Chapter 1615 Brain Development and Fruit Power
Kaku pulled Lucci to a corner of the shop, and the two spoke in hushed tones. His voice trembled slightly with excitement, and his fingers gestured unconsciously.
His point was clear and earnest: he was trying his best to persuade Lucci to replace the ordinary Leopard-Leopard Fruit in his body with a stronger one.
"The difference between ancient species and common species is huge. Your talent is far more than that. You were able to exchange a mythical beast for one from the shopkeeper. Your future will definitely not be limited to CP9!"
"You're not just a spy for the Celestial Dragons. This ocean has a much wider sky for you to explore," Ka said, becoming more and more excited, and turning into the pawnshop's best salesman.
Lucci listened in silence, a flicker of desire stirring within him.
He witnessed firsthand Kaku's transformation from a giraffe to a mosasaur, a leap in life level and the essence of power that held a fatal attraction for a genius like him who pursued ultimate power.
Lucci yearns for greater strength, for the power to truly control his own destiny and even influence the world's格局 (geju, a concept encompassing overall situation, overall structure, and overall dynamics). In the face of a truly top-tier powerhouse, the upper limit of his ordinary leopard form is too low.
But what's the price?
Replacing an Ancient Beast took up twenty-five years of Kaku's lifespan. What about the Mythical Beasts, which are even rarer and have more bizarre and powerful abilities than Ancient Beasts?
Fifty years? Sixty years? Or even more?
Human lifespan is not infinite. Even if the strong live long lives, making such a huge sacrifice at once means that the future path will be drastically shortened and the margin for error will be greatly reduced.
More importantly, the mystery and unpredictability of the deal itself made Lucci instinctively wary.
Kaku succeeded, but what about next time?
Can I fully control the power of a Mythical Zoan?
Are there any hidden drawbacks?
Gambling on most or even all of the future with insufficient intelligence is not in line with Lucci's usual style of calm and deliberation.
Just as Lucci was torn between his inner conflict, weighing the allure of power against the unknown cost, unable to make a decision—
On the pirate side, several people quickly exchanged glances.
Capone Bege, with his short and stocky build, stepped out from the pirate camp and walked to the counter.
He became the second customer to explicitly offer a trade after Kaku, and he is also the shortest among all the participants, but his personal aura is by no means weak.
The shopkeeper's gaze fell on Capone Becky. "What do you want to exchange? You also want to gain the power to become stronger."
When asked, Capone Becky did not answer immediately.
He paused for a moment, mentally reviewing his desires one last time. "I don't want to replace the Castle-Castle Fruit inside my body. This Paramecia-type Devil Fruit is very important to me; it's the foundation of the gang."
"I want a better way to become stronger. I feel the potential of the Castle Fruit is far from being fully realized..."
The shop owner listened quietly, his eyes seemingly seeing right through Capone Becky's scheme.
Castle Fruit is absolutely dominant in lower-level games. Its internal space, troop transport and hiding, and firepower fortress are incredibly useful for gang forces.
However, once you stumble into a truly high-level situation, facing monsters who possess top-tier Armament Haki or even Conqueror's Haki, the castle's walls become far too weak and may be violently dismantled in just two or three rounds.
The firepower it unleashes is probably nothing more than a tickle to a true powerhouse.
"The solution that suits you..."
The shop owner repeated in a low voice, then turned around and faced the deep cabinet behind him again. His fingers traced in the air, and two different drawers slid out silently.
He took something out of one of the drawers: a silver headband with a cold, metallic sheen, simple in design, even somewhat inconspicuous.
At its center is a faintly glowing pale blue crystal. Its exact technological principle is unclear, but it gives off a sense of precision and danger.
From another drawer, he took out a clear glass bottle.
The bottle contained no liquid, only a cloud of milky-white mist that swirled slowly and changed shape, with occasional tiny specks of light within it.
The shop owner pointed to the silver headband, "The first one you wear will continuously release a special frequency of gamma rays, gently stimulating and remodeling your cerebral cortex."
The result will be that Capone Becky's brain structure will mutate, resulting in a significant enhancement of his intelligence, memory, calculation ability, and strategic planning skills.
Simply put, Capone Becky will become more intelligent and there is a high probability that he will awaken or enhance some of his special mental abilities, such as a shallow form of telepathy, which would be very suitable for a mob boss to strategize from behind the scenes.
The shop owner didn't go into detail about the cost, but those present, such as Lucci and Hawkins, who were all perceptive, vaguely sensed that the brain mutation might not be entirely without side effects.
The shopkeeper's finger moved to the bottle of white mist. "The second type contains knowledge about the deeper application of Devil Fruit abilities. It doesn't directly enhance your Devil Fruit abilities, but rather enlightens you."
After absorbing it, Capone Bege's comprehension might allow him to open the door to the awakening of the fruit.
If the opportunity is right, one might even glimpse the secrets of further liberation or the unfolding of a new realm.
Of course, this is just a possibility, and there is a certain probability.
The shop owner summarized: "One type of benefit is very direct and obvious, pointing to the enhancement of wisdom and spirit; the other type of benefit is uncertain, but its upper limit may be extremely high."
He added as a final sentence, his tone calm yet enticing: "Of course, if you can afford the corresponding price, you can have it all!"
Capone Beki stood in front of the counter, his thick fingers tapping unconsciously on the wooden surface, lost in deep thought.
The first option, while not directly enhancing the Castle Fruit, is far more appealing to a gang leader like him because it increases his intelligence!
A stronger ability to plan, a more accurate assessment of the situation, and a more profound strategy enable him to better manage his power, avoid risks, and win through wisdom.
The second option concerns the awakening, liberation, and expansion of the Devil Fruit's origin—words that alone are enough to excite anyone.
If we could really open that door, the power of the Castle-Castle Fruit would undergo a qualitative change, but the risk would also be extremely high, with a certain probability—these words are too vague.
What if one's own comprehension is insufficient, and one wastes the wisdom of predecessors, only to get stuck at the awakening stage?
Wouldn't that mean the price was paid for nothing?
He had indeed considered endlessly stacking castle defenses, even dreaming of absolute defense, but as a gang leader, he knew better than anyone that individual bravery was not the only factor in real group battles and complex situations.
Rather than rushing to the front and becoming a target yourself, it's better to sit in the center and control the overall situation.
Wisdom is the true weapon of a leader.
Capone Becky slowly raised his head, a resolute glint in his eyes. He extended his stubby finger and pointed to the gleaming silver tech headband on the counter.
"I choose this one!"
"I'm fed up with having to go to the front lines every time, fighting and killing like a brute..."
He chose the shortcut to wisdom, even if it might require paying the price of changing his appearance.
In Capone Becky's view, problems that can be solved with brains are far more efficient than those solved with fists, and are more in line with his identity as a gangster godfather.
