Land Mary Geoise · Room of Authority
Night had fallen. The Red Line, shrouded in mist, slept like a dormant beast. Inside the "Room of Authority" in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, five figures sat around an ancient round table. Candlelight flickered in the wall sconces, casting dancing shadows on their faces.
A chilling, oppressive pressure filled the air, making even the attendants outside hold their breath, daring not approach.
"SWISH—"
Guided by the guards, the grand doors slowly opened. Wearing his Fleet Admiral cloak, Sengoku walked in with a grave expression, his steps steady but carrying a suppressed stormy aura.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn looked up slightly, frowning at the hurriedly arriving Sengoku. "Sengoku, suddenly claiming urgent intelligence in the middle of the night. What is the situation?"
Sengoku wasted no time on pleasantries. He stood firm, taking a deep breath.
His voice was low, yet it exploded in the hall like thunder: "Whitebeard... is dead."
"?!!!"
The candle flames flickered violently. The Five Elders froze simultaneously, their gazes sharp as swords.
"What did you say?!!"
Saturn shot up, slamming his cane onto the floor with a THUD, shaking the walls slightly. "Say that again?!"
Sengoku spoke gravely. "Whitebeard, Edward Newgate... was killed in action during a conflict with our forces."
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro's face changed. "Killed??? That's Whitebeard! A Yonko!!!"
Saint Marcus Mars frowned. "How is that possible? Whitebeard has always been cautious. Why would he rashly engage in a frontal conflict with the Marines?"
"What exactly happened?!!"
Sengoku nodded and slowly recounted the entire event—
"Vice Admiral Roy took Captain Ace to a deserted island in the New World, preparing to annihilate the 'Blood Rage' Red Pirates, who had a bounty of 628 million Belly, based on intel."
"During the operation, the Whitebeard Pirates happened to land on the island, preparing to hold a banquet."
"Their vanguard, Teach, mistakenly entered the central area of the island while scouting. Upon encountering Ace, he attempted to kill him."
"Roy stopped him, and a conflict erupted."
"Whitebeard arrived later. Ignoring Teach's crime, he led his crew to shield him and besieged our Marines directly."
"As the situation escalated, I had Ace use a Den Den Mushi to contact nearby reinforcements..."
"As a result—"
"Admiral Sakazuki and Rear Admiral Enel happened to be executing missions nearby."
"Enel and Sakazuki arrived at the battlefield successively. Several hours later, Whitebeard died in battle on the spot."
"Over half of the Whitebeard Pirates' commander-level combatants died in action. Marco and Teach were captured."
"The remaining survivors were defeated and fled..."
"..."
After listening to Sengoku's report, the air in the Room of Authority froze instantly. The Five Elders looked at each other, momentarily speechless.
Then—
"Insane... has that old man truly gone senile?!!" Saturn slammed the table in fury. "If you want a banquet, have a banquet! Why did he have to fight Roy?!!"
"Roy? Sakazuki? And Enel?"
Nusjuro pressed his temples, muttering repeatedly. "With those three on the same battlefield, Whitebeard was charging straight into hell!"
Mars said in a deep voice, "Something's wrong... too many 'coincidences'."
"Roy chose that island for training, and the Whitebeard Pirates just happened to land there."
"Sakazuki and Enel also happened to be nearby."
"With all these gods of death gathered together, no pirate crew could withstand them."
Saint Topman Warcury narrowed his eyes. "Roy plus Sakazuki... I honestly can't see how Whitebeard could have escaped..."
Mars pondered for a moment. "'Blood Rage' Red... is indeed a training target Roy would choose. But how did Whitebeard end up walking into the muzzle? Couldn't he have just abandoned a small crew member?"
Saturn sneered coldly. "With Whitebeard dead, Red-Haired will definitely make a move. Kaido and Linlin won't sit still either..."
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter said coldly, "What's the use of saying this now? Whitebeard is already dead!!"
The Room of Authority fell into silence.
Meanwhile, Warship · Lounge
After Ace gradually recovered from the shock about Rocks, Roy suddenly raised his hand. A spatial ripple flashed.
"SWISH—"
A pale purple, spiral-patterned fruit landed on the table. The skin bore deep vortex patterns, as if endless darkness lurked within.
"This is..."
"The Dark-Dark Fruit." (Yami Yami no Mi)
Ace froze, staring deathly at the pale purple fruit.
It lacked the luster a Logia should have, nor did it have the aura of a Mythical Zoan. It didn't look dazzling at all, yet the feeling it gave off was suffocatingly ominous and heavy.
"This fruit..." Ace murmured. "What makes it so special?"
"If Teach really is Rocks' son, with his knowledge and status..."
"Is it really necessary to obsess over it like a madman?"
"Even going so far as to kill a brother he sailed with for over 20 years for it?!!"
Speaking of this, Ace frowned deeply, his expression ugly.
The vortexes on the skin seemed like an abyss rotating slowly. The air seemed swallowed by this "Dark-Dark Fruit," oppressive enough to make breathing difficult.
Roy placed his fingers gently on the surface of the fruit, knuckles tapping the tough skin.
Thump—Thump—
Every sound was like a coffin closing, as if some indescribable existence was waking from slumber.
His voice deepened as well. "This fruit is known as the 'Most Evil Logia'."
Ace frowned, still half-doubting. "How 'evil'?"
"No matter what, it's just a fruit... not Rocks himself."
"And 'most evil'? Are you kidding? No matter how evil, it can't be more evil than Rocks, right?"
The corner of Roy's mouth lifted slightly, as if expecting these words.
"It can absorb everything, devour everything."
"Including Devil Fruit abilities."
Ace was slightly startled but quickly regained his composure.
"Nullifying the abilities of users?"
"Tricky indeed, but not enough to..."
However, Roy's next words plunged him into an ice cellar. "Furthermore—"
"It can also 'steal' the Devil Fruit abilities of others."
"BOOM—!!!"
Ace's brain exploded with a roar, his expression freezing completely.
"Wh... what?" He turned his head mechanically, throat tight. "What did you just say?!"
"Steal... steal abilities?!!"
"Is it what I think it means?"
Roy's gaze became incredibly serious, his tone heavy as iron. "Yes."
"As long as the ability user is killed, it can 'pull' the 'devil' out of the corpse."
"Extracting the Devil Fruit... and this process can be repeated."
"Hiss—"
Ace sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling a chill seep into his bones.
He stood up abruptly, instinctively taking a step back as if avoiding poison, pointing at the fruit on the table.
The teasing look in his eyes was gone, replaced by intense fear and vigilance.
He gritted his teeth, his voice low and hoarse. "...No wonder Teach wanted to snatch it."
"No wonder he could betray a brother of over 20 years, even betray Pops."
"He wasn't gambling on luck at all!"
"He wanted to inherit a certain monster's 'will'..."
He looked up sharply, intending to say something, but found Roy's expression had changed.
In Roy's gaze staring at the fruit, there was an indescribable emotion.
It wasn't greed, nor hesitation—
But a resolve.
A resolve destined to shoulder a heavy fate.
"Big Bro Roy, you..."
Ace's face changed drastically, heart pounding wildly. He almost lunged forward to stop him!
"You're not thinking of..."
But before he could finish, Roy had already lifted the fruit. Under Ace's horrified gaze—
CRUNCH!
The crisp sound of biting into the fruit rang out piercingly in the silent lounge.
"BIG BRO ROY!!! DON'T!!!"
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