Chapter 52: Devil Fruit
Soon, Dave surfaced, carrying a large treasure chest along with some other useful scraps that Tony could likely repurpose. He set the scraps aside and gazed at the treasure chest in his hands.
"Mm, what is that?" Emma asked, noticing the massive locker-like chest he was lugging.
The others also turned their attention toward him, curious about the find. Dave shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I found some buried gold." He placed the large locker down in front of them, piquing their interest even further.
"Well, let's see what's inside," Tony said, walking over to examine the chest, while the rest gathered around, waiting to see what treasures Dave had discovered.
Dave nodded as he handed the locker to Tony, who immediately generated a laser cutter to slice it open. Everyone watched closely, anticipation growing as they wondered what treasures might lie within.
"Maybe there's gold and jewelry, like pirates usually hoard," Diana speculated, and the others nodded in agreement.
After a few moments, Tony successfully cut through the lock, and as expected, the chest contained various gold coins, jewels, and a large sum of berries, the currency of the One Piece world. However, Dave's attention quickly zeroed in on something far more valuable—a Devil Fruit sitting among the treasures. Ignoring the gold and jewels, he picked up the fruit, his curiosity piqued.
"What is that weird-looking fruit?" Trish asked as she sensed the strange power emanating from it.
"It's a Devil Fruit," Dave explained. "Whoever eats it will gain special powers, but they also lose the ability to swim. It's a double-edged sword."
Rhodes' eyes lit up at this, his excitement clear. "Then give it to me! I'm the only one without any special powers," he said eagerly, with Tony chiming in, supporting the idea.
"Let me see what kind it is first," Dave replied as he activated his system's appraisal ability to identify the fruit.