Devil Fruits, from what Kakashi had heard, were special fruits that gave people unique powers after they ate them.
These powers were similar to Kekkei Genkai.
The biggest difference was that Devil Fruit abilities came from the fruit itself, not from bloodline inheritance.
"I can't believe something like this actually exists."
Kakashi knew Orochimaru wouldn't lie to him. In fact, Orochimaru never really lied—he just had a habit of not telling the whole truth.
Either way, Kakashi wasn't about to try one himself.
But clearly, not everyone was as cautious as he was—especially pirates.
"Hu-hahaha! Zabuza! If you've got the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!"
Just outside the Land of Waves' port, two pirate ships were anchored.
On the deck of the lead ship, a massive man nearly three meters tall stood, shouting toward the shore.
It was none other than Dark, the pirate Shanks had dealt with not long ago.
But the Dark standing there now looked completely different.
His body had nearly doubled in size, and his height had shot up to three meters.
Behind him stood Kidomaru and three others, all now wearing proper sailor uniforms.
It was obvious—Dark had eaten a Devil Fruit.
In just a short time, his strength had skyrocketed.
He had gone from someone only slightly stronger than an average person to the powerhouse he was now.
"If you're so strong, come out and kill me! Let's see who's stronger—your Blade-less Pirates captain or me, Captain Dark!"
Dark roared.
After eating the Devil Fruit, he had become one of the strongest pirates in this sea.
The only other one who could rival him was Zabuza.
They had fought several times, and now, even Zabuza couldn't defeat him.
Today, he planned to defeat Zabuza fair and square.
"From now on, every pirate will know—maybe I can't beat Shanks, but beneath him, I am unbeatable!"
"..."
Hearing Dark's bold declaration, Kidomaru and the others looked speechless.
Not long ago, Dark had nearly drowned fighting Zabuza.
And now, he was acting all high and mighty.
Not to mention, Shanks had completely crushed him before.
If he hadn't been lucky, he would've died at sea.
Now that he had eaten a Devil Fruit and gained power, he still didn't dare go after Shanks.
Instead, he ran to the Land of Waves to show off.
"Captain, we've been shouting here for three days now."
Kidomaru reminded him.
They had sought out Dark because of a new bounty poster of Shanks in the underground black market.
Following the clues, they had learned that Dark had once fought Shanks.
Even though Dark had lost, he had survived.
And that was his biggest bragging right.
Naturally, that made him Kidomaru's top choice.
But after eating a Devil Fruit, Dark had no intention of going after Shanks.
Shanks had scared him too much.
"Looks like there's no one left in the Blade-less Pirates who can defeat me. This feeling of being unbeatable… it's lonely."
"Alright, boys! That's enough fighting for today. We're heading back!"
"Captain wins again!"
"Long live Captain Dark!"
"..."
Hearing Dark's words, the pirates cheered.
The strongest pirate crew in these waters, the Blade-less Pirates, had now been "defeated" by them three times in a row.
As for why Dark only dared to shout from outside? Those rows of cannons at the port of the Land of Waves weren't just for show.
Even if his body could withstand it, his ship definitely couldn't. And if he ended up in the sea, he'd be dead for sure.
On the other side, the Blade-less Pirates didn't take Dark seriously at all, but they also didn't have much time to waste on him.
Haku, however, was quite curious about Dark. Over time, he had more or less figured out how Dark's Devil Fruit ability worked.
"That guy started off looking like a normal person, but every time he fought the captain and got killed, he'd shed his skin—and his strength would increase a lot."
"Looks like it's a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit power. Shedding skin can make him immune to fatal injuries, and after shedding, he builds resistance to the previous fatal injury."
"Vice-captain, does analyzing all this even matter? That guy can't do anything against the captain anyway."
Jin didn't see the point. That's exactly why they never paid much attention to the Dark Pirates—those guys just weren't that strong.
Their captain, Dark, wasn't weak, but he didn't have much attacking power either.
Compared to the Blade-less Pirates, their combat strength was nothing. Other than Haku and Zabuza, they still had Jin. And Jin alone was enough to hold Dark back.
"It's very useful. Devil Fruit powers are different from a ninja's Kekkei Genkai. My ability has pretty much reached its limit, but Devil Fruits work differently. If I can turn my power into a true Devil Fruit ability, my potential will increase a lot."
Lately, Haku had realized that his power was strong, but not strong enough.
Not even close.
As Zabuza put it, Haku wasn't even worthy of Shanks taking him seriously yet.
Not because Haku was too weak, but because Shanks was too strong. No matter how much Haku developed his Kekkei Genkai, it still wouldn't be enough. But Dark's appearance made Haku realize something.
"When it comes to Devil Fruit users, what matters isn't the person—it's the Devil Fruit itself. But so far, whether in the black market or anywhere else, there's been no sign of any Devil Fruits."
Haku frowned. He had no idea where Dark had even found his Devil Fruit.
"There's no need to rush. Becoming a Devil Fruit user comes with a price."
At some point, Zabuza had joined them.
"That's true. Not being able to swim is a pretty big weakness."
Jin nodded.
"But my power is ice control, so even if I can't swim, it shouldn't matter, right?"
Haku scratched his head. His ability made him practically immune to the downside of Devil Fruits. Besides… he couldn't swim anyway.
Of course, no one knew that. But the truth was, Haku had never been able to swim.
Still, as the vice-captain of the Blade-less Pirates, admitting something like that would be way too embarrassing.
"…"
Hearing Haku's words, Zabuza and Jin fell silent. Now that they thought about it, it really didn't make much difference.
But getting a Devil Fruit—or turning Haku's ability into one—was nearly impossible. They had no leads at all.
"If we want any real news on Devil Fruits, we'll probably have to wait until Shanks sets sail."
Zabuza's gaze shifted toward the massive ship docked at the port. Just the ship's keel alone had cost over 200 million ryo.
No one knew what kind of tree it was made from, but it was unbelievably tough and could resist most Ninjutsu.
But after seeing Shanks get a 500 million bounty from Kirigakure, Zabuza felt like spending 200 million on the ship was worth it.
Otherwise, if he had to look at Shanks carrying that 500 million bounty on his back, he might have felt a little guilty.
Now, staring at the ship in the port, that guilt was gone.
That five hundred million bounty belongs to Shanks!
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