Chapter 97: The Golden Fruit
The golden radiance spilling from the open chest seemed to hold a fragment of the sun itself. Even with Ragnar's ingrained stoicism, a fierce, hungry excitement stirred in his chest.
So far, he had only unlocked one Devil Fruit—the Phoenix Zoan. To find another, and one of such exalted appearance, was a staggering stroke of fortune.
He reached out, his fingers closing around the warm, strangely firm skin of the fruit. The moment he touched it, a flood of information, clear and absolute, poured into his mind.
[Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu (Giant Buddha)]
[Mythical Zoan Type. Upon consumption, grants the ability to transform into a Giant Buddha, capable of emitting devastating shockwaves. The Daibutsu form elevates the user's strength, wisdom, spirit, and latent potential to the ultimate pinnacle of human capability—akin to the awakening of a Buddha of profound wisdom.]
"It's this one…" Ragnar's breath hitched. "A Mythical Zoan… the Giant Buddha."
The Human-Human Fruit had many models—the standard human form, the Daibutsu, the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu (Azure Dragon)… all were pinnacle fruits. But the Daibutsu form held a special, almost transcendental significance. To manifest as a Thousand-Hand Golden Buddha, to smite the earth with palm strikes that could shatter islands… and the passive bonuses to intellect, willpower, and physique were immense. Just look at the inhuman endurance of Kaido, a fellow Mythical Zoan user. This fruit would forge his body into something truly legendary.
"A pity it's not the dragon model. That would be truly unstoppable," he mused internally, though he knew it was greedy. The true comparative strength between the Buddha and the Dragon was unknown; Sengoku the Buddha and Kaido the Dragon had never clashed. The dragon seemed more brutal, overwhelming. Yet, in mythos, the Buddha sat above the Eightfold Dragon Guardians. The truth lay only in application.
Now came the critical, dangerous question.
He already possessed one Devil Fruit power—the Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix. In the world of One Piece, eating two was a death sentence for all but the most abnormal physiologies. What would happen here, in this blended reality?
To eat, or not to eat?
The golden fruit seemed to pulse in his hand, a siren's call to ultimate power. A dark, whispering voice seemed to coil up from the depths of his own ambition.
Do you hunger for strength?
Do you crave dominion?
Consume it.
Become more.
Ragnar shook his head sharply, dispelling the phantom urge. Was it the fruit's influence, or merely his own desire given sound? It didn't matter. His path was chosen the moment he awakened the system.
With a resolve hardened by countless battles, he brought the fruit to his lips and took a large, decisive bite.
Gag!
The taste was, predictably, like chewing on putrid sewage filtered through rotten leather. The glorious appearance was the universe's cruelest joke. He forced it down, fighting the overwhelming urge to vomit.
After a moment, the nausea subsided. He waited, bracing for a cataclysmic reaction within his body—a clash of energies, an explosion of pain.
Nothing happened.
He felt… normal. No surge of power, no internal conflict. He opened his status panel.
[Host: Ragnar]
[Abilities: Conqueror's Haki Lv.3, Observation Haki Lv.4, Armament Haki Lv.4, Shave Lv.3, Moon Walk Lv.3. (Next level requires 10,000 EXP)]
[Devil Fruits: Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix Lv.4. Nika Nika no Mi, Model: Daibutsu Lv.1. (Next level requires 10,000 EXP)]
[Weapon: Yama]
[EXP: 23,000 / 50,000]
Two fruits listed, coexisting. The system's logic overrode the base rules of the One Piece world. A wave of relief, followed by fierce triumph, washed over him.
"I have enough EXP to upgrade several things," he calculated. "But the new fruit takes priority. Another ultimate trump card."
"Upgrade: Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu."
A warm, profound energy flowed through him as the fruit's level ticked from 1 to 2. It wasn't a violent surge, but a deep, foundational strengthening. His muscles felt denser, his senses sharper, his mind clearer. It was the fruit's passive effect—elevating the very essence of his humanity toward its ultimate form.
"Upgrade again."
From Lv.2 to Lv.3.
This time, the sensation was more intense. A feeling of spiritual ascension, as if his soul were being gently but firmly lifted, striving to break free from mortal confines and achieve a state of enlightened detachment. It was seductive, this promise of transcendent wisdom and peace.
Dangerous.
Ragnar's will, forged in the fires of survival and honed by Conqueror's Haki, clamped down like a vise. He anchored his spirit firmly within his physical self. Power without control was a path to becoming a puppet of the ability itself. He would master it; it would not master him.
Lv.3 was enough for now. He needed to acclimate, to temper his body and will to bear this new, profound weight before reaching for higher levels. The Phoenix Fruit's upgrade to Lv.4 hadn't felt like this. Was this the latent cost of wielding two Mythical Zoan powers? A subtle alteration of his very being? He couldn't pinpoint it, only sense a new, profound depth within himself.
Shaking off the metaphysical unease, he focused on the practical. He needed to test the Daibutsu's power.
He focused, activating the new ability.
Instantly, his body was sheathed in a gentle, radiant golden light. A profound, ancient power erupted from his core. Behind him, the air shimmered and solidified into the form of a majestic, serene Golden Buddha, fifty feet tall. Its expression was one of boundless compassion and absolute authority.
Under Ragnar's mental command, the Buddha grew, swelling to a hundred, then two hundred feet, a colossus of gleaming gold that dwarfed the forest trees. For a single, breathtaking moment, the perpetual grey gloom of the Land of Rain was banished, replaced by a divine, sun-like radiance that painted the clouds gold.
The light vanished as quickly as it came, retracting back into Ragnar as he dismissed the form. But the brief, miraculous spectacle would be a tale told in scout reports across the region—a strange, holy light in the heart of the warzone.
Ragnar stood, buzzing with exhilaration. The power… it was tangible, immense. He felt he could level a mountainside with a single focused strike.
Shockwaves… Buddha's wrath… The potential was intoxicating.
He noted a difference from Sengoku's depicted ability. He didn't become a giant, golden, corpulent Buddha. Instead, he manifested the Buddha as a separate, colossal projection, an extension of his own will and power. He controlled it, its movements his own. He preferred it this way—the Buddha remained a majestic, external avatar of destruction, while he retained his own form and mobility. It felt… more fitting.
A grim, satisfied smile touched his lips. The Rain Country had just gained a new, hidden god of war.
(End of Chapter)
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