Chapter 128: The New Devil Fruit Users

"Big bro, let me think about it," Thatch said.

"Take your time."

Roy nodded. Thatch fell into deep thought for a few seconds before Roy spoke again.

"Have you made up your mind yet?"

"That fast?" Thatch jumped, barely ten seconds had passed.

"Does something this simple really need that much thought? If you want it, eat it. If not, forget it. I'll call someone else over," Roy said.

"Uhh..." Thatch hesitated awkwardly.

"What's the problem?"

"Big bro, I want to know, what kind of Devil Fruit is this?"

"This is a Phoenix Fruit I made by extracting Marco's—"

Before Roy could finish, Thatch had already rushed to the pile of Devil Fruits and grabbed a yellow one.

Crunch!

"You should've said it was the Phoenix Fruit right away! If I can fly, who cares about swimming?"

Thatch mumbled while chewing.

"Everyone's been jealous of Marco's ability. Blegh, it tastes awful. But if I can get the same power as Marco, I doubt anyone in the world would say no."

Roy chuckled. That was true. The ability to fly had been incredibly rare early on, with claims that only a handful of people in the world could do it.

But later, it turned out flying wasn't that special, even a dog could soar through the sky.

"How do you feel? You're the first to eat an artificial Devil Fruit. I haven't tested it before," Roy said, a bit worried.

Since he hadn't conducted any experiments, he wasn't sure if Thatch would turn into one of those monstrous failures like Kaido's subordinates.

"Seems fine." Thatch held out his hand and imagined Marco's transformation.

Fwoosh!

Yellow flames suddenly burst from his arm, startling him. The next second, his body twisted, and his entire form was engulfed in yellow fire, transforming into a golden phoenix.

"HAHA!!"

Excited, Thatch flapped his wings and took off, flying recklessly around the room. Of course, he wasn't skilled yet; he crashed into a wall and fell, but he wasn't hurt at all.

"Big bro, did you see that? I'm fine! I can fly now, just like Marco!" Thatch shouted excitedly.

"Come here. Let me examine you," Roy said.

Thatch obediently lay on the bed while Roy checked his body. Aside from the odd color, everything else seemed normal.

"Looks like Vegapunk was right, the so-called 'flaw' is just the color. Everything else works perfectly," Roy said with relief.

"Bring the others over," Roy said, picking up the Den Den Mushi.

"Got it," replied Marco from the other end.

Before long, Jozu, Vista, and the other division commanders arrived.

"All Devil Fruit users, stand over here," Roy said.

Jozu, Blamenco, Marco, and Thatch stepped forward.

"Hey, Thatch, why are you here? Big bro said only ability users," Jozu asked.

"I am a Devil Fruit user now," Thatch grinned.

"You are?" The rest of the division commanders turned to look.

"When did you get your ability?" Jozu asked.

"What fruit did you eat?" Vista added curiously.

"Let me show you."

Thatch smirked, and yellow flames erupted from his body. His arms turned into wings, his legs into talons, and his entire form was soon covered in fire as he transformed into a flaming bird.

"That's..."

Everyone instantly recognized it. It was clearly Marco's Phoenix ability

They all turned to Marco, who simply smiled and transformed into his blue phoenix form. The two took flight, circling above their heads.

"Two... two Phoenixes!!" Fossa muttered as his cigarette fell from his mouth.

"I brought you all here to share some news," Roy said. "After a year of research, I successfully replicated Marco's Phoenix Fruit. There are six in total, Thatch ate one. Five remain. Who wants one?"

"Of course, I've also extracted abilities from Kaido and Devon. Soon, I should be able to replicate Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit and Devon's Dog-Dog Fruit," Roy added.

"Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit?"

"Devon's Dog-Dog Fruit"

Hearing those names, the men gulped. The current non-ability users were:

Fifth Division Commander: Vista

Seventh Division Commander: Rakuyo

Eighth Division Commander: Namur

Ninth Division Commander: Blenheim

Tenth Division Commander: Curiel

Eleventh Division Commander: Kingdew

Twelfth Division Commander: Haruta

Thirteenth Division Commander: Atmos

Fourteenth Division Commander: Speed Jiru

Fifteenth Division Commander: Fossa

Sixteenth Division Commander: Izo

"There are five Phoenix Fruits left. Who wants them?" Roy asked again.

"Big bro, I'm a fishman, so I'll pass," Namur stepped forward.

"Right, Devil Fruits don't suit you," Roy nodded. Namur and Jozu stood together.

"Big bro, I'd rather rely on my sword," Vista said, shaking his head.

"Understood. What about the rest of you?"

Roy turned to the remaining eight commanders.

They exchanged glances.

"I'll wait for the Dog-Dog Fruit. That one suits me better," Izo said.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox's transformation ability, right?" Roy asked.

"Yeah," Izo nodded.

"I'm in, big bro," said Rakuyo.

"I really wanted the Fish-Fish Fruit," Haruta added, "but I've always liked the Phoenix power. I've admired Marco's flying ability for a long time."

"I'll take the Phoenix Fruit too," said Speed Jiru.

"Just you three? The rest of you are waiting for the Fish-Fish Fruit?"

Roy looked at Blenheim, Curiel, Kingdew, and Atmos.

"Big bro, I want to be like Kaido," Blenheim said with a sheepish grin.

"Same here. That guy's power is terrifying. If we could get something like that..." Kingdew's eyes sparkled with ambition.

"Just imagining it sounds amazing," Curiel said.

"I just think it looks really cool," Atmos added.

"Then I'll hold onto the other two. You three, pick your fruits," Roy said.

The five Phoenix Fruits were placed before them. Rakuyo, Haruta, and Speed Jiru stepped forward.

Aside from their different colors, the fruits looked identical.

Rakuyo picked a red one, Haruta took a green one, and Speed Jiru chose a purple one.

The three of them looked at each other, then bit into their fruits.

Everyone watched, waiting for what would happen.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Their expressions froze for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Vista asked nervously.

Only those who had eaten Devil Fruits before, like Marco and Jozu, knew that this was totally normal.

"It's fine. Devil Fruits just taste awful," Thatch said with a grin.

Fwoosh!

A breeze blew in, and all three ignited in flames, transforming into red, green, and purple Phoenixes. The three excitedly tested their new powers.

The others watched in awe. With these abilities added to their already strong combat skills, each of them now had the strength of a Yonko commander.

"You five will have to wait one more month," Roy said to the remaining commanders. "Izo, yours will be ready in six months."

"No problem, big bro," Izo replied.

.....

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