So, it was the Dark-Dark Fruit?
Roa raised the corner of his mouth.
The timing seems about right.
The current time is the second half of the year 1519 in the Sea Calendar, only a few months away from the year 1520, when Luffy sets sail in the original story.
In the original story, Teach acquired the Dark-Dark Fruit and then traveled from the latter half of the New World to the entrance of the Grand Line, certainly much earlier than Luffy's departure.
Based on this calculation, the appearance of the Dark-Dark Fruit should be around this time.
But it was snatched away by someone from the World Government?
Speaking of which, over the past year or so, the World Government has been expanding relentlessly and unscrupulously.
Not only is the Navy constantly increasing its forces, but according to Stussy, the CP system and even the God's Knights are recruiting new members.
That's the God's Knights—joining that organization automatically grants the status of a Celestial Dragon, placing one directly at the peak of this world.
Stussy mentioned that within this year, the scale of the God's Knights has even grown larger than ever before.
Of course, scale is one thing, and combat power is another.
The previous God's Knights, though merely stray dogs that Roa could instantly annihilate in droves, were actually quite formidable even without their immortality, with each one being a high-level expert on the level of a Calamity-level Commander on the sea.
Such high-level experts are rare to find across the entire world.
The current God's Knights are likely substituting quantity for quality.
In addition to constantly recruiting fighters, the World Government is also frantically searching for Devil Fruits worldwide.
Growing strong through training is certainly not as fast as simply eating a powerful Devil Fruit.
That is why the Dark-Dark Fruit was snatched away by a World Government agent who had infiltrated the New World.
"Let Teach go."
Roa said with a smile.
"Yes, Boss!"
Dylan arrived hastily and departed just as quickly.
Katakuri, however, said with some surprise, "Sending Teach? Is it necessary to be so serious?"
Although Teach's strength doesn't even rank in the top five of the current Pirate Alliance, this doesn't mean his strength is insufficient.
On the contrary, if it were in the era before Roa's return, the current Teach would be strong enough to be called a Pirate Emperor.
It's just that there are simply too many masters in the current Pirate Alliance.
Bullet, Kaido, and Golden Lion—those three monsters need no explanation; they have almost surpassed the limits of humanity.
Loki, who gained his ability a little over a year ago, has caught up and is now virtually on par with those three.
Although King is slightly disadvantaged due to the lack of Conqueror's Haki, his innate Lunarian racial advantage coupled with his Black Blade means his power is only marginally inferior to these monsters.
Teach is merely less strong compared to these monsters.
The ones who stole the Devil Fruit were just some government agents, not even God's Knights. Couldn't a few Calamity Knights easily handle the situation?
"Of course, that's because Teach has been waiting for this Fruit for decades."
Roa said with a laugh.
"Ah?"
Katakuri was momentarily stunned.
He knew that Teach could consume a second Devil Fruit and hadn't done so because he was waiting for a specific Fruit, which Roa had mentioned a year ago.
Is it this Dark-Dark Fruit?
So, is there anything special about this Fruit?
Without needing to specifically look at Katakuri's expression, Roa knew what his good friend was thinking. "Setting aside combat power for the moment, that Fruit possesses unimaginable strategic value."
The Dark-Dark Fruit's ability to nullify an ability user's power is not that effective in truly high-intensity combat.
After all, it requires physical contact with the ability user to work, and true top-tier powerhouses are absolutely Haki experts even without their abilities. Bringing the opponent close to oneself—the outcome is truly unpredictable.
The truly terrifying aspect of the Dark-Dark Fruit lies in its ability to steal an ability user's power.
Although the technology for replicating Devil Fruits is quite mature now, many overly powerful Devil Fruits are still difficult to replicate.
With the Dark-Dark Fruit, that changes everything.
However.
"The more crucial matter now is to find that guy Imu's whereabouts, right?"
Roa stroked his chin. "If that guy is also hiding, then I think I need eyes."
"Eyes that can help me see every corner of the world!"
So, where can he find such a pair of eyes?
It's so hard to think!
On a certain sea area of the New World, a pirate ship was rapidly cutting through the water.
However, the people gathered on the deck of this ship were not pirates.
Several individuals with simple clothing and utterly ordinary faces, people who would be virtually impossible to find in a crowd, were looking anxiously back.
"No one's following!"
Only after confirming that there were no ships in the rear did one of the men let out a long sigh of relief, feeling like they had narrowly escaped death.
"This is only the first step! We are far from the time to relax!"
Another man said in a deep voice, "The entire New World is their territory. Danger can arrive at any moment! We must not lower our guard until we hand over that Fruit to the superiors!"
Everyone—the World Government agents who had infiltrated the New World—nodded in agreement at this moment.
"However,"
Another person said with a smile, "Shouldn't we thank Roa? If he hadn't allowed all ships flying a pirate flag to sail through the seas under his control, we wouldn't even have had a chance to escape."
"That guy has always been a lunatic."
Another agent sighed.
After the Pirate Alliance formally incorporated the West Blue and North Blue entirely under its command, the violent disturbances caused by the Sea Kings essentially stopped.
The reason for saying "essentially" is that the Sea Kings are still active and will still attack ships on the surface.
However, they will no longer attack pirate ships flying a pirate flag.
Whether they are actual pirates or not, as long as they fly a pirate flag, they will not be attacked.
What Lord Roa is encouraging is self-evident.
But, at least this is a good thing.
Merchant ships can sail again, and fleets that were forced to resort to raiding other countries due to heavy taxation can successfully launch their attacks.
However, the cost of this is that the number of pirates in this half of the world, near the Red Line, is visibly increasing.
In any case, this matter did provide convenience for the government's agents.
They are not like the Calamity Company, which can travel around the world via warships sailing in the sky.
"Logia - Dark-Dark Fruit!"
One agent looked at the small box the leader was holding in his arms, his face alight with excitement. "If we hand this Fruit over to the government, we can be recalled from this hellhole, right?"
"Absolutely!"
Another agent nodded repeatedly. "This is a Logia! How many Logia Fruits are there in the world? If we hand this back, it will definitely be a great contribution!"
At this moment, everyone's faces carried a hint of longing.
Although, theoretically, as government agents, they shouldn't fear danger.
But the New World is simply too dangerous.
Even if they aren't exposed, they could be struck by various unexpected disasters at any moment.
This sea area is too chaotic now; there is simply no order to speak of. It can be called a massive gu-rearing arena.
Hopefully, this time, their superiors will recall them based on the merit of acquiring this Fruit.
Just as the agents were filled with hope, the formerly calm sea suddenly became turbulent with waves.
Boom!!
Amidst a violent roar, splashes flew, and a massive object lifted its head from beneath the sea on one side.
That wasn't all. On the other side of the pirate ship, another massive object broke the water surface amidst equally turbulent waves.
Two gargantuan beings, whose heads alone were dozens of meters across, quietly lowered their heads, looking down at the pirate ship caught between them.
The agents on the pirate ship, which was violently shaking from the shockwave, instantly froze in shock.
"Sea... Sea King aahhh!!"
One agent couldn't help but shriek.
It wasn't just Sea Kings. Several more sea beasts emerged from the water. Although their size was much smaller than the two Sea Kings, these beasts were equipped with various weapons and surrounded by many Fish-Men.
"Fish-Men! It's Roa's Fish-Man Legion!"
One agent's voice was close to despair.
The Calamity Company having a massive Fish-Man Legion is no longer a secret.
With a total strength of over two hundred thousand, equipped with excellent gear, and supplemented by nearly ten thousand heavily armed giant sea beasts, this is a terrifying force capable of overturning the world's entire balance of power.
This force is scattered across various locations in the three sea areas ruled by Roa.
In reality, while the Pirate Alliance doesn't involve itself much in governance, letting the West Blue, North Blue, and New World fall into chaos, they still maintain bases in these three sea areas, garrisoned by the pirates under their command.
Since these are just expendable pirates, they aren't missed even if the World Government destroys them.
Furthermore, the purpose of these bases is not to maintain order, but to promptly levy sanctions against nations that fail to pay their taxes.
And the Fish-Man Legion is typically dispersed in the seas near these bases; they are the primary force in naval combat.
As for the Sea Kings, that is a power only Roa can command. Others cannot communicate with those monsters at all.
This time, the Dark-Dark Fruit was discovered by the pirates at one such base and then stolen by a government agent lurking within that base.
Getting back on track.
The moment the Sea Kings and the Fish-Man Legion appeared, the agents were instantly plunged into absolute despair. Everyone's face was pale.
Escape was no longer possible.
"Destroy this Fruit immediately!"
One of the agents suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.
They were going to die anyway. Since that was the case, they would make one last contribution to the government before death!
The leading agent was startled back to reality. He quickly opened the box, ready to take a bite of the Fruit in the next moment.
But, at that very instant.
"Zehahahaha!! What do you think you're doing with my Fruit!"
Accompanying a wild, descending laugh, a terrifying aura compressed the air, forming a roaring storm that swept down.
The entire pirate ship began to tremble at that moment. The agents on the deck, like harvested rice stalks, foamed at the mouth and collapsed one after another.
"Ugh!"
Even the strongest agent leader stumbled, then collapsed on the ground in defeat.
All his limbs were completely weak and powerless. His right hand couldn't even grip the Fruit, allowing it to roll onto the deck with a thud.
It's over.
This time, it truly is over.
"Zehahahaha!!"
Amidst the frantic laughter, a plump figure descended from the sky. Just as he was about to smash onto the deck of the large ship, his right foot suddenly stomped the air.
Boom!
The air was directly ruptured, a ring of mist spread out, and the fierce wind nearly flipped the already rocking ship.
Borrowing the force from stomping the air, the descending figure's momentum instantly paused. Then, he lightly landed on the deck.
The moment he clearly saw the figure, the only conscious agent leader's pupils constricted to pinpricks.
"Marshall D. Teach!"
Roa's highest-ranking executive! A monster like this actually mobilized personally!
Just for this Dark-Dark Fruit?
"Zehahaha! Finally!!"
The world-famous pirate and one of Roa's highest executives, Teach, pounced like a hungry dog, snatching up the Fruit that had rolled onto the ground.
He stared almost obsessively at the purple Fruit in his hand, covered in spiral patterns.
"It's finally mine! Joining Boss's ranks was indeed the most correct decision I've ever made! Now, my grand ambition—"
The surge of excitement suddenly stalled at that moment.
Uh, with the Boss around, his former dreams truly could only be described as a mirage.
Teach suddenly wasn't as happy as he was just moments ago.
Even with the most vicious Devil Fruit in history, it would be impossible to contend with the Boss.
Sigh.
Teach suddenly let out a mysterious sigh.
Just as eight hundred years ago was the era of Joy Boy and Imu, this current era belongs to the Boss.
But, who cares!
Anyway, the Fruit he had yearned for since childhood is finally his!
Teach opened his mouth with a look of craving, stuffing the Devil Fruit, which was larger than his fist, directly into his mouth.
Devil Fruits are universally known for being disgusting, but at this moment, Teach chewed with a face full of happiness.
This action completely dumbfounded the agent leader who was still conscious.
This guy was already an ability user!
He actually ate a second Devil Fruit! Is this monster trying to die?
Everyone can only eat one Devil Fruit. A person who eats a second one will explode and die—this is the iron rule of this world!
A hint of schadenfreude suddenly welled up in the agent leader's heart.
It wouldn't be bad to have such a monster accompany him to his grave!
But.
"Zehahahaha!! This feeling!!"
Teach suddenly burst into loud laughter. Black mist instantly rose from his body's surface.
"This is amazing!!"
"What!!"
The agent leader's eyes widened, barely able to believe what he was seeing.
This guy not only survived after eating a second Devil Fruit, but he actually gained a second ability?
How is that possible!
How could such a thing exist in the world? The iron rule of Devil Fruits has been broken!
"Zehahaha!"
Teach lowered his head, looking at the agent who had delivered this Devil Fruit to him.
"Let me allow you to experience the power I have just obtained!"
Darkness, spread forth.
Calamity City.
"Oh, everything went smoothly?"
Roa, who was lazily watching the merfolk dance in the giant water tank in front of him, glanced back.
"Yes, Boss,"
Dylan said calmly, "Teach has eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit and successfully gained a second ability."
Although he had known about this decades ago, Dylan was still slightly shaken when Teach truly gained a second Devil Fruit ability.
"Then have him return quickly. I'm also eager to see his ability."
Roa chuckled softly, "By the way, has King departed?"
"He just left. Bege and Enel are with him."
"Hmm, the others don't matter, but the Glint-Glint Fruit user and the Heal-Heal Fruit user must be brought back."
"Yes, Boss!"
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi