Hearing the name "Luffy," Shanks' expression changed. His eyes widened as he stared at Carl, exclaiming,
"Brother, why are you mentioning Luffy? Don't tell me you've also been to Laugh Tale?"
Carl replied indifferently,
"I haven't been there. I'm sure whatever is there wouldn't welcome me—or you, for that matter."
Shanks' body stiffened. After a brief silence, he muttered,
"I haven't been there…"
"I know. It's because Buggy got sick, right?"
"You even know about that?!"
"Your brother knows more than you imagine. Now, let me ask you, who defined the title of Pirate King? Joy Boy?"
A look of confusion appeared on Shanks' face. He slowly shook his head.
"I don't know… It feels like everything was preordained."
"Tch. From the moment I came back to life, there's been no such thing as destiny!"
Carl turned to face Shanks directly, staring into his eyes.
"This world belongs to the Figarland family. Joy Boy is just a struggling failure. I don't care what kind of resurrection or reincarnation he's planning—this time, I'll end him for good!"
As Carl spoke, he casually waved his hand, and a row of Devil Fruits with various shapes and colors appeared on the ship's railing.
Azure Dragon, Artificial Azure Dragon, Magnetism, Flame-Flame…
These Devil Fruits were Carl's spoils of war, each one of exceptional quality. Any one of them could create a powerhouse out of thin air.
Carl briefly introduced the abilities of the Devil Fruits to Shanks before saying,
"Pick one."
Shanks was stunned. It took him a while to finally speak.
"Brother, you can extract Devil Fruits from those who've already eaten them?!"
After all, the previous owners of these fruits weren't nobodies, especially the Azure Dragon Fruit, which the entire world knew once belonged to the former Yonko Kaido.
Shanks suddenly remembered how Kaido had been defeated and how the Land of Wano had been taken over by Doflamingo.
He exclaimed,
"And that Doflamingo! Did his Fruit come from you too?!"
Carl nodded nonchalantly.
"I've already brought Doflamingo into our family. He's one of us now. Besides, he was originally a Celestial Dragon."
Waving his hand dismissively, Carl continued,
"Enough about that. Go ahead and pick a Devil Fruit to eat."
"…Brother, I don't want to eat a Devil Fruit!"
"No, you do."
"But if I eat a Devil Fruit, I might not be able to go to Laugh Tale. Kozuki and Buggy…"
"Is that a thing? Hmm… Maybe it's Joy Boy's doing. No worries—I'll deal with him sooner or later."
"I still don't want to eat one. I'll become a landlubber…"
Carl sneered.
"Hmph. Who told you eating a Devil Fruit makes you a landlubber?"
"Ah? Isn't that common knowledge? I saw it with my own eyes—Buggy nearly drowned after eating a Devil Fruit, even though he was an excellent swimmer!"
Carl glanced at Shanks, then, under Shanks' astonished gaze, leapt into the sea and climbed back onto the ship moments later.
Whoosh!
A flame ignited on Carl's body, instantly drying off the seawater. His clothes, which could be elementalized, remained unharmed.
Shanks was dumbfounded, muttering,
"This… how is this possible?"
Carl stared at Shanks with a deadpan expression. Sliding his black-glowing right hand into his pocket, he said seriously,
"My foolish brother, you know nothing about the Figarland bloodline. Members of our family are born with special privileges. Even if we eat Devil Fruits, we don't lose the ability to swim."
Hearing this, Shanks immediately looked down at his body, mumbling to himself,
"Incredible… Could I have this too?"
"Of course you do! Now pick a Devil Fruit and eat it already!"
Swallowing hard, Shanks found himself struggling to come up with a reason not to. In the world of pirates, eating a Devil Fruit meant gaining a power that became your own, developed through your own efforts. It wasn't borrowing strength from an external source.
Even Zephyr agreed with this philosophy, though he believed Devil Fruit powers should be paired with strong martial arts and haki.
And Shanks' martial arts and haki were top-tier, making him the only Yonko without a Devil Fruit.
After a moment of hesitation, Shanks slowly reached out toward the row of Devil Fruits. However, halfway through, he stopped and turned to Carl with a questioning look.
"Brother, I have no experience with this. Which Devil Fruit do you think suits me best?"
Carl initially wanted to leave the choice to Shanks, as he felt all the fruits were excellent. However, since Shanks asked, Carl gave his advice.
"The Azure Dragon Fruit. Its abilities are the most versatile for someone like you."
Shanks blinked.
"So, if I use its powers, will I turn into a giant blue dragon like Kaido?"
"Exactly. The fruit's color tells you as much."
"Ah? Then no! I like red!"
"…What kind of reason is that?"
Despite Carl's incredulous look, Shanks kept shaking his head. Left with no choice, Carl pointed to a large red apple next to the Azure Dragon Fruit.
"If you're that hung up on color, you can try this one. It's a perfect replica of the Azure Dragon Fruit made by Vegapunk. When you transform, you'll probably be red."
In truth, Carl wasn't entirely sure. The fruit's color had changed due to his intervention, but it didn't matter. If Shanks ended up dissatisfied, Carl could always remove the fruit's power from him—though it would be a painful process, as Doflamingo could attest.
After some thought, Shanks picked up the Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit and took a big bite. He even instinctively chewed a few times before suddenly gagging.
"Ugh!"
Vegapunk's craftsmanship was top-notch, not just in abilities but also in faithfully replicating the original fruit's taste.
As a first-time eater of a Devil Fruit, Shanks' face turned bright red. He almost spit it out, but Carl clamped his hand over Shanks' mouth and gave him a firm shove.
Gulp.
Shanks swallowed it. He bent over, panting heavily, before slowly straightening and clenching his fists.
Just as Carl thought Shanks was about to test his new power, the red-haired pirate suddenly leapt off the ship.
With a loud splash, bubbles rose to the surface of the sea… and then silence.
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+255 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg