The sudden situation stunned the Marines present. They couldn’t understand why the friendly restaurant owner suddenly erupted and killed Captain Morgan!
Click, click, click.
Despite their training, the Marines quickly recovered, loading their muskets and aiming them at Icey, who was standing in the center.
Facing the numerous dark gun barrels, Icey remained calm and unflustered.
Previously, he might have feared these powerful firearms with only his strong defense, but now that his speed had greatly increased, ordinary people wielding such weapons posed little threat to him!
“Your Captain Morgan colluded with the pirate Kuro, allowing the Black Cat Pirates to attack towns and gain fame and achievements. I found him unpleasant, so I dealt with him. Any problems?”
Icey looked calmly at the shocked and unsettled Marines. “Or are you all in on this too?”
Hearing this, the nervous Marines panicked.
“How, how is that possible! Captain Morgan led us to repel the Black Cat Pirates several times. He’s a hero who protected civilians!”
“That’s right! Captain Morgan said he would capture Captain Kuro no matter how many times it took!”
“Yeah! Don’t be fooled by this thug. Captain Morgan shot Kuro dead!”
Recalling Captain Morgan’s decisive shooting of Kuro, the Marines, kept in the dark, mustered their courage and vehemently retorted.
They are such simple-minded fools…
Icey sighed inwardly and asked the excited Marines, “Then why do you think Morgan was so eager to kill Kuro?”
The Marines were stunned.
Though somewhat simple-minded, they weren’t at Aqua’s level of foolishness.
Calming down and thinking carefully, they quickly realized something was wrong with Captain Morgan’s actions.
Seeing their confused and suspicious expressions, Icey couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, pointing to the building at the island’s highest point.
“That’s the Black Cat Pirates’ base. We found some very incriminating evidence there.”
As he spoke, he stared directly at Morgan’s adjutant.
Judging from what he had extracted from Kuro, there had to be a mole within the Navy.
He had been secretly observing the Marines’ reactions, and this adjutant with shifty eyes was particularly suspicious!
Sure enough, under Icey’s intense gaze, the adjutant’s mental defense quickly crumbled, and he jumped out.
“I see! I always wondered why Morgan was always making secret calls. He was colluding with the Black Cat Pirates!”
“Despicable! Truly despicable, this scum!”
As the highest-ranking officer present, his words immediately solidified the Marines’ suspicions.
They all started angrily condemning Morgan as a traitor to justice.
“Mr. Icey, thank you for ridding the world of such scum. I represent the entire…”
The adjutant habitually started thanking Icey on behalf of the Navy, but remembering Morgan’s fate, he quickly corrected himself: “Thank you!”
“No problem, it was just a whim.” Icey waved his hand.
Just then, Aqua leisurely walked over, munching on snacks and humming a tune.
Seeing the empty coastline, this genius was puzzled, scratching her head, “Weird, I didn’t release any magic. Why did the seawater rise so much?”
She thought her current flood-summoning powers should have had such an effect.
“We need to tally up the spoils. The remaining Black Cat Pirates on this island are your responsibility, righteous Marines.”
Icey withdrew his gaze and walked toward Aqua.
As he passed the adjutant, he lightly patted the man’s uniform, “This uniform is a bit dirty. Make sure you clean it properly when you get back, officer.”
Compared to the Shichibukai and the Four Emperors, his current team was still too weak, with many shortcomings. He wasn’t ready to be wanted and live a life on the run.
There was no need to sacrifice the valuable time for steady growth over such a small fry.
As for the supposed evidence at the Black Cat Pirates’ base and the subsequent report on Captain Morgan, Icey trusted this smart mole to handle it properly.
“Uh? Understood…”
The adjutant, tense and scared by Icey’s action, quickly nodded and stepped back.
Thus, the unexpected Black Cat Pirates’ subjugation ended successfully.
Now, it was time for harvest!
After a brief rest to recover some energy, Icey, Aqua, and King headed to the Black Cat Pirates’ headquarters.
The adjutant, understanding his position, didn’t interfere and instead led the Marines to capture the remaining pirates on the island.
“Carrying a unique cross-shaped black sword? I see, you really encountered someone formidable.”
On the way, listening to King recount the recent events, Icey couldn’t help but laugh, his handsome face full of emotions.
As expected of the strongest “summoner” with maxed-out luck, summoning the pinnacle of swordsmen in the pirate world, Dracule Mihawk!
Looking at King’s imposing profile, even Icey had to admit such luck was invincible!
“Mr. Icey, do you know that man?” King asked curiously.
“That’s the world’s greatest swordsman, known as the Marine Hunter, Dracule Mihawk.”
“Marine Hunter? World’s greatest swordsman?!” King’s eyes widened, shocked by the impressive titles.
Surviving an encounter with such a man was nothing short of a miracle, blessed by Saitama himself!
“Sounds impressive. He must be a pirate, right? His bounty must be super high!”
Aqua blinked her intelligent eyes, clasping her white hands behind her back. “King, you shouldn’t have let him go!”
This fool, tormented by two fingers, still thought King was a formidable monster.
“Uh…” King was at a loss for words.
Just because I beat you in a game, doesn’t mean I should throw my life away.
“Instead of worrying about that, let’s see what we’ve gained this time.”
Seeing the Black Cat Pirates’ base in front of them, Icey subtly changed the topic.
If this easily excited goddess found out King was actually weak, who knows what chaos she’d cause.
Making her wary of King was, in some ways, beneficial.
“Bounties! Icey, no matter what, I should at least get ten million this time!”
Hearing about the spoils, Aqua immediately forgot everything else, her mind filled with thoughts of fine wine and food.
Since it was a prior promise, Icey didn’t go back on his word: “Let’s see how much the pirates you dealt with are worth. Don’t worry, you’ll get your share.”
Aqua was so happy she almost floated, her steps light as she dreamed of a life of financial freedom, lost in her fantasy.
With Icey leading, the three of them walked into the Black Cat Pirates’ building.
The spacious hall was a mess, with pirates lying unconscious all over the floor.
These were all small fry taken down by Aqua. Icey quickly matched them with the Black Cat Pirates’ bounty list, finding three bounty targets.
Two unfamiliar officers of the Black Cat Pirates had bounties of 900,000 Berries and 1.2 million Berries respectively.
Deputy Captain Jango had a much higher bounty of 6.9 million Berries.
At this moment, this self-hypnotized fool was lying on the ground, his butt in the air, with several lumps on his head—obviously Aqua’s work.
Three of them together made exactly 9 million, rounding up to 10 million for Aqua wasn’t unreasonable.
As Icey thought this, a strange fruit in the corner of the hall caught his attention.
Upon closer inspection, this peach-like fruit was light pink with swirling patterns on its surface.
Judging by the box with the Fossa Town emblem nearby, this must be the so-called “Holy Fruit” they valued as a symbol of peace!
“From the townsfolk’s description, it sounded like a Devil Fruit. I didn’t expect it to be a billion-Berry Devil Fruit!”
Icey’s face lit up with joy.
This was the biggest gain from subduing the Black Cat Pirates!
He had been worried about finding a Devil Fruit for his third wish. Who knew it would fall right into his hands!
What? It’s Fossa Town’s treasure?
Given the help he provided by dealing with Kuro and Morgan, surely they could come to an understanding~
Thinking this, Icey eagerly stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the Devil Fruit, examining it closely, wanting to see if he recognized its abilities.
Even if he couldn’t identify it, he wouldn’t use it for a companion just yet.
He wasn’t foolish; if it turned out to be a Logia or even rarer Mythical Zoan, he’d keep it for himself!
Icey didn’t notice Aqua’s shocked expression when she heard the fruit was worth over a billion. Her face turned strange.
After a brief daze, the foolish goddess carefully turned around and earnestly started collecting the Black Cat Pirates’ treasures, acting very busy.
“Damn it!”
Almost simultaneously, Icey cursed.
The Devil Fruit in his hand had a visible shallow bite mark on the back.
Someone had taken a bite!
The Devil Fruit’s power only transfers to the first person who eats it. In other words, this fruit was now useless!
“Who, who the hell ate this Devil Fruit!”
Losing something worth at least a billion, with unlimited potential, Icey’s face twitched uncontrollably, struggling to stay calm.
“Aqua, King, wake up all those unconscious pirates. This can’t end like this!”
Seeing Icey’s fury, even King, not understanding the Devil Fruit’s value, realized the
seriousness and nodded, heading to the pirates tied up at the hall’s entrance.
The tense Aqua, scared by Icey’s words, trembled and worked even harder to search for treasure.
Her strange behavior quickly led Icey to a certain suspicion.
“Aqua,” he called softly.
“Yes!” Aqua immediately responded, raising her hand.
“Did you take a bite of this Devil Fruit?”
Icey’s face showed a gentle smile as he shook the fruit in his hand.
If he remembered correctly, Aqua had returned with a handful of peanuts after dealing with the officers.
It wasn’t too far-fetched to think she might have grabbed the fruit and taken a bite.
“How, how could I!”
Aqua’s fingers poked each other rapidly, her intelligent eyes darting around as she swore, “I wouldn’t touch such a nasty thing!”
“Then how do you know it tastes nasty? Should I compare the bite marks with your mouth?”
Icey’s smile slowly faded, asking the critical question.
“Just a little bite, really just a little…”
Under Icey’s scrutinizing gaze, Aqua shivered, quickly kneeling and apologizing: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Lord Icey, please forgive me!”
“Damn it, Aqua! It was you! That was worth a billion!!”
Unable to contain his anger, Icey jumped up and gave Aqua a series of punishing blows.
A few minutes later.
With several lumps on her head, Aqua squatted in the corner of the hall, silently crying.
It wasn’t the beating that made her cry; despite her fear of pain, her body was still quite strong as the water goddess.
What made her cry was losing the ten million Berries she had hoped for, the banquet she had dreamed of, and now having to compensate Icey nine million.
Even though the Devil Fruit originally belonged to Fossa Town.
But a debt is a debt, no matter to whom.
Her pirate adventure was completely ruined!
“Aqua, answer a few questions honestly. There might still be a chance to fix this.”
Icey dusted off his hands, speaking seriously.
This rekindled Aqua’s hope.
Forgetting her recent beating, she shamelessly clung to Icey: “Lord Icey, save me, you must save me!”
“Did anyone else bite the fruit before you?”
“No, I wouldn’t eat something someone else bit!”
“Did you notice any changes in your body after biting the fruit? Like suddenly being able to fly or control elements?”
“I can control fire!”
The clever Aqua immediately demonstrated her signature move, the Divine Punch.
Icey: “…”
She didn’t seem like she had gained a Devil Fruit power.
So, where did the fruit’s power go?
Or maybe the so-called Holy Fruit of Fossa Town wasn’t a Devil Fruit, just looked like one?
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