Aboard the Saber of Xebec, in the great cabin.
Some stood, some sat, but every eye was fixed on the five Devil Fruits laid out on the table.
"I have read the Devil Fruit compendium. These five are trash," Rocks said, tilting back a bottle of sake and draining it.
"Trash or treasure, they go into the still all the same," Shiki said, sitting cross-legged with a cup in hand.
"What are they exactly," Whitebeard asked, curious.
Rocks answered at once.
Zoan: Rabbit Rabbit Fruit.
Zoan: Ox Ox Fruit.
Zoan: Snake Snake Fruit.
Zoan: Mouse Mouse Fruit.
Paramecia: Key Key Fruit.
"Oh, a Paramecia too," Dimon said, surprised.
Four were from the zodiac menagerie, which did not bode well. Paramecia could sometimes be worthwhile.
"The Key Key Fruit lets the user turn their fingers into any key and open any lock," Rocks explained.
"Thieves will love it," Stussy said with a small shake of her head.
"Now that the goods are ours, how do you brew the wine," Whitebeard asked, voice low.
"It will take some time. When a batch is ready, I will tell you," Dimon said.
He could have made it on the spot, but he preferred to let the process look arduous.
"How long," Rocks asked.
"Roughly half a month."
"So fast. How do you do it," Charlotte Linlin pressed, eyes bright with curiosity.
"A secret. You just wait to drink."
Dimon paused, then smiled. "Once you drink the Wine of Immortality, your state at that moment is fixed forever. Think carefully before you sip. I do not sell regret."
"Then I will drink while I am young. I have no wish to age," Stussy said cheerfully.
Even the strongest women cared about youth and beauty. Charlotte Linlin was the exception. If she truly cared, she would not one day become a sugar glutton with a mountain waist.
A week later they returned to Beehive.
All five Fruits went to Dimon. Rocks was a generous captain. He did not employ those he distrusted and he trusted those he used.
He handed the Fruits over without fear that Dimon would run.
Dimon had no intention of running. He needed the Rocks Pirates if he was to keep gathering Fruits.
He carried the five Devil Fruits back to the Immortality Bar.
The place had been closed for over half a month and was still spotless. Arisa Ōseya came daily to clean.
"Lord Dimon."
Arisa hurried forward, delighted to see him. "Such joy on your face," Dimon said. "What happened."
"I saw the papers, Lord Dimon. You captured Celestial Dragons. It is all over Beehive."
She darted behind the counter, fetched a newspaper, and tugged out a wanted poster.
"Your bounty, Lord Dimon."
Why are you this excited that I am wanted.
Dimon rolled his eyes, took the poster, and his expression grew even more wry as he read.
Brewer Dimon
Member of the Rocks Pirates
Extremely dangerous
Dead or alive
Bounty: 500,000,000 berries
How many zeros was that.
Before he counted, Arisa had already squealed, "Five hundred million."
Five hundred million. Same as Kaido. Do I deserve that number.
He stared at the poster. Something felt off. When was this photo taken.
It looked like the moment he walked past Garp in front of the Celestial Dragons. Half of Garp's figure was in the background.
"Good photographer. I never noticed them," Dimon said. He handed the poster back. "Throw it out."
"No. I am hanging it up."
"As you like."
The price was strange. Perhaps the Celestial Dragon woman he had hurt had demanded it. A private grudge wearing an official face.
Arisa happily went to paste the poster to the wall. So long as a Celestial Dragon had a bad day, her mood improved.
Dimon left her to it, moved behind the bar, opened the case, and lifted the five Fruits.
He picked up the Mouse Mouse Fruit first and willed himself to devour it.
Black smoke curled around his palm, a monstrous maw yawning open in the haze. The Fruit vanished into that darkness. The smoke sank back into his hand.
A system prompt shimmered in his vision.
Devil Fruit devoured. Gained 100 Demon Points.
Demon Points: 0 → 100
Finally some income. I wonder if a Fruit I devour still reincarnates.
If not, the number of Fruits would dwindle. Still, Vegapunk's research said Fruits were born from human desire. New ones might appear.
He consumed the others. Each yielded another 100 points.
Only when he swallowed the Paramecia Key Key Fruit did something change.
Devil Fruit devoured. Gained 200 Demon Points.
Demon Points: 400 → 600
"Huh. Not all of them are worth a hundred. Is it because this is Paramecia, or because the power is stronger," Dimon mused, pleased. In the future he should try Mythical Zoans or Ancient Zoans to see what they yielded.
"I have six hundred now. Enough for six bottles of the Wine of Immortality."
That meant twenty-four cups, plus the three he still had left, for a total of twenty-seven immortals he could mint.
He had not yet tested devour on an immortal, but with wine in surplus, it was time to refine himself.
Unlocking new demon skills would wait. That cost one thousand points and his balance was short.
"Next I need targets to devour. The Rocks Pirates can manage without me for a bit."
He thought as he brewed a fresh bottle.
Demon Points: 600 → 500
Half a month slipped by.
During that time, Shiki came to the Immortality Bar every day to ask about progress. Dimon found him tiresome, answering soon and very soon until his patience wore thin.
At dawn on the fifteenth day, the doors had barely opened when Shiki burst in first.
"Dimon, it has been half a month. Is it ready," he shouted.
"Soon."
Dimon hedged helplessly.
Shiki slumped. "Your wine takes forever. Forget it. I will go to Shaki's and soothe my thirst."
"Wait," Dimon caught his sleeve. "Shaki's bar."
"You do not know," Shiki said, blinking. "The Idol Empress' place. She runs a bar. You two are colleagues, in a way."
"I know Shaki, the former Kuja captain. Her," Dimon asked.
"That was two years ago. The Kuja have a new empress now."
Dimon truly did not know. The anime timeline had never been crisp in his head.
He had certainly heard of the Kuja Pirates. Four generations of empresses, each a beauty. The first, Gloriosa, now sailed with the Rocks Pirates. The second, Shaki, was called the Sea's Idol and had fans everywhere. The third, Toritoma, currently led the Kuja. The fourth, the future world's most beautiful woman Boa Hancock, had not yet been born.
"Idol."
Dimon pictured a woman who could enchant even the hardened monsters of the Rocks crew in this long bleak age before the Great Pirate Era.
He very much wanted to meet her.
As he thought it, a tall woman appeared in the doorway.
"So this is the Immortality Bar they spoke of," she said.
Dimon and Shiki turned at the same moment. Shiki's heart inflated to cartoon shape.
"Shaki."
Shaki smiled and lifted a hand in greeting. "Hello, everyone. I am Shaki."