Chapter 415: Pay-to-Win Fruit and Tremor-Tremor Fruit?
Why is it that in this world, there has always been a saying that a person cannot eat two Devil Fruits?
That is because, under normal circumstances, a person only has one heart!
The reason for saying "under normal circumstances" is precisely because there are freaks like Blackbeard Teach in this world!
Back when Ian assassinated him once, the Whitebeard Pirates' ship doctor, while examining Teach, discovered that his body was abnormal—he actually had three hearts!
In fact, the heart is where the power of a Devil Fruit resides. The energy of a Devil Fruit exists within a person's heart and is then transmitted throughout the body via the blood. When a heart is already occupied by the energy of one Devil Fruit, introducing another Devil Fruit's energy would cause a conflict, leading to the ability user's death.
However, if that other Devil Fruit's energy were stored in a different heart, then there would be no problem at all.
Three hearts represent three lives, three souls, and one could even say three different people—however you put it. So, does that also mean it could represent three different Devil Fruit users?
Because the Dark-Dark Fruit had appeared in history, it was recorded in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. However, perhaps those who obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit in the past were not people with multiple hearts like Teach. So, those who got it could only use its abilities. As a result, the original user of this fruit didn't leave much of a name in history.
Teach is an arrogant man, but at the same time, he is also a meticulous schemer. When he discovered that his body had three hearts and saw the description and explanation of the Dark-Dark Fruit's abilities in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, he immediately realized that if he obtained this fruit, he might be able to unleash unexpected power.
In truth, Teach's background has always been a mystery. First of all, the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia is not some common item in this world. Not everyone can get their hands on it. Only in some prominent families passed down through generations might it be held and preserved. Where Teach saw the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, no one knows.
Secondly, and most importantly, only those very familiar with the operating principles of Devil Fruit powers would realize how uniquely advantageous three hearts are. And where did Teach learn about those principles?
Of course, at this moment, Teach himself is still somewhat uncertain whether his body can accommodate more Devil Fruit powers. This is all based on his own deductions; no one in history has proven or achieved this.
If it truly works as he deduced, then in theory, his body could hold three different Devil Fruit abilities. He could become the first in history to simultaneously possess multiple Devil Fruit powers.
But if his deduction is wrong, then the moment he eats a second Devil Fruit, his blood vessels would burst, and he would die!
The risk is enormous, but Teach is an ambitious man. To him, it's either greatness or insignificance. He doesn't hesitate to risk his life to test his theory!
This kind of behavior is utterly insane.
Among the members of the Blackbeard Pirates now, the Sheriff Laffitte, the Champion Jesus Burgess, the Sniper Van Augur, and the Death God Doc Q—any one of them, placed anywhere else, would be a proper villain or madman. Yet they have all gathered under Teach's command and become his crew because they have witnessed this madness of his.
Teach is now advancing step by step toward his plan.
The first step of his plan was to seize the Dark-Dark Fruit, because only its special ability would allow him to take the powerful Devil Fruit abilities he desired.
Generally speaking, when a Devil Fruit user dies, the Devil Fruit's energy begins to dissipate and vanish. Even if there is a "container" nearby capable of holding that energy, it can only capture a portion of it. This happened when Ian killed King Wapol of Drum Island. The apple Chopper had given him absorbed the energy of Wapol's Munch-Munch Fruit after his death, turning into a Devil Fruit, but it inevitably "degraded" into a lower-tier Eat-Eat Fruit. This prevented Dorry from being able to convert what he ate into special abilities like Wapol could.
With the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability, it's different. Teach can use its special effect of attracting Devil Fruit powers to fully capture the dissipating energy of a Devil Fruit user after death, thereby perfectly recreating that Devil Fruit!
With the Dark-Dark Fruit, it means that the world's recognized strongest Devil Fruits of each type can be taken by Teach at will. He just needs to kill a Devil Fruit user he fancies and seize their ability.
The reason he chooses to seize rather than search for existing Devil Fruits is that no one knows how long it takes for an existing Devil Fruit to reappear. For example, Teach waited over 20 years in the Whitebeard Pirates before seeing the Dark-Dark Fruit appear. So, killing a Devil Fruit user directly and taking their ability is much faster.
Originally, according to Teach's plan, his three hearts could perfectly accommodate one Logia, one Paramecia, and one Zoan Devil Fruit each. For Logia, Teach chose the Dark-Dark Fruit, so he couldn't accommodate another Logia fruit. This is because two Logia fruits have similar energy properties, and Teach felt they might conflict and kill him. But different types of Devil Fruits don't have this concern.
(This is also why, in the original story, after defeating Ace, Teach didn't take his Flame-Flame Fruit. Since Logia is recognized as the strongest Devil Fruit type, why wouldn't Teach go for dual or triple Logia? Instead, he ultimately chose Whitebeard's Paramecia Tremor-Tremor Fruit... Of course, this is just the author's speculation.)
However, Teach's plan encountered a setback. While in the Whitebeard Pirates, out of greed, he tried to get close to Ian to extract information about the Celestial Dragon identity chip. Tragically, Ian suddenly attacked and pierced one of his hearts!
If it had just been a blade piercing through, perhaps with Teach's abnormally strong physique, the heart might have had a chance to recover.
But the tragedy was that Ian used the Evil King Flame Slayer Sword at that moment. The scorching black hellfire instantly charred his heart!
One heart stopping was a huge blow to Teach, and what infuriated him even more was that it directly cost him one Devil Fruit ability.
So, whenever he thinks of this, Teach grinds his teeth in hatred toward Ian, wishing he could eat him alive.
Now, with only two hearts left, Teach is left with just one choice: either Paramecia or Zoan.
At the very beginning, Teach had a goal. He had set his sights on Whitebeard Old Man's Tremor-Tremor Fruit as his Paramecia choice. As for Zoan, he planned to obtain it last, targeting Four Emperor Kaido's Devil Fruit!
This guy not only has huge ambition but also immense guts, aiming for two Four Emperors in a row...
But now, Teach only has one choice left. Recently, he has been hesitating: should he choose Paramecia or Zoan?
If he chooses Zoan and can obtain Kaido's Devil Fruit, then once awakened, he could gain an immortal body like Kaido's. The benefit to Teach is obvious.
If he chooses Paramecia, Teach's previous target was always Whitebeard Old Man's Tremor-Tremor Fruit. But now, he has another target.
That is Ian's Pay-to-Win Fruit!