A vast, boundless sea stretched in all directions. A third-rate full-rigged warship of the Tobias Kingdom sailed across the waves. A row of seabirds perched on its white sails, as if using the vessel beneath their feet as a resting ground in the middle of the ocean.
"One, two! Heave!"
"One, two! Heave!"
On the deck, sailors from the kingdom's navy shouted in rhythm as they secured ropes and adjusted the massive sails to better catch the current wind and weather conditions.
Inside the dimly lit captain's quarters, Cross sat motionless at his desk, staring blankly at the Devil Fruit nestled within the treasure chest before him. He muttered to himself under his breath, "To eat… or not to eat?"
Truth be told, he was deeply torn. He still hadn't made up his mind about whether or not to consume the Devil Fruit.
He'd never seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, so he had no way of identifying the abilities this particular fruit possessed.
Logia?
Paramecia?
Or perhaps Zoan?
If it were a Logia, that'd be ideal, even if it was something like the Swamp-Swamp Fruit, it would still be worth it. But the odds were painfully slim.
Paramecia seemed most likely, but what if it was some worthless ability like the Bean-Bean Fruit or the Wheel-Wheel Fruit? That would be a nightmare.
As for Zoan… unless it was an Ancient Zoan or Mythical Zoan, he had absolutely zero desire to eat it.
So the question was: Should he gamble on this unknown fruit, a Devil Fruit blind box? Or should he wait until he could consult the Encyclopedia, or perhaps find a better fruit down the line?
Maybe he could rob Doflamingo, steal the Gold-Gold Fruit (Gol-Gol Fruit/Goru Goru no Mi) before Tesoro ever got his hands on it. That would be a worthwhile target.
Or perhaps try to intercept the Ope Ope no Mi, the Operation Fruit, which would surface in the North Blue in a few years. If he could get ahead of that timeline…
But after careful thought, Cross abandoned the idea.
First off, the Gold-Gold Fruit wouldn't appear for several more years. Given that he'd already disrupted this world's timeline by his mere presence, the butterfly effect was in full swing.
Who could say whether the Gold-Gold Fruit would still show up as expected, or if Doflamingo would even end up obtaining it?
As for the Operation Fruit, it was even more complicated. When it appeared, it would be surrounded by the involvement of the Marines, World Government, and Donquixote Family.
Pulling off a clean snatch in that situation would be near-impossible.
Unless he got to Diez Barrels before Corazon (Donquixote Rosinante) did and killed him first, there'd be no chance of acquiring it.
But even that posed a problem; the sea was vast, and without solid intel, how could he track down the fruit's appearance or beat all the other players to it?
And what if the Donquixote Family caught up to him? Was he supposed to fight the entire organization by himself?
He'd have to defeat Doflamingo too, otherwise he'd never escape the Birdcage technique alive.
So, in the end, one option was too uncertain, the other too dangerous. Neither was ideal.
Snapping back to reality, Cross resumed staring at the Devil Fruit inside the chest. He reached out and picked it up, rolling it between his hands, weighing his options again and again…
Then, almost like he was possessed, Cross suddenly brought the Devil Fruit to his lips and took a big bite—crunch!
"Ugh—!"
In the very next second, an overwhelming wave of nauseating bitterness filled his mouth. Cross's eyes shot open as he nearly gagged, about to spit the pulp out.
Fortunately, reason kicked in. He clamped a hand over his mouth, holding it all in. Since he'd already bitten into it, spitting it out would be a waste. Might as well see it through and roll the dice.
Fighting the rising bile, Cross forced himself to devour the whole thing, three big gulps and the entire green pear-like fruit was gone. Not even the peel was left.
Although it was said that one bite was enough to gain the power of a Devil Fruit, Cross wasn't taking any chances. Maybe it was paranoia, or maybe it was just his obsessive tendencies, but he ate the entire thing, down to the core.
"Blegh—!"
The moment he finished, he dropped to the floor, dry heaving uncontrollably.
"That was fing disgusting..."
"Worse than crap—wait, did I just admit something? Ugh..."
...
Somewhere in the North Blue.
A massive Marine warship cruised through the endless sea. On its sails, the character "鶴" was boldly emblazoned. The Seagull of Justice flag fluttered high atop the mainmast.
It was unmistakably a Marine vessel.
Inside the captain's cabin, a group of female Marine soldiers gathered around a table, listening intently to the shhh-shhh static of a black Den Den Mushi.
The most striking figure among them was an elderly woman with graying hair.
Though well into her sixties, she showed no signs of frailty. Her shoulder-length silver hair was pulled into a simple ponytail, slicked back from her forehead. Golden bead earrings dangled from her ears. She wore gloves and the coat of a Vice Admiral, with a red shirt underneath, tied with a white polka-dot, dark crimson necktie. Her slacks were part of a formal suit, polished shoes completing the look. Calm and composed, she sat with perfect posture.
She was Vice Admiral Tsuru, Chief of Staff of Marine Headquarters!
"Doffy, our men are dead. The cargo's been stolen."
Suddenly, a voice came from the black Den Den Mushi.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, we've picked up a transmission from the Donquixote Pirates!" a blonde Marine called out excitedly.
"Quiet. Let it play," Tsuru ordered softly, raising her hand to silence the room.
"What the hell, Diamante?! Who the hell pulled this off?!"
"It was that bastard 'Mad Bear' Onik! The shipment was worth 300 million berries! It was the arms deal we planned for the Tobias Kingdom!"
"Fuffuffuffuffu~ That guy's got some nerve!"
"Doffy, that bastard's still in the Kingdom of Lvneel. Looks like he plans to use our weapons to make the deal with Tobias himself!"
"Our weapons, used in our deal with Tobias... Damn, Onik, that's a hell of a move! Fuffuffuffuffu~ I'm so pissed it's funny!"
"Doffy, what should we do? Take him out?"
"Diamante, go wait for me in Loubuny. Fuffuffuffuffu~ I'm going to skin that bastard alive!"
Click—
The next moment, the black Den Den Mushi shut its eyes and fell silent.
"Lvneel Kingdom, huh… If I remember right, that's the country where that windbag Montblanc Norland came from," Tsuru murmured as she looked up at the navigation chart hanging on the wall opposite her.
Immediately, a young marine woman with crimson hair rushed to the chart, scanning and measuring routes with her hands across the map.
Moments later, she turned around and pointed to a location on the chart. "Vice Admiral Tsuru, it's about a four-day sail from our current position. Shall we head out?"
On the other side of the room, another female marine flipped through a thick stack of wanted posters. She pulled one out and placed it on the table.
"'Mad Bear' Cordel Onik. Bounty: 68 million berries. He rose to notoriety last year after attacking the 105th Marine Branch in the North Blue and has repeatedly disrupted maritime trade routes."
Tsuru remained silent for a few moments. Then, rising to her feet with gravitas, she gave her command.
"Change course. We're heading for the Kingdom of Lvneel."
"Yes, ma'am!"
At once, the entire room of female marines snapped to attention and responded in unison, their voices ringing out with resolve.