Chapter 101 101 – Four-Armed Hulk?!
Banner ate the Fruit.
And in that moment, he also felt the cruelty of society.
This thing tasted absolutely horrible.
After swallowing the Flower-Flower Fruit, Banner fell into brief silence, as if absorbing the power hidden inside the fruit itself.
A moment later, he tried activating the ability.
Two additional arms suddenly sprouted from his body.
Four-armed Banner!
At that instant, Qin Xiao's mind flashed with inspiration.
Four-Armed Hulk!
One of the most terrifying alternate-universe Hulks.
A version so powerful it exceeded normal imagination.
Because his greatest achievement was this—He had broken through the limiter.
Every Hulk had one thing capable of sealing him away.
Pants.
But Four-Armed Hulk didn't.
He had escaped the seal of the pants.
Although Worldbreaker Hulk was famously powerful—after all, he could fight Sentry, a being with the power of a million exploding suns—Four-Armed Hulk was still among the strongest Hulk variants in existence.
His strength ranked at the very top among all Hulk forms.
Could the Flower-Flower Fruit really create a Four-Armed Hulk?
The more Qin Xiao thought about it, the crazier it sounded.
No...
The Flower-Flower Fruit wouldn't just create a Four-Armed Hulk.
It could create a Thousand-Armed Hulk.
That couldn't possibly make sense... right?
But every time Qin Xiao looked at Banner's current form, he couldn't stop imagining Four-Armed Hulk.
Banner experimented with his powers for a bit before a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
"I think I understand why Hulk was compatible with the Flower-Flower Fruit."
"You mentioned earlier that the other four fruits all had obvious drawbacks. A weak body couldn't handle them."
"But the Flower-Flower Fruit is different. Even a physically weak person can use it."
"And coincidentally, both my normal state and Hulk state can use this power."
"In other words, this is the only fruit both Hulk and I can fully utilize."
As expected of a man with seven doctorate degrees.
He had practically analyzed the system's matching logic.
And the scary part?
His reasoning actually made sense.
The system had likely considered Hulk's dual personalities when making its judgment.
One fruit.
Two personalities.
Two completely different bodies.
Yet both could use it effectively.
That kind of compatibility was rare.
Banner definitely couldn't use the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. One punch and he'd probably shatter himself first.
The Ton-Ton Fruit had the same issue.
As for the Dark-Dark Fruit—it required enduring damage and amplified pain twofold.
With Banner's skinny frame, there was no way he could handle that.
The More-More Fruit had some usefulness since increasing size and speed sounded decent.
But without training, how fast would Banner dare boost himself?
If he pushed too hard, his own body would probably collapse first.
Looking at everything together, the Flower-Flower Fruit really did seem like the only perfect option.
And honestly...
The possibility of a Four-Armed Hulk may have genuinely been part of the system's calculations.
After all, the system also referenced Qin Xiao's own memories and knowledge.
Maybe his memories of Four-Armed Hulk had influenced the matching process.
The more Qin Xiao listened to Banner's explanation, the more suitable this fruit seemed for both personalities.
When Banner was in control, the ability could assist him in scientific research.
Even as an ordinary human, Banner now possessed considerable combat ability.
Forget anything else—Just the horror of suddenly sprouting hands from yourself or your enemies was terrifying enough.
And neck-snapping?
Easy.
Imagine standing far away while casually twisting someone's neck.
The lethality was outrageous.
But when Hulk used the ability...
That was when things became truly terrifying.
With Hulk's hundred-ton strength backing those arms, forget necks—even reinforced concrete could be twisted apart like paper.
One hand alone could crush someone's skull.
How the hell were enemies supposed to fight that?
Just imagine it—The Chitauri invasion of New York.
Hulk standing atop a skyscraper, roaring furiously.
Then suddenly, whether it was flying soldiers or massive Chitauri beasts, countless thick green arms erupted from their bodies.
Crack!
Crack!
CRACK!
After a wave of bone-snapping chaos, wouldn't they all start dropping from the sky like dumplings?
And the Flower-Flower Fruit had another special trait.
Its spawned limbs were connected to the user.
If someone attacked those arms, the pain would transfer directly to Hulk.
And the angrier Hulk became...
The stronger he became.
It was practically turning Hulk's already terrifying body into something limitless.
Hit him if you dare.
He'd only grow stronger from the pain.
In a way, it resembled the Dark-Dark Fruit's amplified pain effect.
Except Hulk's version scaled infinitely.
And that wasn't all.
The Flower-Flower Fruit could create giant wings, enormous hands, massive nets, gigantic legs—All formed from countless limbs.
For someone already possessing Hulk's monstrous strength, enlarging those constructs would make him unstoppable.
A god-slaying, demon-crushing nightmare.
Those gigantic creations could even imitate the crushing effect of the Ton-Ton Fruit.
When a massive wall of flesh and fists came crashing down on you...
Who wouldn't panic?
As for Robin always crossing her arms before using the Flower-Flower Fruit—That gesture wasn't actually necessary.
There were plenty of moments in One Piece where she activated the fruit without doing it.
Like during the Davy Back Fight with Foxy—she rowed a boat using her powers without any hand signs.
Even as a child, she could activate the ability while holding a book in one hand.
So gestures clearly weren't mandatory.
The real issue was whether Hulk could accept the idea of growing additional arms.
If he rejected it mentally, then the fruit would end up becoming Banner-exclusive.
With Hulk's current intelligence, maybe developing into a Four-Armed Hulk was already his limit.
But if Banner eventually reconciled with Hulk...
Then an intelligent Hulk wielding this fruit would become far more terrifying.
The more Qin Xiao thought about it, the more absurdly suitable the Flower-Flower Fruit seemed for Hulk.
Maybe the system really was incredible at matching users.
Betty stared at Banner in shock.
Right now, he looked completely different.
A scientist who now possessed tremendous power.
Just like how she herself had gone from an ordinary weak woman to someone with overwhelming abilities overnight.
That was the terror of Devil Fruits.
As for this whole "making a deal with the devil" thing...
At this point, nobody cared anymore.
Betty excitedly hugged Banner.
"Looks like we really will stay together forever now."
"Even if we end up in hell, we'll still be there together."
Now that things had come this far, all they could do was move forward.
Qin Xiao then turned his attention elsewhere.
"Now it's Abomination's turn to choose."
"And Dr. Banner—you should let Hulk come out more often."
"The Flower-Flower Fruit needs practice."
"Otherwise, even if Hulk has the power, he won't know how to use it."
Banner nodded slightly.
Right after that, the entire space shifted violently again.
Abomination—who had been teleported elsewhere earlier—reappeared before them.
"What the hell is this place?!"
"Why does everything keep changing?!"
"Why can I see people outside but can't touch them?!"
"And why can't I smash this ground no matter how hard I hit it?!"
The moment he appeared, Abomination roared furiously.
Qin Xiao calmly looked at him.
"So, Abomination... Blonsky."
"Have you thought about my offer?"
"I give you a Devil Fruit. I give you greater power."
"And in return, you become my believer."
"My subordinate."
Compared to Hulk, Qin Xiao actually wanted Blonsky more.
Because Blonsky was a soldier.
He understood obedience.
Just like Frank after receiving the Swamp-Swamp Fruit.
Frank followed every command Qin Xiao gave him.
Even killing.
Soldiers were already used to that kind of life.
And Blonsky was the same—An outstanding warrior.
Now that he possessed immense power, the only thing he desired was battle.
Fight?
Perfect.
Wasn't Logan still around?
Let those two fight all they wanted.
Logan's adamantium body could withstand almost anything.
Even the Tremor-Tremor Fruit wouldn't easily break him.
Nobody had ever heard of Wolverine being shattered apart.
Those two could battle every day, constantly pushing each other and accelerating their Devil Fruit development.
Right now, Logan barely trained on his own anyway.
Without pressure, he'd never actively improve himself.
That lazy personality was exactly why Qin Xiao wanted to recruit Abomination.
Even if Abomination couldn't perfectly match a fruit, he'd still make an excellent sparring partner for Logan.
Abomination fell silent after hearing Qin Xiao's proposal.
Unlike Hulk, Blonsky still had his intelligence.
"…Fine."
"But I need a worthy opponent."
"You have to provide one."
After thinking for a while, he agreed.
Qin Xiao smiled.
"As you wish."
"You'll have opponents."
"And in the future, there'll be more and more of them."
"So... which fruit do you choose?"
Several Devil Fruits appeared before Abomination.
But instead of choosing immediately, he looked directly at Qin Xiao.
"Which one suits me best?"
Without hesitation, Qin Xiao tossed him the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
The fruit had appeared many times already.
And now, it finally found its owner.
Abomination caught the fruit and bit into it immediately.
Crunch!
Gulp.
Unlike everyone else, he didn't seem bothered by the awful taste at all.
He even looked like he enjoyed it.
After finishing the fruit, Blonsky closed his eyes, silently feeling the power within him.
Then—He clenched both fists.
A beast-like growl escaped his throat.
BOOM!!!
His fists slammed violently into the ground of the Mirror Dimension.
And for the first time—Cracks appeared.
The previously indestructible Mirror Dimension actually showed signs of breaking.
Qin Xiao's eyes narrowed instantly.
"Ding! Detected: Tremor-Tremor Fruit consumed by compatible user. Host is extracting corresponding abilities."
He immediately looked toward his system panel.
[Devil Fruit Trading System]
[Consumed Fruits & Users]
[12. Flower-Flower Fruit: Hulk – Banner]
[13. Tremor-Tremor Fruit: Abomination – Blonsky]
[Extracted Abilities]
[12. Flower-Flower Fruit]
[13. Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Abomination Strength]
[Fruit Ability Amplification: 5%]
That single punch from Abomination had rewarded Qin Xiao with another terrifying power.
Abomination's strength.
While it didn't possess Hulk's limitless growth...
Its base level alone still surpassed the vast majority of heroes.
After all, this was a monster who treated cars like toys.
Excellent.
This whole Abomination incident had earned Qin Xiao three Devil Fruit abilities—
And Abomination's monstrous strength on top of that.
Absolutely worth it.