Everything was finally set. If it weren't for the golden pig and incense sticks missing, Brook would've gone full ceremonial and worshipped the gods right there.
"Alright, the grand opening ceremony's done. Now it's feeding time. Redfield, check their memories. Then Big Mom, you collect their lifespans. Memory Seahorse gets a bite of their memories too, and Shakky will drain the blood!"
Over the past couple of days, the three captives had nearly been broken down by Brook's "righteous" preaching and the crew's exaggerated performances.
Even the battle-hardened quasi overlord David Kyons was caught off guard. But he still didn't flinch at Big Mom's spirit-snatching powers—he had Conqueror's Haki, after all!
That was, until he saw his lover Calypso's spirit, lifespan, and memories ripped away… and then saw Shakky drain her blood. That broke him. He lost it, thrashing like a madman, before Brook finally knocked him out. Big Mom couldn't even pull his spirit from his body!
After watching Shakky bleed David dry, the three weakened men—still bound by seastone chains—were stabbed in vital points by Brook and tossed into the sealed seastone chamber. The switch was hit, and the whole thing sank deep into the sea.
Now came the waiting game. Tension built as everyone held their breath, watching and hoping. Eventually, the spirits of Dalma and Calypso floated out. Brook grinned, harvesting and devouring them, adding them to his growing force of ghost generals. Apparently, seastone and seawater couldn't block spirits.
Half an hour later, David Kyons' powerful spirit finally rose. Brook sighed with relief.
"Damn… I thought he lived through a stab to the heart. If I had to go in and finish him off, I'd be a laughingstock. Shakky would roast me for the next ten years!"
Even with the confirmation of their deaths, Brook didn't rush to open the seastone chamber.
Who knows if those "demons" were still wandering inside that sealed space, just waiting for a chance to slip out the moment the hatch opened?
Half a day passed. Brook finally gave the order for two crew members to dive down and open a crack in the chamber, allowing seawater to flood in and compress the space further. The goal? Force the "devil fruits" into the fruits, completing their rebirth!
If this didn't work, Brook would just accept the loss. It would suck, yeah—but it was still a valuable experiment.
Not to mention, he used a massive chunk of high-purity seastone worth billions of berries! Hopefully, he could salvage some of it and use the materials to forge other items.
"Alright, screw it. Let's eat. Once the chamber's completely flooded, we'll open the prize draw."
Brook glanced at the slowly rising seawater. It was gonna take a bit longer, so he called for dinner and decided to leave the rest to fate.
But no matter how good the meal was, no one really had an appetite. Everyone kept glancing back toward the sealed seastone chamber submerged in the saltwater pool.
Especially Stussy—she was dying to get a flying-type Devil Fruit so she could soar freely alongside Shakky and Big Mom. And this Siren Fruit? A Mythical Zoan? Perfect match.
As for the Mythical Zoan Octopus Fruit—after seeing David Kyons terrifying power, it was impossible not to feel tempted. Even sniper Hiruba found himself imagining wild combos.
"Man, imagine holding eight rifles, pistols, muskets, and cannons at once…"
Even the ship's doctor, Crocus, was intrigued. "Eight limbs for surgeries and experiments? Hell yeah."
Scaredo didn't dare to speak up—he felt like deadweight compared to the others—but deep down, he wanted that fruit too. Maybe then he could actually keep up.
Brook, in his heart, thought this Octopus Siren Fruit was perfect for close-range fighters. He favored the kid Fisher Tiger—full of potential. But just like Tom, the little guy rejected Devil Fruits. Said he wanted to stay a "free fish."
It was like offering someone a billion berries to live forever in the Sahara with no air conditioning. What would you choose?
The rest of the crew weren't really suitable candidates for this fruit. Scaredo was hardworking and loyal, just lacking talent. But his "Bloody Fist" style could adapt into an eight-strike technique.
Sure, it wasn't as refined as David Kyons "Eight Sword Style," but it wouldn't disgrace a Mythical Zoan.
If the demon brat Kaido the Beast were here, now that would be a match made in hell.
Speaking of Kaido, he was already over eight years old now. Became the strongest soldier in the Vodka Kingdom by age ten.
Was he officially enlisted? Maybe. The info said he probably was by age eight. Brook had even sent a request to Moore's World Economic News to dig up more on Kaido.
Even the World Government and Navy had their eyes on rare races like him. Kaido was sold to the Navy by his king at thirteen, just so that kingdom could join the Reverie.
But Kaido wasn't some Celestial Dragon lapdog. He ran off, fought back, and by fifteen, had a 70 million bounty on his head.
At fifteen, he drifted to Hachinosu—Hive Island—and got picked up by Whitebeard, who had been sent by Rocks. Just like that, Kaido joined the Rocks Pirates.
Looks like when we head back to the West Blue for the Castle Fruit and to raid some ancient books from Ohara, we should also go looking for Kaido. No way a monster like him should end up with anyone else!
...
Dinner was pretty much ignored. Even the four core fighters were more focused on the success of Brook's Devil Fruit recovery experiment.
Thanks to light shells, the area stayed as bright as day even at night. The seastone chamber was now fully filled with seawater. No more reason to wait.
Brook gave the order. The machinery activated, raising the sealed chamber from the depths. It was laid on its side, and the mechanism slowly opened. Bloody seawater poured out—thick with the blood of three fallen warriors.
Their corpses had turned pale. Brook motioned for his crew to carry them away, retrieve the seastone chains, and bury them with honors on Pso Island—a funeral worthy of their strength.
Now came the moment of truth.
The blind box draw.
He ordered the fruit crates to be brought out. They'd already been sealed tightly, filled with seawater so the "devil fruit" couldn't hide in any air pockets. Brook had accounted for everything.
Muttering a quick prayer, Brook opened the first box.
He scanned it fast—then his eyes widened. There it was—a familiar, twisted pattern etched into the surface of the fruit.
His heart skipped a beat.
---------------
Everyone in the Hell Pirates watched Brook's actions nervously, only to feel a bit disappointed when he turned over the first box and didn't find anything special.
As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
Captain Brook had worked so hard and spent so much time and effort... and still failed?
"Yohoo! Got it!!!"
Brook suddenly shouted, pulling out a gray, banana-shaped Devil Fruit with swirling patterns all over it. The top was forked like a double-edged axe, and it resembled a hammerhead shark. No need to guess—it was clearly the Hammerhead Shark Fruit!
"Yeah!!! It worked!!!"
Shakky and Stussy leapt into Brook's arms, one on each side, hanging onto him and swaying with excitement.
"Don't worry! We still got two more boxes to check!"
Brook set the two of them down and handed over the Hammerhead Shark Fruit for them to examine, then quickly opened the second large fruit crate. He searched over and over, flipping every fruit, but still couldn't find another Devil Fruit.
A small wave of disappointment washed over him. Could the Mythical Zoans really escape detection consciously? Not even seastone or seawater could suppress their restless nature?
The tension in the air was heavy. No one dared speak.
"Brother Brook, don't worry! The last box has to have two Devil Fruits!"
Shakky, Stussy, and Linlin all gathered to cheer him up.
Brook didn't hesitate. He popped open the third crate and dumped out all the fruits for everyone to see!
"Got it!!! Captain!!"
"It's real, Brother Brook!!!"
"What the hell—two!!!"
Everyone exploded with excitement—even Whitebeard and Redfield shouted in surprise. Golden Lion Shiki kept going "Wow!" over and over, and the three sisters from Hell hugged each other with tears in their eyes.
Even Scaredo was hyped. Three Devil Fruits—no joke. Even if there wasn't a Mythical Zoan, the Hammerhead Shark Fruit was still a beast. It's a ferocious carnivorous type, and Hammerhead Shark Dalma was one of the strongest officers of the Siren Pirates!
If Scaredo could get a bounty over 600 million berries, he'd be happy for life. So, he set his eyes firmly on the Hammerhead Shark Fruit, which others didn't seem to want. That was fine with him.
No need to get greedy. No one would fight him for it.
Brook picked up the two Mythical Zoan Fruits. One of them resembled the Yamata-no-Orochi Fruit, with eight leaves. This had to be the Octopus Fruit.
The other? It had to be the one Stussy wanted—the Mythical Siren Fruit. No doubt about it.
To confirm, they pulled out the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, which two of their Underworld connections had helped them collect.
After matching the visuals and names, Stussy didn't waste a second. She took a bite out of the Siren Fruit, gagged a little, then tossed the rest aside. No way she was going to eat the whole disgusting thing, no matter what Brook had told her!
But in the very next moment—she sprouted wings and flew straight into the sky! Even Brook was impressed. What a monster CP member.
"Brother Brook, give the Hammerhead Shark Fruit to Scaredo. He won't fight for the Mythical Zoan."
Golden Lion Shiki, ever the loyal guy, stepped up for his old crewmate.
"Of course! Scaredo's our brother too. His bounty's over 100 million, after all."
Brook hadn't expected Scaredo to go after the Shark Fruit and actually give up the Mythical Zoan. He was even considering giving him the Octopus Fruit instead!
But since Scaredo made his choice, Brook needed to find the right person for the Octopus Fruit.
Shakky handed the Fruit to Scaredo, who stood there stunned. These people just gave him a Devil Fruit worth hundreds of millions… he was genuinely touched.
Sorry, Captain Shiki. I've officially betrayed you. From now on, you're not my captain. You're just Big Bro Shiki. I belong to the Hell Pirates now.
Scaredo swallowed the entire Hammerhead Shark Fruit in one terrifying gulp, no chewing at all. Everyone was stunned.
It reminded Brook of the time Buggy the Clown swallowed the Bara Bara no mi whole. What the hell are these people made of—rubber?
"Roaaar!!"
A ferocious shark-man with razor-sharp teeth appeared—Scaredo's transformation had begun! He really lived up to his 100 million bounty and former title as one of the Flying Pirates' strongest officers. That was some next-level awakening right there.
"Yohohoho~! Alright, enough chatter! Let's continue the banquet and eat what we missed!"
Brook laughed loud and proud. The experiment had worked. From now on, the Hell Pirates would never run short on Devil Fruits.
But one thing was for sure—Wano's seastone can never be allowed to leak to the outside world, and they must not let the World Government's scientists uncover this method!
Brook noticed that both Hiruba and Crocus had their eyes on the Mythical Octopus Fruit, but he was hesitant. That fruit was better suited for a close-combat warrior.
"Yohoho~, stop staring! It's not for you two. But hey, we've got seastone chambers for harvesting Devil Fruits, right? Don't stress. You'll find one that fits!"
Brook's words lit a fire under Hiruba and Crocus. They immediately ran off to hunt through the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and bounty posters to find their ideal powers.
The crew erupted into laughter again as Brook safely stored the Octopus Fruit, waiting for the one true user destined for it.
They already had a bunch of Devil Fruit users onboard. Thankfully, Tom and Tiger didn't need any—those two were the undersea saviors for the rest of these land-walkers!
Aside from Hiruba and Crocus, only three "pets" still didn't have fruits: Memory Seahorse, Kirin Lion, and Parrot.
As for the parrot, Brook planned to turn him into a walking storage chest.
The Castle Fruit, Book-Book Fruit, or Mirror-Mirror Fruit were potential options for him. Right now, the Pocket Fruit was in our hands—essentially the crew's mobile bank, loaded with platinum, gold, and silver.
Memory Seahorse had dreams of becoming a dragon, so maybe an Ancient Zoan, like a Pteranodon Fruit, would be perfect.
Who knows… if Brook had recruited Kaido early, would King Abel even have risen to power? Or would he have ended up on a dissection table?
The Kirin Lion already had flight, a Lion's Roar sonic attack, fiery bombardment, and claws like blades. The thing was practically a mythical beast already. No idea what fruit could improve it even more.
"Cheers to Stussy and Scaredo!!!"
The Hell Pirates' cheers echoed again across Golden Island. Their strength was only going to get crazier from here on.
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