Chapter 195: He’s Mastered At Least Three Devil Fruit Powers!
Alabasta,
Port City, Rapeseed Flower.
“This is Alabasta!” The long-nosed captive had just stepped off the ship and glanced at the surrounding scenery, immediately recognizing the location.
“I hate the desert.”
The only female captive looked at the city before her, which lacked greenery, her face openly showing disgust.
“Yoyoi~~, Kalifa yo, you must learn to endure. Only by enduring a thousand years on the mountain, a thousand years in the sea, and the hardships of living exposed to wind and rain can one become an immortal, ageless being!” The disheveled man, with traces of oil-based makeup on his face, resembling a down-and-out kabuki actor, struck an exaggerated pose while wearing shackles.
Kalifa rolled her eyes.
Too lazy to deal with this lunatic Kumadori.
“Damn! Those women······ they all rejected my advances, damn it! How dare they look down on Great Gabura, just you wait!!!” The man with two black mustaches crouched in the corner, muttering to himself, his resentment so thick it was almost visible to the naked eye.
Lucci was the last to disembark.
Unlike his companions, this man with extremely strong self-esteem always maintained a cold demeanor, stubborn as a stone. Every day was nothing but training and exercise, honing himself to the brink of death.
The CP9 group of five—Rob Lucci, Kaku, Gabura, Kumadori, Kalifa······ the five prisoners were all brought to Alabasta.
Fran and Isca got off the ship. Noticing the strikingly vivid red hair, someone immediately approached.
“Excuse me, are you Miss Fran?”
A middle-aged woman dressed like a court official asked.
“Prince Elus and Princess Vivi instructed me to come pick up everyone.”
“Sorry, I have quite a few people here, and a few more captives to bring along.” Fran pointed at the CP9 group of five who had disembarked ahead and gathered together.
“No worries about that. Prince Elus specially reminded us, and this time we’ve also brought a prison wagon.”
Following the official’s guidance, Fran and Isca saw three wagons parked not far away. The first two were quite ornate carriages, while the rear one was a finely crafted steel prison wagon. Pulling them were not horses, but three enormous turtles.
“Then we won’t stand on ceremony.”
Fran nodded in agreement.
First, the five captives were loaded into the prison wagon. It was quite spacious, and with none of them taking up excessive space, it wasn’t crowded inside.
After settling the captives, the ladies boarded the first carriage, while Farrug and Mr. 2 along with the other men took the second carriage. As for the Champion series artificial humans, these tireless, unthinking fellows clad in heavy armor flanked the wagons as guards.
Mainly to keep an eye on the five in the prison wagon, ensuring they had no chance to cause trouble.
The driver gave a whistle, and the giant turtles, previously lying still, stood up, shaking their heads and swaying as they began to move.
The speed of the turtles pulling the wagons was astonishing. Turtles are typically seen as symbols of slowness and sluggishness, but these three massive ones racing through the desert shattered that notion—not only fast, but remarkably steady, with almost no bumps felt inside.
“······ Alabasta’s Land-and-Sea Turtles! As expected of a local specialty!”
Fran and the others marveled from inside the carriage.
The five in the rear prison wagon, however, suffered a bit. The steel-barred prison wagon offered no shelter from wind and rain or the sun, especially in Alabasta’s extreme summer island climate—the scorching desert sun was utterly tormenting.
Of course, as agents trained harshly from childhood, their resilience far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Ignoring it entirely might be tough, but they wouldn’t complain so quickly. Besides, as prisoners, enduring some hardship was expected······ they had that much resolve. However, as the only female member, though Kalifa said nothing, her extremely displeased expression showed her unhappiness.
She would rather be locked in a ship cabin without seeing daylight than be exposed to this damned sun.
Unfortunately, prisoners had no say.
Time on the road passed in a flash.
Over two days.
The group arrived at Alabasta’s Capital Alabarna. The wagons didn’t enter the city but circled half around the walls, heading straight for the oasis outside.
————
The Land-and-Sea Turtles stopped in front of a castle in the oasis.
“Sister Fran.”
Clarice had been waiting here for some time.
“His Highness sent me to pick you up.”
“Clarice! Long time no see! You seem much more composed than before!” Seeing her childhood friend, Fran happily widened her eyes, stepping forward to hold her hand and chatter away. As Prince Elus’s personal maids, they had been brought to the Royal Palace as young children, eating, studying, and growing up together······ their bond was inseparable.
Isca and the others also disembarked, taking in the castle with its distinctly Alabastan style.
“······· This castle originally belonged to an Alabastan noble who violated the law and was punished. The castle was auctioned off. King Cobra originally wanted to give it to His Highness, but in the end, His Highness bought it himself—not just the castle, but the small lake in front as well······”
Clarice, holding Fran’s hand, introduced the castle’s history to Fran, Isca, and the others.
Farrug wisely stayed back, unwilling to deal with that freak Von Clay. His own preferences were perfectly normal; he didn’t discriminate against that sort······ but he absolutely didn’t want to end up as back-slapping buddies.
As for the CP9 five,
Someone else went to “entertain” them.
“Bruno?······ You’re here? Does that mean the Black Prince and the Revolutionary Army are truly colluding in secret? This is······ terrifying!” Kaku, sitting in the cage, looked at Bruno outside the prison wagon and sighed helplessly.
Bruno’s appearance made the truth crystal clear to him.
The Black Prince and the Revolutionary Army were definitely in cahoots.
The Pluton Blueprint falling into the Revolutionary Army’s hands surely owed much to the Black Prince. If this intelligence could be sent back to the Holy Land······ Sigh! Dream on! They’d fallen into the Black Prince’s hands—where was there any chance to send word!
“Hey, stupid ox, you······ defected to the Black Prince?”
Gabura didn’t overthink like Kaku, but his eyes were sharp.
While Kaku was lost in thought, pondering all sorts of things, Gabura was the first to notice Bruno wore no restraints.
Instinctive suspicions arose in his mind. His teammates knew Bruno’s fruit ability best of all. The reason Bruno was chosen for the Water 7 infiltration over the more quick-witted Gabura was precisely because of the Door-Door Fruit’s supremely useful power!
Logically, even against a Pirate Emperor, as long as not immediately subdued, the Door-Door Fruit offered hope of escape.
Yet Bruno, clearly unbound, showed no intent to flee, and his words suggested staying long-term······ If not defection to the Black Prince, what was it?
“Bruno, you······”
Hearing Gabura, Kaku snapped back and noticed the anomaly too.
“Once you’re settled······ I’ll explain everything.”
Bruno’s mood was complicated.
His mind turned slowly, but he could imagine he was under suspicion.
After all,
Which prisoner was like him?
No restraints anywhere on him, yet free to walk out openly and host his CP9 colleagues······ Truth be told, even he himself lately couldn’t figure out his own status. A captive? But not locked in a dungeon for torture, with his own room and three meals a day where he could even order······
But the problem was, he truly hadn’t defected!
Bruno glanced at the prison wagon’s locks, then turned to fetch the key.
“Here, the keys. Hold on tight—the big one is for the prison wagon! We’ll return it later too! It’s not ours. The smaller ones are for the handcuffs and shackles. Unlock them.”
Farrug tossed a bunch of keys over with a flick.
As an insider, he knew His Highness seemed intent on taming these World Government watchdogs. As a good subordinate, he naturally cooperated.
“······ I understand.”
Bruno caught the keys, lips moving as if to say more, but ultimately only managed “I understand.”
The five in the prison wagon watched Farrug casually toss the keys to Bruno, as if unconcerned about him freeing and them fleeing······ They fell silent for a moment, watching as Bruno unlocked the wagon and they stepped out.
Then—
No miracle occurred.
Everything Bruno did was genuine.
He didn’t use the Door-Door Fruit to take them away.
Instead, after they all disembarked, he handed the keys to the court official who had greeted Fran and the others at the port.
Entering through the castle gates, their group soon parted ways with Fran and hers, who headed straight to the castle’s heart to meet the Black Prince, while the CP9 five followed Bruno to a large building.
From the castle’s layout, this seemed to be for hosting guests.
Of course, it was evidently not for distinguished guests—likely for minor nobles and officials······ As the castle’s new owner, Elus didn’t know Alabasta’s nobles and officials, so no need to deal with them.
Thus,
It became the CP9 group’s lodging.
“This will be our quarters for now. Rooms are assigned for everyone. You can wash up and change clothes first······ Right, here are your keys.”
Kalifa stepped forward first, found her key, and unlocked her handcuffs.
Gabura second, Kaku third, then Kumadori······ Lucci last, unlocking his Seastone Handcuffs. His long-suppressed ability returned clearly; he flexed his wrists, stared at Bruno for a few seconds, but ultimately did nothing rash, going upstairs with the others.
Bruno sat on the sofa in the hall, face wooden, lost in thought.
About an hour passed.
Kaku and the others came down one by one, having bathed thoroughly, shed their grime, and changed into prepared clothes. Kalifa’s was a bit small—clearly Bruno hadn’t gauged his companion’s size accurately.
Lucci arrived last; he still needed to groom his beloved pet pigeon Haddori’s messy feathers and dress it to match his style.
“Bruno, what exactly does the Black Prince want?”
Though last to arrive, the others were clearly accustomed to following Lucci’s lead. Once Lucci sat on the sofa, the long-separated companions’ conversation truly began.
Only,
The first question was hard to answer.
“······ The Black Prince probably wants to recruit us.” Bruno said slowly. “But I’m not sure if he’s sincere or just toying with us, after all······ our positions are special······”
“Recruit us? He sure dares to dream!”
Lucci narrowed his eyes.
He understood Bruno’s point.
As agents of the World Government’s direct Intelligence Agency CP9, recruiting them meant making an enemy of the World Government. If the Black Prince truly wanted them, didn’t that mean opposing the World Government outright? It wouldn’t be strange then for him to cooperate with the Revolutionary Army.
“And you? Bruno, why didn’t you escape?”
Lucci asked what everyone wanted to know.
“······ My ability······ was taken by the Black Prince.”
No sooner had he spoken than Bruno saw eyes full of suspicion and anger—clearly thinking he was lying. An ability taken? What a joke? They knew ability users’ Devil Fruits reappeared in the sea only after death, not while alive.
Sure enough, Bruno was still as dim as ever, couldn’t even lie convincingly.
Who would this fool?
The reactions were as expected. If not for experiencing it himself, he wouldn’t believe such an outlandish thing either.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but······ that’s the truth.” Bruno pulled Seastone Handcuffs from his pocket, impassively cuffing himself, then stood and lightly stepped, using ‘Shave’ to move behind Lucci.
This was the proof Bruno prepared to convince his comrades.
Seastone not only suppressed Devil Fruit abilities but drained ability users’ stamina—more precisely, the stamina needed to actively use them, depending on seawater exposure and Seastone purity.
Lucci himself had removed his Seastone Handcuffs just over an hour ago.
He knew best: under Seastone Handcuffs draining stamina, normal walking was nearly his limit. Gabura was worse; without Kaku’s help, he’d have collapsed after four or five dozen steps from the wagon, left gasping.
Bruno’s base strength was lower than Lucci’s, even Gabura’s.
For an ability user to use ‘Shave’ while wearing Seastone Handcuffs······ Could he really have lost his fruit power?
Lucci turned and touched Bruno’s cuffs.
Just a light touch brought waves of weakness; he quickly withdrew. As another ability user, Gabura couldn’t resist testing, yelping like a wolf bitten on the butt and jumping back.
Gabura’s reaction confirmed the cuffs were real Seastone Handcuffs.
Realizing this, the smart ones present knew Bruno wasn’t lying.
“Taking a Devil Fruit ability—someone can really do that?”
Kaku looked shocked.
As CP9 agents, they knew secrets, like the World Government’s ongoing research to extract Devil Fruits from living ability users. With so many in Impel Down, success would yield immense gains······
But,
After centuries, no progress—even Doctor Vegapunk only produced mangled ability user corpses.
Who’d have thought the Black Prince mastered it.
“Not just that—the Black Prince······ has at least three abilities.”
Bruno dropped another bombshell.
“Three or more abilities? Bruno, this joke isn’t funny.” Kalifa adjusted her glasses, her stern look like a cold female teacher at a podium.
“Yoyoi~~, Bruno, deceiving an immortal brings divine punishment!”
Kumadori chimed in theatrically.
Ability users can’t eat a second Devil Fruit—doing so means death. The World Government, funding research, studied it too, as did Doctor Vegapunk on eating a second fruit.
Sadly, that failed too. Vegapunk couldn’t break the rule, but it wasn’t fruitless: while ability users couldn’t eat a second, they mastered making inanimate objects eat them.
Devil Fruit Weapons arose that way.
“No joke, it’s true.”
Bruno said earnestly.
“I’ve seen two with my own eyes: chain manipulation, and······ the Door-Door Fruit, plus that unknown Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit······” He counted on his fingers—three abilities. “Besides, maybe explosion creation, but unsure if it’s from the Mythical Zoan.”
