Shin glanced at the pile of defeated pirates and didn't linger. He walked straight toward the captain's cabin.
Most pirates terrorizing the seas were ruthless criminals, and the Dire Wolf Pirates were no exception, daring to raid Whitebeard's territory. Their arrogance speaks volumes about their character, so Shin has no qualms about ending them.
"The captain's quarters should be here!"
For ordinary pirate captains, treasures like Devil Fruits are coveted. If they don't consume them themselves, they're unlikely to leave them in the hands of their subordinates. After all, a subordinate could gain incredible power with just one bite and challenge the captain's authority. Once consumed, the Devil Fruit is lost forever to the crew.
"The captain just now was a zoan-type devil fruit user, which means he couldn't eat another. This raises the chances of finding an uneaten devil fruit on board," Shin murmured, entering the captain's quarters and beginning to search.
In moments like this, Shin felt a rare gratitude for the lessons learned in the academy. His training in searching for traps and hidden spaces now proved invaluable. While Observation Haki was helpful in tracking living beings, detecting hidden objects was a different challenge altogether.
Shin's pulse quickened as he carefully shifted a painting in the captain's room. Behind it lay a small iron box, the kind often used to secure devil fruits at sea.
This type of lock was no match for Shin, who applied the skills he'd learned as a ninja. Within moments, the box clicked open to reveal a Devil Fruit with a distinctive purple, swirled pattern.
Shin's breath caught. He hadn't expected to come across the legendary Dark-Dark Fruit so quickly. Realizing the opportunity before him, he didn't hesitate—before anyone from the Fourth Division could board the pirate ship, he ate the fruit in a single gulp.
Instantly, a strange energy surged through him. But it wasn't just the Devil Fruit's power; the system in Shin's mind, which typically stayed dormant, suddenly came alive, flooding him with new information.
"Complete disruption of the One Piece world's storyline. This world has now transformed into a base camp type world?" Shin muttered, struggling to process the system's message. He'd altered the storyline significantly during the battles against Kaido's and Big Mom's forces, and the energy in his system had accumulated beyond capacity. But he hadn't acted on it, holding back because he was determined to obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit before leaving.
Yet, it seemed that consuming the Dark-Dark Fruit itself triggered this shift. 'A base camp world?' he pondered.
And had he truly overturned the entire story? Was the Dark-Dark Fruit that essential?
As he considered, Shin realized it was indeed monumental. Without the Dark-Dark Fruit, Blackbeard's defection wouldn't occur, nor would Ace's capture, which spurred the war. There wouldn't be a training period for the Straw Hat Pirates, nor Blackbeard's rise to power as a Pirate Emperor. The narrative as he knew it would be completely derailed.
For instance, with the Whitebeard Pirates intact, Fishman Island wouldn't need Big Mom's protection, so Luffy's conflict with her wouldn't happen at the start of his journey in the New World. Similarly, if Whitebeard's crew remained active, Marco and Izou might never have gone to Wano, or they would all have gone together, drastically altering the outcome there.
This, indeed, was a butterfly effect—a decisive shift in the world's future.
Recognizing the significance of this, Shin eagerly explored the advantages of the "base camp world" status.
The first perk was travel. From now on, returning to the One Piece world required almost no energy; staying in the New World for a day or two would generate enough energy to come back freely.
Secondly, in this world, energy would accumulate at an accelerated pace, dozens or even hundreds of times faster. Shin could gather enough to cross over to a new world in just a month.
The third benefit was his ability to re-enter this world at any point in the timeline. This meant he could leave for the Naruto world, stay for years, and return here mere seconds later.
This was precisely the reason Shin hadn't returned to the Naruto world before. The Straw Hat crew's voyage was barely a year away, and once they set sail, events would unfold rapidly. Without his presence, Whitebeard's crew would likely dissolve within three years. But with this new ability, he could jump between worlds without consequence.
'I need to make preparations and tie up loose ends. Then, I'll be ready to return to the Naruto world.'
However, a thought lingered in his mind. "I still need a third Devil Fruit… I've already acquired the Paramecia-type Munch-Munch Fruit and now the Logia-type Dark-Dark Fruit, so a zoan-type Devil Fruit would be ideal to complete the trio."
Although the Vampire Fruit was a powerful option, it no longer seemed essential. Shin could absorb powers directly from others with the Dark Fruit, removing his need to rely on the Vampire Fruit's life-draining ability.
'But which one should I choose?' He began to sort through options mentally. The Nika Fruit, though incredibly strong, was currently held by Luffy, and Shin had no desire to cross his comrade. It was best left as it was.
The remaining Mythical Zoan Fruits were tempting. Marco's Phoenix Fruit was out of the question, and the Buddha Fruit, possessed by Sengoku, would be impossible to take without provoking the full wrath of the marines. Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit was similarly out of reach.
That left the Yamata no Orochi Fruit, a powerful Mythical Zoan Fruit with intriguing abilities. Shin nodded to himself, already planning his next move.
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Chapter 103: The Reckoning is now available.