Chapter 65

"So, did you actually eat it or not?"

Zyhark suddenly realized this crucial point that was easily overlooked.

After all, the only thing certain for now was that Aqua had bitten the Devil Fruit.

Holding her chin with one hand and tilting her head, Aqua recalled the moment and seriously said, "It was too disgusting, so I purified the juice into pure water. As for the pulp, of course, I spat it out."

"Zyhark, I'm telling you, it's really super disgusting. You wouldn't believe it unless you tried it yourself!"

Her eyes rolled, attempting to entice Zyhark into taking a bite as well.

This way, she wouldn't be the only one who had secretly eaten the fruit worth over a billion. If they had to compensate Fuschia Village, Zyhark would share the burden, and maybe she could even find a way to pin all the blame on him!

Yes! That's the plan!

Thinking it over, the worried Aqua couldn't help but smile, amazed at her own brilliant cunning.

"Is it really that disgusting?"

Zyhark looked at the Devil Fruit in his hand, his throat moving as if he was tempted to taste it.

"Really, really, I assure you, it's beyond your imagination!"

Aqua nodded vigorously, her eyes fixed on Zyhark.

"Then I might as well give it a try."

Zyhark brought the Devil Fruit closer, slowly opening his mouth.

Seeing this, Aqua's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Just as she thought her miserable fate was about to take a turn for the better.

Thump!

Zyhark smacked the Devil Fruit against her head, his teeth clenched, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to, trying to drag me down with you, huh?!"

"I'm sorry, Lord Zyhark, I know I was wrong!" Aqua apologized sincerely, hands covering her head.

Knowing you're wrong means you'll probably dare to do it again...

Zyhark sighed helplessly, fully realizing the troublesome nature of this Goddess of Stupidity.

Ignoring Aqua's apology, he picked up the Devil Fruit that had fallen to the ground.

Both its shape and the extremely disgusting taste confirmed that this fruit from Fuschia Village was indeed a Devil Fruit.

Aqua had said she purified the juice and spat out the pulp, which fundamentally meant she hadn't "eaten" the fruit and thus couldn't gain its abilities.

The next question was whether this partially eaten but not fully consumed Devil Fruit was still useful or had become a useless fruit.

The best way to verify this was to throw it into a wishing well.

However, if it was still functional, it meant losing a chance to "unbox" a potentially god-tier ability.

If this fruit was something as valuable as the Ope Ope no Mi, worth five billion, even if he didn't eat it, using it for a wish would be a huge loss.

After all, the wish conditions didn't specify the type of fruit, and the cheapest Devil Fruits could probably be bought for a billion or two.

Weighing the pros and cons, Zyhark decided to keep the fruit for now.

He would verify its specific ability after acquiring a Devil Fruit encyclopedia in the future and then make a decision!

After dealing with the significant gain of the Devil Fruit, tallying the rest of the spoils went smoothly.

The treasures hoarded by the Black Cat Pirate Crew, including gold, silver, firearms, and cannons, totaled nearly thirty million Berries.

Compared to the Buggy Pirate Crew, focused on treasure hunting and studying ammunition, the Black Cat Pirate Crew, frequently looting towns in the East Blue, was far more valuable.

Including Captain Kuro and the blown-apart Cat Brothers, the pirates' bounties amounted to twenty-seven million Berries, a sum neatly organized and reported by the adjutant temporarily taking over for Colonel Morse.

With his misdeeds firmly in hand, he was very cooperative, showing no objections.

After capturing the remaining pirates, he boarded the naval ship with his marines, returning to the nearest branch to report to the higher-ups and apply for the bounties.

Zyhark, Aqua, and King, with their plentiful gains, set sail back to Fuschia Village at sunset.

"Thank you, Mr. Zyhark, Lady Aqua, Mr. King, we truly appreciate everything you've done!"

The mayor of Fuschia Village, tears streaming down his face, shook uncontrollably with emotion.

Following him, the dirt-covered villagers also covered their faces, tears soaking the ground.

Amid the dense crowd, the little boy who had his candy "stolen" earlier cried the loudest.

Perhaps due to Aqua's purifying water, seeds of some plants started sprouting tender shoots from the charred ground, signifying Fuschia Village's liberation from the pirate shadow and its forthcoming renewal.

"There's no need for such formality; we've also gained a lot, and besides..."

Hesitating for a few seconds, Zyhark still decided to present the partially bitten Devil Fruit, "As you can see, we weren't able to bring back your village's sacred fruit in its entirety."

"Ah?" The village elder reached out shakily to take the Devil Fruit.

As if struck by a blow, his cloudy eyes fixated on the delicate bite mark on the fruit's surface.

The other villagers also looked distressed.

After all, this Sacred Fruit, symbolizing peace and prosperity, had been their faith and spiritual solace for a long time.

"Was it those Black Cat Pirate Crew bastards who did this?" The village elder's voice trembled.

"No."

Zyhark shook his head gently, then looked sternly at Aqua hiding behind him, "Aqua!"

He could have easily blamed it on the Black Cat Pirate Crew, dead or captured, and the truth would never be revealed.

But to teach Aqua a lesson and test the villagers, he chose to reveal the truth.

"Ah!"

Called out, Aqua, reluctantly facing the villagers, struggled to admit her mistake, even considering excuses to avoid confessing.

Her divine pride was too heavy a burden to bear, yet her duty as a goddess forbade lying to her devout followers.

Damn it!

She decided to confess, figuring she could compensate by giving Zyhark's ship to them if necessary.

After wrestling with her conscience, Aqua braced herself to come clean.

"Ha ha ha ha! It's true, nothing can be hidden from Lady Aqua!"

However, the village elder's inexplicable laughter confused her, already resolved to confess.

Not just Aqua, even Zyhark was puzzled by the elder's sci-fi-like statement about "nothing can be hidden from Aqua."

King, still with his arms crossed, remained impassive, his thoughts inscrutable.

"It's just like Lady Aqua to have foreseen the decision we all agreed upon unanimously."

Melanie, a young woman almost sold into slavery by pirates, chuckled, her impressive figure and charming smile captivating.

"So, what have you decided?" Zyhark inquired.

"Cough cough, well, Mr. Zyhark," the village elder began, explaining, "The Sacred Fruit has always been our most precious possession. Because of this, it has attracted the covetous eyes of pirates, just like this time."

"Supposed to symbolize peace and prosperity, it has instead brought trouble and crisis to our village."

"We are too weak to protect this precious fruit. Therefore, we had already decided that if it could be returned, we would offer it as a reward to Lady Aqua!"

With that, the white-haired elder solemnly handed the Devil Fruit back.

He showed great respect for this young man, who held a higher status than Goddess Aqua.

Zyhark nodded in realization.

So, the villagers' pained expressions upon hearing the fruit was bitten were because they couldn't give it to Aqua intact...

"Ha ha ha! Just as I thought, then, I'll gladly accept your generosity!"

Aqua, barely containing her glee, bounced over and unceremoniously "snatched" the Devil Fruit from the village elder's hands.

"There's one more thing we hope Lady Aqua will agree to."

The village elder tentatively spoke, "We wish to erect a statue of the Goddess of Water in the newly built village center."

Faith is important to ordinary villagers. Without the Sacred Fruit, something else needed to take its place.

"No problem at all." Aqua, her face pressed against the precious fruit, casually waved her hand.

For her, being venerated as a goddess was nothing new.

Seeing the villagers' devout gazes toward Aqua, Zyhark knew that after Luffy and Melanie, the faithful followers of the Axis Cult would grow significantly.

Their faith, providing Aqua with divine power, would surely be purer and more abundant than that of Windmill Village and Orange Town's inhabitants.

Aqua, endowed with blessings that support all attributes, becoming stronger would benefit their team even more.

No, the risk of dealing with her mischief also increased...

Thinking about future adventures, Zyhark felt a bit of trepidation.

"Mr. Zyhark, and Mr. King, you too are great benefactors of Fuschia Village. Would you like us to erect statues for you as well?"

The village elder approached Zyhark and King, earnestly making the offer.

"That stuff is better left to Aqua alone." Zyhark had absolutely no interest in it.

His power couldn't be enhanced through faith, so having such a thing was rather bothersome.

King felt the same.

"By the way, with your town in such disarray from the destruction, rebuilding must require a significant amount of funds, right?" Zyhark suddenly asked.

"This..." The village elder's expression turned somber.

Though many critical structures were saved, the fire's devastation was catastrophic!

"We confiscated quite a bit of gold and jewels from the Black Cat Pirate Crew's lair, including some that belong to you."

Watching Aqua, who had quickly moved past the Devil Fruit incident to happily show off her talents among the villagers, Zyhark smiled.

"As a goddess who cannot stand to see her followers suffer, Aqua told me on the way here to give you ten million for your village's reconstruction."

The Devil Fruit, worth over a hundred million, given away so generously, and now, Fuschia Village, deeply moved by Aqua's faith, naturally required a gesture of goodwill in return.

This was an investment. If Fuschia Village could be quickly rebuilt, it would greatly benefit the promotion of the Cult of Aquarius.

Hearing about Aqua's magnanimity, the village elder was overcome with emotion, tears flowing once again.

"We never imagined Lady Aqua would do so much for us. It's too much, we can't..."

"If you refuse, Aqua will probably be very upset," Zyhark interjected.

"This..."

After much hesitation, the village elder finally nodded firmly.

After rebuilding, they must print the doctrines given by Lady Aqua into leaflets and distribute them to passing sailors and adventurers, encouraging them to join the Axis Cult!

He thought to himself.

Zyhark saw a nearly fanatical determination in the elder's cloudy eyes.

Madness was just right. As followers of the Axis Cult, how could they not be fanatical?

He was increasingly pleased with this investment.

...

The nearest Navy branch wasn't far from Fuschia Village. Soon, the adjutant who had been with Colonel Morse personally arrived with twenty-seven million Berries and a thank-you letter resembling a pennant.

Indeed, this bounty was not deducted for any fees!

"Mr. Zyhark, thank you again for your contribution to the Navy's efforts. My name is Lester."

At Fuschia Village's port, Adjutant Lester bowed and saluted Zyhark.

Compared to his demeanor at the Black Cat Pirate Crew's lair, he was even more solemn and sincere this time.

"It was nothing." Zyhark glanced at Lester's clean Navy uniform.

Looking towards the distant villagers, Lester lowered his voice, "Your recent actions have caught the attention of the East Blue Navy's high command. If all goes well, a special Navy representative should contact you soon."

Navy recruitment?

After a moment's contemplation, Zyhark nonchalantly picked his nose, "Understood."

"I'll take my leave then. If you need any help in the future, just let me know."

"Just do what you need to do for now," Zyhark called after his retreating figure.

"Thank you very much for your advice."

Not long after the Navy left, amidst the villagers' shouts of Axis Cult doctrines, the Sea Restaurant "Endless Dream" set sail again, heading back to Cocoyasi Village.

After all this hustle, they hadn't even completed their orange shopping!

On the ship, Aqua, holding the Devil Fruit, eagerly approached Zyhark.

"Zyhark, Zyhark, you saw it, they gave me this Devil Fruit!"

"Eating my own thing is totally fine! So, the ten million from the Black Cat Pirate Crew's bounty should definitely be returned to me, right?"

Sitting at his familiar spot at the counter, Zyhark leisurely sipped his iced Coke.

"Ten million bounty? I just gave it to Fuschia Village in your name, as their new belief. Surely you wouldn't have the cheek to go back and ask for it, would you?"

"Ah? Ah!!!"

(End of Chapter)