Chapter 39 Seeing Another Devil Fruit!

Back on the Longteng Wanli, Nojiko was already waiting anxiously on the deck.

Seeing the two of them descend from the sky with a massive barrier box, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Heavens, did you two empty out the entire treasury?”

Nojiko couldn’t help but ask as she looked at the barrier box, which was half the size of the ship.

Nami snapped her fingers smugly, and the barrier box slowly opened, filling the entire deck with the gold, silver, and jewels inside.

“This was much easier than I thought.

Those nobles were practically inviting us to take their treasure.”

“Don’t get careless; we need to leave here quickly.

Moomoo, full speed ahead!”

The sea cow Moomoo let out a cheerful cry, and the Longteng Wanli dashed into the night like an arrow from a bow.

“With so much treasure, even the treasure room of the Longteng Wanli won’t fit it all…

what should we do?”

Nojiko scratched her head in worry as she looked at the mountain of gold, silver, and jewels on the deck.

“Yeah, we can’t return to Cocoyasi Village like this.

If we’re discovered, it’ll bring trouble to the village.”

As the joy of getting rich faded, Nami also frowned.

“Indeed, how to hide it is a problem.

How about this: put all the Berries in the treasure room.

From what I’ve seen, it should be able to hold them.

As for the gold, silver, and jewels, let’s find a deserted island to bury them first, then transport them back to Cocoyasi Village in batches once the heat dies down.”

Kaguya said after a moment of contemplation.

Nami’s eyes lit up.

“I know of a deserted island nearby that I found while drawing sea charts.

It doesn’t even have fresh water, so no one ever goes there.”

“Then let’s do that!”

Nojiko immediately sprang into action, directing Moomoo to change course.

While heading to the deserted island, the three of them began moving the Berries.

After filling the treasure room to the brim with all the Berries, Nami looked at the two of them excitedly.

“I just did a rough calculation!

We have one billion Berries alone!”

“We’ve really struck it rich this time…”

Nojiko murmured in a daze.

“I never expected the Goa Kingdom to have so much wealth.

I wonder how rich the World Government must be…”

Kaguya suddenly felt like visiting the treasury of Mary Geoise.

Hearing Kaguya’s words, Nami and Nojiko also fell into a fantasy.

“Alright, let’s go out and look at those things on the deck.

I saw something other than gold, silver, and jewels when I was moving the Berries earlier.”

Kaguya shook the two girls out of their fantasy and walked toward the deck.

Nami and Nojiko quickly followed.

A minute later, the three of them fell silent as they looked at the open wooden box before them.

Inside the wooden box lay a strangely shaped fruit.

The fruit was streamlined and spiraled upward, with a skin of intertwined slate-gray and amber scale-like patterns, and three wing-like purple petals extending from the top.

“Could this be another Devil Fruit?”

Nojiko was the first to break the silence.

“Looking at the pattern, it should be.”

Kaguya nodded.

“I don’t understand why a Devil Fruit would be in the treasury.

Why didn’t the Goa royalty eat it?”

As a Devil Fruit User, Nami had a deep understanding of their power.

She couldn’t understand why someone would keep a Devil Fruit in a treasury instead of eating it directly.

“I might know why.”

Kaguya said thoughtfully while looking at the Devil Fruit.

Both girls looked at him with inquisitive eyes.

“Because the Celestial Dragons who control the World Government believe that Devil Fruits are things only lower-class people eat.

They claim to be ‘descendants of gods’ and disdain relying on the power of Devil Fruits.”

Kaguya lightly stroked the scale-like patterns on the fruit’s surface.

“As a member of the World Government, the Goa Kingdom’s royalty greatly admires the Celestial Dragons, so they naturally imitate their ways.”

Nami suddenly understood.

“No wonder they’d rather lock such a precious treasure in a vault!”

She suddenly gave a sly smile.

“But now it’s ours.

What should we do with this fruit?”

Under the girls’ gaze, Kaguya picked up the Devil Fruit.

Just as they thought he was going to eat it, he placed it in Nojiko’s hand.

“You eat this Devil Fruit.”

“Me?

No, no way!

My strength is too weak; eating this Devil Fruit would be a waste.

You’re strong, and with the help of this Devil Fruit, you’ll be even stronger.

You should eat it!”

Nojiko waved her hands hurriedly, trying to push the fruit back into Kaguya’s hand.

But Kaguya held her wrist, his gaze firm.

“It’s precisely because your current strength is insufficient that you need the power of a Devil Fruit even more.”

Fearing Nojiko would refuse, Kaguya added, “A Devil Fruit is an aid, but also a limitation.

None of us know what this Devil Fruit’s ability is.

If it’s not a particularly powerful Devil Fruit, it might actually hinder my future strength.

Even if I really need the help of a Devil Fruit in the future, I’ll look for one with a known ability.”

Kaguya’s reasoning wasn’t just an excuse; it was a carefully considered thought.

His physical strength was growing every day.

Even without the help of a Devil Fruit, he wouldn’t be weak.

Even if he really needed to eat a Devil Fruit, the Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit kept on Punk Hazard would be better than this unknown one.

Nojiko looked down at the Devil Fruit in her hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.

“Okay!

Then I won’t be polite!”

Nojiko took a deep breath and held the Devil Fruit to her mouth.

The fruit emitted a strange fragrance, a mixture of earth and metal.

She closed her eyes and took a bite.

“Blegh—!”

Nojiko’s face instantly turned pale, and she almost spat the fruit out.

“This tastes even more disgusting than rotten fish!”

Nami couldn’t help but laugh as she remembered how she felt when she accidentally ate the Barrier-Barrier Fruit.

“All Devil Fruits taste like this.

Just bear with it and it’ll pass.”

Suppressing the urge to vomit, Nojiko forced herself to swallow the entire fruit.

Suddenly, she felt a strange surge of heat within her, and fine slate-gray scale patterns appeared on the surface of her skin.

“How is it?

What’s the ability?”

Kaguya looked at Nojiko with curiosity.

At this moment, his heart was filled with both anticipation and anxiety.

He hoped Nojiko would gain a powerful ability but was anxious in case the fruit’s effect was underwhelming.

Nojiko closed her eyes, fully sensing the power that had suddenly emerged within her.

She felt her bones vibrating slightly, her muscle fibers reorganizing, and the scale patterns on her skin gradually becoming clearly visible.

Suddenly, Nojiko’s form began to change rapidly.

Her back bulged sharply, and a pair of massive wing membranes burst from her shoulder blades, shimmering with a metallic luster under the Moonlight.

Her hands turned into sharp claws, and her legs extended into powerful reptilian hind limbs.

When the transformation was complete, a slate-gray Pterosaur nearly ten meters long with a wingspan of almost twenty meters stood on the deck, its amber vertical pupils flashing with a dangerous light in the night.