Chapter 190: The Mark-Mark Fruit
"Ugh..."
"Lord Jack!"
Hearing the call, Vander Decken IX finally snapped out of his daze. His eyes darted nervously before he quickly said,
"Lord Jack, I've admired the Beasts Pirates for a long time!"
"I've always wanted to join your crew. Meeting you today is the greatest honor of my life!"
"Bring the ship closer!"
Thud!
"Ugh..."
Just as Vander Decken was about to continue his groveling, a sharp pain struck his chest. He instinctively reached to feel it, his hands now covered in blood, before collapsing heavily onto the ground.
"Sorry, but even as pirates, we have our limits!"
"We don't accept freaks like you."
After decisively killing Vander Decken, Jack turned his cold gaze toward the still-sobbing giant, Wadatsumi.
King Neptune rushed over. Seeing Decken's lifeless body, he pointed at Jack, shouting,
"You...!"
"How could you kill him?"
"Huh?" Jack tilted his head, looking at Neptune in confusion.
Neptune, visibly agitated, continued,
"Even if he committed grave crimes, he didn't deserve to die! We could have imprisoned him instead!"
"To take someone's life so casually—isn't that far too cruel?"
"...I really hate dealing with idiots like you."
"King Neptune!" Jack's voice boomed, his tone sharp. "Remember who you're talking to!"
"Do you even know who I am? Watch your tone!"
Hearing Jack's reprimand, Neptune immediately straightened up and bowed deeply.
"My sincerest apologies!"
Thud!
Jack stepped onto Vander Decken's corpse, staring at Neptune with a face devoid of emotion.
"When I say I'll knock the crap out of you, I mean it literally."
Sweat dripped from Neptune's brow as he lowered his head in fear.
Watching from atop Hoe, Tom stroked his beard, his expression thoughtful.
"Captain Decken! Captain Decken!"
"You..."
"I'll kill you all!"
After crying loudly for some time, Wadatsumi finally calmed down. But upon seeing Decken's corpse, he let out a wail and grabbed the body. Realizing his captain was truly dead, Wadatsumi erupted in a furious rage.
Despite his enormous size and overwhelming strength, Wadatsumi was nothing more than a sitting duck against Jack.
For the first time, Jack found himself appreciating the advantages of being smaller. After toying with Wadatsumi for a while, Jack struck the giant's head so hard it resembled a bloated Buddha statue.
"Congratulations to the host for successfully boarding the ship. As the host has not drawn any rewards for an extended period, the system has automatically extracted one. Congratulations, host, on obtaining a rare reward: the Mark-Mark Fruit!"
"Host can retrieve it at will."
The Mark-Mark Fruit?
Jack's lips curled into a smirk. This was an unexpected surprise.
Based on Neptune's description, Jack was already aware of the fruit's ability: once someone was touched by the user, any object thrown by the user would lock onto them like a homing missile. It was practically a cheat code.
If the user possessed immense stamina, they could even throw an island! What kind of destruction would that cause?
Jack couldn't help but imagine someone touched by the Mark-Mark Fruit sneaking into Mary Geoise... only for the user to throw Wano at them!
Even without an entire island, the fruit was perfect for precision attacks.
Jack hesitated. Should he eat the fruit?
Aside from a few special Devil Fruits, physical-type ones like this required great stamina. Without a strong physique, it would be a waste.
Jack was confident in his ability to fully develop the fruit's potential. Yet, he decided against eating it.
"I'm a tank—a brawler. A fruit like this doesn't suit me. It's better for someone else."
A specific face appeared in Jack's mind. If he ate it, it'd be perfect. If he refused? Well, Jack would just force him to eat it.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Wadatsumi, still sniffling, cried out,
"Captain Decken!"
"Shut up!" Jack barked, floating beside Wadatsumi, his tone impatient.
"That perverted captain of yours is dead now!"
"I'll give you two choices:
"Join him in death...
"Or get yourself a new captain!"
"...Huh?"
Wadatsumi froze. He raised his fist in anger, only to end up sprawled on the seafloor again, sporting a fresh set of lumps on his head.
Just as Jack was about to finish him off, Finder approached, whispering,
"Lord Jack, may I try persuading him?"
"Wadatsumi may be huge, but his personality and intelligence are like that of a child. Let me talk to him."
After a moment's thought, Jack nodded in agreement. "Fine."
A giant like Wadatsumi was rare. Even if he wasn't useful in battle, he'd make an excellent construction worker.
Finder's persuasion worked wonders. After throwing Decken's corpse into the sea and mourning for three seconds, Wadatsumi walked over to Jack with a hopeful expression.
"Captain Jack, Finder said if I joined your crew, I could eat as much roast meat as I wanted! Is that true?"
Seeing Wadatsumi clutch his hands to his chest with a childlike gleam in his eyes, Jack turned his head away, muttering,
"It's true. Stick with me, and you'll never go hungry."
...
Back at Ryugu Palace,
Neptune called his sons and daughter to personally thank Jack.
"Thank you, Jack!"
Looking at Shirahoshi, whose towering figure was nearly as tall as his own, Jack suddenly recalled Vander Decken's scrawny frame.
What the hell were you thinking, creep?
Jack shook his head.
'I was eight years old and already two meters tall. Now I'm eight meters. This princess is at least six meters now. When she turns eighteen, she'll be ten meters tall, minimum.'
'How was that ever gonna work, you psycho?'
Tom ultimately decided to follow Jack to Onigashima.
Both Den and King Neptune had already told him about the Beasts Pirates' deeds, and after observing Jack, Tom was genuinely curious.
But just as they bid farewell to Neptune, Jack heard news from his nephew, Zeo, that left him stunned.
"What did you just say? Queen Otohime was killed by Hody Jones?"
"And you guys were involved too?"
Seeing Zeo nod seriously, Jack raised a thumb in approval.
"Nephew, I gotta hand it to you—you've got guts!"
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg