Chapter 5: Gorilla Fruit

No matter how the world defines pirates.

Pirates are first and foremost thieves, those who sail the seas for wealth and spare no means to realize their ambitions.

If one could freely choose their identity.

Saint Saint Saiwen would have no objection to being a Celestial Dragon living in Mary Geoise, surrounded by maids, escorted by the Navy, and enjoying endless wealth without lifting a finger.

But there is no "if"—having crossed into the Pirate World, merely surviving is already extremely difficult; so if one must be a thief, then be a thief.

"Mihawk, I'll be back soon."

Mihawk, holding a chilled iced black tea, nodded silently in response.

Over the past month and more, Saint Saint Saiwen's height had not changed noticeably, but his physique had grown far more formidable.

Even without using his Devil Fruit ability, the current Saint Saint Saiwen could at least fight two and a half of his former self—that was innate godlike strength, that was the Glutton's physique.

No wonder everyone loves cheating.

The first half of the Grand Line is called the Paradise.

Yet compared to the Four Seas, the climate of the Paradise remains extremely harsh—one moment the sky is clear and calm, the next lightning flashes and thunder roars.

On the turbulent sea, the captain of the Gorilla Pirates—Gout, the black, fat man known by the codename Gorilla—stood proudly at the bow.

"Boys, steer the ship over there and make our Gorilla Pirates name known!"

"Aaaooo!!!"

"Gorilla! Gorilla!"

"Great Treasure! Great Treasure!"

The Gorilla Pirates were a true reflection of the countless pirates, bandits, and refugees who entered the Grand Line from the Four Seas after the dawn of the Pirate Age.

In this world where everyone is a nine-leak fish, the allure of the Great Treasure surpasses that of life itself.

Between the two pirate ships, hundreds of meters apart, a bolt of lightning arrived in an instant—the most basic application of the Thunder-Thunder Fruit: Instant Flash.

In terms of speed, only the Weasely Man, who ate the Flash-Flash Fruit, was faster than the Thunder-Thunder Fruit in the entire Pirate World.

Saint Saint Saiwen dispelled his elemental form and sat atop the Gorilla Pirates' sail: "Oi, I'm right here."

Hearing the sound, the pirates led by Gorilla nearly had their eyeballs pop out of their sockets.

"Nani?!"

"Who are you? When did you get here?"

As an old-school pirate elder, Saint Saint Saiwen intended to give this new generation of pirates a lesson.

"Thunder Dragon!"

A dragon-shaped being composed entirely of lightning surged straight toward the pirates on deck; in a single clash, only the black, fat man at the bow remained standing, fists clenched tight, chest heaving.

"I'm a Gorilla Man who ate the Gorilla Fruit! Die!"

The black fat man transformed into a four-meter-tall black-backed gorilla, wildly pounding his chest with his black fists, then charging forward with an odd, stomping gait.

"No wonder they call it the Animal-Type," Saint Saint Saiwen mused. "Their vitality is just strong."

Gorilla smashed the mast with one punch; Saint Saint Saiwen floated lightly in midair, shaping the lightning swirling between his hands into a blue-glowing longsword: the Plasma Sword.

Having finally encountered a Devil Fruit user, Saint Saint Saiwen wanted to use this to assess his own combat strength.

There was no choice—since leaving Loguetown over a month ago, Saint Saint Saiwen had challenged Mihawk multiple times, but such an utterly mismatched battle held no real value.

Gorilla kicked off the deck, leaping into the air, roaring: "Eight-Step Gorilla Fist!"

Pssshhh~

Saint Saint Saiwen held the Plasma Sword in one hand, mimicking Roger's sword-swinging posture, and unleashed a full-power slash that sent Gorilla flying, crashing heavily onto the deck.

Looking at the unconscious Gorilla, Saint Saint Saiwen shook his head with a tsk-tsk: "This is innate godlike strength."

【Innate Godlike Strength: Your strength is a bit too great.】

This thing seems to be a passive concept.

If Mihawk did not use Armament Haki and fought purely on strength, Saint Saint Saiwen was already stronger than Mihawk in raw power.

Now he had slain Gorilla with a single sword strike.

"No wonder everyone loves cheating in games."

Dismissing the Plasma Sword, Saint Saint Saiwen landed steadily on the deck and kicked each unconscious pirate awake, one by one.

"Men on the left, women on the right—stand in line! We're robbing you!"

The new pirates stood trembling in a line, for their strongest captain—the one who rivaled the Pirate King—Gorilla… lay unconscious on the deck, his fate unknown.

The charred wound on Gorilla's chest still steamed.

"Who can sail? Step forward."

Finding no one responded, Saint Saint Saiwen kicked one pirate into the sea: "None of you can sail? Then why the hell did you come to the Grand Line?"

Shouldn't sailing and steering be a basic skill every crew member must master?

"My lord, our captain can sail."

Hearing this, Saint Saint Saiwen was even more speechless: "So this whole journey, your captain was the only one steering?"

"Yes." The pirates nodded frantically.

"If you can't even sail, what use are you?" Saint Saint Saiwen cursed. "Next life, don't bother copying others and going to sea."

The first rule of being out here: Cut the grass and root it out.

Because you never know whether the one you spared might one day become a destined child, and after training, return screaming about bonds and friendship to seek revenge.

After disposing of all the pirates by throwing them into the sea, Saint Saint Saiwen looted every valuable item from the ship, then placed an apple beside Gorilla.

He slashed off Gorilla's head with one sword strike, then squatted beside the apple and waited quietly.

He did this mainly to test his luck—and this stretch of sea had only one fruit: the one on the Gorilla Pirates' ship.

After about ten minutes, the smooth surface of the apple began to show the distinctive spiral pattern of a Devil Fruit.

"Eh, such good luck?"

Saint Saint Saiwen hurriedly stored the freshly made Zoan-type: Gorilla Fruit, and checked its Direct Sales system; the previous trading platform had been a rip-off, charging 1000 points for a Devil Fruit, but the Direct Sales system demanded 1200 points.

Fortunately, Saint Saint Saiwen had kept an extra eye out.

Otherwise, he would have lost 200 points for no reason, equivalent to losing 2000 boxes of iced black tea!

"Ding, congratulations on receiving 1200 points; current point balance 1266..."

Striking the black pirate ship with Lei Ting, Saint Saint Saiwen transformed into lightning and caught up with Mihawk.

"Mr. Mihawk, let's find a nearby island to resupply; we should reach Jaya Island soon."

The legendary Elbaf and Sky Island were the main reasons Mihawk had stayed; otherwise, he would have already roamed the world seeking opponents.

In gratitude for Saint Saint Saiwen providing free iced black tea, Mihawk offered a reminder.

"If you intend to form your own pirate crew, you must at least find a decent pirate ship; this one cannot withstand the storms of the Reside in New World."

"Indeed." Saint Saint Saiwen nodded.

The most suitable ship would be the Oro Jackson, crafted by Mr. Tom using the Adam Wood.

But the Oro Jackson was the Pirate King's ship; for Saint Saint Saiwen, it would be too conspicuous. With his current strength lacking, keeping a low profile was the way to go.

【73】 Moreover, Saint Saint Saiwen had already planned to turn the Sky Island into a base, developing steadily for a while.

Moreover, Saint Saint Saiwen had already prepared to turn the Sky Island into a base, developing steadily for a period of time.

Mihawk steered while Saint Saint Saiwen sat on the deck, his gaze fixed on the system's Direct Sales interface, lost in thought.

【Swordsman Cultivation Experience: 1000 points】

To be precise, Saint Saint Saiwen's swordsmanship was actually not bad; cooks and swordsmen share some fundamental similarities: one chops vegetables, the other chops people.

"Mr. Mihawk, do I count as a swordsman now?"