30 Years in Whitebeard’s Crew, I Became Invincible

"You two go on ahead. I'll go down myself," Roy said.

"Big bro, you don't need us?" Izo asked.

"No need. Atmos, take Izo with you. I'll contact you when I'm ready to return," Roy replied.

"Got it, big bro." Atmos nodded and flew off with Izo.

Roy descended from the sky, landing on one of Egghead's buildings.

The entire island was under surveillance. Roy waved at one of the cameras.

Before long, Shaka came to meet him and led him into a secret facility. Soon after, Vegapunk appeared.

"What brings you here?" Vegapunk asked.

"I need your expertise on something." Roy reached into his bag and pulled out the ominous, grenade-like black Devil Fruit.

"Is that… a Devil Fruit?" Shaka stared, reaching out to touch it.

"Wait!" Vegapunk suddenly became serious, frowning. "Is this one of the fruits you replicated?"

"Yeah. I planted ten trees, only one bore fruit, and it didn't turn out as expected. I'm not sure what it is, and I didn't want to test it recklessly. I considered feeding it to someone, but decided to consult you first. I want to know: why did it turn out like this?" Roy asked.

"Could it be a cloning failure?" Shaka asked.

"Possibly," Roy nodded.

"This fruit radiates something… sinister. Consuming it could be disastrous. Tell me, what was the original fruit you cloned?" Vegapunk's gaze sharpened.

Roy fell silent. The room grew heavy with tension.

Finally, he spoke.

"The Mythical Sun God Nika fruit."

"WHAT?!"

Both Vegapunk and Shaka were stunned, staring at him in disbelief.

"The Sun God?!"

"The Nika Fruit?!"

"That's right."

Roy nodded.

"That's a legendary fruit. One that's been lost for over 800 years! It doesn't even appear in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia! You're lying to us, aren't you?" Shaka said, unable to believe it.

"The Nika Fruit is said to possess a will of its own. It chooses its own host. Even if someone finds it and eats it, they may never awaken its true power unless the fruit itself deems them worthy. If you truly attempted to replicate it… It should have been impossible." He eyed the black fruit with dread. "The fruit you're holding might be a cursed version. Consuming it could have catastrophic consequences."

"Is that so?" Roy frowned. "I didn't know that. The Nika Fruit is a Human-Human Fruit variant, so I thought replication was possible. But it seems Nika is truly unique."

"The sun in the sky is singular. Trying to make a second one by man's hand is impossible. Good thing you came to us. Had you not, who knows what kind of monster this fruit might have birthed." Vegapunk said.

"Still… I want to know what would happen if someone ate it. Would they die? Or turn into a demon?" Roy said

"It's best not to. If you're unsure, don't touch it. The Nika Fruit chooses its master, and it's fundamentally different from other fruits," Shaka said.

"Different, how so?" Roy asked, curious.

"Simple. As the original said, the Nika Fruit has its own consciousness. Unlike other fruits, which grant only abilities, the Nika fruit changes the user. Their body, their mind, everything bends to its will. Those deemed worthy are guided by Nika's essence. Their thoughts, their desires, all become unrestrained, chaotic."

Roy's eyes darkened.

'So that's why.'

Luffy's post-awakening behavior, his erratic, wild, and joyfully unhinged state, different from his usual self, wasn't just a power-up. Almost like he had become another person.

His personality had been influenced, his body controlled by the spirit of the Nika Fruit.

Other fruits, when awakened, simply enhanced their users' capabilities. For example, Doflamingo's awakening allowed him to manipulate his surroundings. Zoan awakenings boosted physical abilities and recovery.

But the Nika Fruit, its awakening transformed the user's entire nature. From rubber to the embodiment of freedom, even the user's personality changed.

Their very being changed.

Only laughter remained.

Laughter.

A sudden thought struck Roy.

SMILE.

The artificial Devil Fruits made by Caesar Clown.

Why was he thinking of this?

Because the failed SMILE users, those doomed to eternal laughter, stripped of sorrow, only joy remained.

Why did they laugh?

Could it be… that this was the curse carried by the Devil Fruit?

Luffy, post-awakening, was always laughing. Always free.

No matter the suffering around him.

"I need to do an experiment. I want to test this fruit. If my guess is right, eating it… could mean death," Roy said.

"You're going to experiment on a human?!" Vegapunk asked.

"We refuse such testing. It's absolutely forbidden," Shaka shook his head.

"Oh? Then, who conducted all those human experiments in Punk Hazard?" Roy said flatly.

"Those were World Government projects, centuries old. We merely inherited the facility. Our research standards are nothing like theirs. We never used humans," Shaka argued.

Roy scoffed. "Then explain, Kuma."

The room went quiet.

Neither of them could respond. Hadn't they ever used humans in experiments?

What a joke. How else did they extract Lineage Factors?

Roy knew the truth: the World Government had been studying Devil Fruits for more than 300 years, and Saturn had started this research personally.

They'd even tried to inject people directly with Devil Fruit essence to grant powers.

It was clear, Saturn was a half-baked scientist.

The mindless Jailer Beasts of Impel Down were among his earlier experiments.

But Vegapunk had surpassed him. Though he claimed failure, that was only due to slight imperfections like color variation. When weapons gained Devil Fruit powers, that was his success.

Now Roy needed to confirm his hypothesis: 

What was this fruit's true nature?

And was the curse exactly what he feared?

.....

If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.

[email protected]/DaoistJinzu