"..."
The atmosphere grew eerily silent.
How should one even describe this?
The principle behind the formation of Devil Fruits was something nobody truly understood.
But there was one thing everyone agreed on: when a Devil Fruit user dies, somewhere across the sea, a random fruit would transform into a Devil Fruit.
And if Arthur's guess was correct—
Then Bullet had just eaten one of those newly reborn fruits, completely unaware of what it was, and swallowed it down without hesitation.
The problem was…
The odds of that happening were lower than winning the grand prize in a lottery a hundred billion times over! What kind of absurd luck was this?
It was as if the universe itself was playing a prank.
For a moment, even the other pirates aboard started questioning themselves. Maybe their own luck had been cursed—otherwise, how come something this insane never happened to them?
"Hahaha!"
Arthur couldn't help but laugh in amazement. Truly, to actually witness such a thing—if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it.
"Huh?"
"Lord Arthur?"
Bullet looked utterly confused. What was going on here? He tilted his head at Arthur, unable to understand why everyone was staring.
Arthur chuckled softly and explained the situation to him. After a brief period of confusion, Barrett finally understood. His eyes widened as he muttered in awe:
"So you're saying… what I just ate… was one of the sea's greatest treasures—a Devil Fruit?"
Arthur nodded. "Exactly. Barrett, test it out—see what kind of power it granted you."
It didn't matter anymore. The fruit was already eaten, and Arthur wasn't lacking one. If anything, a powerful fruit in Bullet's hands would only make him more formidable.
"Yes, Lord Arthur!"
Bullet ran off to a clear spot and began experimenting, while the others watched with anticipation, curious to see what kind of ability had been awakened.
"Hmm?!"
Almost instinctively, Barrett grabbed a chair beside him. In the next instant, the entire chair broke apart and fused into his body. A heartbeat later, a sniper rifle materialized in his hands.
For Bullet, who had lived his whole life on the battlefield, nothing was more natural than weapons.
But to the onlookers, the scene was baffling.
"What kind of Devil Fruit is that…?"
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Just as I thought. A Paramecia-type: The Clank-Clank Fruit. It allows the user to merge with any inanimate object they touch, modifying their body into weapons or even completely transforming themselves."
"I see…"
Bullet grew more and more excited as he tested his power. Soon, he combined nearby scraps of metal into an array of weapons. Then, placing his hands on the materials again, they fused into a full suit of armored plating that covered his body. With a thought, the armor dispersed and everything reverted back to normal.
Raising his head, Bullet looked at Arthur with fierce determination. "Lord Arthur! I can become stronger now!"
Arthur nodded with a faint smile. "Yes… perhaps this is fate."
In the original timeline, Bullet would have eaten this fruit years later on War Island. Yet by sheer coincidence, he had consumed it here and now.
Thinking it through, it wasn't all that strange. The fruit might have once been eaten by someone in the Rocks Pirates, then respawned in God Valley after their death, only to reappear again here on War Island. The cycle of Devil Fruits made such coincidences possible.
But one thing was certain: Bullet and this fruit were bound by destiny.
Splash~~
Just then, Arthur narrowed his eyes toward the horizon. Two ships were approaching, sailing steadily closer.
"Hm?"
"Edward? Linlin?"
Arthur raised a brow, surprised. Soon, the three ships were sailing side by side.
"Gurararara~"
Edward let out his hearty laugh. "Arthur, boy! We meet again!"
Arthur shook his head. "So it's you again… though…"
He noticed the youth standing beside Edward—a boy about the same age as Barrett, with a pineapple-shaped tuft of golden hair and drooping, half-closed eyes that gave him a timid air.
Marco.
Arthur instantly recognized him. The future First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, one of the strongest right-hand men in all of pirate history. During the Marineford War, Marco would stand toe-to-toe with Admirals—not their equal, but skilled enough to stall them. And in Wano, he would later hold back two of Kaido's All-Stars, King and Queen, all by himself, proving his overwhelming potential.
Arthur knew, however, that Marco's true strength blossomed after Whitebeard's death. Until then, Whitebeard's shadow carried the crew. It was only afterward that Marco grew into his full power.
"Gurararara!"
Edward laughed proudly, patting the boy on the shoulder. "This is my son—Marco."
"MOMOMOMOMOM~~~"
Linlin, however, chuckled mischievously. "Arthur, why don't you become my husband?"
Arthur rejected her outright without hesitation. "No thanks. Not interested."
Linlin didn't press the matter. Arthur's gaze, meanwhile, shifted toward another youth standing at her side.
A boy with crimson hair cut short, his mouth torn at the edges into a ghastly, almost demonic grin.
Arthur's eyes instantly sharpened in recognition.
Charlotte Katakuri.
The one who would grow into the pillar of the Big Mom Pirates—caretaker of his siblings, protector of his unstable mother, and the man who upheld the crew's balance.
In Arthur's mind, there was no doubt: Katakuri was the truest man among them all.
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