Chapter 316: Disdain for the Logia!

In the center of a pile of ordinary round fruits, inside a wooden fruit basket holding cantaloupes, lay a fruit with a peculiar appearance.

Its skin was covered in spiral patterns that resembled demon horns.

Robin, clad in a light deep-purple coat, stood gracefully before the fruit basket.

Resting her chin on one hand, she spoke softly in reflection:

"This strange spiral pattern, and this unique color..."

"Could this be Caesar's Devil Fruit?"

Upon hearing this, Usopp and Chopper, who had been peeking from behind, jumped in fright like cats whose tails had been stepped on.

The two huddled together, their legs shaking violently as if powered by motors, and hot tears gushed out like waterfalls.

"Aaaaah! Caesar's ghost has followed us onto the ship!"

The two let out pig-slaughtering screams and frantically rummaged through their bags.

In the blink of an eye, Usopp held up two cloves of garlic, while Chopper used two wooden sticks to tie together a crude, makeshift cross.

Shaking all over, they aimed the garlic and the cross at the purple Devil Fruit as if facing a great enemy, not forgetting to mumble exorcism chants.

Nami was also startled by this sudden and eerie situation.

Letting out a cry, she quickly moved her long legs and skillfully hid behind Robin's reassuring back.

Seeing the chaotic daily scene before him, Tatsuya, standing behind the crowd, shook his head helplessly.

With a gentle smile, he strode forward and passed through the crowd.

Amidst the gasps of the Coward Trio, Tatsuya naturally reached out and grabbed the dreaded Gas-Gas Fruit, even nonchalantly tossing it into the air.

"Don't be nervous, everyone calm down."

Tatsuya comforted them with a light laugh, "There are no such things as ghosts in this world, let alone ghosts attached to fruit."

"This is just a natural law of the Devil Fruit cycle."

"When a Devil Fruit user dies, the devil power within them leaves the host and is reborn."

Tatsuya toyed with the heavy fruit in his hand, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes:

"It just so happens there are so many fruits in the storage room, so it naturally 'reincarnated' here."

"It seems our Straw Hat Pirates' luck is quite good."

Law, standing to the side, was leaning against the bulkhead with his arms crossed.

Hearing Tatsuya's nonchalant explanation, although he remained stoic on the surface, he felt a wave of speechless shock deep inside.

He thought to himself: This isn't just good; the Straw Hat Pirates' heaven-defying dumb luck is simply too exaggerated!

They just took down a troublesome Logia user, and the next second, his fruit automatically respawns in their own ship's fruit basket?!

The odds of this are even more ridiculous than being struck by lightning twice!

Law cleared his throat and spoke with a serious expression:

"Straw Hat Captain, you'd better understand the value of this thing."

"This is a Logia Devil Fruit, an exceptionally rare existence even among all fruits."

"If you were to auction it on the underground black market, it would definitely be a rare treasure that could fetch an astronomical price."

Law paused, his gaze sweeping over the Straw Hat crew: "Even if you don't plan to sell it."

"Once one of you eats it and gains the Logia ability of elementalization, which grants immunity to ordinary physical attacks..."

"...it will definitely significantly increase your crew's overall combat power in a very short time."

Hearing Law's solemn explanation, Luffy curiously leaned in.

He crouched down and extended a finger, poking the purple fruit in Tatsuya's hand with some force.

Feeling that somewhat strange texture...

The memory of the horrific, shit-like taste from when he ate the Gum-Gum Fruit years ago instantly surfaced in Luffy's mind.

He furrowed his brows in disgust and curled his lip:

"Not selling, not selling! Although this thing tastes terrible—one bite can give you nightmares for three days..."

"...it's probably more valuable to keep it. Does anyone want to eat it?"

Since the Captain had spoken, everyone began to look at the companions around them, wondering who should own this Logia fruit that had fallen from the sky.

Currently, within the Straw Hat Pirates, the members who hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit and still maintained their non-swimmer status were:

Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Franky.

Zoro crossed his thick arms, a blatant smirk playing on his lips.

He tilted his head slightly, sizing up Sanji beside him with a provocative gaze, and teased sarcastically:

"In that case, why don't you just let this curly-browed cook eat it."

"Since you're in the kitchen every day, if you become a Gas Man, you won't even need a lighter to cook in the future. It would definitely be more convenient, right?"

Hearing this insulting mockery, Sanji's face, which had been relatively calm, was instantly covered in dark lines.

"What did you say?! You muscle-brained Marimo, do you want to fight?!"

Sanji roared, unceremoniously lifting his long right leg, and with the sound of whistling wind, he sent a powerful flying kick straight toward Zoro's face.

"In my opinion, since your strength was so weak in the battle just now, you should be the one to eat this fruit!"

Sanji retorted mercilessly while launching a fierce attack.

"Lest your third-rate swordsmanship drags down the whole crew in this monster-infested New World!"

"Huh?! You want to fight, you perverted curly-brow?!"

Facing Sanji's kick, Zoro didn't back down an inch.

He sneered, his hand gripping the hilt of the Wado Ichimonji at his waist, and he pulled out half of the snow-bright blade, glaring fiercely at his rival.

Between the flashes of the blade and the shadows of the legs, the two of them, as usual, began to scuffle with practiced and tacit "affection."

The storage room was suddenly filled with the clanging sounds of fighting and the exchange of insults.

The Straw Hat crew was long accustomed to these two bickering and fighting three times a day.

No one even had the interest to stop the fight; they collectively and silently shifted their gazes away from these two childish combatants and continued discussing the fruit's ownership.

Noticing that everyone's attention had shifted to him, Franky immediately became excited.

He slammed his forearms together, striking his iconic signature pose, and shouted with pride:

"SUPER—! Don't look at me, everyone!"

"I am a steel cyborg filled with a man's romance!"

"I am the crystallization of cutting-edge technology! I don't want to become some floaty, squishy Gas Man; that's not SUPER at all!"

Seeing Franky refuse, everyone's eyes naturally fell on Nami.

Seeing this, Nami repeatedly waved her hands in refusal.

She picked up "Futo," the special thundercloud pet and weapon that had been obediently wrapped around her waist, and said confidently and righteously:

"Hehe, don't get any ideas about me!"

"I already have Futo to help me fight, and its power isn't any worse than a Devil Fruit! And..."

Nami puffed out her chest and added with the professional attitude of a Navigator:

"As the only Navigator on this ship, I need to feel the changes in the ocean currents and wind direction at all times."

"If I were to be completely loathed by the sea for this bit of power and become a non-swimmer who can only wait for death if I fall into the water, that would absolutely not do!"

Hearing this, everyone nodded in succession, thoughtfully agreeing with the Navigator's concerns.

And so, after a round of elimination...

Everyone's gaze finally fell unanimously on the last candidate—Usopp.

Suddenly becoming the center of attention, Usopp couldn't help but swallow hard.

Sensing the expectant gazes of everyone, his heart immediately fell into a fierce struggle.

To be honest, facing the legendary invincible power of a Logia, how could this habitually timid sniper not be tempted?

As long as he ate it, he would instantly gain the ability of elementalization and would never have to run for his life whenever he encountered a strong enemy.

But!

Just thinking about the original owner's inhumane experiments with poison gas made Usopp's stomach churn.

To preserve his manly dignity as a "Brave Warrior of the Sea"...

He opened his mouth, wanting to loudly and righteously reject this evil power.

Just as Usopp was struggling frantically in his heart...

Tatsuya chuckled and considerately tossed the Gas-Gas Fruit to Usopp like a ball, speaking casually to bail him out:

"Well, since no one wants to eat it right now, why don't we just put it away for now."

"In any case, a Logia fruit is an extremely precious and scarce resource. Our voyage is still long; perhaps it will come in handy at some critical moment."

"So, I'll leave this important treasure in your safe keeping, Usopp."

Fumbling to catch the tossed Devil Fruit...

Usopp immediately realized that Tatsuya was giving him a way out.

This sniper, who always became radiant with just a bit of sunshine, immediately climbed up the ladder, casting aside his previous struggle and guilt, and instantly became carried away.

Holding the precious Gas-Gas Fruit in one hand and his other hand proudly on his hip, he threw his head back and let out his signature arrogant laugh.

"Ahahahaha~ I really can't do anything with you guys!"

"Since you've all pleaded with me like this, I'll reluctantly accept it!"

"After all, the most trustworthy and reliable man on this ship is none other than I, Captain Usopp!"

He even winked at Tatsuya and made a shameless guarantee: "Tatsuya, I completely understand what you mean!"

"Don't worry, leaving this dangerous thing in my care is absolutely foolproof!"

Upon hearing this, the Straw Hat crew, who had been somewhat expectant, all looked at the boastful Long-nose with dark lines on their faces.

Seeing Usopp finally put away the controversial fruit...

Luffy, whose head was filled only with food, finally couldn't hold back.

Rubbing his growling, empty stomach with both hands, he tilted his head back and shouted:

"Alright, alright! It's finally put away!"

"Staring at that purple thing just now almost made me sick to my stomach!"

"Everyone, stop talking about that nasty-tasting thing!"

"Sanji, I'm starving! I want to eat!"

Hearing his Captain's familiar command to eat, Chopper, who had been shivering just moments ago, immediately perked up.

He raised his furry hooves, his eyes shining like searchlights, and hopped around in excitement, cheering:

"Oh! Hooray! It's party time! I want to eat sweet cotton candy!"

In the corridor outside the storage room, Sanji, who was in the middle of a heated scuffle with Zoro, stopped as he heard Luffy's energetic call from inside.

He impatiently shoved away Zoro, who was clutching his collar, and reached out to straighten his slightly disheveled suit jacket.

Then, Sanji walked toward his beloved kitchen with elegant steps, responding lazily without looking back:

"Aye, aye, Captain. I'll get right on it."

"Marimo, don't stand here in my way while I'm making a feast. Go wait on the deck like a good boy to be fed."

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