The Ghost Ship cut across the ocean like a silent specter.
On its deck, dozens of pirates—now hollow-eyed, puppet-like soul thralls—moved mechanically. They carried salvaged supplies onto the deck to dry, scrubbed down recovered items, and stored them away in the hold.
They worked without sound, without rest, following Davy's orders with perfect obedience.
The sun rose over the horizon, spilling its first rays across the sea.
The moment sunlight touched them, the phantom crew turned translucent, dissolving into drifting wisps of green fire.
At the prow, Davy sat cross-legged, green flames swirling around him.
Within the flames, Jim's bearded, scarred face faintly surfaced.
"So… it was the Silent-Silent Fruit."
He raised a hand. A bullet flickered between his fingers—and without making the slightest sound, he fired into the sea.
The Silent-Silent Fruit (Nagi Nagi no Mi).
A Paramecia fruit.
Its original owner in canon was Donquixote Rosinante—Doflamingo's younger brother—who was killed after ensuring the Op-Op Fruit reached Trafalgar Law.
After Rosinante's death, the fruit's whereabouts were unknown.
Who would've expected it to end up here?
From Rosinante's own use, the ability seemed simple: creating invisible soundproof barriers that block all sound from entering or leaving, and rendering one's own movements completely silent.
In the bizarre world of Devil Fruits, this wasn't the flashiest ability—
but for gathering intelligence, infiltration, and assassination, it was terrifyingly effective.
And this was with barely any development.
As a Paramecia fruit, proper usage could unlock bizarre possibilities.
After all, if a "simple rubber fruit" could turn out to be a Mythical Zoan deity form…
Who was to say the Silent-Silent Fruit couldn't hide something equally absurd?
Maybe even a mythical Zoan form—
Human-Human Fruit, Model: Dao of Absolute Silence.
Davy chuckled at his own imagination and released the possession.
Most of the soul thralls had finished their assigned tasks and now stood motionlessly on deck, staring blankly at him.
With a wave of his hand, the Ghost Ship shimmered faintly.
One by one, the soul thralls dissolved into green mist and sank back into the ship.
The Jim Pirates—forty-seven men in total.
Aside from a few who drowned, forty-two souls now belonged to him.
"Little Harry… Aunt Marina… Uncle Sam… everyone… I've avenged you."
His expression finally softened. He closed his eyes, letting the buried grief settle.
He had inherited the original Davy's memories.
To him, these people were no different from the loved ones he'd lost in another world—irreplaceable.
Letting out a long breath, he opened his eyes again—clear and calm.
There was nothing left here for him.
And to survive on the sea, one thing mattered above all—
Strength.
He took a deep breath and began analyzing the Ghost Ship's powers and his own changes.
After the previous battle and a night of experimentation, he'd made several discoveries.
The most obvious change was his own body.
His appetite had increased.
His physical strength had visibly improved.
By comparing himself before and after, he confirmed that each time he killed someone, he gained a small increase in his basic attributes.
During the battle, three soul thralls had been heavily damaged—one even dissipating entirely. Even Jim's soul had nearly collapsed.
Soul thralls had no vital points, but they could still be wounded. And once wounded, they showed no signs of natural recovery.
Fortunately, he discovered a solution:
Let soul thralls merge with one another.
Doing so healed their "wounds," consolidated memories and experiences, and produced a stronger, more refined thrall.
After merging with three souls, the first mate soul thrall was now stronger than any officer had been in life.
In close combat, he now nearly rivaled Captain Jim himself.
"Unfortunately, he can't absorb more than three."
Davy guessed this limit came from the soul's strength.
A thrall could only absorb as much as their original "capacity" allowed—
like a water jar that could only hold so much before overflowing.
He waved his hand again.
Dozens of fist-sized green soul flames rose into the air and began merging.
Thirty-plus souls fused…
until only ten remained.
Jim's soul absorbed the most—six in total.
The four other officers each absorbed three or four.
Ordinary pirates made up the rest.
The difference between individuals was huge, so the amount each could absorb likely depended on their strength and potential in life.
Davy pondered this thoughtfully before dispersing the remaining ten thralls.
With the entire Jim Pirates' souls under his command, his crew was now taking shape.
Navigator—check.
Sea charts—check.
Ship doctor—check.
If he wanted to, he could enter the Grand Line right now.
But he shook his head.
"No rush. First, I'll collect their bounties for daily expenses. Then I'll gather strength. This is the year of the Worst Generation. Without connections and cheats, I'd be dead the moment I step outside."
To grow stronger quickly—
He needed more souls.
And the best souls came from—
Devil Fruit users.
Suppressing his excitement, he calmly reviewed the candidates.
East Blue was the weakest sea.
Pirates here were weak; bounties were low.
Devil Fruit users were extremely rare.
Finding one outside known canon figures was like searching for a single grain of sand in the ocean.
That left only the users introduced in the storyline.
Luffy was out of the question.
Next were the Devil Fruit users defeated by Luffy:
Alvida – Smooth-Smooth Fruit
Fat, ugly, self-obsessed woman who forces people to call her beautiful.
After her defeat by Luffy, she obtained the Smooth-Smooth Fruit.
A decent defensive and mobility fruit. With development, its combat potential might grow significantly.
Unfortunately, Davy had no idea where Luffy was—nor whether Alvida had met him yet. Her whereabouts were impossible to track.
Buggy – Chop-Chop Fruit
Also beaten by Luffy.
Davy knew of him, but East Blue was huge.
And as a former apprentice of the Pirate King's crew, Buggy might be beyond his ability to defeat.
Smoker – Smoke-Smoke Fruit
A Logia-user stationed at Loguetown.
Powerful, high potential, extremely dangerous.
But Davy couldn't beat him.
And he had no reason to kill him.
Even for strength, he refused to slaughter innocent people.
Bartolomeo – Barrier-Barrier Fruit
Now this one was suitable.
Arrogant, cruel, violent, a bona fide criminal.
Killing him carried no psychological burden.
As a gang leader, he was easy to locate.
And the Barrier-Barrier Fruit was incredibly practical.
"Looks like everything leads back to Loguetown."
Loguetown—
The beginning and the end.
Luffy would go there.
Buggy would go there.
Alvida would go there.
Smoker was stationed there.
Bartolomeo, too, would eventually go there.
And Davy—
Davy would also head there, carried by the tide of the era, to carve out a legend of his own.
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