Chapter 150 On the Feasibility of Devil Fruit Fusion

The situation was settled.

Aboard the empty ship, Shu Mingyuan seized the opportunity to slip aboard quietly. He flashed into the core engine room and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was still there. The crackling electrical current of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit formed a dense electric net, preventing anyone from invading the kinetic core.

From Marguerite’s accounts, two days had already passed since he was first discovered. The warrior women of Amazon Lily had also kept watch here for two days, so this invincible devil fruit had likely been exposed. However, exposure was one thing, and whether anyone could actually take it was clearly another.

Given the destructive power of the lightning unleashed by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, ordinary people simply could not withstand it. Otherwise, Elder Nyon would have already had it brought back to Amazon Lily instead of leaving it here. He reached both hands into the kinetic core, passing through the dense, high-voltage electric net as if his body felt nothing at all. When it came to resistance against electrical currents, he was currently unmatched in this world.

He exerted force with both hands, yet he failed to pick it up immediately. He seemed to have a feeling that the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Ark Maxim were undergoing some kind of change, or rather, a fusion.

Inanimate objects fusing with devil fruits were not entirely unheard of, but that seemed to be a technology secretly mastered only by the World Government. Right now, due to the constant day-and-night contact between the golden ship and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, a special connection might have formed between the two—at least for now, these signs had already appeared.

"The Ark Maxim fusing with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit..."

Shu Mingyuan muttered to himself. If successful, although it would be somewhat wasteful to let an inanimate object consume an invincible Logia-type devil fruit, it at least wouldn't be a bad thing, as he still hadn't decided who to give this fruit to.

"Fusion is fine... but not now."

God knew how long this natural fusion would take. Once the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock returned home, there was a high probability this fruit would be directly snatched away.

Shu Mingyuan pressed his palm against the surface of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his eyes instantly shifting into the Mangekyou Sharingan. Kamui was activated, and accompanied by a distortion of space, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was swallowed up and disappeared, instantly appearing within his space-time dimension.

Having done all this, Shu Mingyuan slipped back without anyone noticing.

Left in his original spot was his shadow clone, yet apparently, no one had noticed a thing.

......

"Sand Burial!"

Two hundred meters beneath the ground, Lao G was buried deep. Pressure pressed in from all directions, seemingly intent on crushing his entire body to pieces. Controlled by Shukaku, the shifting sands transformed into a giant claw of sand, gripping Lao G's body underground and squeezing ruthlessly.

This immense power almost crushed him. As a direct subordinate of Diamante, Lao G's strength was roughly at the level of a Rear Admiral, while Shukaku, even with just a Tailed Beast Ball, could directly blast Vice Admirals to death. As powerful entities in the world of Naruto, the Tailed Beasts possessed at least the combat capability of Vice Admirals.

The battle seemed to be over. Through the Sharingan, Shu Mingyuan could clearly see that Lao G had apparently lost his combat ability, and being buried this deep underground, he was destined to die.

"Rotating Missile!"

High in the air, Buffalo’s body suddenly transformed into the shape of a propeller. Rotating at high speed, his body generated a massive cone-shaped tornado. Surrounded by powerful air currents, he crashed straight down from the sky onto the beach, leaving behind a massive sand crater.

Buffalo rampaged through the underground, finding Lao G's body shortly after.

"Xiao Jiu, those two are trying to run, stop them quickly!"

Shu Mingyuan said in a deep voice. But just as his words fell, before Shukaku could react, a cone-shaped whirlwind soared from the underground and quickly sped away. Shu Mingyuan narrowed his eyes, vaguely catching sight of Buffalo carrying Lao G's body on his back.

Realizing that the two had actually escaped right under their noses, Shukaku immediately flew into a rage. It let out a few babyish, angry cries, and dozens of massive sand spears thrust fiercely toward Buffalo's retreating figure, as if venting the fury in its heart. Buffalo shifted left and right, narrowly dodging the attacks of the sand spears, before quickly vanishing from everyone's sight.

Shu Mingyuan smiled and patted Shukaku's head, signaling the latter not to be angry. Escaping was escaping; it wasn't a big deal.

To avoid drawing unwanted attention from others, Shu Mingyuan temporarily left Shukaku outside.

With the powerful enemy defeated and fleeing, Elder Nyon and all the warrior women finally breathed a collective sigh of relief. That person's power had nearly swept across the entirety of Amazon Lily. Fortunately, Shu Mingyuan was here today to save everyone, preventing a catastrophic disaster.

"Many thanks to Miss Mingyue for driving away our powerful enemy. On behalf of all of Amazon Lily, I express my deepest gratitude to you. Having you in Amazon Lily is truly a blessing for our nation! When Lady Snake Princess returns, I will recommend you to become a member of the Kuja Pirates." Elder Nyon said, holding Shu Mingyuan's smooth, tender hand.

Shu Mingyuan smiled awkwardly, withdrawing his hand without leaving a trace: "Elder Nyon flatters me. Protecting Kuja Island is everyone's responsibility."

Shukaku let out a babyish cry, as if declaring that it was the true protagonist of the day. At this moment, everyone's attention finally focused on it.

"Sister Yue, is this a pet you raised? It's so amazing."

"Was it the one that helped us beat away the enemy just now? Thank you so much."

"With such a cute appearance, how could it possess such powerful strength? It's truly surprising."

Praise for Shukaku poured in endlessly from the many beautiful women. Shukaku narrowed its eyes slightly, licked its paws, and fell asleep on Shu Mingyuan's shoulder, clearly enjoying all the flattery.

"If this old woman isn't mistaken, your pet must have accidentally eaten some kind of devil fruit, right? That's why it possesses such formidable strength." Elder Nyon asked.

Shu Mingyuan nodded. Since this group of people had already found a convenient excuse for Shukaku's abilities, he couldn't be bothered to explain otherwise.

"Sister Yue, how did you trick this little guy? Little cutie, why don't you come with big sister? I'll feed you delicious food every day."

Shukaku rolled its eyes in a very human-like manner and simply ignored her.

Amidst the cheerful chatter of the crowd, the long-delayed News Coo finally flew over the skies of Amazon Lily, dropping newspapers one by one. Elder Nyon immediately tossed the appropriate coins into the air, cradling the newspapers like precious treasures and reading them engrossed, oblivious to everyone else.

Shu Mingyuan also casually picked up a newspaper to read. He, too, wanted to know what the external situation was like right now.

Not looking was fine, but a single glance caused cold sweat to stream down Elder Nyon's forehead. The entire newspaper was filled with news concerning the Ghost Hunter.

The Impel Down incident had finally reached its aftermath, concluding with the Ghost Hunter Monkey D. Shu Mingyuan escaping heavily injured after being cornered by the World Government's encirclement. In this major incident, the Ghost Hunter's battle record could only be described as flawless.

Had three Admiral-level combatants not intervened simultaneously later on, this war could have been said to be a solo show for the Ghost Hunter.

From beginning to end, it was an overwhelming, crushing rout.

It wasn't until Magellan, Shiryu of the Rain, and Admiral Aokiji stepped in that the Ghost Hunter's offensive was finally halted. Even so, Magellan still paid the price of losing an arm.