Is it a legend, or the truth?
Ross narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze settling on a series of murals.
The first mural depicts a crowned king kneeling before an altar on which sits a blue fruit with a peculiar spiral pattern.
The second mural depicts the king eating fruit, with waves surging around his body.
The third mural depicts the king suspended in mid-air above the altar, with waves surging around the island.
The story behind these three murals is easy to understand; they tell the tale of a family legend he knew well.
So here's the problem.
If the hundreds-of-feet water barrier is the power of the fruit, then why didn't the powerful figures of the Jaygarcia family eat the fruit, but instead used it as a nuclear weapon?
The origins of Devil Fruits are unknown, but after existing in this world for so many years, some of their characteristics have been summarized.
Each Devil Fruit can only appear once at a time, and it will only be regenerated when the previous user dies.
The location where it was regenerated remains a mystery to this day.
Some will appear on the most recently harvested fruit, while others will appear in a fixed location; it varies from person to person.
The fact that the family has been able to resolve several crises under similar circumstances suggests that the fruit always reappears within the family's sphere of influence.
But why those kings, after eating the fruit, couldn't leave the sacrificial site is a thought-provoking question.
Indeed, many fruits have strong side effects. For example, the Poison-Poison Fruit causes diarrhea, and failing to awaken an Animal Fruit can turn you into a beast.
However, the ability to use a fruit can only be used once after eating it, and the person will be gone afterward. This is the first time I've seen a situation like this.
With a certain expectation in his heart, Ross continued forward.
About five minutes later, after passing through a long and dark passageway, Ross finally stepped into a bright and open space.
Although the space is located inside the mountain, it strangely exudes a sense of tranquility and solemnity, as if it were isolated from the world and enjoyed a secluded peace that transcends the mundane world.
In the center, a simple and enormous altar stands majestically.
Above the altar, a beam of light seeped down from a crevice in the rock above, like a guiding light from heaven, gently illuminating the sacred object in the center of the altar.
A strange fruit with blue spiral patterns.
Ross recognized it at a glance; it was the fruit depicted in the mural, though he didn't know what power it possessed.
With patience, Ross surveyed the area around the altar.
As he slowly approached, he could see that the base of the altar was engraved with names written in Ancient Script.
"Jaygarcia Salen..."
"Jaygarcia Flick..."
"Jaygarcia Tovan..."
"..."
Ross softly recited the names written in Ancient Script, each one a name of a Jaygarcia ancestor.
It must be said that his Ohara-acquired knowledge of Ancient Script was still very useful today.
Ross glanced at it briefly and then looked away.
They're all just skeletons that have been dead for many years; there's not much point in remembering them.
Besides historians and a few of their descendants, no one else remembers them; even fewer people know about Joy Boy.
Ross didn't look at the fruit first, but instead looked towards the right side of the altar.
To the right of the altar stands a huge stone tablet, inscribed with dense ancient characters.
"Is there really a Poneglyph? But it can't really be called a Poneglyph; it's more like a family record inscription."
Ross chuckled softly and walked towards the stone tablet.
800 years ago, the World Government was established. In order to cover up a part of history, it switched to a new script, which is the script we use now.
Records of ancient writing systems have been almost entirely erased by world governments. Only a few forgotten stone tablets remain, recording the Ancient Script used in those days.
These stone tablets inscribed with Ancient Script are the Poneglyph sought by Ohara historians.
As Ross approached the stone tablet, his gaze swept over the lines of ancient text, and he murmured:
"Jaygarcia... made a pact with the demon... nourished by the blood of his descendants... wielding the mighty power of the sea... awaiting the one who will master the demon."
"The demon's name is: Watatsumi...???"
As he finished reading, Ross raised an eyebrow, a strange look on his face.
Watatsumi?
This name shares the same origin as Nika's.
Nika means rubber tree spirit and is interpreted as the sun god.
The translation of "Watatsumi" in ancient Japanese is even more direct.
God of the Sea.
Ross never imagined that the fruit passed down through the Jaygarcia family was actually related to the sea god.
Everyone knows that Devil Fruits have only two weaknesses: Seastone and the ocean.
Anyone who eats a Devil Fruit will immediately become a landlubber who can't swim in the sea.
So what's the current situation with this Human-Human Fruit Model: Watatsumi?
He's a sea god, he can't be unable to enter the sea, that would be too low-class.
Ross's gaze fell on the blue fruit on the altar, his eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.
Based on the current naming conventions for fruits and the information on the stone tablet, the name of this fruit should be:
Mythical Zoan, Human-Human Fruit, Model: Watatsumi.
In terms of prestige, it should be on par with the Nika Fruit. However, the Nika Fruit can only be used to awaken Nika's powers, and eating this fruit could be life-threatening.
Thinking of this, Ross smiled meaningfully.
He then thoroughly investigated the site of the sacrifice, making sure nothing was missed and there were no other surprises.
After inspecting the altar, Ross turned around without hesitation and strode out, not even glancing at the fruit again.
That's ridiculous. He finally managed to transmigrate into a Celestial Dragon, so there's no way he would risk his life after just glancing at a stone tablet.
Not to mention, there's a group of ancestors who died after trying it, serving as a cautionary tale.
However, this does not mean that Ross will give up on this opportunity.
The fact that this fruit is known to spawn on Jaygarcia Island is particularly important.
Now that we know the fruit is not going anywhere, all that's left is to keep experimenting.
It's not too late to eat it once you're sure there won't be any problems.
If he was really unsure about this fruit, choosing the one from the Holy Land Mary Geoise in the end wasn't a bad choice either.
Even without the Devil Fruit, Ross felt that relying on the system wouldn't be too bad, except that he would lose a powerful ability.
While it's true that the strong in this world don't necessarily rely on fruits, both physical skills and swordsmanship have their limitations.
Those powerful fruits are the real tools for clearing out mobs and changing the terrain; compared to them, the destructive range of human labor is still much smaller.
Besides, Luffy has a Devil Fruit, which shows that the path of Devil Fruits is the only true path to success.
Moreover, Ross was somewhat envious of all sorts of special abilities.
As for the side effects of the sea and sea stone, those are secondary.
In his memory, there was no strong person who perished after encountering the sea or sea stone.
He wondered which fruit he would be destined for.
...
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