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Slum District B, Akio Gang Hideout – The Cell That Once Held Absalom
The three Aaron brothers had gathered together in the very same cell where Absalom had once been imprisoned.
"All kinds of fruits from around the city are here, Aaron. Do you think this method will really work?"
Shuma staggered in, breathing heavily as he carried in a large basket brimming with fruit.
"No idea. We'll find out soon enough once we try. Either way, there's nothing to lose." Aaron gave a faint smile, his gaze fixed on Maran, who was bound tightly in chains before him.
"If our gamble pays off, we'll be rolling in profits."
Williams squinted his eyes with barely contained excitement, staring at Maran as though he were a pile of gold coins.
Perhaps knowing he was doomed, Maran glared at the three brothers with murderous eyes, occasionally struggling violently against his restraints. If his mouth hadn't been sealed shut, he would no doubt have been spewing the vilest curses he could muster before his death.
"Let's begin."
Once Shuma had finished hauling everything in, Aaron slowly drew the blade Weeping Ghost from his waist, preparing to end the life of the infamous pirate before him — a man worth 50 million Berries.
Death is terrifying for most people. Even Maran, a ruthless pirate with countless lives on his hands, couldn't hide the fear that flickered in his eyes as he stared down his impending end.
Driven by primal survival instincts, he thrashed wildly, pushing his body beyond its limits. The chains restraining him groaned under the strain, as though they might snap under his desperate resistance.
"Still so spirited, huh? I was planning to surprise you tomorrow, but it looks like now's as good a time as any. Let's test this thing's power on him first."
Williams stepped forward with a grin, stopping Aaron just as he was about to strike.
As he spoke, he produced a pair of shackles from within his coat.
Shuma's eyes lit up in delight the moment he saw them. "You actually managed to buy them!"
Aaron, too, was pleasantly surprised, a smile spreading across his face.
After learning that the Donquixote Auction House was guarded by Pica, a powerful Devil Fruit user, Aaron had asked Williams to track down Seastone — the rare mineral known to suppress Devil Fruit abilities.
But Seastone was a highly restricted material, forbidden from sale by the World Government. It could only be found on the black market — and even then, at astronomical prices and in extremely limited supply.
More importantly, only craftsmen from Wano Country knew how to refine and shape raw Seastone. Even if one obtained the ore, it was nearly impossible to forge it into usable tools without their expertise. Finished products were the only option.
Williams had paid a hefty price to acquire a pair of Seastone shackles from a black market dealer, intending to surprise Aaron with them the following day. But now seemed like the perfect moment.
Truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure they were genuine — the black market seller had been extremely overbearing and hadn't allowed him to inspect the goods before the deal. Williams had bought them on blind faith and hadn't yet had the chance to test them. Originally, he'd planned to try them out on Shuma, a Paper-Paper Fruit user, but with Maran right here, there was no need to risk testing them on family.
Click!
With lightning-fast reflexes, Williams clamped one of the shackles around Maran's wrist. Instantly, the pirate's strength vanished. The ferocious struggling ceased as if all energy had been drained from his body, leaving him glaring at the three brothers with nothing but impotent rage.
"Looks like the real deal. Works perfectly. Nicely done, Williams."
Aaron grinned. With Seastone shackles now in their hands, the odds of his plan to seize the Munch Munch Fruit had just gone up.
"Happy to hear it. Shame I couldn't get my hands on any Seastone bullets — those are even rarer than shackles," Williams said, sounding slightly regretful.
Aaron shook his head. "This is already more than enough. You did well. Now, let's see if my theory holds true."
The moment the words left his lips, Weeping Ghost plunged into Maran's heart.
With his heart pierced, Maran's life ebbed away in seconds, leaving nothing but a lifeless corpse.
The brothers paid no mind to his death. Their attention was focused entirely on the pile of assorted fruits Shuma had spread out on the floor.
Aaron was now seeking to confirm a theory — one he'd picked up from the One Piece world itself: the rebirth process of Devil Fruits. In the anime, there were multiple instances where a Devil Fruit reappeared nearby after its previous user died.
The most notable example was during the Punk Hazard arc, where a poisonous gas slime that had eaten the Salamander Fruit died — and moments later, an apple in a nearby bag transformed into a Devil Fruit.
Unfortunately, Aaron's theory appeared to be wrong. Maran was stone cold now, but none of the fruits on the ground had shown the slightest change.
"Looks like it failed… Devil Fruits really aren't that easy to obtain."
Aaron shook his head in disappointment after waiting a long while without any visible reaction from the fruits.
The Swift-Swift Fruit might not be the Munch Munch Fruit, but it was still a valuable power. Even if he couldn't get the one he wanted, it would be a significant asset when the coming storm arrived. And even if Aaron didn't eat it himself, giving it to someone in their crew would still be worthwhile.
He already knew from Gabdon and the others that the fruit's abilities weren't limited to personal speed boosts — it could also accelerate allies, making it extremely powerful in team battles.
Williams was equally disappointed. As a merchant, he had been hoping desperately for this theory to work. If it did, he could harvest and auction Devil Fruits himself, raking in unimaginable wealth.
"No helping it. If Devil Fruits were really this easy to get, someone would've done it long ago. It's probably just down to luck — not seeing one appear is the normal outcome."
Shuma had never put much faith in Aaron's theory to begin with. He shrugged.
"True. Forget it — it was just an experiment. No big deal if it didn't work. Let's head back upstairs."
Aaron quickly shook off his disappointment. With a single stroke, he severed Maran's head, removed the Seastone shackle from the corpse, and picked up the head by the hair.
The others had no objections. They followed Aaron out and swiftly returned to his office upstairs.
"What's all this?"
As soon as Aaron stepped into his office, he was greeted by the sight of an enormous pile of fruit stacked high across the room. He turned to Shuma with a puzzled expression.
Shuma chuckled. "I just sent a message down saying you needed all kinds of fruit from the city. The guys probably thought about your insane appetite and assumed you wanted to eat a lot. More fruit's good for you anyway, right? I figured you'd finish it all in no time."
Aaron sighed. The explanation left him a bit speechless — though, admittedly, his appetite had grown lately. Judging by the mountain of fruit in his office, he'd probably finish it in two or three days. Might as well treat it as snacks.
"Hey, Aaron… Shuma… doesn't that apple over there look a bit… off?" Williams suddenly shouted.
Unable to let go of his disappointment from the failed test downstairs, he'd started scanning the massive fruit pile in the office, just in case. And to his shock — he found something strange.
Among the mountain of bright red apples, one stood out. Its color was subtly different. Though most of it was buried under the others, a small patch of skin peeked through — marked with a peculiar swirling pattern.
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