"Ordinary fruit turning into a Devil Fruit..."
Aeridar rubbed his chin as he finished reading the parchment detailing theories about Devil Fruit transformations. The idea brought to mind a particular scene from the Punk Hazard arc in the original storyline.
Back then, Caesar Clown, the former scientist under the World Government, had created a slime-like poisonous creature using a highly compressed toxic gas of his own design.
Through advanced technology, he had it consume a Devil Fruit, specifically the Sala-Sala Fruit, Model: Axolotl. This allowed the creature to move freely. But it also became volatile, and after ingesting the Devil Fruit, it eventually exploded.
In the aftermath of that explosion, a bag of apples in a nearby sled was exposed to the toxic gas. One apple, presumably the one closest to the blast site, began to manifest the telltale swirling patterns of a Devil Fruit. In time, it fully transformed.
That was the first recorded instance of a normal fruit becoming a Devil Fruit.
"Looks like I’ll need to test this myself."
Aeridar’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of suppressed ambition gleaming within.
The information on this parchment was nothing short of explosive, implications on artificial consumption by non-living entities, groundbreaking theories on Devil Fruit re-manifestation...
If word of this ever got out, factions across the world, including the World Government, would stop at nothing to seize it.
This had to remain a secret.
Without hesitation, Aeridar took up the wooden box and carefully returned the parchment to its resting place inside. He held the box close.
At that moment, Oliver approached, his eyes drawn toward the weapons displayed on the second tier of the chamber. He asked offhandedly, "Captain, did you find something important in that box?"
Aeridar turned to him, his voice low. "I’ll tell you once we’re back."
Oliver’s gaze sharpened at once. He knew his captain’s temperament well, if Aeridar said it was important, then it was something that absolutely must not be revealed.
With a silent nod, Aeridar turned once more toward the throne, where the skeleton of the last heir to the Gamas Kingdom, Gamas Selt, now sat in eternal stillness.
Suddenly, Aeridar’s expression changed. Behind the throne, something caught his eye. The lighting was dim, and he couldn’t make out what it was.
He circled around the throne, and froze.
"This is... a Poneglyph!"
Embedded in the rock wall behind the throne was a massive indented space, within which lay a large blue cubic stone, one face etched in mysterious ancient script.
"Looks just like the one on Skypiea," Oliver murmured, having recognized it as well.
"Seal off this area completely. After giving the Triangle Pirates their share, four layers’ worth of treasure, no one else is to enter this place. Not even members of the Chris Pirates. Without my direct order, no exceptions."
Aeridar’s voice was stern, nearly snapping. A Poneglyph wasn’t something to be taken lightly. If the World Government got wind of this...
Who knew what hell might break loose?
Then again... having a Poneglyph in his private collection sounded rather appealing.
Three days later, Port of Alvis Island.
More than a thousand pirates, bounty hunters, and townsfolk swarmed the port, now acting as construction workers, repairing the once-ruined harbor. Even the lone, crumbling watchtower had been torn down and rebuilt anew.
From the highest point of the town fluttered a black flag marked with a skull, the jolly roger of the Chris Pirates. It was a clear declaration: this territory was now under the protection of Chris T. Aeridar.
After emerging from the underground ruins, the Chris Pirates, along with two allied crews, had quickly mobilized. Backed by Aeridar’s overwhelming power, they seized the town in short order.
Some hunters initially resisted. Aeridar had offered them a choice, select their ten strongest fighters to face him.
He defeated them all singlehandedly.
Might made right. And the hunters had no choice but to yield to Aeridar’s strength.
Following that, and at the suggestion of Arlan, they used money, liquor, food, and even weapons to hire the local hunters and townsfolk to help rebuild the harbor.
The grand plan included not just the port, but future constructions like turrets, fortresses, and even a castle. But it had to be step by step, too fast, and it might all collapse.
At the port’s edge, Aeridar casually patted Arlan on the shoulder and said with a small smile, "I’m leaving this place to you."
"Don’t worry, Captain. If anything comes up, I’ll call you on the Den Den Mushi." Arlan grinned, his handsome features relaxed.
Aeridar had stayed on this island long enough. It was, after all, just a temporary foothold.
He had unfinished business.
It was time to make contact with another member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Not long after, the Chris set sail. This time, aside from Millie and Mina, only Oliver, Dimitri, Gorbo, and Backan accompanied Aeridar. The veteran crew numbered a hundred, with two hundred new recruits onboard. The rest remained behind on Alvis Island.
After all, this was just a diplomatic visit, not a battle. They still needed to leave behind enough force to deter the White Mane Pirates, the Triangle Pirates, as well as any would-be rebels among the hunters and townsfolk.
Who could say for certain whether the White Mane Pirates and Triangle Pirates wouldn’t get greedy over the golden mountain hidden beneath the ruins?
Who could guarantee the local hunters or townspeople wouldn’t seize the opportunity to rise up?
The Chris Pirates had to keep their strongest hand firmly on the table, to hold the advantage, no matter what.
Meanwhile, the parchment had already been handed over to Dalt for analysis. When he first read what was inscribed on the back, his eyes lit up like lanterns, almost as if he’d been bewitched. Without another word, he had sprinted into the new lab like a madman and hadn’t emerged in days.
New World, Boggdon Sea.
Two colossal battleships bearing the seagull insignia of Justice sailed through uneasy waters, the waves crashing constantly against their hulls.
The two Marine vessels were roughly the same size, though they served very different purposes.
One was a standard second-class warship. The other, however, was unmistakably different, it was a prison ship, specially constructed to transport high-value prisoners.
Clearly, the second-class warship had been dispatched as its escort.
Aboard the prison ship...
"Who do you think the new prisoner is? We had to go way out of our route just to pick ’em up."
"Heard they pulled a second-class warship from G-5 just for the escort. Could it be one of the Sky Pirates?"
"Who knows? Word is, it’s someone with a bounty directly issued by the World Government."
"Why do you care so much? If the higher-ups really wanted us in the loop, you think we’d still be alive after learning the truth?"
A cluster of soldiers gathered on the deck, murmuring among themselves about the mysterious new prisoner.
Originally, the ship had already been en route back to G-1 Fortress, until an urgent command rerouted them to a remote island to retrieve a "high-priority detainee."
What made things even stranger was that the escort had arrived with a Rear Admiral aboard, and an entire second-class battleship to boot.
None of the guards or Marines aboard could make sense of the situation...
TN: The raw says Sky Pirates and not Golden Lion Pirates or Flying Pirates.
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