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The demonic carrier's evolution began.
The commotion this time was even greater than the last. The distorted space around the ship expanded to a radius of over three hundred meters.
Inside the cabin, Jin let out a long breath. He knew from the first upgrade that he would evolve along with the carrier.
But this was different from a Haki awakening, which was about unlocking his potential.
THIS WAS A FULL-ON STAT BOOST.
He closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
He listened.
He resonated with the carrier's evolution. As he'd expected, the energy surging from the engine flowed through his body.
He once again witnessed the "Forbidden Realm" of the Munch-Munch Fruit—a space that was both pitch black and brilliantly colored.
In a sense, Jin's will had replaced the "demon," becoming the new "demon" of the Munch-Munch Fruit.
The fruit could absorb whatever it consumed and make it part of itself, including other Devil Fruits. And since the mutated carrier had been altered by Spacetime energy, it was part of the fruit too.
All these factors had come together to create Jin and the demonic carrier.
He could feel the other "demons," coveting, trying to invade, their powerful forces clashing.
The "Forbidden Realm" of the Candy-Candy Fruit was a viscous ocean of candy, capable of turning its surroundings into a soft, rubbery substance, similar to the String-String Fruit or the Gomu-Gomu Fruit.
The "Forbidden Realm" of the Hell's Red Serpent was a silent, dark world, filled with the strange ringing of a bell. A massive serpent's body formed a circle, the sound of the bell coming from its tail. A blood-red moon hung in the sky. It was the serpent's eye.
Although Jin had already swallowed most of its "Will," he hadn't fully digested it, hadn't completely broken it.
And the last one...
A completely silent space?
The "demon" was transparent, completely invisible, utterly silent. Jin could only "see" it through a kind of intuition.
In an instant, he knew.
The Paramecia Calm-Calm Fruit.
Former user, Donquixote Rosinante.
"So the Celestial Dragons recovered it," Jin mused.
The Calm-Calm Fruit... it was a strange one. In the wrong hands, it was less useful than Chopper's fruit. But in the right hands, it was god-tier.
Jin calmly observed "them." Aside from the hissing of the Hell's Red Serpent, the others were silent.
He analyzed the situation.
"Zoan fruits are easier to awaken because their 'demons' are more active, but that also makes it easier to be overwhelmed by them. The Jailer Beasts in Impel Down are examples of failed awakenings; the host's consciousness couldn't withstand the 'demon's' will."
"Of course, the 'demon' isn't a real demon,"
Jin thought. "A Devil Fruit is a manifestation of human desires and emotions. When it's eaten, it absorbs the desires of its user. When a user dies, a part of their will remains, merging with the fruit and passing on to the next user. Over time, the fruit becomes a collection of the wills of all its past users, and it grows stronger and stronger. That's why a fruit can influence its user's emotions and consciousness, bringing out corresponding personality traits. Like how Ace is like fire, Luffy is simple-minded, Dalton is honest and loyal—"
"—Some of them can even go out of control, affecting the outside world without a host, like Uta's fruit. But there are also cases where the will of a single user is so strong that when it awakens, all the other wills are erased. The user remakes the fruit, giving it new properties, new characteristics. Like how the Gomu-Gomu Fruit became the Nika fruit. It was the warrior, Nika, who changed the Gomu-Gomu Fruit. The power of Nika, imbued with the faith and Will of countless people, merged with the Gomu-Gomu Fruit."
Jin looked at the "Demons," twisting and changing, like Lovecraftian monsters that could drain one's sanity just by looking at them.
From their perspective, this "human" was a monster far more terrifying than they were.
—————————
Two days passed.
Out on the sea, the layered, steam-like, flame-like "substance" began to recede, contracting inward.
The distorted space, like a crumpled piece of paper, was smoothed out.
Everything returned to normal.
All that remained was a single warship, floating on the sea. Its silver-white hull was a beautiful, streamlined, almost perfect form.
Jin opened his eyes. He felt refreshed, revitalized. His thoughts were sharper, his reflexes faster.
He clenched his fist.
He felt as if he could hold the world in his hand.
A surge of confidence filled him.
He let out a long breath and opened the ship's interface.
——————
[Primary Authority: Captain Jin]
[Hull Data: Length 48m | Width 22m | Height 12.6m | Weight 150 Tons]
[Internal Space: 420 x 108 x 42 m³]
[Abilities: Munch-Munch | Mushroom-Mushroom | Candy-Candy | Hell's Red Serpent | Calm-Calm]
[Armaments: Main Cannons (3) | Heavy Cannons (5) | Firearms (1239) | Blades (1564)]
[Next Evolution Requirements: Soul Crystals (235/2000) | Refined Steel (3/2000 tons) | Gold (0/10 tons) | Silver (0/30 tons) | Rare Earth Metals (0/300 tons) | Biological Matter (0/10)!]
——————
The ship's stats had increased.
"Damn... the requirements for the next evolution have increased that much?"
"Two thousand tons of refined steel??"
"And the rest aren't cheap either..."
"According to Ai's scans, there are no major mineral deposits on Drum Island, Hannabal Island, or Asuka Island."
Jin scratched his head.
The technology tree in the world of One Piece was a mess. Heavy industry, like steel processing, was underdeveloped. Two thousand tons of refined steel was no small amount. Even with the Munch-Munch Fruit, he would still need a massive amount of iron ore to refine it.
And gold and silver... in some countries, they were legal tender, alongside the Berri. To get them by the ton would cost a fortune.
"Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," Jin said, pushing the thought aside. He summoned Ai, eager to test out the carrier's new functions.
First, the new fruit abilities.
He now had candy cannonballs, a "Zone of Silence," and a "Beast Form" for the Hell's Red Serpent, with other abilities still to be developed.
Second, Haki control.
The carrier could now absorb and focus Haki, reinforcing its hull and unleashing devastating attacks.
And third, assigning permissions.
As the primary authority, he could now assign positions to his crew, granting them corresponding permissions and the ability to use one of the fruit's powers.
The current positions were: Boatswain, Cook, and Gunner.
"THIS IS INSANE," Jin said, overjoyed. All three new functions were a massive boost to his combat power.
"Master, as long as we don't run into a Yonko, an Admiral, or the God's Knights, we can pretty much do whatever we want on the Grand Line," Ai said. The upgrade had also boosted its processing power and intelligence, and it was now noticeably more lively and expressive.
"Ahem. Let's keep a low profile," Jin said with a smile. "I'm finally starting to feel a little secure. But I can't get complacent. We have to be discreet."
"Master is right," Ai said. "For example, Conqueror's Haki... a mental attack would be very difficult to deal with. It could potentially damage the ship from the inside. We'll have to wait until Master awakens it himself and we upgrade again to develop a resistance."
Jin was surprised. He realized that the carrier's ability to control Haki was a result of his own Haki awakening.
The bond...
"First, let's head back to Asuka Island," he said. "I need to get that mushroom plantation set up."
"Aye, Captain!" Ai chirped. "Go, go, go! Let's get moving!"
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