The noise from inside the cabin must have reached outside, because before long Luffy appeared at the entrance, stretching his neck to peek at the box Karl was holding.
At first, he assumed Karl had been secretly hiding some kind of delicious snack.
But the instant he saw the object resting inside, he shot upward in shock and smashed his head directly into the ceiling.
“Owwww!
My head!”
“Luffy?”
Karl looked over in confusion.
“What are you doing?”
“Is that a Devil Fruit?”
“It should be.”
Karl nodded.
“But I can’t say for certain.
This is my first time seeing one in person too.”
Luffy leaned closer and inspected it carefully.
“It kinda looks like the fruit I ate.”
The memory of that experience surfaced immediately.
His face twisted.
“It’s disgusting.”
“Seriously disgusting.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Bad?”
Luffy stared at him.
“It’s ten thousand times worse than the worst thing you’ve ever tasted!”
His expression was completely serious.
Then he glanced back at Karl.
“So you’re actually going to eat it?”
“Yeah.”
Karl smiled.
“I’ve already decided.”
The truth was, there was a reason he had kept this Devil Fruit hidden away for so long without touching it.
As one of the most important treasures in the One Piece world, a Devil Fruit possessed incredible value.
Even the most mediocre ability could be sold for an enormous amount of money.
Karl’s original plan had always been simple.
Sell it.
Use the money as capital to open his restaurant.
Some people might find that decision difficult to understand.
Why not consume it?
Why not gain power?
After all, strength could bring wealth, status, and countless opportunities.
And objectively speaking, that reasoning wasn’t wrong.
The problem was uncertainty.
Karl didn’t possess a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
He had absolutely no idea what ability was hidden inside this fruit.
If it turned out to be something extraordinary—like one of the powerful Logia abilities wielded by the Marine Admirals—it would be equivalent to winning the lottery.
But there was an equally high chance of drawing complete garbage.
What if it turned out to be something ridiculous?
A Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Watchdog, for example.
Naturally, people would argue that rewards only come to those willing to take risks.
And they wouldn’t be wrong.
The issue was that everyone valued different things.
Imagine winning ten million berries overnight.
What would you do?
Would you invest everything in hopes of becoming even richer, risking total failure in the process?
Would you deposit it into a bank and live comfortably off the returns?
Or perhaps start a small business, doing something you genuinely enjoyed while avoiding the endless pursuit of wealth?
None of those answers were objectively right or wrong.
They were simply different choices.
Before meeting Luffy, Karl had already made his own.
Sell the fruit.
Open a restaurant at Marine Headquarters.
Live peacefully.
If this had been another world, maybe he would have traveled instead.
Visited places he’d never seen.
But in a world filled with pirates?
Forget it.
He’d probably end up dead before spending even half his money.
There was another reason too.
Karl had always leaned slightly toward fatalism.
In his eyes, Devil Fruits were treasures born from the sea.
And the sea was inseparable from the Great Pirate Era.
If the age itself was a gigantic storm, then Devil Fruits were the currents at its center.
The moment someone ate one, they became tied to that storm forever.
Karl believed that consuming a Devil Fruit would inevitably drag him into the tides of history.
No matter what choices he made afterward.
He could become a Marine.
He could become a pirate.
Or he could sink beneath the waves.
But he would never again be an ordinary person.
And for someone who had chosen a quiet life, that possibility was unacceptable.
That was why he had hidden the fruit beneath his bed.
And why he had sworn not to eat it unless he was truly cornered.
But now…
That promise was being broken.
“Is it really that awful?”
Karl asked again.
“Yep.”
Luffy nodded seriously.
“It’s awful.”
“Compared to what we’re about to face…”
Karl picked up the fruit and examined it one final time.
“Can a bad taste really matter that much?”
He smiled.
“What do you think, Luffy?”
“Huh?”
Luffy blinked.
“We?”
His eyes suddenly widened.
“Does that mean you’re joining my crew?”
“Don’t get excited yet.”
Karl rolled his eyes.
Lifting the fruit slightly, he pointed at it.
“That depends on whether this thing cooperates.”
“Whether I’m qualified to become your crewmate…”
“Let’s leave that decision to the fruit.”
“You’re already my crewmate!”
Luffy immediately protested.
“I decided that a long time ago!”
“I don’t need some fruit to tell me!”
“But someone as weak as me doesn’t deserve to board your ship.”
Karl’s gaze sharpened.
“Luffy.”
“Did you already forget what you promised me last night?”
“We’re going to challenge the entire world.”
“And if we want to accomplish everything we’ve talked about…”
“We need strength.”
“The greatest strength.”
“I’ll become stronger!”
Luffy clenched both fists tightly.
“I’ll become the strongest!”
“Karl, you don’t need to eat it.”
“Once you do, you’ll never be able to swim again.”
Then his face became extremely serious.
“And besides…”
“And besides…”
“This thing tastes really awful.”
“I wasn’t exaggerating.”
After spending an entire night talking with Luffy, Karl had become accustomed to his strange logic.
“If possible…”
“I want to become stronger too.”
A smile appeared on his face.
“Because that’s my dream.”
“If this fruit gives me power…”
“Then let’s walk this road together.”
“But if…”
His voice softened.
“If it’s worthless…”
“Then I’ll leave that dream in your hands.”
“Carry it across every sea.”
“Luffy.”
Karl raised the Devil Fruit.
Without the slightest hesitation, he bit into it.
At the same time, a silent prayer echoed in his heart.
If you’re really there…
Then help me this once.
The next second—
“Gahhh!”
A taste beyond description exploded inside his mouth.
Every nerve in his body screamed.
Every muscle recoiled.
Every cell delivered the same verdict.
Disgusting.
Absolutely disgusting.
Yet Karl forced himself not to spit it out.
One bite.
Then another.
And another.
He kept chewing.
Kept swallowing.
Until eventually his legs gave out beneath him.
He dropped to his knees.
Tears streamed from his eyes.
Snot ran down his face.
His entire body trembled.
“Karl!”
Luffy had been watching nervously from the beginning.
“What happened?”
“Was it a good one?”
By now, he understood exactly what Karl was trying to do.
If the fruit turned out to be useless, Karl truly intended to entrust his dream to someone else.
And Luffy didn’t want that.
He didn’t want to lose a companion like Karl.
Slowly, Karl wiped his face clean.
Then he laughed.
“You were right.”
“It really is disgusting.”
“What kind is it?”
Luffy immediately leaned forward.
His curiosity was impossible to hide.
Karl slowly lifted his head.
A smile spread across his face.
“A Paramecia.”
“The Machine-Machine Fruit.”
For a brief moment, silence filled the room.
Then Karl laughed.
“So the gods really did hear me.”
His gaze locked onto Luffy.
The light in his eyes had never been brighter.
“In that case…”
A grin slowly spread across his face.
“Let’s shake the entire world.”
“Captain!!!”