Chapter 123: The Niko Fruit is MVP, Luffy is the Lucky Slacker

Does anyone, regardless of their original personality, gradually become like Luffy after eating the Niko Fruit?

Pursuing freedom, treating others sincerely, and remaining unyielding?

Or, according to the Naruto principle—“It’s not that you become Hokage to be recognized, but that you’re recognized to become Hokage”—is it not that one becomes like Luffy after eating the Niko Fruit, but that only someone like Luffy can earn the Niko Fruit’s approval?

Based on existing information, it’s insufficient to prove anything; other Devil Fruits also harbor wills, don’t they? Don’t they also host “devils”?

At most, the Niko Fruit is a bit more special.

Look at Luffy after his Niko Fruit awakening—what did he say when he woke up?

【What happened to me? Why can I still stand?】

【I lost the fight, yet I feel happy.】

【Ahahahahaha】

【I can do everything I wanted to do, and I feel like I can keep fighting a while longer.】

【This is my peak—this is Gear Five.】

【Don’t take it to heart. Let’s settle this.】

At this point, Luffy is undoubtedly Luffy, but he is also undoubtedly influenced by the Fruit; even if the influence is only emotional, influence is still influence—no matter the aspect.

That’s why Su Mengyao suggested Ye Xuan consider this factor when negotiating the price; as for herself, she couldn’t care less about any will of Joy Boy.

What legendary liberator, the Sun God Niko? What fruit bearing a god’s name? What Joy Boy? It sounds as if just eating this Devil Fruit could save the entire world.

But who actually achieved it?

Did Joy Boy achieve it?

Achieved nothing!

Although the World Government concealed his name and remained wary of him and his Fruit due to its immense power, this doesn’t change the fact that he failed.

Even if he tried again, he wouldn’t necessarily succeed; the outcome would likely remain unchanged.

And in these eight hundred years, hasn’t anyone else obtained the Niko Fruit? Hasn’t anyone else eaten it? Was it just waiting for Luffy?

Did it anticipate Luffy’s birth eight hundred years ago?

Obviously impossible.

So why didn’t others who ate the Niko Fruit become like Luffy? Why didn’t they save the world?

Because Devil Fruits are just Devil Fruits; what truly achieves this is always the person, not the mere Fruit.

What’s this so-called will of Joy Boy? Why do you care so much about it? Don’t you realize it could distort Luffy’s own efforts?

Tell me—is Joy Boy a failure? Didn’t he merely develop the Niko Fruit to awakening, displaying a battle stance resembling the legendary Sun God Niko, but fail to accomplish what Luffy did?

Answer me!

And who is Luffy? His grandfather is a Marine hero, his father is the Revolutionary Army’s leader Dragon, his adoptive brother is the second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates, his second brother is the Revolutionary Army’s chief of staff, the Four Emperor Shanks bet his own arm on Luffy for the new era, and the former Seven Warlords of the Sea, Rayleigh, is his teacher.

Did Joy Boy ever have such status and backing?

Answer me!

After Luffy becomes Pirate King, he looks back and thinks: “The Niko Fruit was MVP; I’m just a lucky slacker.”

Can you really calculate it that way?

lookingmyeyes!

In this world, you need power and background. Luffy became Pirate King and liberated the world because of the Niko Fruit? If Luffy had eaten any other Fruit, this name would never have been mentioned once in the anime.

Do you understand sequence?

The Gura Gura Fruit is MVP; Whitebeard is the lucky slacker!

The Mera Mera Fruit is MVP; Admiral Akainu is the lucky slacker!

The Ryu Ryu Fruit is MVP; Kaido is the lucky slacker!

Can you really calculate it that way?

They’re strong because they’re inherently strong—even without Devil Fruits.

Of course, these Devil Fruits are all top-tier; that’s unquestionable too.

So Su Mengyao doesn’t care whether the Fruit contains any will, nor does she care about the emotional effects—like “happiness” or “laughter”—it might have on the eater.

Go pick any random person off the street—no matter their attitude toward the Niko Fruit—put the Fruit in front of them, and see if they eat it.

Didn’t Lu Jing, who used to say “I’d never eat the Mera Mera Fruit—not even for a dog,” eat it more happily than anyone else when it appeared before him?

But even if she thinks this way, the price still needs negotiation—each matter stands on its own.

“Agreed.”

“Three swords for the Niko Fruit, one for the Mammoth Fruit.”

“Of course, since some of the Seven Swords have already chosen their masters, you may wait until you acquire something of comparable value later for the trade.”

Although the Niko Fruit holds no appeal for Ye Xuan, and he could lower the price slightly due to its possible flaws, he won’t lower it much.

Three of the Seven Swords are already an extremely favorable price to him; if he won’t accept that, there’s nothing left to discuss.

“That’s all you want? Won’t you be at a disadvantage?”

Although Tian Shu Bureau currently only has three of the Seven Swords and can’t offer four, trading the Niko Fruit for just three swords and the Mammoth Fruit for only one is too unfavorable to Ye Xuan.

The Niko Fruit is a Mythical Zoan; with proper development, a fifth-rank cultivation is virtually guaranteed; the Mammoth Fruit is also Jack’s Devil Fruit, one of the Three Disasters; fifth-rank is uncertain, but fourth-rank is certain—and among the higher tiers of fourth-rank.

Even giving Ye Xuan all seven swords, she still feels he’s being shortchanged.

“How about this: you give me the Mammoth Fruit, and I’ll call Wang Shouguo and have him send over the Changhong Sword.”

“Though in pure value, the Changhong Sword isn’t much higher than the others among the Seven Swords, it carries more sentiment.”

“Keep the Niko Fruit for now; we’ll trade it later when we’ve gathered something of comparable value.”

Su Mengyao said after thinking it over.

Although Ye Xuan is willing to let them take this advantage, and they can accept it, given Ye Xuan’s current strength and his immense importance to Great Xia, they don’t want to lower his favor toward them in any possible way.

Ye Xuan may not care about the value of the Niko Fruit or the Mammoth Fruit and only wants four of the Seven Swords, but they cannot afford to ignore it.

Of course, they can’t offer Ye Xuan higher-value Celestial Treasures, because Ye Xuan collects them, while they need these treasures to cultivate strong cultivators.

Therefore, an equal exchange is best—and must satisfy both sides.

(End of Chapter)