To be honest, Michion couldn’t help but admire the audacity of these bandits.
If the information from the bandits was correct, then the person they had captured was likely a Devil Fruit user. But… wasn’t their strength a bit lacking? To be captured by a group of ordinary, albeit somewhat stronger, people?
Even a novice Devil Fruit user should be able to give these guys a tough time. After all, many nations’ ordinary citizens would fear a child who had eaten a Devil Fruit, which is why they are called “Devil Fruits” in the first place.
But these bandits, little more than cannon fodder, dared to target a Devil Fruit user. Where did they get the courage? Liang Jingru?
This joke might have been overused in his previous world, but no one here knew what it meant. Nonetheless, Michion still felt the urge to say it.
Yet these bandits had managed to capture a Devil Fruit user, making Michion curious about the captive’s abilities.
He wondered if it was some bizarre fruit power as he watched Sola and the others place the barrel on the ground and open it.
When the lid was lifted, Michion finally understood. Inside the barrel was a kid around their age. No wonder he was captured—likely inexperienced and taken by surprise.
The barrel was filled with seawater, a classic method of restraint for Devil Fruit users, preventing them from using their powers or having the strength to escape.
Michion had to admit that the bandits were resourceful, using seawater instead of seastone to subdue a Devil Fruit user. Just tie them up and dunk them in seawater, and the user would be powerless.
Seeing that it was just a kid, the group lowered their guard but remained cautious. After all, he was still a Devil Fruit user with potentially dangerous powers.
After some thought, Michion decided to greet the boy in the barrel:
“Hey there!”
“……”
The boy merely gave Michion a cold stare in response.
Without any reaction, Michion took a closer look at the captive, noticing that he was calm despite his predicament. This intrigued Michion; such composure suggested he wasn’t an ordinary kid.
“What’s your name? Tell us about yourself. You’re a Devil Fruit user, right? What’s your ability? How did you get captured by these ordinary people?” Michion asked, removing the rag from the boy’s mouth.
The boy in the seawater barrel spoke, revealing crucial information in his first sentence: “I’m Basil Hawkins, a Straw-Straw Fruit user.”
To Michion’s surprise, he had encountered one of the Eleven Supernovas from Luffy’s time.
Michion had a strong impression of this ability from the original story, but Hawkins wasn’t afraid of the Navy, suggesting he wasn’t yet a pirate.
“Given his age, he’s probably not a pirate yet,” Michion mused.
“If he’s not a pirate yet, can I recruit him?” Michion considered this possibility.
Firstly, Hawkins’ abilities and strength were quite formidable. Recruiting him would be advantageous. Secondly, just because Hawkins became a pirate later in the original story didn’t mean Michion should ignore him now.
The butterfly effect wasn’t a concern for Michion. His arrival had already caused ripples in this world.
Power was the foundation to face all challenges.
“This Devil Fruit power sounds dangerous,” Xiuen said upon hearing Hawkins describe his ability.
“How did you get captured? Your fruit doesn’t seem weak. Shouldn’t you be able to handle these ordinary people?” Michion asked, knowing Hawkins’ powers from the original story.
“Because my divination told me I would turn danger into safety. But oddly, my subsequent divinations were shrouded in mist, which intrigued me,” Hawkins explained, puzzled by the failure of his usually reliable divination.
Michion guessed that the initial safety prediction referred to their group rescuing him. The mist might be related to him, as a transmigrator’s future was unpredictable.
“I’ve shown my goodwill. Can you let me out now? I’m already safe and would like to try divining again,” Hawkins said calmly.
“Oh, divination sounds interesting!” Sola exclaimed with curiosity.
“If you let me out, I can thank you with a divination. After all, fate led you to find me,” Hawkins offered, sounding like the fortune-tellers from Michion’s previous world but with genuine abilities.
“If we let you out, I’ll definitely try it. I’m very interested in divination,” Sola said, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“I saw your fight with the bandits. You’re all strong, and you saved me. I have no reason to be hostile,” Hawkins explained, outlining the pros and cons.
The group looked to Michion for the decision, and after a moment of thought, Michion decided to let Hawkins out.
After all, he was curious about divination, too.
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