Chapter 121: The Birth of the Castle Ghost

Adrian lowered his head slightly and carefully examined the mini-ship spirit that had been born from the pirate ship 'Oro Jackson' in the palm of his hand.

Despite its small size, the spirit's appearance matched closely to the descriptions found in ancient tales. A scarlet raincoat, mirroring the ship's sails, adorned its form. Clutched in its hand was a tiny wooden hammer, and its hood concealed most of its face, revealing only a fair, sharply defined chin.

The spirit's entire body shimmered with a faint blue energy, and delicate light particles danced around it. The severe damage inflicted upon the Oro Jackson seemed to have left its mark on the ship spirit as well. Now, curled up and resting in Adrian's palm, it bore subtle signs of injury.

An idea sparked within Adrian's mind. He raised his left hand, summoning a small ball of ghostly energy at the tip of his index finger. The ball extended a thin, half-real, glowing tendril, reaching out to touch the scarlet raincoat draped over the spirit.

Silent waves rippled outward.

With a constant infusion of ghostly energy, the ship spirit's condition visibly improved.

'It's like nurturing a small pet,' Adrian mused, his lips curling in amusement.

Adrian suddenly had a strange thought in his mind, and he couldn't help but curl his lips.

The scene also elicited joy from Mr. Tom. "Ha ha ha ha ha! Great, White Ghost! In all my years, I've never encountered a genuine ship spirit. I'd always believed them to be mere myths among Water 7's shipwrights!"

Adrian remained composed. "Perhaps my unique abilities play a role," he replied. "Apologies, Mr. Tom, but this ship spirit remains fragile due to its past ordeals. Might there be a quieter room where it can rest?"

Mr. Tom hurriedly assured Adrian, "No problem! No problem! I'll leave you be. I guarantee no one will disturb you!"

With those words, Mr. Tom departed, shaking his head in wonder as he went.

Adrian remained rooted in place, channeling ghost energy into the ship spirit. As time flowed, the spirit's condition steadily improved. Its once diminutive form now stretched out, growing before Adrian's eyes. The crimson raincoat that enveloped it—leaving only its hands and feet exposed—featured two white waves reminiscent of the Roger Pirates' flag.

When the spirit reached a length of about thirty centimeters, it finally stirred.

"Oh my, what's happening to me…" the ship spirit murmured, its tone laced with confusion.

"How does it feel to wake up?"

A strange voice near its ear startled it, causing it to flutter upward.

At that moment, the spirit noticed the ethereal energy tentacle connected to its body. It sensed the constant 'nourishment' flowing through this conduit.

Following the tentacle's path, the spirit gazed up at the speaker—the owner of the voice.

Naturally, it inquired, "Oh my! Who are you?"

"I'm Adrian. Is your name Oro Jackson?"

"No, Oro Jackson is the ship's name, oh my." The spirit shook its head. "Roger preferred to call me 'Rumi,' so that's my name, oh my."

With a charming quirk in its speech, the ship spirit seemed oddly endearing.

Adrian pressed further. "So the Roger Pirates were already aware of your existence?"

Rumi replied, "Actually, only Roger could 'hear' my presence. His unique ability, 'Listen to the Voices of All Things,' allowed him to directly perceive the 'spiritual voices' of other beings."

Adrian nodded in understanding.

The ship spirit possessed an inherently shy personality, preferring to remain hidden from other beings. Even among companions with whom it spent day and night, the spirit would only reveal itself during truly critical moments—much like the later ship, Merry.

Mid-conversation, Rumi's attention shifted to the dilapidated Oro Jackson, anchored on the surface of a water pond. Memories of its experiences before falling into slumber resurfaced within its heart.

"Oh my, thank you for saving me," Rumi expressed gratefully.

Adrian smiled slightly, "Rumi, what do you wish to do now?"

What indeed?

Initially, Rumi wanted to say it wanted to continue accompanying the pirate crew on their journey, but suddenly realized that both Roger's Pirate Crew and the Oro Jackson were no more.

Momentarily perplexed, the ship spirit hesitated.

"If you have nowhere else to go, why not join me?" Adrian suggested. "Allow me to formally introduce myself—I'm a rookie pirate."

"You?" Rumi hesitated, unable to think of a better alternative. "Okay."

As Adrian prepared to lead Rumi away, he noticed her wistful gaze fixed upon the location of the Oro Jackson. Inspiration struck.

He inquired, "Rumi, would you like to continue live in the Oro Jackson?"

Rumi regained her senses and shook her head. "It's impossible, oh yes… The Oro Jackson lies in ruins, unable to sail any longer."

"Even though it can't sail, there's a way to keep the Oro Jackson close."

With these words, Adrian raised his right palm, revealing a deep gray Devil Fruit adorned with Celtic spiral patterns. This was the 'Castle Fruit' he had obtained some time ago—a reward from the system.

(A/N: A small patch)

{T/N: This author is really-}

Adrian's plan involved feeding the awakened 'Ship Spirit' the 'Castle Fruit.'

Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?

Rumi fluttered over, her curiosity piqued by the Devil Fruit. "Oh yes, is this a Devil Fruit?"

"Yes," Adrian explained. "This is the Paramecia-type Castle Devil Fruit. Its allows the user to transform their body into a fortress, capable of shrinking and storing other objects within."

"Adrian, are you going to eat this fruit?" Rumi asked. "But you already have ability, don't you?"

Adrian shook his head, then nodded. "True, I am already a user of the Ghost Fruit ability. So, it's not for me but you, Rumi. You will eat this Devil Fruit."

"Me?" Rumi's surprise was evident. "Can a ship spirit eat of a Devil Fruit?"

"Do you not like Devil Fruit powers, Rumi? I heard that members of Roger's Pirate Crew were all non-Devil Fruit users."

"It's not that. It just feels a bit strange for a ship spirit to consume a Devil Fruit, you know..."

"It's okay. You are not going to actually eat the fruit but you are actually taking the power of devil residing within the fruit!"

In the end, driven by strong reluctance to leave Oro Jackson and encouraged continuously by Adrian, Rumi decided to consume the Castle Fruit.

After taking a small bite, Rumi grimaced. "Oh my! It truly does taste as awful as rumored!"