"Hey, hey… are you there, boss? Reply if you got this."
"Hmm, seems like no. System, are you there? Ding if you are."
"No system either? Fine, just give me any cheat then—I'm not picky."
After muttering to himself for a while, Badak felt a little embarrassed. Turns out the boss only handled dropping people here, not after-sales service.
Picking up the peach-shaped Devil Fruit, Badak examined it closely. Its appearance didn't clearly indicate what type it was, though it vaguely resembled a monkey's head—likely a Zoan. The golden glow hinted at its extraordinary nature. At any rate, this wasn't one of the Devil Fruits Oda had revealed.
Normally, a person could only eat one Devil Fruit. The only known exception was Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach.
Rumors said the current Blackbeard was the result of the original Teach siblings being merged by the previous user of the Munch-Munch Fruit. Three souls for three Devil Fruits—Blackbeard would later consume another powerful one. Who knew if it was true?
"Should I eat it? The saying 'There's no such thing as a weak Devil Fruit, only weak Devil Fruit users' is a lie. Take the Murmuring Fruit, for example—how could it possibly stand up to Kaido's Azure Dragon? Even among awakened Zoan abilities, Rob Lucci's leopard form pales compared to Luffy's Gear Fifth Sun God Nika Form."
"Upcoming powerful Devil Fruits include: the Gum-Gum Fruit, disguised as a Paramecia with its godly name hidden; the Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit from Enel's homeland Birka on Sky Island; the Paramecia Magnet-Magnet Fruit of Eustass Kid from the South Blue; and the Paramecia Op-Op Fruit that Trafalgar Law of the North Blue would soon obtain."
"Oh, and let's not forget the Logia Flame-Flame Fruit from the East Blue—so weak even dogs wouldn't eat it. Actually, the Flame-Flame Fruit is incredibly strong. Too bad Ace ran into Blackbeard and Akainu, his natural nemeses."Even though he knew the taste of Devil Fruits was indescribably awful, Badak couldn't help but drool greedily, almost shouting, "I want them all!"
"Roar..."
A beast's roar echoed from deep within the forest, and just from the sound, it was clear this was a massive creature. Badak focused his mind, directing his attention to the Devil Fruit in his hand. No matter how impressive the other Devil Fruits might be, they were out of reach now. Exploring the forest was a necessity—whether for fresh water or food. But judging by that roar, the woods were far more dangerous than he'd imagined. He desperately needed power.
"They say Devil Fruits have their own will and choose their hosts. Since you've chosen me, now I choose you!"
Badak took a huge bite. "Yue..." An indescribable flavor exploded in his mouth, but he forced himself to swallow. Some people claimed Devil Fruits tasted worse than excrement, and Badak had to admire the breadth of their culinary experiences.
"One bite should be enough, but the Clown Emperor Buggy and the Sun God Luffy ate theirs whole. I won't lose to them! Aah...!"
With a roar to steel himself, Badak devoured the rest of the fruit in a few bites, then rinsed his mouth vigorously with alcohol, downing three large gulps to finally mask the horrid taste.
"Badak is second to none!"
"This... I feel it. So it's a Zoan-type, huh? Hmm... So eating the fruit doesn't reveal its name. No wonder the Mythical Zoan Nika was mistaken for the Gum-Gum Fruit."
Before his eyes, Badak's body rapidly transformed, and in an instant, he became a proud and imposing monkey. The creature stood only about 1.6 meters tall, but its presence was overwhelming. While Badak originally had black hair and eyes, this monkey had golden fur that shimmered with an inner glow, and its golden eyes burned with crimson light, like flickering flames. This was no ordinary beast!
Sensing something, Badak took a few strides to a tree as thick as a thigh and punched it with all his might. With a loud "crack," the tree snapped in half.
"My strength has increased so much, and it doesn't hurt at all."
Badak tapped and poked at his body, feeling as though he were made of metal—aware of touch but completely immune to pain.
"I'll call this ability Indestructible Body. I wonder how it compares to Charlotte Linlin's Iron Balloon defense or Kaido's Dragon Scales. I'll have to test it someday!"
With memories of his past life, Badak knew he was still weak. Even with this powerful ability, he needed time to grow stronger, so he wasn't foolishly overconfident.
"Next, grow bigger."
The monkey's body began to expand, stopping only when it was five times its original size. Badak flexed his arms, striking a muscle-flexing pose, then picked up the broken tree to test his strength. Afterward, he shrank back to normal size and lifted the tree again to compare.
"So strength increases with size? Not bad at all. Now, shrink."
The monkey began to diminish, shrinking to one-fifth of its original size.
"Excellent. I'll call these two abilities together Size Alteration. I feel there's room for improvement—maybe one day I'll grow tall enough to rival the heavens and earth. Then I'll name it Heaven and Earth Transformation."
"Ah, I'm a bit hungry. Time to pick some fruit."Badak looked into the forest and unexpectedly discovered another ability. His vision became superhuman—not only could he see incredibly far, but also with extreme clarity, even the fluttering of a mosquito's wings appeared in slow motion. As he focused, he felt he could count the tiny hairs on the insect's legs. Startled, he quickly shook his head, and his vision finally returned to normal.
"Controllable is good—dynamic vision, telescopic sight, microscopic sight. Wonder if there's more. This ability shall be called Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze."
With a light leap, Badak jumped onto a fruit tree, moving effortlessly among the branches as if walking on flat ground, picking and eating ripe fruits as he went. If not for the uncertainty of food availability on this small island, he would have loved to imitate the Great Sage Equaling Heaven in the Peach Garden—eating one peach and tossing another, purely for the joy of it. The Devil Fruit he had eaten was indeed a Mythical Zoan type, giving him the means to stand his ground in the pirate world. He decided then—this Devil Fruit would be called the Zoan-type, Monkey-Monkey Fruit, Mythical Model: Great Ape Form.
Badak was in high spirits when, unexpectedly, the roar of that beast from earlier echoed in the distance again—likely patrolling its territory. For some reason, Badak felt provoked, as if he were the true ruler here. Without thinking, he roared back. A commanding bellow spread through the forest, and silence fell abruptly. The distant beast did not respond.
"Cough, cough, cough…" Badak had overexerted himself, coughing uncontrollably until, to his surprise, he spat out a cloud—one that kept expanding.
"This… grows with the wind. Could this be the Somersault Cloud?"
Badak watched as the cloud stopped expanding once it reached the size of a bed. Excited, he jumped onto it and, to his delight, stood firmly atop it.
"Amazing! Being able to fly is crucial in this world full of seawater—especially since I'm already a Devil Fruit user. And now, this island can't hold me back anymore!"
As he slowly guided the cloud forward, adjusting his balance like riding a hoverboard, he mused, "Indestructible Body, Size Alteration, Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze, and now the Somersault Cloud. Truly worthy of a Mythical Zoan—no, truly worthy of the Great Ape Form! I wonder if there's Seventy-Two Transformations too?"