Natsume suddenly began stammering.
The culprit behind his stammering was the Devil Fruit Rowan had suddenly taken out and placed on the table.
It was precisely because he saw this Devil Fruit that Natsume began to stutter.
"Uh… Wait… I… What's going on?"
Natsume stared at the lifelike Devil Fruit on the table, completely unable to understand. This thing actually existed? Wasn't it supposed to be a fictional object from a manga? Why had it appeared right in front of him?
Wait. Could it be a model?
Perhaps it was so realistically made that Rowan was using it to fool him.
"Can I touch it?"
"Of course."
Facing Natsume's question, Rowan gestured for him to do as he pleased.
Natsume reached out, picked up the Devil Fruit, and squeezed it several times.
It did not feel like a model, plastic, or stone. It really did feel like a fruit.
He smelled it as well, but there was no strange odor.
"So this really is a Devil Fruit?"
No matter how Natsume examined it, he could not find any flaws in the Devil Fruit.
"The genuine article."
"Devil Fruits really exist?"
"You can treat it as one of my abilities. I can turn Devil Fruits into reality."
Rowan did not tell Natsume that he was a world traveler and simply made up an excuse.
"An ability like that exists?"
Natsume found it unbelievable and could not help glancing at Nyanko-sensei.
"Don't look at me."
Nyanko-sensei also found it strange, but he still said, "Even as a yokai, I wouldn't dare claim to know every ability in the world. It isn't unusual for some humans to possess incomprehensible abilities."
In the end, the world was enormous. Anything could happen.
Natsume let out an uncertain "Huh?" and reluctantly accepted the explanation before asking curiously, "What kind of fruit is this?"
"Zoan-type, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Daibutsu."
"The fruit Fleet Admiral Sengoku ate?"
Natsume cried out in surprise. Anyone who had read One Piece knew that Fleet Admiral Sengoku had eaten this fruit.
"That's right."
Rowan nodded.
"Besides this, I also have the Azure Dragon, Okuchi-no-Makami, Nine-Tailed Fox, Kirin, and many other forms. Do you want one?"
Natsume was more than a little tempted.
This was a Devil Fruit.
A Devil Fruit that could grant magical powers once eaten.
"Do you only have Zoan-types?"
"Of course I have Paramecia-types too—the Magnet-Magnet Fruit, Op-Op Fruit, Snip-Snip Fruit, Arms-Arms Fruit, Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Warp-Warp Fruit, Strong-Strong Fruit, Clear-Clear Fruit…"
Rowan calmly said, "As long as a fruit has appeared in the anime, I basically have it."
"However, I think a Mythical Zoan would suit you better. On one hand, it would grant you powerful combat ability. On the other, you would gain a powerful physique and tremendous vitality."
"At least during battle, you wouldn't be killed by a yokai with one punch."
"I even have an exceptionally powerful Devil Fruit that would suit you perfectly."
Nyanko-sensei also glanced at the tempted Natsume and asked, "What fruit?"
"The Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Heracles."
"Heracles? The great hero from Greek mythology?"
Natsume's eyes instantly widened, and his pupils trembled violently.
"That's right."
"But I don't remember this Devil Fruit ever appearing in the One Piece manga."
Natsume had read One Piece as well. No such Devil Fruit had appeared anywhere in the manga.
Naturally, Rowan would not tell Natsume that Vegapunk had created the fruit using Heracles's blood, so he casually made up another excuse.
"Just because it hasn't appeared doesn't mean it doesn't exist. In any case, I have one. Do you want it?"
I do! I want it so badly!
Although Natsume was shouting inwardly, his mouth remained firmly closed, and he never spoke.
Because he understood very clearly that Devil Fruits were extremely valuable. As an ordinary country boy, he did not have enough money to purchase such precious Devil Fruits from Rowan.
As for asking Rowan to give him a Devil Fruit for free—
Natsume could not do that.
How shameless would someone have to be to say something so brazen?
Rowan also saw Natsume's internal struggle and once again sighed inwardly.
Country boys really were honest and simple.
At that moment, Nyanko-sensei suddenly jumped onto the table and smacked the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Daibutsu into Natsume's arms.
"Forget about the Heracles form. This Daibutsu form suits Natsume very well."
"Nyanko-sensei?!"
Natsume was suddenly startled and frantically caught the Daibutsu Fruit.
Nyanko-sensei raised his head and looked at Rowan.
"Consider this a favor I owe you, Lord Rowan. In the future, should you have any orders, I am willing to brave fire and water to help you."
"Would Lord Rowan be willing to accept that?"
Rowan looked at the serious Nyanko-sensei, then turned toward Natsume.
"What do you think, Natsume?"
Natsume desperately wanted to return the Daibutsu Fruit. He did not want Nyanko-sensei to owe Rowan a favor because of him.
But without this Devil Fruit, if they encountered another powerful enemy in the future, he would remain nothing more than a burden.
Natsume struggled intensely.
Hearing Rowan's question and remembering the sight of Nyanko-sensei covered in blood after being beaten by Tsuchigumo, Natsume finally made his decision.
He abruptly stood and bowed deeply toward Rowan.
"I am also willing to owe Lord Rowan a favor. If Lord Rowan ever needs anything in the future, I will also brave fire and water to help you. Please give this Devil Fruit to me."
"Sure."
Rowan agreed with a smile.
"One fruit in exchange for two favors. I'll accept that deal. You can eat the Devil Fruit now."
Hearing this, Natsume was both surprised and overjoyed. At Nyanko-sensei's urging, he picked up the Devil Fruit without hesitation and bit into it.
Crunch!
The next second, Natsume's facial features scrunched together, creating an extremely abstract expression.
"So…"
His face twitched repeatedly.
"So?" Nyanko-sensei asked in confusion.
So what? Could it be so delicious that he was dying from joy?
"So disgusting! Why does it taste this awful?"
Natsume forcibly suppressed the urge to vomit and swallowed the fruit.
"It feels like I'm eating food that has been rotting for several days. It's both rancid and fishy."
"No wonder the manga says Devil Fruits taste unbelievably awful. So that part was actually true."
He had been so excited that he had forgotten this detail and had not prepared himself mentally at all.
It was genuinely revolting.
Nyanko-sensei: "…"
Rowan pointed him in the right direction with a smile.
"You can try using the fruit's power now."
Natsume nodded, closed his eyes, and slowly felt the changes inside his body.
In an instant, golden light erupted from his body, and his entire figure began expanding.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a four-meter-tall golden Buddha.
Fortunately, the living room of Rowan's apartment had a six-meter-high ceiling. Otherwise, it would not have been able to accommodate this golden Buddha.
At the same time, Natsume, now transformed into a golden Buddha, felt an immense power boiling within him. It seemed that even a casual palm strike could unleash unimaginable destructive force.
But he did not do so.
This was Rowan's home. How could he possibly destroy it?
Rowan understood his concern and turned to glance at Nero.
Nero understood immediately and proclaimed loudly, "Rise, my skyscraper! Display here the supreme radiance!"
In an instant, surging magical energy erupted from Nero's body.
The Golden Theater that Invites One to Rapture appeared once again.
Rowan summoned Kato and pointed at the golden Buddha Natsume had transformed into.
"Go. Test him."
Kato nodded, locked its gaze onto Natsume, and charged out with a whoosh, moving as swiftly as a bolt of black lightning.
Yet Natsume managed to react, his gaze following Kato's movements.
The Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Daibutsu granted its user power, wisdom, and spirit resembling that of a Buddha.
Following Kato's movements was nothing remarkable.
Under the influence of the golden Buddha form, Natsume was extremely calm. Negative emotions such as fear, trembling, and panic did not arise at all.
Kato opened its mouth and spat out a ball of fire.
It struck Natsume's body with a crisp clang and forced him one step backward.
But that was all.
The Daibutsu's golden body united offense and defense. It not only possessed overwhelming offensive power but also astonishing defensive ability.
Kato's flames could not harm Natsume's golden Buddha form at all.
After realizing this, Natsume casually threw a punch.
Buddha Fist!
Surging power violently erupted from Natsume's fist, enveloping an area dozens of meters wide. Terrifying force swept outward like a landslide and tsunami.
Kato was directly blasted away.
Seeing this, Nyanko-sensei narrowed his eyes.
As a great yokai, he understood the power of Natsume's punch far too well.
Neither he nor Tsuchigumo would dare take it head-on.
That was absolutely an attack on the level of a great yokai.
The only question was how long Natsume could maintain this form.
Although Kato had been blasted away, it was not injured. After landing, it continuously circled Natsume, searching for an opportunity to counterattack.
At the same time, it manipulated flames into fire spears, flaming fists, fire whips, and other forms, repeatedly bombarding Natsume.
Every strike carried tremendous explosive power.
But none of them could harm Natsume, because the golden Buddha's defense was simply too powerful.
Relying on the Buddha's wisdom, Natsume gradually corrected his weaknesses during battle and became increasingly difficult to deal with.
Kato found the battle more and more challenging.
"Enough. Let's stop here."
At that moment, Rowan suddenly spoke and ended the battle.
After all, this had only been a spar intended to familiarize Natsume with the Daibutsu Fruit's power.
Now that Natsume had accomplished that, the battle could end.
Kato nodded, ceased its attacks, and returned to Rowan's shadow.
Natsume also stopped. The golden Buddha shrank, the golden light vanished, and the Buddha transformed back into Natsume.
"How did it feel, Natsume?"
Nyanko-sensei jumped onto Natsume's shoulder and asked.
"Powerful."
Natsume recalled the sensation of transforming into the golden Buddha.
"Unbelievably powerful. This fruit is simply too strong."
Rowan shook his head.
"That's where you're mistaken. The Daibutsu Fruit actually isn't as powerful as you think."