One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 218 You two, do you dare to fight?
"Yo ho ho ho—why is everyone so quiet? Are you all too happy to see me?"

Brooke landed gracefully, casually tipping her hat to the golden cloud beside her.

"Yes, yes! I'm really happy, Brooke!"

Luffy nodded vigorously and said sincerely.

“.”*N
But apart from him, the other members of the Straw Hat crew clearly didn't think that way.

"That mask."

At this moment, Zoro, who had been resting against a rock, straightened up.

He, who was always the calmest in the team, was now unusually tense, looking at the monkey face mask on the man's head next to Brooke with an indescribable complexity in his eyes.

He recalled the man named 'Hai Zhu' that he had seen in Shimotsuki Village just before setting sail.

The other party made him truly see the vastness of the sea and the true power of the sea.

To be even more precise, whenever Zoro felt complacent about his own strength after setting sail, the thought of the power his opponent displayed in Shimotsuki Village would always make him suppress that complacency.

Although the other party was not a swordsman, he had become the target of his pursuit of power.

"."

At that moment, Sanji, who had just finished reading the newspaper, looked at the monkey head mask with a complicated expression, his lips moving as if he wanted to ask something.

As for Nami and Usopp at the end...
"Ahhh."

As one of the few members of the cowardly duo and the Straw Hat crew who possesses common sense.

At this moment, they also vaguely realized the man's identity, but they couldn't believe it no matter what.

"Bubububuluke, this guy... wait, no! This gentleman..."

Usopp nervously uttered half a sentence, but became submissive after Nami pinched his hand hard.

"I have something to take care of right now, you can go ahead as you please."

As Usopp finished speaking, the man in the monkey-head mask casually patted the golden cloud behind him.

The latter shot into the sky in an instant, disappearing into the clouds.

After Jin Yun flew away, the man turned around and said casually, "I don't like conventions, you can just call me Shen Hou."

He was small in stature, but spoke in a loud and enthusiastic tone.

"Shen Shen Monkey!?"

Upon hearing this iconic code name, Nami and Usopp, whose guesses were finally confirmed, felt their legs go weak.

We were just talking about the twelve constellations, and then a top official of the twelve constellations actually appeared in front of us?
Although it was a code name I'd never heard of before, the average bounty on the top executives of that organization was over 20 billion!

"Haha! Your name is interesting—you must be Brooke's friend, let's have a party together!"

"Luffy!!?" *2
The invitation from a certain eccentric captain caused the two, who were already extremely tense, to glare at each other angrily.

But at that moment, Shenhou glanced at Luffy.

"You're an interesting kid."

Then he burst into laughter: "I happen to be hungry too. Since there's a banquet, I certainly won't miss it."

But after saying that, he glanced at the mess around him and said, "However, for a banquet, this place is rather rough as a venue."

After saying that, he pointed his finger at the ground and said, "Change."

As the words fell.

A ray of golden light flew out from his hand, scattering into a rain of light that fell on the surrounding ground.

next moment.
"clatter!"

"Click!"

Then, the rocks on the ground suddenly sprouted arms and legs, pattering as they walked to the group. In a moment, they transformed into a round table and a series of exquisite stools, one of which even added firewood to the fire for roasting the meat.

Each blade of grass picked up the brush that Sanji had just thrown on the ground and began to imitate Sanji brushing sauce on the grilled meat, serving the food in batches.

"This is more like it."

Shenhou said this with a smile, and then sat down in the chair in front of him.

"Oh!!"

Seeing this, Luffy's eyes lit up instantly.

"Crackling sound—it's an ability user."

"Hehehehehe, even we have chairs?"

Dongli and Brogy, who did not recognize Shenhou, looked at the huge stone that had turned into a chair next to them and sat down, laughing heartily.

The other members of the Straw Hat crew had different expressions upon seeing this.

Rumors have long circulated on the high seas that the top executives of the Twelve Constellations are all incredibly powerful individuals.

Hearing about it is one thing, but seeing it with your own eyes is another.

"Why are we suddenly having a banquet with that person from the twelve zodiac signs?"

Nami's voice trembled; she was completely speechless at Luffy's ramblings.

"There's nothing we can do about it, it's Luffy after all."

But at that moment, Zoro stood up instead.

He stretched, exchanged a glance with Sanji, and then they each went to the table and sat down.

"Hey! You guys... really... you're all messing around!"

Nami and Usopp exchanged a glance, and both felt like crying but had no tears left to shed.

They just felt they must have been out of their minds to choose to go to sea with these guys.

But now that things have come to this, there's clearly nothing they can do, no matter how afraid they are.

At this moment, the two of them had no choice but to walk to the table.

So the interrupted banquet continued.

However, it is quite obvious that—compared to before, apart from the carefree Luffy still saying, 'Brook, play a song in a bit,'...

Everyone else, even the two giants, looked at Brook and Shen with some curiosity.

"Brook, you said this Mr. Shenhou is your benefactor's colleague, doesn't that mean you're one of the twelve zodiac signs?"

This is clearly the issue that a normal person like Nami cares about most.

"This food is so delicious, it's almost melting on my tongue—oh, even though I'm a skeleton and don't have a tongue, yo-ho-ho-ho~"

Upon hearing this, Brooke became slightly more serious after his usual skull joke.

"Yes. I didn't get permission beforehand, so it's not convenient for me to tell everyone."

He said sincerely, "My benefactor is Mr. Chenlong, one of the highest officials of the Twelve Constellations—I owe him a debt of gratitude that I can never repay in my lifetime."

"Chenchenlong?"

Upon hearing this code name, Usopp swallowed hard.

Compared to the relatively unfamiliar 'Shenhou', this code name is obviously much more familiar on the sea—a monster who killed two top-tier Shichibukai and whose bounty has reached 25 billion.

Was the place they had passed through actually the stronghold of those guys?
At that moment, Brook was clearly not paying much attention to Usopp's expression.

He continued, "Although I am not a member of the Twelve Constellations, I am considered a 'guest' of the organization. Not long ago, I informed Mr. Chenlong of my intention to join you through a Den Den Mushi, and he readily agreed. It just so happens that Mr. Shenhou is nearby, so he brought me here."

At this point, he sighed, "What a coincidence of fate, isn't it—Lord Shenhou, yo ho ho ho!"

"really."

At that moment, Shenhou, who was also eating dinosaur meat, nodded: "I didn't expect that either."

It's worth mentioning that he ate dinosaur meat in a very special way—when he brought the fragrant roasted meat to his mouth, the mask on his head seemed to come alive, opening a gap on its own, through which there appeared to be a thin veil for concealment.

However, at this moment, Shenhou's words were indeed sincere.

He hadn't expected that he had only recently made up his mind to search for Luffy's whereabouts.

As a result, no sooner had Chenlong left the Abyss than he received a call from Brook, who informed him that Luffy had already passed Whiskey Peak.

That's how this meeting in the small garden came about.

The user of the Devil Fruit has been identified as 'Monkey D. Luffy'.

[The Devil Fruit has been confirmed as 'Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Nikka form', and is currently being analyzed and stored in 'Devil Fruit Encyclopedia'.]

[Devil Fruit Ability - Grants the body rubber-like properties and absolute freedom]

[Effects at Each Level]

[LV3: Gain all Devil Fruit effects, body becomes rubber, can freely extend body and fight using the elasticity of rubber, requires 3 million Berries to unlock]

[LV4: Deep development of the Devil Fruit. It can activate Gear 2 by compressing the blood flow rate in the body and stimulating the organs. It can activate Gear 3 by blowing air into the body to create a 'bone balloon'. It can activate Gear 4 by wrapping the body in Armament Haki in Gear 3. It requires 2 billion Berries to unlock.]

[LV5: Fruit Awakening - Nika Form, activates the true power of the fruit, transforming into the legendary liberator 'Nika', the warrior of absolute freedom. The fruit's ability is fundamentally enhanced, gaining the unique flame cloud of a Zoan type. Vitality and strength are greatly increased, and the ability to rubberize any attack or object it touches can be freely transformed into any desired form and weapon. This state consumes a huge amount of stamina and requires 800 billion Berries to permanently unlock.]

[The Drum of Desire, Freedom, and Liberation]

[The Drum of Liberation can be struck through the heart. The sound of the Drum of Liberation can restore physical strength and vitality to their peak after they have been depleted to the limit. However, striking the Drum of Liberation multiple times in a short period of time will consume lifespan.]

When the drums of liberation sound, all allies, including oneself, will gain 'freedom' and their bodies will no longer be 'bound' by anything.

[Analysis Progress: Completed]

And without a doubt—at this moment, Shenhou has already achieved his goal in coming here.

During the banquet, the Fruit Encyclopedia had already completed its analysis of the Nika fruit.

More importantly
"To grant 'freedom' to everyone"

"That's exactly what it is."

The information about the Nika fruit in the fruit encyclopedia also allowed Shenhou to completely confirm his guess.

The Nika Fruit is the 'freedom of the body' mentioned in Davy Jones's last words.

However, there was no time for Shenhou to think about it further.

"Uncle Monkey".

At that moment, he heard Luffy's voice beside him. "Hmm? What's up—kid?"

He turned to look at Luffy—by the way, what kind of weird nickname is "Uncle Monkey"?

"Sanji seems to want to ask you about that Jeruba thing."

While chewing on a piece of meat, Luffy said, "Can you tell us what's going on?"

"Pfft!" *N
As soon as he said that, the rest of the Straw Hat crew immediately spat out the meat in their mouths.

"Luluffy!? What...what nonsense are you talking about!?"

At this moment, even Sanji himself was stunned, and he didn't even have the mind to complain about Luffy's way of addressing Germa.

Yes—he did want to ask about the situation.

But he hesitated whether he should ask the question at this time.

After all, the other party is one of the twelve constellations. If his questioning arouses the other party's suspicion or dissatisfaction and leads to war, it would be a huge danger to his companions.

"Gulp, Sanji—if you want to ask, of course you should ask."

But at that moment, Luffy swallowed the meat in his mouth and looked at Sanji with a chuckle.

obviously.

Although he is usually unreliable and off-track.

But when it comes to matters concerning his companions, he possesses a sensitivity far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Oh?"

At this moment, Shenhou looked at Sanji thoughtfully after hearing this: "I just remembered, not long ago that lazy tiger told me - you are Vinsmoke Sanji, the third prince of Germa who betrayed his country and left, right?"

Upon hearing this, Sanji's expression instantly froze.

But Shenhou seemed completely unconcerned, simply picking at his ear and blowing on it casually: "I guess you want to ask about your sister. She's still alive, and might come looking for you again in a while."

Upon hearing Shenhou's words, Sanji's body relaxed at a visible speed.

Reiju is still alive.

He seemed relieved and slowly took a drag of his cigarette: "That's good."

"Huh!?" *N
But at this moment, the Straw Hat crew was in an uproar.

"A prince!? Sanji!?"

Nami's eyes widened.

"That lecherous kappa actually..."

Zoro was also visibly surprised.

"Wait, if Sanji is the prince of the Germa Kingdom, doesn't that mean the Twelve Constellations destroyed his country? Wait, I remember that even the king and prince of Germa died, who were Sanji's father and brother?"

Usopp reacted extremely quickly at this moment, immediately realizing this crucial issue.

"Hey, hey, don't talk nonsense!"

At that moment, Sanji calmly shook his head: "I am Sanji, not 'Vinsmoke Sanji'."

He thought of his so-called 'father' and three 'brothers', his words icy.

So at this moment, he also took the initiative to look at Shenhou: "I don't consider those guys to be my family."

This is clearly a statement of attitude.

He had neither the interest nor the obligation to avenge those people.

"Hehe! Tiger did tell me that you would most likely make this choice—but if you want to take action, I don't mind. It's rare for me to come out, and I'm itching to get my hands dirty."

Upon hearing this, Shenhou chuckled.

At this point, he suddenly looked up at Donley and Brogy in front of him: "Well, speaking of which—those two big guys over there, aren't they Elbaf's 'Blue Oni' and 'Red Oni'?"

"Crackling and clattering!"

Upon hearing Shenhou's question, Brogy, who had been calmly eating dinosaur meat, burst into laughter and said, "You know about me and Dongli?"

"Of course—besides bringing the skeleton here, I came to this island specifically to see you."

Shenhou grinned and said, "I have two things I'd like to ask you two for help with."

Upon hearing this, Dongli asked with some curiosity, "What is it?"

Not only him, but the Straw Hat crew were also quite curious at this moment.

They were well aware, of course, that Brogy and Donley had not been at sea for over a hundred years.

But judging from today's situation, the twelve constellations not only know they are on this island, but also have something to ask of them?
“I have a colleague who may go to Elbaf in a while. He hopes to meet with the people in charge of Elbaf and ask them some questions.”

"What I need to ask is that if it is convenient for you, could you please introduce him to someone?"

Shenhou said this.

Upon hearing this, Dorry and Brogy exchanged a glance: "The one in power? You mean King Harald?"

"No, could it be Chief Yaruru and Chief Yoruru?"

Shenhou: "."

He had completely forgotten that these two hadn't returned to Elbaf for over a hundred years, so they were naturally unaware of the specifics.

But in fact, what he said was another reason for his visit to the small garden.

Roy was very curious about Elbaf.

After all, based on the original work, Elbaf clearly has many secrets from the past—their ancient history and the legendary Devil Fruit passed down by the giant royal family, both of which are quite attractive to Roy.

Now, Roy has learned two more pieces of information.

Firstly, after leaving the Valley of the Gods, Rocks' whereabouts were uncertain.

What is certain is that his last public appearance was in Elbaf, and he most likely told someone in Elbaf some of his things.

Secondly, there's what I saw on the mural not long ago.

They were one of only two races to receive a 'wish' from Davy Jones during the Void Century.

Roy was very interested in both pieces of news.

However, as mentioned before, Elbaf itself is not a member state of the World Government, and although it is not as extremely closed off as Wano Country, it has not been very welcoming to outsiders in recent years.

Therefore, Dorry and Brogy in front of him naturally became the best bridge for Roy to contact Elbaf.

"Crackling sound!"

"Jie Jie Jie Jie Jie!"

"Oh, so that's what happened." *2
At that moment, Brogy and Dorry burst into laughter again after a brief moment of confusion.

"But who are you looking for? Elbaf is a hospitable country, and of course we'll welcome enthusiastic friends!"*2
Unaware of the changes that have occurred on the sea over the years, they all said in unison, "Of course we are willing to introduce you."

"but."

And just as they got to this point in their conversation...
"Boom!"

The ground of the entire small garden began to tremble violently.

So the two of them immediately stopped talking.

Their gaze was fixed on the center of the island.

There—a massive volcano—is erupting lava.

Then, the two looked at each other, their eyes instantly turning sharp.

"Not yet."

As they said this, they each picked up their weapons.

"We cannot return to Elbaf until our duel is decided—it is the honor of a warrior."

At this moment, the Straw Hat crew below naturally understood what the two giants meant.

Not long ago, the two giants had already told them.

The reason they stayed here was to complete a duel.

And every eruption of the volcano in the middle of the island is the signal for the start of the duel!

But
"Of course I know."

Just then, they heard the man named 'Shenhou' speak again.

"This is the second thing I've come here for."

He raised his head and looked at the two giants who had turned around in confusion.

"I've heard that two giants are engaged in a glorious duel here that has lasted for a century."

He smiled and said, "I'm very interested in that."

He wore a sea monster mask, so no one could see his expression beneath it.

But from the tone of his voice at that moment, almost everyone could tell.

That feeling of excitement.

"You two were the previous captains of the 'Giant Warrior Pirates,' and should be among the strongest warriors of the current giant race."

As Shenhou spoke, his fighting spirit grew ever stronger.

“I’ve heard of the tradition in Elbaf—when disputes or disagreements arise, warriors can settle their differences through duels, and the victor’s version is considered correct.”

Just as mentioned before.

Elbaf, the land of giants, is the 'land of warriors'.

"Coincidentally, among the twelve constellations, I am also the strongest 'warrior'."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand and pointed at the two giants.

"So—you two, do you dare to have a fight?"

"If I defeat you, you shall immediately cease hostilities and return to Elbaf, shall you?"

(End of this chapter)