Before Sardar even made his way down the mountain, Shirakawa and the others were already waiting for him aboard the pirate ship. None of the four grumbled about Sardar running late. They knew he had a lot to wrap up before leaving.
Not long after, a lone figure appeared in the distance, walking slowly toward them with a wooden crate strapped to his back. It was Sardar. If Shirakawa had to guess, that crate held his cooking tools.
"Didn't you mention you still have a mother? What's going to happen to her once you're gone?"
Shirakawa asked as Sardar stepped aboard alone. Though deep down, Shirakawa already suspected Sardar's mother had passed away.
"Ryan will look after her."
Sardar didn't seem sad at the question. Instead, he turned to face the hilltop behind them and smiled.
For some reason, it was the same smile Sardar always wore, but Shirakawa felt two completely different emotions coming from it.
"Well, if you've got everything squared away, let's get moving. Do you know where that man lives?"
"Of course." Now that they were back to business, Sardar's expression hardened. The look on his face sent a chill down the spine.
He reached into the crate on his back and pulled out an Eternal Pose. The needle pointed straight toward the island where that noble resided.
"Good. If you've got a heading, that makes things simple."
Shirakawa had no idea how long it would take to reach the island the Eternal Pose pointed to, but considering that noble had visited this place before, it probably wasn't too far.
"Sardar, now that you've officially joined the crew, there's something serious we need to get straight."
"Go ahead."
"You came on board as our cook, but when the situation calls for it, you'll be expected to fight too. If you're not strong enough, you could end up dead at any moment. You need to understand that the enemies we face aren't just ordinary nobles."
"I'll train hard."
Sardar wasn't eager to die either. If he were, he'd have gone after that bastard alone a long time ago. But that kind of reckless move carried enormous risk. He might not come back at all. That's exactly why he'd made this request in exchange for joining the crew.
"Hey, don't we still have that Devil Fruit on board? If we give it to him, it might boost his strength a bit."
Jora spoke up, glancing over at Riddle. The Devil Fruit was in Riddle's possession.
"Devil Fruit? What's a Devil Fruit?"
The term was completely new to Sardar.
"A Devil Fruit is a mysterious fruit. People call them the hidden treasures of the sea. Eat one, and you gain a strange new power. They fall into three main categories: Paramecia, Logia, and Zoan."
Shirakawa explained.
"We've already got a Zoan user on this ship. Riddle, give him a demonstration."
"Sure thing, Captain."
Right before Sardar's astonished eyes, Riddle transformed into a giant lizard. He could even shift into an upright, humanoid lizard form.
"That's the power of the Lizard Lizard Fruit. A Zoan type."
Staring at the lizard version of Riddle, Sardar pulled out one of his kitchen knives and began eyeing Riddle's scaly hide with intense focus, as if mentally calculating the best way to cook the creature.
Riddle immediately snapped back to human form, thoroughly creeped out.
"Even though he turns into an animal, he's still a person at heart. I don't think I could stomach eating him."
Jora quipped from the side, grinning.
"You bastard! You really were thinking about eating me, weren't you?!" Riddle shouted at him.
"Haha, just kidding, just kidding." Jora waved his hands, brushing it off.
Sardar, meanwhile, was still reeling. He'd just watched a man shift back and forth between human and animal with his own eyes.
"Then there's Logia. You might be more familiar with that one."
"Huh?" Sardar tilted his head, confused.
"The big villain who used to control your town, Graal. He was a Logia user. The Flour Flour Fruit."
"Oh, I know about him. No matter what kind of attack you threw at him, nothing seemed to hurt him."
"Exactly. That's one of the hallmarks of a Logia type. Ordinary attacks simply pass through the user. You can't hurt them unless you find the specific element that counters their power, or unless you use Haki."
"With Graal, his weakness was water. Get him wet, and his body turned into dough. Then any attack could land. As for Haki, we'll teach you about that later."
"And then there's Paramecia. The abilities in that category are all over the place. No two are exactly alike. So that's the rundown on Devil Fruits. But they all share one big weakness."
"What's that?"
"They're useless in seawater. Any Devil Fruit user who gets submerged in the sea loses all their strength. Completely helpless."
"I see. So what kind of power does the Devil Fruit on our ship have?"
"No clue. My gut says it's probably a Paramecia. So, what do you say? You willing to give it a try?"
Sardar fell silent, lost in thought. Shirakawa didn't rush him. For some people, eating a Devil Fruit was a real decision, especially when the fruit's power was a complete mystery.
After a moment, Sardar lifted his head. His eyes shone with resolve. His voice was steady as he answered, "I'll eat it."
Hearing those two words, Shirakawa let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. A smile spread across his face.
"Alright then. Riddle, go grab the Devil Fruit."
"Got it, Captain." Riddle still felt a small pang of reluctance, but letting the fruit sit around in his care was just a waste.
Shirakawa's relief came from another place entirely. Having a Devil Fruit with unknown powers just sitting on the ship had always felt a bit off. He had no interest in eating it himself, so finding someone willing to try it felt like finally getting to unwrap a mystery gift.
A short while later, Riddle returned with the Devil Fruit. He didn't cradle it like a treasure anymore. He just tossed it casually in front of Sardar.
"Go ahead. Fair warning though. You're better off swallowing it in one bite. Don't chew it."
Riddle offered the advice out of genuine kindness.
Sardar didn't take the warning seriously. He stared down at the bizarrely shaped fruit in his hands, then without a second thought, bit off a small piece and began chewing slowly. Almost instantly, his face twisted into a sickly shade of purple.
"Won't listen to good advice, huh? Now you're paying for it."
Riddle watched Sardar's expression change and shook his head in mock sympathy, though inside he was laughing his head off.
"What's wrong with him?" Jora and Yuristin asked, both worried since neither had ever eaten a Devil Fruit before.
"Nothing serious. Devil Fruits just taste absolutely awful. Everyone who's ever eaten one makes that exact face."
"Awful? How awful are we talking?"
"They say it's like eating crap. Widely considered the single worst tasting food in the entire world. Bar none."
Even as Shirakawa explained this, he found himself glancing at the other half of the fruit Sardar had tossed aside. He swallowed unconsciously. A small part of him was curious. Just how bad could the world's worst tasting food really be?
/-\
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