“We’re about to arrive at Loguetown.
We’ll restock our supplies here, and then we can head straight for the Grand Line,” Carina said lightheartedly, holding a sea chart.
Since meeting Buggy and plundering his treasure, their ship, the Voyager, had hardly docked anywhere.
They had been sailing at full speed toward the Grand Line.
But once they reached Loguetown, they needed to resupply.
There was very little food left on the ship.
If they didn’t restock now, they wouldn’t make it to the entrance of the Grand Line.
The only reason they had lasted this long was because their crew was so small and they didn’t consume much.
Otherwise, the supplies on board would have run out long ago.
Kuro stood to the side.
After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Captain, our crew only has four people right now.
Are we going straight to the Grand Line like this?
Shouldn’t we recruit some more hands in Loguetown first?”
In his view, the Grand Line was extremely dangerous.
With too few people, they would inevitably run into trouble.
Moge leaned against the railing and slowly blew a smoke ring.
“If we find the right people, we can recruit them.
But the overall level of pirates in the East Blue is just too low.
Most of them are insignificant small fry, so there’s no need to waste our time.
Once we reach the Grand Line, we can take our time recruiting.”
He actually had his own plans.
He wasn’t like Luffy, venturing into the Grand Line with just a few companions.
He intended to gradually expand the crew.
Even recruiting some low-level cannon fodder would help with chores and dealing with ordinary grunts.
But the pirates in the East Blue were indeed too weak to be of much use.
It wouldn’t be too late to look for crew members once they entered the Grand Line.
Hearing this, Kuro immediately nodded and replied, “Okay, I understand.” Since Moge had his own ideas, he didn’t say anything more.
Part 2: A Gift for Kuro
Moge smiled, casually pulled a Devil Fruit from his coat, and held it out to Kuro.
“Kuro, do you want to eat this?
It’s a Zoan-type fruit, the Forest Wolf Model.”
He had snatched this Devil Fruit from a gang stronghold earlier and had forgotten to ask Kuro about it.
Now, taking this opportunity, he brought it out for him.
It was precisely because he had stolen this Devil Fruit that the Marines had issued a bounty on him.
The official reason was that he caused a ruckus in town and seized a massive amount of treasure, estimated at over a billion Berries.
In the end, his bounty was set at 17.8 million Berries.
Moge still felt speechless thinking about it.
He had clearly only gone for the Devil Fruit, but he was unexpectedly framed for stealing a billion Berries in treasure.
It was likely some corrupt noble trying to balance their books by pinning all their deficits on him.
When he first saw his bounty poster, he wanted to go back and settle the score, but the others talked him out of it, so he let it go.
Kuro stared at the Devil Fruit Moge was handing him, completely stunned.
His voice stuttered slightly, “Cap…
Captain, is this really for me?”
He truly couldn’t believe that just a few days after joining the crew, Moge would give him something so precious.
This was a Devil Fruit, hailed as a secret treasure of the sea that countless pirates dreamed of.
Even a common Zoan fruit was enough to drive people mad.
“Yes, it’s for you,” Moge nodded with a smile.
“If you don’t want to eat a Zoan fruit, that’s fine.
You can wait until we find a more suitable one later.
But honestly, this fruit suits you quite well.
Your close-combat skills are already good.
Combining your Silent Step with this Forest Wolf Fruit will significantly enhance your physical strength, speed, and explosive power.
Your strength will definitely reach a whole new level.”
Moge was telling the truth.
Kuro himself wasn’t weak and was a speed-oriented fighter.
With the boost from a Devil Fruit, his physical capabilities would see a massive improvement, and his strength would surely leap forward.
Furthermore, Moge planned to find a way to get the training methods for the Marines’ Six Powers.
If Kuro could learn the Six Powers and combine them with Haki training, reaching the level of a Tobi Roppo in the future would be no problem at all.
However, becoming as strong as an Emperor’s Top Deputy would likely be difficult unless his Devil Fruit awakened.
Hearing this, Kuro also knew how well the fruit suited him, but he still hesitated.
“Captain, I’ve only been here for a few days.
Is it really okay for you to give me a Devil Fruit?”
“Hahaha!” Moge laughed heartily and tossed the Devil Fruit directly to Kuro.
“Since you’ve joined my crew, you’re one of us—a companion!
Just take it.
It’s just a Devil Fruit, not something you need to stress over.”
Carina, standing nearby, curled her lip and said, “Exactly, Kuro.
It’s just a Devil Fruit.
Don’t be so hesitant.
There’s no need to overthink it.”
Part 3: The Transformation
Kuro caught the Devil Fruit, his fingertips tracing its rough surface.
He was deeply moved.
As a newcomer who had just joined the crew, to receive such generous treatment…
it seemed his decision to follow Moge was truly the right choice.
He looked up, his eyes resolute.
“Captain, thank you!
I won’t let you down!”
With that, he no longer hesitated and took a large bite of the Devil Fruit.
But in the next second, his expression changed drastically.
His brows furrowed, his mouth twitched, and his face twisted in pure agony.
The indescribably strange, disgusting taste of the Devil Fruit instantly filled his mouth.
However, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to swallow the pulp.
“Hahaha!
Look at your face!
It must taste absolutely awful!” Watching his distorted expression, Carina couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
She teasingly asked, “Well?
Is it even worse than you imagined?”
Kuro suppressed the awful taste in his mouth, kept a cold face, and pretended to be calm.
“It’s fine.”
“Tch, stop acting!” Carina curled her lip and ruthlessly mocked him.
“Stop forcing it.
I saw everything.
Your face completely twisted when you swallowed it.
It clearly tastes like death!”
Kuro didn’t argue; he just stood silently to the side.
Then, his body began to swell, transforming into a three-meter-tall werewolf covered in thick gray fur.
He began to experiment with the three stages of transformation: Human Form, Beast Form, and Human-Beast Form, practicing various martial arts movements to test his limits.
After a while, his body returned to its normal Human Form.
He adjusted his collar and said, “Captain, my strength has at least doubled, and my physical constitution has been greatly enhanced.”
Moge nodded.
“Yeah, I can tell.
For the coming period, get used to your fruit abilities, train your body, and learn Haki.”
“Yes, I’ll work hard,” Kuro said, habitually pushing up his glasses with the palm of his hand.
His next goal was to master Beginner Armament Haki.
Otherwise, even with his new fruit powers, he would never be able to keep up with the Captain’s pace.