New Devil Fruit

"I already have a bounty," Sebastian declared, earning a surprised response.

"A bounty? How much?" Maria inquired, her curiosity piqued.

"500,000 Baileys!" Sebastian replied. "That's quite a sum."

Maria's mouth twitched in surprise, momentarily forgetting that Sebastian had been a pirate before joining the Hundred Beasts. It was common for pirates to have bounties on their heads.

Ulti, standing nearby, had experienced a significant increase in strength. 

Maria was intrigued by the sudden leap in Ulti's abilities. She knew that Ulti had exceptional talent, but her rapid improvement was remarkable. 

Page, too, had displayed newfound strength by knocking out a Marine Lieutenant Colonel with a single punch. Ulti's combat skills had advanced to a level close to Maria's own.

Maria couldn't help but express her envy. "Oh God, I'm so jealous. You all have such remarkable talents."

Ulti offered a simple explanation. "Hardcore exercise."

But she didn't reveal the secret of her Mythical Zoan fruit. Even without transforming, the Mythical Zoan had boosted her strength considerably. In fact, her normal strength now rivaled Maria's.

Just then, a pirate rushed over, carrying a wooden box in his arms. He excitedly announced, "My lord, we found a Devil Fruit!"

Sebastian opened the box, revealing a cantaloupe-shaped Devil Fruit with spiral patterns all over the peel. The crew members began speculating about its abilities, but none of them had seen this particular fruit in the Devil Fruit illustration book.

"It might be a rare Devil Fruit." Page speculated.

Sebastian decided to consult the system to identify the fruit's power.

"System, what ability does this Devil Fruit have?" Sebastian asked.

The system responded with the fruit's name: Shock Fruit. After consuming it, the user enters a state of unconsciousness, erasing all negative conditions. However, they cannot voluntarily exit this unconscious state.

Sebastian couldn't hide his disappointment. The fruit's ability to erase negative conditions was potent, but its drawback was immense. Being unable to wake up from this state voluntarily meant being in a perpetual vegetative condition.

Maria had never seen this fruit before, and Sebastian suspected that the previous user had spent an unknown number of years in a suspended state before being eventually killed. The fruit was utterly useless, as even suicide was impossible after consuming it.

Maria inquired, "Do you know what type of fruit this is?" After Sebastian explained the fruit's power, everyone present was astonished. The Shock Fruit was a new fruit, but its impractical drawback left them bewildered.

Sebastian summed it up, "The previous owner was incredibly unlucky."

"Why would the Marines send a Marine Rear Admiral to deliver this fruit? Nobody would want such a worthless fruit if it was just lying around," Sebastian pondered aloud.

Maria considered it for a moment. "Well, it does offer the ability to eliminate negative states and induce suspended animation. If someone is on the brink of death, consuming this fruit could save their life."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "What's the use of preserving a life if you can't even be conscious? You'd just be lying in a bed like a vegetable, and as soon as you touch seawater or a seastone, the negative state would kick in again. I really can't see its usefulness."

He rubbed his nose thoughtfully. "Perhaps it's something desired by the Celestial Dragons. Those guys are notorious for their fear of death."

Maria nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. The Celestial Dragons are known scoundrels who might find value in it."

Sebastian inquired, "So, who wants this fruit?"

Several individuals promptly shook their heads, indicating their lack of interest in the fruit.

In the end, the fruit ended up in Sebastian's possession. He thought it was a weak fruit, but he had the ability to modify Devil Fruits. Even if it was a lackluster fruit, in his hands, it could potentially transform into a formidable Mythical Zoan.

For Sebastian, one more fruit meant one more powerful follower, and he wouldn't underestimate any potential source of strength.

...

Meanwhile, at the Naval Headquarters:

Marineford

Marine Admiral Sengoku stared at the confidential documents in his hand, deep in thought. Garp, Crane, and Kizaru were gathered in his office.

"Have you all read this? There's another powerful individual in the Hundred Beasts, and his talent is no less than Linlin's. When he matures, he might become a Sea Emperor," Sengoku remarked with a serious tone.

"It's terrifying, combining Big Mom's indestructible defense with mythical zoan and Conqueror's Haki – it's like a fusion of Big Mom and Kaido," Kizaru exaggerated.

Sengoku's anger flared. "Kizaru, be serious!"

"Sengoku, I found his bounty poster. He used to be a lone pirate, and he appears to have recently joined the Beasts Pirates. What's strange, though, is his bounty," Crane said, producing a faded bounty sheet with Sebastian's face and the label "Lone Pirate" beneath it, showing a bounty of 500,000 Baileys.

"With such a low bounty, did he hide his true strength before joining the Hundred Beasts?" Kizaru questioned.

Garp, always the thinker, chimed in. "Having the potential of a monster and the mindset of a King, someone like that should not have chosen to join the Hundred Beasts."

"Having the heart of a King implies a desire to rule. If that's the case, why join the Hundred Beasts, which already has a King?" Sengoku mused.

...

Want to read ahead, Then Join my Pa*treon! 

Free members get 4 advanced chapters for free.

JOIN NOW

Link: pa*treon.com/Lotus_Lover (Remove the *)