Chapter 47: Rumble-Rumble Fruit

Dan spent his days wandering the streets of Birka with Mari and Yuriko, buying any Birkans specialty that caught his interest. Mari, curious about the Birkans' wing-like decorations, bought a pair to wear on her back.

As for the search for the Devil Fruit, Dan left it to the female pirates. They had some strength and experience, making them suitable for the task.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit had only been found by Enel after so many years, so it wasn't likely to be discovered easily. Dan even expanded the search to the nearby White-White Sea. It was foreseeable that the time spent searching for the fruit on this island might exceed the time they had spent traveling here.

However, staying in Birka wasn't boring. The unique culture and customs fascinated Mari. Yuriko was more reserved, but it was clear that she was also intrigued by the novel sights.

However, she likely felt that, as an adult, she shouldn't be as carefree and lively as Mari.

Dan found her restrained interest amusing.

Meanwhile, the captain of Birka's guard had been sending people to keep an eye on Dan and his group. He thought he was being discreet, but even Mari noticed their surveillance.

If it were Yukiko here, she would have already drawn her sword and killed these watchers. Mari, however, lacked such resolve. Although she was initially angry, she only thought of teaching them a lesson.

But Dan stopped her.

Could wanting to protect the people of his island be considered a fault? As long as these people didn't interfere, Dan didn't mind being followed during his outings.

Moreover, he wasn't doing anything shady.

Even if he wanted to take the Devil Fruit, it would indirectly save Birka from destruction. The Birkans should be thanking him.

Speaking of which, before finding the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Dan makes another unexpected discovery—

He found Enel himself.

However, Enel was just a newborn this year, still a suckling baby. Cultivating new forces was one of Dan's goals for this trip. Enel had great potential.

His loss to Luffy was mainly due to his fruit being countered. Without Armament Haki, he was still worth at least 500 million berries in the Blue Sea. If he learned Armament Haki, he might even stand a chance against an admiral.

Although the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was already reserved for Dan, giving Enel a different fruit would yield similar results.

Even as a baby, Enel's earlobes were unusually long, hinting at his future appearance. His mother was very frail and likely wouldn't live much longer. After learning that Dan and his group were willing to take Enel away, she agreed, though with great concern.

Regardless of who Dan and his group were or where they came from, taking Enel with them gave him a chance to survive. Otherwise, once she passed away in a year or two, it was uncertain whether Enel could survive on this island.

Of course, if Dan took Enel, she would have to come along, as the baby hadn't been weaned yet.

Once they reached Wano, Dan could find a doctor to treat her illness.

For a baby like Enel, proper education would suffice; there was no need to control him with the Serpent Mark.

"Captain, those people seem to be looking for something strange."

After several days of surveillance, the watchers reached this conclusion, which worried them. They feared Dan and his group were plotting something sinister.

After all, on the surface, Dan, Mari, and Yuriko were pretending to be on a shopping spree in the city, and they genuinely were. With the current value of berries, 30 million berries was undoubtedly a huge fortune, and Dan had nearly spent it all.

A large amount of extol flowed into the hands of Birka's merchants, suddenly enriching their lives.

"Can you tell what they're looking for?" the guard captain asked.

Another man shook his head.

The captain pondered for a moment. In truth, he didn't care much about what Dan was searching for. Birka didn't have any ancient treasures, and even if it did, they were irrelevant to him.

"Any other strange behavior?"

"Well, a few days ago, they seemed to want to take away a widow named Deskarina and her child."

"That's it?"

"Yes, and it seems the woman was willing to go with them," the informant nodded, then cautiously asked, "Captain, should we take them by surprise..."

"No, let them be," the guard captain said.

It was just a woman and a child, and they were willing to go. There was nothing he could do about it.

A few days later, one of the female pirates finally found two Devil Fruits in the White-White Sea. One had a blue exterior with lightning patterns—undoubtedly the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

The other, after Dan entered its consciousness, was confirmed to be an avian Zoan-type fruit. However, it wasn't a Mythical Zoan. Whether it was an Ancient Zoan was another matter, as Dan didn't recognize all the species.

A flying Zoan-type Devil Fruit was far more useful than a land-based one. In a world dominated by the sea, having aerial superiority was highly advantageous.

However, if given to Mari or Enel, this fruit wouldn't be sufficient.

So Dan decided to keep this fruit and take it back.

Then he focused all his attention on the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in his hand.

Purple magic circles appeared beneath his feet and in his hand, inscribed with incomprehensible magical runes.

Soon, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in Dan's hand was enveloped in purple magic and vanished. In reality, Dan had absorbed the fruit into his body.

However, this wasn't complete absorption. In fact, the progress was only at one percent.

Fully absorbing the fruit's power would take a long time. Even if Dan decided to postpone the absorption of the Okuchi no Makami Fruit and focus entirely on the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, it would take at least a year to complete.

And this was with his increased strength. When he first started and knew nothing, absorbing the Yamata no Orochi Fruit had taken who knows how many years.