Chapter 135: The Allure of Devil Fruits

“Alright, Thompson. Everyone’s treated equally here. Go ahead, pick one.”

Karl never expected Thompson’s hesitation was for this reason.

Honestly, he’d never thought his crew would worry about something like that.

To be fair, it shouldn’t be like this at all.

He quickly took a moment for self-reflection.

He usually tried to be approachable, so how did he end up putting so much pressure on his crew?

“I’m really not that strict of a captain. Pick one already.”

“Oh, and don’t forget these three as well.”

“Found these three on Wano too.”

Karl knew the importance of rewarding loyalty, so he laid out the three Devil Fruits he’d found at the Sword Graveyard.

If he didn’t treat his crew sincerely, there was no telling when disloyalty might take root.

Better to nip that kind of thinking in the bud.

He definitely didn’t want to have to deal with traitors himself one day.

“Nani?”

Krell’s eyes practically bulged out in shock.

Judging by everyone else’s faces, they weren’t any less stunned.

After all, Devil Fruits were rare treasures out on the sea.

Finding nine Devil Fruits on a single island was downright unheard of.

“Who’d have thought a small country like Wano would have nine Devil Fruits?”

Davis was the first to recover.

He turned his attention to Karl, wondering how Lord Karl even knew about Wano in the first place.

From the start, Lord Karl had ordered Krell to search for Wano, which meant he must have had some knowledge of it.

“Actually, if we’re being precise, Wano has twelve.”

Karl didn’t wait for their shock to pass before dropping another bombshell.

“You all remember the Kurozumi siblings who just joined the Rocks Pirates—they’re from Wano too.”

“One has the Copy-Copy Fruit, one has the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, and to top it off, they’re holding a Zoan Mythical-type: the Yamata no Orochi.”

“So…”

Davis was still the first to shake off his amazement.

So Karl’s real interest in Wano wasn’t just the Seastone. It was because there were multiple Devil Fruits up for grabs.

No wonder, this trip to Wano was turning out to be more worthwhile than expected.

“Exactly. I want the Kurozumi siblings’ Devil Fruits too.”

“Especially since we’re talking about a Mythical Zoan!”

Letting Kurozumi Orochi keep the Yamata no Orochi Fruit was just a waste.

Any Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, if awakened, was guaranteed to grant impressive power.

Who could’ve guessed Kurozumi Orochi would turn such a legendary fruit into such a mess?

He used all eight heads just to stay alive—not a single Mythical ability was developed.

What a waste.

“I’ll send my fishmen out to track the Kurozumi siblings—do everything we can to locate their Devil Fruit stash.”

Since Lord Karl wanted that Mythical Zoan, Krell would do whatever it took to get it.

He hadn’t been sitting around, either. The Kurozumi siblings weren’t exactly powerhouses.

As long as they found their Devil Fruit storage, they could just take it. No need to worry about revenge. If the siblings made a move, they’d just wipe them out together.

“Go on, pick one. No reason to hesitate this time.”

Karl urged Thompson, who was still wavering.

To Karl, a single Devil Fruit barely meant anything now.

He already had eleven in his System space, plus nine more in front of him, making twenty. That wasn’t even counting the seventeen he’d given Linlin.

Hard to believe that in less than two years in the One Piece World, he’d already collected close to forty Devil Fruits.

And they weren’t just any fruits—nearly ten of them were top-tier.

He really had been blessed by luck for a long time.

“Thank you, Lord Karl.”

Thompson glanced at Karl, giving a solemn nod.

Then, without another word, he stepped forward, closed his eyes, picked one at random, and shoved it straight into his mouth.

“Ugh…”

“Crunch!”

Thompson wasn’t a rookie. He stuffed the Devil Fruit in and chewed as fast as he could.

Only after swallowing did the nausea hit him hard.

But dry heaving was impossible to avoid.

His face flushed beet-red, and he even threw up bile.

His stomach felt like it was swallowed by flames.

“Hahaha!”

Smith couldn’t stop laughing beside him.

He burst out because Thompson actually ate the whole Devil Fruit. You were only supposed to eat a bite.

Turns out even someone as seasoned as Thompson could make the same mistake—just like Smith had.

Jennifer wasted no time snapping photos of Thompson for the record.

Those pictures could make excellent blackmail fodder in the future.

“Is it really that disgusting?”

Notty scratched his head, never having cared for Devil Fruits.

After all, eating one meant you’d become weak to seawater.

Chasing strength was his main goal, so he didn’t want any extra weaknesses.

Watching Thompson’s suffering only made him less interested—there was no way he’d eat something so revolting.

Was it really that bad?

“Water…”

Seeing Thompson’s state, Davis hurried over with a canteen.

Davis couldn’t really understand, but if it was so bad it made you puke bile, it must taste awful.

Thompson grabbed the canteen, tilting his head back and chugging every drop.

“Finally, I’m alive again. I never want to taste that hellish thing a second time.”

“You’d better not! Eat a second Devil Fruit and you’ll explode and die, did you know that?”

Even if Thompson was joking, Karl couldn’t take that risk. He had to make sure everyone understood how deadly it was.

If someone ever accidentally ate a second one, they’d die for nothing.

“Well? Can you feel what kind of power you got from that Devil Fruit?”

Thompson had eaten so quickly, Karl hadn’t seen which one he picked.

But after checking carefully, he realized it was the Suit-Suit Fruit.

Now, he could only hope Thompson would use the Suit-Suit Fruit’s power to its fullest.

That fruit was the stuff of hero legends, after all.

He refused to believe anyone could resist something as cool as an emperor’s suit.

“I think I can change clothes instantly?”

Thompson had never seen Armor Hero, so the idea didn’t cross his mind.

He just grabbed a leaf from the ground and turned it into a copy of the clothes he was wearing.

He looked disappointed.

If that Devil Fruit could only turn things into clothes, wasn’t it a total waste…

The more he thought about it, the more ripped off he felt.