Allen took the Devil Fruit and walked over to the bow of the ship.
Recalling the descriptions of a Devil Fruit’s taste from the original series, he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
A moment later, he finally steeled his resolve.
“Damn it, I’ve read about web novel protagonists eating all kinds of disgusting things before.
One bite isn’t going to kill me.” With that, Allen took a massive bite of the fruit.
His face instantly turned a deep shade of purple; the taste was genuinely overwhelming.
It tasted like taking fish mint that had been soaked in the brine of canned herring for forty-nine days, then eating it alongside French blue cheese.
After a long struggle, Allen finally forced the lump down his throat, watching as the remaining Devil Fruit in his hand gradually began to wither away.
He threw the rest of the fruit directly into the sea.
Having read One Piece fan fiction in his past life, he remembered some transmigrators being afraid that eating only one bite wouldn’t grant the ability, choosing to choke down the entire thing instead.
Allen had to admire them as truly hardcore individuals.
“Whoever wants to eat the rest can have it.
That single bite was already way too much.” Wiping his mouth, Allen closed his eyes to sense the new power awakening within his body.
A few seconds later, he directed a purple glow to envelope an empty wine bottle resting on the deck nearby.
He manipulated the object, sending it flying straight toward Marco, who was currently sweeping the floor.
With a crisp bang, the wine bottle made intimate contact with Marco’s pineapple-shaped head.
“Ow!
Who threw that?!
Allen, was that you?!” Marco screamed, clutching his head as he glared angrily at Allen.
Allen smiled faintly.
“Don’t mind it, Marco.
I’m just helping you train to awaken your Observation Haki.
Pops said that unexpected attacks make it much easier to draw out the latent Haki within your body.” Allen decisively shifted the blame onto Whitebeard.
“Is that so?
Then thank you, Allen!” The current Marco was not yet the wise, calm First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates he would eventually become; he was easily fooled by Allen’s serious expression.
Having just acquired his new ability, Allen’s mind was racing with possibilities.
He immediately manipulated gravity to press down on his own body, instantly feeling his entire physical form sink into the deck.
It’s about three times normal gravity.
Is this my current limit?
What about reversing the direction entirely?
Allen altered the gravitational pull around himself, pointing it upward.
He watched in fascination as his feet slowly left the deck, hovering about half a meter off the ground.
Although he couldn’t control the gravity well enough to fly very high yet, it was more than enough to make him ecstatic.
In the future, when I’m far more skilled with this power, I can push gravity outward in all directions from myself.
Then I can just hover above an enemy’s head and drop a “Shinra Tensei” straight onto them.
Thinking about his future heroic figure, Allen let out a smug grin.
When Duke walked out of the cabin and saw Allen floating in midair, he was completely startled.
Patting his chest, he asked, “Allen, did you eat some kind of Ghost-Ghost Fruit?
Are you a ghost now?” Testing his limits, Allen suddenly heard Duke’s words and countless black lines appeared on his forehead.
“You idiot, this is the Press-Press Fruit!
It allows me to control gravity, either on myself or within a specific space.
This fruit is incredibly powerful.” Hearing Allen’s explanation, Duke slapped the deck and laughed loudly.
“Are you going to claim you’re terrifyingly strong again?
Are you going to challenge the boss to another duel?” Allen was instantly triggered.
Challenging Whitebeard to a duel had become his ultimate dark history.
Looking at the mocking sniper, Allen targeted Duke, lifting him high into the air with gravity before abruptly reversing the pull and cutting off the ability.
Duke plunged straight down, hitting the deck head-first with a loud thud, resulting in a massive bump on his forehead.
“You bastard!
What was that for?!” Duke yelled, clutching his head in pain.
He quickly drew his sniper rifle and fired several consecutive shots at Allen.
Allen slightly tilted his head, effortlessly dodging the incoming bullets.
“Getting worked up over nothing?
I was just demonstrating the ability of the Press-Press Fruit to you.” “Cut the crap!
Take this!” Just like that, practice with his new Devil Fruit ability was officially added to Allen’s daily training routine.
The crew members on the ship were frequently subjected to Allen’s gravity testing, causing complaints to echo across the deck, but they all quickly succumbed to his casual tyranny.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters, a high-level meeting was being held inside the Commander-in-Chief’s office.
Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru were seated in order across from Admiral Kong.
“We have received intelligence that the Rocks Pirates have mobilized once again,” Kong said, rubbing his forehead underneath his signature mohawk.
“This time, their targets are our Marine branches stationed throughout the New World.” “Sigh…
is the information reliable?” Tsuru asked with a weary sigh, casting a sideways glance at Garp, who was loudly crunching on rice crackers.
“It should be highly accurate,” Kong replied.
“The intelligence came from a prominent information broker in the New World.
However, she may have also sold our own defensive layouts to Rocks.” Sengoku thought for a moment before speaking.
“Information from an established broker carries a solid degree of credibility.
After all, the intelligence business relies entirely on reputation; they wouldn’t risk their network for a one-off deal.” “Mm.
So what is your plan, Mr.
Kong?” Tsuru nodded in agreement with Sengoku, turning her attention back to their commander.
Kong pondered the map for a moment before responding.
“My intention is to completely abandon our branches in the latter half of the New World and focus all our resources on ensuring the branches in the first half are not lost.
The branch at Klins City directly connects to the first half of the Grand Line and absolutely cannot fall.
As long as that base stands, we retain the ability to re-enter the New World.” He adjusted his glasses.
“As for our personnel in the deep regions of the New World, I am ordering a full withdrawal back to headquarters.
It is simply too far, and without the G-5 Branch, we can no longer provide timely reinforcements.” “Furthermore, I will communicate with the Five Elders to request immediate funding to expand our military armaments.
Otherwise, we simply don’t have the numbers to handle Rocks.
Considering the sheer scale of his threat, I believe they will grant the request.” Sengoku nodded in approval at the strategic deployment.
“In that case, Garp and I will personally station ourselves at the Klins City branch to hold the line.
By the way, which officer from the Rocks Pirates is heading toward Klins City?” “Whitebeard Edward Newgate, along with the sniper Duke,” Kong replied, his expression turning solemn.
Sengoku’s face hardened.
“Whitebeard, huh?
Then either Garp or I will move to halt Whitebeard head-on, while the other focuses entirely on eliminating his subordinates.
Once they are dealt with, we can combine our strength to…” Hmph…
snore…
hmph…
snore…
Garp had completely fallen asleep while eating his rice crackers, a massive snot bubble expanding and contracting from his nose.
Zephyr, Tsuru, and Kong all stared at him in dead silence.
Having his strategic breakdown completely interrupted, veins prominently popped on Sengoku’s forehead.
“Garp!
You bastard!
Wake up and listen carefully!
Whitebeard is not someone we can afford to take lightly!” The bubble in Garp’s nostril instantly popped.
“Huh?
Is the meeting over?
Great, then I’m heading back to the East Blue for a vacation.” If Sengoku had possessed the Glint-Glint Fruit, Garp would have likely been blasted on the spot.
“Did you even hear a single word I just said, you absolute idiot?!” Sengoku roared, instantly entering full “hairdryer mode” as he screamed into Garp’s face.
Seeing the familiar scene, and fearing that Sengoku might actually have a stroke from sheer anger, Kong quickly intervened.
“Sengoku’s proposal is perfectly sound.
I agree with it.
What about the rest of you?” “Agreed,” Zephyr said.
“Seconded,” Tsuru added.
“Then I am leaving this battle entirely in your hands, Sengoku, Garp,” Kong said, looking directly at the two Vice Admirals.
Sengoku stood up and delivered a crisp military salute.
“Understood.
I will set off for Klins City immediately to finalize our pre-battle preparations.” With that, Sengoku turned and marched out of the conference room, aggressively dragging the completely bewildered Garp along by his collar.