Before Riven and the others could get far, a fierce clash broke out behind them—an intense battle of devil fruit powers roared endlessly.
The Valley of the Gods had turned completely into a battlefield fit for "gods." Ivan couldn't help but glance back and saw countless massive rocks floating into the sky and smashing down like a torrential rain.
Riven noticed it too. He grabbed Ivan, who was stunned, and warned,
"That's the power of the Float-Float Fruit. Run! You don't want to get caught in that!"
Ivan snapped back to reality, swallowing nervously.
"Devil Fruit powers are terrifying. If we ate one, could we reach this level too?"
Riven narrowed his eyes and answered firmly,
"Yes, at least the devil fruits given as prizes by the Celestial Dragons are no weaker than the Float-Float Fruit!"
He pressed on, leading them toward the elegant house where the suited man had been before.
By now, all the Celestial Dragons' minions in the town had been summoned by Saint Satan to join the battle. No one was paying attention to Riven's group anymore. This was their chance.
When they returned, the house was nothing but rubble. Without hesitation, Riven rushed forward and started pushing the stones aside with his bare hands. Ivan and the others quickly followed his lead.
No one dared to be lazy—after such a fight, any moment could be deadly.
Boom!
The battle between Rocks and his crew stirred up violent winds. Riven's robe whipped in the gusts as his small body trembled, digging desperately through the ruins.
He gritted his teeth, muttering,
"Devil Fruit, if you truly choose your master, please choose me! Let's reach the top of this world together!"
His nails were worn down almost to nothing. Bright red blood dripped from his fingertips, tracing a thin line down the rubble.
Riven wiped his blurry eyes and instinctively followed the blood as it trickled through a crack.
After a full day of running and digging, exhaustion almost made him fall as he struggled to move a heavy stone.
Then, a faint golden gleam flashed beneath the rock. Riven carefully examined it and saw a wooden box with gold flakes shimmering on one corner.
His blood rushed with excitement. Keeping calm, he carefully dug out the box with trembling hands.
Luckily, it wasn't locked—probably designed so even a weak Celestial Dragon could open it. Riven managed it effortlessly.
The box was like Pandora's box in his heart. Holding his breath, he opened the lid.
Inside lay a strange fruit, completely purple and shaped like a pineapple.
Riven's eyes widened as a flash of lightning sparked through his mind.
"This… is this the Dark-Dark Fruit?!"
The Dark-Dark Fruit had appeared in the comics before—the fruit Blackbeard had chased for over twenty years. Riven was deeply impressed.
The fruit's appearance far exceeded his expectations. It was a huge surprise.
The Dark-Dark Fruit was undoubtedly a top-tier Devil Fruit. Though it couldn't be elementalized like natural-type fruits, its power was far from useless.
Unlike many elemental fruits that had lost favor and become jokes, the Dark-Dark Fruit was different. Aside from a rare bug that could sometimes cause the user to lose their abilities, what Riven valued most was the natural disaster it represented—a black hole that could annihilate everything.
Less than three seconds after confirming the fruit in his hand, Riven bit into it.
The lavender flesh and juice filled his mouth with an indescribable taste. His face twisted in discomfort, stomach churning, even before swallowing.
Fortunately, only one bite was needed to gain its power—otherwise, with Riven's small mouth, the ordeal could have been unbearable.
Discarding the now ordinary-looking fruit, Riven stood still, feeling a wonderful sensation wash over him.
It was as if he'd gained a new "sense"—an extra limb that he could control at will.
He stretched out his right hand and held it before his eyes, trying to activate his power.
Instantly, his hand turned pitch black, wisps of smoky darkness rising from his skin.
He stared at it in wonder. From that moment on, he was the master of the Dark-Dark Fruit—the controller of darkness.
"Riven-chan!"
Ivan's shout snapped him out of his reverie. Riven looked over to see Ivan holding up a bear-paw-shaped Devil Fruit excitedly.
"Look what I found! A Devil Fruit!"
Riven's pupils constricted. From the fruit's shape, it was clearly the Paw Paw Fruit.
Finding a Devil Fruit was certainly lucky, but Ivan's eccentric personality meant his loud behavior was too showy.
In fact, Ivan's intention was good. He didn't know Riven had already eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit. Because Riven had always shown a strong desire for Devil Fruits, Ivan's first thought was to give it to him.
But Ivan's loud shout was dangerous. The word "Devil Fruit" was sensitive to both Rocks' crew and the World Government—all with hearing far sharper than ordinary people.
At Ivan's shout, the fighting on both sides paused immediately. Several dangerous gazes locked onto Ivan and the fruit in his hands. Ivan froze on the spot.
Ivan's reaction was surprisingly strong. Many present wielded Conqueror's Haki, and the fact he hadn't fainted showed he had more than ordinary qualifications.
Saint Satan immediately recognized the Paw Paw Fruit and ordered Saint Garin to snatch it.
However, Saint Garin made no move. His attention was fully on Riven, standing not far from Ivan, his expression unreadable.
The Navy lamented that these children had appeared here. Garp sneered, thinking this must be another scheme by the Celestial Dragons.
Rocks didn't care about any of it. Before he could speak, Lingling rushed toward Ivan, aiming straight at him.
"Kid! Hand over your Devil Fruit to me!!!"