Chapter 99: The Fruit Chooses Its Master (Subscribe on First Release!)

Molly extended two fingers and waved them in front of Fan Fan Aoka, a proud-as-punch expression on her face.

"Even the monsters coming down from the Grand Line are no match for Mr. Gao Wen~"

Having said that.

Under Fan Fan Aoka's dumbfounded gaze, Molly set two fruit baskets between the cat-man brothers.

Buchi casually picked up one of them, was about to shove it into his mouth, then paused and couldn't help but say:

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Captain Gao Wen is just like that — you never know when he'll pull out an entirely new trump card, or display a strength beyond imagination."

Sam nodded:

"Ah, we're used to it, used to it."

The cat-man brothers weren't surprised in the least, because in their hearts.

Gao Wen was the strongest.

No matter the opponent, no matter the difficulty, as long as Gao Wen was there, they could all be overcome!

Molly, who had been through both Raven Harbor wars, felt the same.

Only Fan Fan Aoka beside them slightly parted his lips, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He had once crossed fists with Ratchet.

And so he knew just how powerful the other party truly was.

Even without Devil Fruits, those two, relying on body techniques alone, were already enough to run rampant across the East Blue; add the Cat-Cat Fruit, which greatly amplifies physical prowess, and they were like tigers with wings.

At least in Fan Fan Aoka's memory, the East Blue held no one who could match Ratchet in combat — not even the former fish-man Arlong, nor Provincial Military Commander Krieg…

Wait, weren't those two also cut down by Gao Wen?!

It was only at this moment.

That Fan Fan Aoka suddenly realized that every formidable figure from the East Blue in his memory seemed to have already been toppled by Gao Wen.

He couldn't help but sigh:

"Ara ara~"

"This is fate!"

"Now there's even less reason to refuse that guy's invitation."

Sam was slightly taken aback:

"The captain invited you aboard?"

During this period, the pirates in the waters near Raven Harbor had basically been handled by the cat-man brothers and Jango, while Fan Fan Aoka was in charge of security at the port.

The two sides cooperated seamlessly and gradually came to acknowledge each other's abilities.

Hearing now that Gao Wen had invited Fan Fan Aoka, the cat-man brothers couldn't help but break into delighted grins:

"You kid~"

"You really came at just the right time — if you'd been a few months later, getting a share of the crew's profits would've meant waiting until next year."

"Profit-sharing rights?"

Fan Fan Aoka asked, puzzled:

"What's that?"

Buchi scratched at his scalp and explained:

"The rules are a bit complicated, hard to explain in a few words."

"But."

"You can think of it as a martial arts tournament that decides the internal combat-power ranking — the higher you rank, the bigger your share!"

Fan Fan Aoka's breathing visibly quickened.

He didn't know how much Gao Wen's crew made in a year, but he knew exactly how vast their current influence was.

With the collapse of large crews like Krieg's and Arlong's, Gao Wen's crew had become the undisputed hegemon of the East Blue.

On top of that, once word of this incident spread, the fame of Gao Wen's crew in the East Blue would surge to another level entirely.

The good kind!

After all, to shelter the forces under his banner, he didn't hesitate to go up against monsters who'd come down from the Grand Line, and even kept them from leaving the East Blue.

Even the Marines might not necessarily be able to do something like that, but Gao Wen's crew could.

It could be said that after this incident, as long as Gao Wen was willing to name a price, countless town administrators and East Blue nobles would come bearing beli — or even gold — to buy his protection.

Lying at home without lifting a finger and having beli roll in — Fan Fan Aoka wouldn't have dared dream of such a thing before.

And according to the cat-man brothers, as long as he secured a top spot in the crew, he'd get a share of the profits for the coming year.

Fan Fan Aoka's eyes went red on the spot:

"Everyone, please take care of me from now on!"

Suddenly.

Fan Fan Aoka's gaze caught sight of the oddly-shaped fruit in Sam's hand, and he gave a violent start:

"Wait —!"

Crunch!

Crunch!

After two crisp sounds in quick succession.

Sam and Buchi felt an indescribable flavor flood into their mouths, clinging to their tongues and assaulting their taste buds.

The two men's faces instantly turned a shade of blue-purple; they opened their mouths and dry-heaved, but couldn't bring anything up.

"Did this fruit go bad?"

Bu Zhi stuck out his tongue, using the cool air passing over it to relieve the strange taste in his mouth, only to look down and realize he held in his hand a single strange fruit bitten in half.

"What is this thing?"

Sam looked at the fruit in his own hand, equally slightly dazed:

"It looks... it looks like an owl?!"

Jasmine looked at the strange fruits in the hands of the two, momentarily unable to make sense of it:

"I clearly remember I didn't buy fruit of this kind; there were only some apples and oranges. How could..."

As the three were puzzled.

Van Fan Aoka's voice came through:

"That is likely the legendary Devil Fruit. I never expected to see one here."

His voice had barely landed when the cat brothers sitting on the hospital bed nearby underwent a change.

Their bodies swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye; within just a few breaths, they had transformed into two massive felines, nearly filling the entire ward.

Caught off guard, Van Fan Aoka was sat upon by the suddenly enlarged Bu Zhi, leaving him no room to struggle.

Jasmine, quick-eyed and fast-handed, ran to the door the moment the two began to change, avoiding being caught in the crossfire.

She turned her head again to look inside the room, seeing a fat one and a thin one, two large cats, helplessly squeezed together.

Jasmine instantly realized what had happened:

"Lion and cheetah?! You ate Devil Fruits?!"

A few minutes later, the commotion inside the ward gradually died down, with only two voices of despair coming through:

"It's over, we've become landlubbers!"

The wounds on Van Fan Aoka's body nearly burst open; he gritted his teeth in pain but did not forget to remind them:

"Those are Devil Fruits worth hundreds of millions of Belly, and this ability seems to belong to the two pirates who came down from the Grand Line."

"How could this happen?!"

The cat brothers' focus, however, was not on that at all; hearing the staggering number from Van Fan Aoka's mouth, they were momentarily in such pain they could not breathe:

"I just ate hundreds of millions of Belly? Is it too late if I spit it out now?"

Van Fan Aoka rolled his eyes:

"What do you think..."

"Wuwuwuwuwu~"

"It hurts, it hurts so much!"

At the same time.

What happened in the East Blue, via a report from the East Blue Marines, reached the desk at Headquarters.

A group of Marine high command were currently gathered in a conference room in Marineford.

Smoke and fire rose up.

As everyone looked at the reports in their hands, the expressions on their faces all turned Solemn.

"That guy Smoker, I have some impression of him; he is also a graduate of the Marine Officer Academy, even an outstanding Marine ranked among the top."

"Although his personality is too fierce, often doing things that disobey superior orders, his strength is passable."

"Even he was defeated? And in the East Blue, that most peaceful sea? It seems this time, a dragon is truly rising from shallow waters."

"But the Marines cannot let the seeds of sin take root and sprout."

(End of this chapter)