Chapter 137: Awakening of the Bat: Power, Temptation, and New Beginnings

You really can’t call Ledfield anything but ruthless. After eating the Devil Fruit, his expression barely changed.

Still, the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth gave away that he was affected, if only a little.

He knew Devil Fruits were supposed to taste bad, but this was worse than expected. He nearly lost control of his own face.

“Ha! So this is the power of a Mythical Zoan?”

“No wonder it’s considered one of the top Devil Fruits.”

Ledfield stretched out his right hand, feeling waves of strength welling up inside him.

He was already at admiral level, yet this Devil Fruit still gave his power a noticeable boost.

To be honest, he’d underestimated what Devil Fruits could really do.

“But these side effects… aren’t they a bit much?”

He frowned, suddenly overwhelmed by a strong urge to drink blood.

He turned, crimson eyes landing on the nearby town.

The next second, sheer willpower took over. He shook his head hard.

He pushed away the craving clawing at his mind.

“I’m Ledfield. There’s no way I’m letting some cheap side effect take me down.”

“I wonder if the blood of a Sea King would work instead?”

Ledfield now was not the same sea tyrant as in the original story, so he still felt a bit of pity for ordinary people. He wouldn’t slaughter civilians without a reason.

But this was the world of pirates. Ruthless pirates ruled the seas, and people like Whitebeard, Shanks, or Luffy were rare exceptions.

As Ledfield honed his senses, he discovered the Bat Fruit’s powers subtly accelerated his Observation Haki’s growth.

For the first time in ages, he felt real progress in his Observation Haki.

Ever since he pushed his Observation Haki to the point of reading minds, he’d been stuck at a standstill.

He’d actually thought his Haki had peaked, that he’d reached the end of the road.

“Looks like Karl was right. This fruit really was meant for me.”

He called forth the power of the Devil Fruit, and two massive black wings burst from his back.

They were oversized bat wings, and for a moment, Ledfield radiated a strange, mysterious aura.

Then, in an instant, he transformed into a giant bat.

“Swoosh!”

Guided by his new wings, he launched into the air. At first, his flying was a little shaky.

He skimmed low over the treetops—after all, this was his first time ever flying.

Being clumsy was to be expected.

But after just a few minutes of practice, he had control over both his direction and speed.

Of course, the poor trees below got battered and bent every which way.

No matter how you look at it, the trees really took a beating.

Now that he’d claimed the Mythical Zoan Bat Fruit,

the power it granted really did exceed his expectations. With his mission complete, it was time to head back.

He pulled out the Eternal Pose for Cake Island, checked his direction, then shot towards the sky in a streak of black light.

With his stamina, Ledfield could easily fly all the way to Cake Island.

Meanwhile, the tiny sky island Visalia was drawing ever closer to Cake Island.

“Should I keep this thing, or just eat it already?”

Up on the sky island, Borsalino stared at the Devil Fruit his mother had left for him.

What he’d seen on the island told him this was the legendary treasure of the sea: a Devil Fruit.

He wasn’t sure if anyone would be after his Devil Fruit once he reached his destination.

He picked up the Devil Fruit and examined it carefully.

“But what kind of power does this Devil Fruit even have?”

Staring at the yellow-patterned Devil Fruit, Borsalino fell deep into thought.

Some Devil Fruits really did have useless—or even harmful—powers, giving nothing but new weaknesses.

“Knock, knock!”

“Borsalino, come out, it’s time to train!”

The trainer heard silence and worried something was wrong inside.

This was Borsalino, after all—personally entrusted by Lord Karl to be brought to Cake Island. If anything happened to him, the trainer would never live it down.

“Clack!”

Inside, Borsalino heard someone at the door. He was just about to hide the Devil Fruit, but then the door swung open.

His heart sank. Nobody could see this Devil Fruit.

If anyone else caught sight of it, he’d never be able to protect it.

This was the last thing his mother left him. That meant there was only one way out.

“Urk!”

“Coming!”

Panicking, he stuffed the Devil Fruit into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

If he hadn’t been so desperate, there was no way he’d have eaten it.

“Alright, hurry up and follow me.”

The trainer watched Borsalino walk out of the room and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Then, expressionless, he moved on to the next room.

Borsalino, too sick to care, quickly scrambled after the trainer towards the training field outside.

“Logia—Glint-Glint Fruit?”

On the way out, the name of the Devil Fruit and how to use it echoed in his mind.

He hadn’t expected his mother to leave him a Logia Devil Fruit.

This was absolutely wild.

……

……

It had already been ten days since Karl left Wano.

During those ten days, Wano was a construction zone: new hospitals, schools, taverns, teahouses, you name it—they were popping up everywhere.

All those buildings formed a dense network, spreading across the entire country.

If you looked down from the sky, they formed an enormous Bagua Array.

Of course, there was nothing magical about this Bagua Array. It was purely for looks.

Meanwhile, some craftsmen had been secretly bribed.

They were told to forge Seastone shackles and other items—while also learning the techniques themselves.

Seastone was an absolute must in the world of pirates.

It only came from Wano, so the price was sky-high.

Krell knew exactly why Lord Karl had come to Wano, so he left the new buildings in the care of the Fishmen.

His real target was Rabi Well. He had to mine Seastone and turn it into finished goods as quickly as possible.

Only then could he answer for his mission.

Inside a pitch-black chamber somewhere in Wano, not a hint of light showed.

“The Rocks Pirates are at the peak of their power right now, so we…”

“We’ll wait for the right moment.”

“Alright, that’s probably best.”

……

“So this is a television set?”

In the research lab next to Cake Island, Vegapunk watched as the Video Transponder Snail played back a recorded video. He nodded with satisfaction.

“But what’s this even for?”

Vegapunk was baffled.

If you wanted to play a video, why not just use a Video Transponder Snail?

He really didn’t get the appeal of a television set.

Vegapunk had no idea what made TV truly special.

“Lord Karl, I’ve finished the television you asked for.”

“Really? Thanks, Vegapunk.”

Karl hadn’t expected Vegapunk to build the TV in just ten days.

That brain really was five hundred years ahead of its time.

Just one hint and he understood everything.

“Linlin?”

“Get me some talent in drama and the arts.”

“I want to put on a real show.”

……