"You, eat it."
Ross went up to the altar again, picked up the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Watatsumi, and threw it to the tall, thin slave.
It must be said that the Jaygarcia family was quite shrewd.
This altar was probably set up specifically for this fruit, so that it could be used to harness the fruit's power after its rebirth.
"Master, must I eat it?"
The tall, thin man had a bitter look on his face. He wasn't much stronger than the strong man from before, so why should he eat this fruit? Wasn't that just sending him to his death?
"A fruit that can be reborn infinitely in the same place? That's rather unique."
Zephyr suddenly realized why Ross was so generous, daring to feed such a precious fruit to slaves—it was because it allowed for infinite rebirth.
However, he still didn't approve of Ross's actions.
He knew before he came that this was the sacrificial site of the Jaygarcia family, which meant that Ross's family had already discovered the fruit.
The fact that this fruit had remained undiscovered and buried here for so many years spoke volumes.
A problem that had remained unsolved for centuries couldn't possibly be solved by the death of a few slaves.
"I'm not discussing this with you."
Ross moved like a ghost, activating Marine Rokushiki - Soru, and instantly appeared beside the tall, thin man.
He reached out and snatched the fruit from the other man's hand, grabbed the tall, thin man's chin, and shoved the fruit into his mouth.
With a gentle tap on the tall, thin man's throat, most of the fruit was forced down his throat.
A Devil Fruit only takes effect after being eaten once; otherwise, it loses its effect regardless of whether it is eaten or not.
After feeding the fruit, Ross stepped back, leaving the tall, thin man to undergo the same transformation as the strong man, before finally being enveloped by the seawater sphere.
"Whoosh!"
Without rushing to kill, Ross gently raised his palm.
The seawater surrounding the tall, thin man seemed to be drawn towards Ross's palm.
But as the seawater was continuously drawn away, the amount of seawater around the tall, thin man did not decrease at all.
Clearly, Ross's extraction speed was nowhere near the speed of regeneration.
"It still didn't work."
Ross sighed regretfully and waved his hand to disperse the seawater.
Zephyr had just tested it, and it was indeed ordinary seawater.
To be precise, Ross thought of Zane again:
"How has the water flow pattern changed compared to before?"
"This time the water flow circle was about 15 meters long, much higher than before. There was a break in the middle, lasting about 5 minutes," Zane replied.
The tall, thin man was slightly stronger than the strong man, with an overall rating of C-. He could create a water flow of about 15 meters, which was not bad.
However... to create a water flow hundreds of feet high, that would be nearly a thousand meters long—that was too exaggerated.
Thinking of the description in the family records, Ross had a strange look on his face, and even felt the urge to make Zephyr eat the fruit.
Finding slaves of grade B or higher was no easy task; he probably wouldn't have the chance to test what kind of strength was needed to achieve the effect of a water flow hundreds of feet long.
Bang!
With a gunshot, the tall, thin man fell to the ground.
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Ross was no longer going to hold back.
[C-level defeat achieved!]
[Strength +10000]
[Special Reward: Human-Human Fruit, Model: Watatsumi Ability (Incomplete)]
As expected, the reward was still a fragmented Devil Fruit ability.
Furthermore, the two were superimposed rather than accumulated.
After Ross used up his reward, he could draw this conclusion with certainty.
After receiving duplicate rewards, there would be no new changes; the panel would simply show how many points had been accumulated. Ten points of the same level were needed to exchange for one higher-level skill.
And Ross was certain that the reason wasn't because the tall, thin man had C-level strength.
Because this incomplete Devil Fruit power was not even as strong as the strong man's, it was a case of 1+1<2.
Therefore, Ross could conclude that the acquisition of the Incomplete Fruit's power had nothing to do with the user's strength.
"Eat it!"
Ross picked up the rebirth fruit again and walked up to the only female pirate he had brought with him this time.
However, to be a female pirate on the high seas and still manage to achieve a C- rank, you could easily imagine what kind of person she must be. There might be many exceptions, but the one in front of Ross was more manly than any man.
"I..."
The female pirate opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything more, and took the fruit and ate it.
If you don't eat it, you'll die immediately; if you eat it, there's still hope of survival.
What if the fruit could be identified by its gender?
What if she was the chosen one?
Two hours later.
Bang!
As the gunshot rang out, the same notification that appeared when the tall, thin man had just died appeared.
Although the descriptions of the rewards were exactly the same, Ross still felt a significant difference.
This time.
1+1+1>10!
Sure enough, as the resistance lasted longer, the power of the incomplete fruit obtained also became stronger.
After finalizing the plan, Ross immediately dismissed Zephyr, since his actions were rather inhumane and it was better not to do it in front of Zephyr.
However, Ross left Stella behind, keeping her at a safe distance with a Den Den Mushi in hand, just in case anything went wrong.
Afterwards, Ross instructed Zane to bring all the slaves over to be guarded by the priestly guards. Upon hearing his command, they were allowed to enter.
With something to do, Ross didn't even bother to rest and simply stayed at the sacrificial site.
…
Two weeks later.
From Gion in the New World, they arrived at the island of Jaygarcia.
"Zane, where is Saint Ross?"
Seeing that only Zephyr and Zane were there to greet her at the port, Gion felt a little uneasy.
She felt that she had not completed the mission perfectly this time. Although she obtained the fruit, she also provoked Kaido and, more importantly, lost a group of colleagues.
"Lady Gion, His Highness is currently in seclusion for cultivation, at a crucial moment. Otherwise, he would definitely have come to greet you," Zane explained.
Ross had previously stated that he would grant Zane the title of Gion's first wife, which was why Zane had always referred to her as such.
At first, Gion was not used to it at all.
But after hearing it so many times on Den Den Mushi, she became numb to it when she actually heard it.
"May I visit the place where Saint Ross is in seclusion?"
Gion was somewhat surprised by Ross's efforts, but still wanted to meet with him.
After all, she had just begun to enjoy that feeling before heading off to find fruits to enhance her strength.
Now that she was finally back, and her skills had improved significantly, she was eager to gain Ross's approval, both physically and mentally.
"His Highness has not imposed any restrictions, but you may see some unpleasant things," Zane kindly reminded her.
"What is it about?" Gion asked instinctively.
Just before entering the port, she had seen a water flow nearly 5 meters high, which seemed to encircle the entire island of Jaygarcia.
If it weren't for the fact that the boat she was on was in pretty good condition, it probably would have fallen apart while crossing the current.
However, Gion felt that this was probably due to the unique topography around the island. She had seen many similar environments in the New World not long ago, so she didn't find it particularly special.
But when Zane mentioned something unpleasant, she suddenly remembered this incident.
"It's nothing, it'll just be a little gruesome."
Zane smiled and used two fingers to make a tiny gap.
In the past two weeks, she had sent nearly a hundred people in.
From the initial 20 labor slaves to the later nobles who were still temporarily imprisoned and not yet dealt with, the time intervals for needing people became shorter and shorter.
...
Smash that @Powerstone!
Drop a quick @Review!
Every vote = more daily chapters