On the way back just now—
Feeling a bit bored, Will pulled out the book and decided to examine it more closely.
That's when he realized: what had been placed alongside the Devil Fruit wasn't just some random object.
It was, in fact, a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia—an item just as rare and sought-after as Devil Fruits themselves across the Grand Line.
Within its pages, detailed information on a large number of Devil Fruits was meticulously recorded.
This was the kind of treasure dreamed of by those with clear goals… or ambitious dreams that stretched across the sea.
Naturally, Will was surprised when he first saw it.
But considering it had come from the Celestial Dragons, he quickly found the whole thing very reasonable.
After all, the Celestial Dragons were the most resource-rich group in the world.
So it wasn't the least bit strange for them to carry something as valuable as this.
Take the legendary battle at God Valley, for example—
The Celestial Dragons brought along a stockpile of Devil Fruits, which in turn led to the rise of many powerful figures in the years that followed.
Will sometimes even wondered—
If a Celestial Dragon stepped out without carrying something valuable, would the others laugh at them?
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Nami and Karina had also figured out the purpose of the book in their hands.
"This is… a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia?!"
Karina, already stunned by earlier discoveries, couldn't help but gasp again in disbelief.
"I never imagined there were this many Devil Fruits out there on the sea..."
Nami, though equally shocked, felt a strange mix of greed and fear rising in her heart.
Greed—because Devil Fruits were incredibly valuable.
She thought, If we could get our hands on a few more, we'd be filthy rich!
And fear—because the sea now felt even more unpredictable.
She had this growing sense that any moment, someone who'd eaten a Devil Fruit could appear out of nowhere.
The feeling of safety she once had quickly eroded, and she instinctively scooted her chair a bit closer to Will.
Karina, still in awe, immediately turned to Will and asked curiously,
"Captain Will, have you already found this fruit's information in the encyclopedia?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Will gave a slight shake of his head and replied,
"Not yet."
He casually picked up the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and began flipping through it, saying as he did:
"Since the trip back was short, I figured I'd take a closer look once we returned."
As he searched for the corresponding fruit, he came across several familiar entries—
From the Logia-type: Smoke-Smoke Fruit, Dark-Dark Fruit, Flame-Flame Fruit...
To the Paramecia-type: Tremor-Tremor Fruit, String-String Fruit, Op-Op Fruit...
And of course, the Zoan-type: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Fish-Fish Fruit, Human-Human Fruit...
Finally, when he reached the Zoan section, he found a detailed entry that matched the fruit in his hand.
"Found it. Take a look."
He quickly scanned through the page, his expression showing a flicker of surprise, then handed the encyclopedia over to the two eager girls.
Nami and Karina hurried to take it, huddling together as they read carefully.
"Zoan-type: Cat-Cat Fruit, Mythical Beast Model—Bakeneko?!"
Karina blurted out in disbelief the moment she read the name.
"A Mythical Zoan—the rarest category among all Zoan-type fruits?!"
Nami looked equally astonished and read aloud from the entry as she continued scanning the page:
"Upon consuming this fruit, the user will gain access to two unique forms—Hybrid Form and Beast Form."
"Each form has distinct traits and is suited to different combat scenarios."
"The key differences between the Hybrid Form and Beast Form include..."
"The abilities of each form..."
Will watched as the two of them became completely absorbed in the content, and the initial flicker of surprise in his heart gradually faded away.
He hadn't expected the Devil Fruit obtained from the Celestial Dragons to be one of the rarest Mythical Zoan types.
Originally, he'd assumed it was probably a Paramecia-type, or at most, a common Zoan-type.
After all, those two categories were by far the most common across the first half of the Grand Line and the four seas surrounding it.
But Mythical Zoans were a different story altogether—so rare they were practically legendary.
Not until the Wano arc did these fruits start popping up in numbers.
Mythical Zoan: Azure Dragon Form.
Mythical Zoan: Yamata-no-Orochi Form.
Mythical Zoan: Daibutsu Form.
Mythical Zoan: Okuchi-no-Makami Form...
And of course, the one that brought smiles to faces everywhere—
The Human-Human Fruit: Mythical Beast Model—Nika.
Ever since then, Will felt that the once ultra-rare Mythical Zoans were beginning to feel... not so rare anymore.
By now, Nami and Karina had finished reading the entry on the fruit.
Karina couldn't help turning to Will again, curiosity sparkling in her eyes:
"Captain, a fruit this rare must be worth far more than any ordinary Devil Fruit..."
"What do you plan to do with it?"
Nami also turned toward him at that, her eyes gleaming with the light of Berry dreams.
Will snapped out of his thoughts.
Without hesitation, he picked up the fruit—something countless people would kill for—and said nonchalantly:
"I've got no intention of wasting time looking for a buyer just to sell it off for money."
"The only reason I brought this back was for one of you to eat it."
"To strengthen our crew as a whole."
"Eh?! You're giving it to us?!"
Karina and Nami exchanged shocked glances.
Something so rare and precious—they had assumed Will would either eat it himself or sell it for an enormous fortune.
But instead...
He was planning to let one of them eat it?
Seeing the disbelief on their faces, Will didn't bother explaining further.
With his current strength, there was no need for him to rely on a Devil Fruit to grow stronger.
Doing so would only saddle him with a major weakness.
If he had no system, no natural talent—then sure, eating a Devil Fruit would be a no-brainer.
But now?
With both a system and talent on his side—what would be the point?
Wouldn't that make the system and his natural abilities meaningless?
Besides, this so-called Devil Fruit...
How could it possibly compare to his body, forged through countless battles, or the overwhelming Haki that surged within him?
Just like Kaido once said—
Only Haki reigns supreme over all!
Will firmly believed that the only powers he could truly trust were the ones that came from within—his body and his Haki.
As for who would ultimately eat the Mythical Zoan in his hand?
He honestly didn't care much either way.
Whether it was Karina or Nami, either one could protect the other once they obtained the power of the fruit.
Not to mention, both girls were skilled swimmers.
So even if one of them accidentally fell into the sea after eating it, the other could jump in and save her in time.
That way, during future journeys, he could feel much more at ease about their safety.
In battle, he wouldn't need to split his focus, and could devote himself entirely to dealing with the increasingly powerful enemies that lay ahead.
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