Chapter 80 – [80] : The Ultimate Human! Cherry Blossoms in Bloom!

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Hearing the name ‘Nika’, Dr. Kureha’s eyes widened, flickering with intense emotion.

She hadn’t heard of the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika before.

After all, it was the World Government’s greatest taboo, hidden for eight hundred years, its true nature disguised by the rubbery properties attributed to the Paramecia-type Gomu-Gomu Fruit.

Even someone who had lived 139 years like Dr. Kureha wouldn’t know of this specific fruit.

But ‘Nika’—Dr. Kureha had heard of Nika.

“The legendary Warrior of Liberation… Fought to free slaves eight hundred years ago—brought hope to the people back then—That’s why he was revered as the Sun God, Nika,” Dr. Kureha murmured, her words sending shockwaves through everyone present.

“Exactly. The previous owner of the Nika fruit—was Joy Boy—the figure considered taboo by the World Government during the Void Century. For eight hundred years, fearing this fruit’s power, the World Government relentlessly searched for it.”

“But Mythical Zoan fruits possess their own will; even the World Government couldn’t obtain it. Because this fruit grants the user a rubbery body, the World Government hid its true name, calling it the Gomu-Gomu Fruit to mislead the world. And Nika, after eight hundred years, chose you, Luffy. This Devil Fruit—could arguably be called the Strongest Devil Fruit!” Rowen declared, laughing heartily.

“Joy Boy?! The Void Century?!” Robin gasped, her eyes widening dramatically upon hearing these names.

“‘SUN GOD, NIKA’?! The Strongest Devil Fruit?!”

Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro stared, dumbfounded.

They never imagined Luffy’s Devil Fruit was incredibly powerful.

Thanks to Rowen, they knew there was a vast difference between strong and weak Devil Fruits.

The Strongest Devil Fruit!

Just the title alone hinted at its astonishing power.

“B-But wait, Rowen! If Luffy ate the Strongest Devil Fruit—why can he only stretch like rubber? Your Smoke-Smoke Fruit seems way more useful!” Usopp questioned, voicing his confusion.

“Because Luffy’s Devil Fruit hasn’t Awakened yet,” Rowen explained patiently, looking at the bewildered Luffy. “Mythical Zoans are unique among animal-type fruits. Each grants the user a special ability—but that ability typically only manifests after Awakening. The special ability granted by the Nika form is—Imagination.”

“Imagination?”

Hearing such an abstract concept, everyone looked baffled. Even Dr. Kureha, over a century old, leaned in, listening intently. This was a secret buried by the World Government itself!

“That’s right. Nika is also called the ‘most ridiculous’ power—Its user can fight with complete freedom using their imagination. Whatever they can imagine, they can make real—Grabbing lightning to use as a weapon—even creating things out of thin air—That’s why this power bears the name of a GOD,” Rowen explained with a calm smile.

“Imagination. What a broken ability!” Hearing this, Zoro and Sanji almost wanted to curse out loud. They knew from Rowen that powerful Devil Fruits could be incredible, but this kind of ability sounded too exaggerated!

Creating things from nothing?

Commanding lightning?

How could anyone possibly fight against that?

“Of course, that power only comes after Awakening. Right now, Luffy, unawakened, can only utilize his rubber body for combat,” Rowen clarified, smiling at Luffy.

“Devil Fruit Awakening? How do you do that?” Luffy asked, his eyes shining brightly.

This journey had constantly reminded Luffy of his own lack of strength.

Against Logia users, he felt completely helpless. Luffy desperately wanted to get stronger—for his comrades, to help them achieve their dreams.

And becoming Pirate King absolutely required immense strength!

Hearing that Awakening granted such incredible power filled Luffy with intense desire.

“Just be yourself,” Rowen replied simply, smiling at Luffy.

“Be myself?” Luffy looked confused.

“Nika represents the ultimate freedom. Just be the freest person you can be. When the time is right, Awakening will happen naturally,” Rowen explained.

For a Devil Fruit to Awaken, the user’s inherent desires must align closely with the ‘DESIRE’ embedded within the fruit itself.

The core desire within the Nika fruit was absolute freedom. Everything Luffy did, his entire way of being, perfectly aligned with Nika’s inherent desire.

“Shishishi! Is that right? Of course! I’m gonna be King of the Pirates! The freest person on the seas IS the Pirate King!” Luffy grinned confidently.

“Heh… Quite a kid,” Dr. Kureha chuckled, smiling faintly.

“The… freest… person,” Chopper murmured, remembering Dr. Hiriluk, the man who treated him like a son, telling him stories about pirates.

Chopper’s large, innocent eyes filled with longing.

“The sea is vast, you know. There are quite a few Human-Human Fruit users out there. Because of the unique nature of the Human-Human Fruit, aside from the one you ate, which is a standard Zoan, the others are all precious Mythical Zoans.”

“For example, the current Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Sengoku, ate the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Daibutsu—granting him the power of a Buddha. Don’t you… want to see them for yourself?” Rowen asked, noticing the yearning in Chopper’s eyes.

“BUDDHA! SUGEEEEE!” Usopp gasped, filled with awe.

Such legendary, mythological powers—obtainable through Devil Fruits! Hearing Rowen’s words opened up a whole new world for everyone.

“But if they’re all Human-Human Fruits… compared to those Mythical Zoans… is there anything special about the one Chopper ate?” Usopp asked curiously, looking at Chopper.

“Well, the base Human-Human Fruit, being a standard Zoan, does seem rather normal compared to the Mythical Zoan models,” Rowen admitted with a smile.

“Normal?” Hearing that word, Chopper froze.

“Ch-Chopper… Don’t feel too bad! Devil Fruits naturally vary in strength!” Usopp tried to console him, but the next moment, Chopper became incredibly agitated.

“Normal?! Are you saying… I’m normal?!” Chopper looked excitedly at Rowen.

The word ‘Normal’—for Chopper, who was born different, rejected by his parents and herd, then treated as a monster after eating the fruit—felt more precious than any praise imaginable.

“Chopper,” Dr. Kureha murmured, her expression softening as she looked at Chopper. She understood exactly what that word meant to him.

Though she had lived over 100 years, her expertise was medicine; her knowledge of Devil Fruits was limited. She couldn’t comfort Chopper in the profound way Rowen just had.

“Of course! Zoans are the most common type of Devil Fruit! Compared to you, we’re the monsters! Hahaha!” Rowen laughed heartily.

“Sniff… Normal! I’m normal! Doctorine! I’m normal!” Chopper cried excitedly, turning to Dr. Kureha.

“Yes… you’re normal, Chopper,” Dr. Kureha replied, taking a deep breath and smiling warmly.

“But ‘normal’ doesn’t mean weak,” Rowen added seriously, looking at Chopper. “The Human-Human Fruit’s power… isn’t weak at all. It grants the user… the power of the Ultimate Human.”

“Ultimate Human?!” Everyone stared, stunned again. That sounded incredibly powerful!

“That’s right. The Human-Human Fruit enhances the user’s capabilities as a human—strength, skin toughness, even the ability to transform into a giant form—and most importantly, intelligence. Chopper, your ability to speak, become a doctor—doesn’t it come from this power? Of course, manifested in your reindeer body, it enhances aspects like fur, arm strength, and antlers. The intelligence boost allows finding enemy weaknesses and is invaluable for research. It’s a very strong ability,” Rowen explained with a smile.

The base Human-Human Fruit, though often overshadowed by its Mythical Zoan counterparts and jokingly called the ‘Commoner Form’, wasn’t actually weak—it was potentially very strong!

Sengoku’s Daibutsu form demonstrated some of its capabilities—granting Buddha-like power, physique, and wisdom.

Sengoku being known as ‘The Strategist’ owed much to the Buddha-like wisdom granted by the fruit.

And the giant transformation? The base Human-Human fruit had that too—it was Chopper’s ‘Monster Point’.

Most importantly—for a human eating the Human-Human Fruit—Awakening was likely very easy! Being already human meant perfect alignment with the fruit’s inherent desire, no conflict.

Thus, a human eating this fruit wouldn’t face the same Haki development obstacles other Devil Fruit users encountered due to conflicting desires.

Essentially, a human eating the Human-Human Fruit would gain all its benefits with almost no Haki drawback, virtually identical to a non-user in Haki potential!

(Chopper only lost control in Monster Point because he was originally a reindeer.)

A normal human eating it could likely achieve a combat form rivaling the Daibutsu’s size, becoming a giant, with all human attributes—skin, bones, intelligence—massively enhanced.

Calling it the ‘Ultimate Human’ wasn’t an exaggeration at all!

This Devil Fruit—Rowen would definitely equip its Trait…

“SUGEEE! What a strong ability! Chopper!” Hearing Rowen’s explanation, everyone felt like their understanding of the world expanded again.

Usopp looked at Chopper with immense admiration. ‘Ultimate Human! That fits perfectly with his dream of becoming a brave warrior of the sea!’

“Giant transformation—isn’t that being a monster?” Chopper asked uncertainly, still slightly dazed.

“Of course not! We’ve met giants! They’re true warriors of the sea! Incredibly respectable!” Usopp immediately countered, thinking of the warriors he admired.

Chopper looked at the admiration in Usopp’s eyes, heard the praise from the others, and felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

This was the first time anyone had looked up to him, praised him like this. All the things he thought were flaws—seemed like strengths in their eyes.

“So? The sea is incredibly vast. Want to become our comrade and adventure with us?” Rowen asked with a smile.

Chopper blinked, then looked towards Dr. Kureha.

Kureha knew Chopper was moved.

“Can you entrust Chopper to us? Let him… become our comrade,” Rowen asked Dr. Kureha respectfully, standing up.

“Do whatever you want,” Dr. Kureha huffed dismissively.

“YOSHA! A talking reindeer!” Luffy cheered excitedly, looking at Chopper.

“Idiot! He’s our ship’s doctor!” Zoro smacked Luffy on the head.

Luffy’s priorities were still bizarre; wasn’t Chopper’s medical skill the most important thing?

Though Zoro hadn’t experienced it himself, Rowen said so, and Zoro trusted Rowen unconditionally.

“Welcome, Chopper!”

“So cute, Chopper!”

“And a doctor too!”

Chopper stared blankly at the enthusiastic praise from the crew, then awkwardly started doing his happy dance.

“E-Even if you praise me like that… it won’t make me happy, you bastard!” Chopper exclaimed, blushing furiously while dancing, his eyes closed into happy crescents.

“Hahaha!” Seeing Chopper’s reaction, everyone burst into laughter.

“By the way, this is Wapol’s castle. That trash has already been dealt with by me. This is his key; must be for something in the castle, right?” Rowen handed a key to Dr. Kureha.

“This is…” Dr. Kureha’s expression changed as she took the key.

It was the key to the weapon vault—which actually contained Dr. Hiriluk’s research: pink dust designed to adhere to snowflakes, capable of making the perpetually snow-covered Drum Kingdom bloom like cherry blossoms.

It was Hiriluk’s lifelong research and dream.

“Wapol—was defeated?” Chopper froze. Then, tears uncontrollably streamed down his face, and he bolted out of the castle.

“Chopper?” Everyone except Rowen and Kureha looked confused.

“Let’s go see,” Rowen suggested, knowing Chopper’s outburst was because of Hiriluk.

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“Dr. Hiriluk! Wapol was defeated by Rowen and his friends!” Chopper cried, looking up at the pirate flag he had placed atop the castle—a skull surrounded by cherry blossom petals. It was the flag Hiriluk had drawn.

“I… I want to go to sea! I want—to be their comrade!” Chopper, now in his human form, paid respects to Hiriluk in the human way.

The crew, having followed, learned Chopper and Hiriluk’s story from Dr. Kureha nearby and were deeply moved.

“CHOPPER! LET’S GO! TO THE SEA!” Luffy yelled towards Chopper, who had stood up again.

“Oh… OHHHH!!!” Chopper looked at Rowen and the others, sobbing uncontrollably. For the first time… he had comrades.

Dr. Kureha silently returned to the castle.

“Doctorine! I’m leaving! I want to become a pirate!” Chopper entered the castle, wanting to say goodbye to Dr. Kureha.

“I take it back! You’re my assistant! I taught you all my medical knowledge—not so you could leave!” Kureha suddenly declared, her face stern.

“Eh?!” Chopper froze, bewildered.

“I said—I won’t let you escape! Prepare yourself!” Kureha suddenly produced numerous knives, axes, and other sharp implements.

She began throwing them towards Chopper, forcing him backwards. “Don’t think you can run!” Kureha yelled menacingly, but her throws deliberately guided Chopper towards the exit.

“EVERYONE! RUN!” Chopper transformed back into his reindeer form, quickly harnessing himself to the sleigh where the others, prompted by Rowen, had already climbed aboard.

Chopper pulled the sleigh, fleeing towards the cliff edge.

“Hah… Silly son. Go chase your dream.” Kureha watched Chopper disappear into the distance, a faint smile on her lips as she wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye.

She hated tearful goodbyes.

Then, she turned and walked towards the weapon vault.

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After saying goodbye to Dalton and the others, Rowen’s crew boarded the Going Merry.

“Oh no! I was in such a hurry to escape, I forgot my medical supplies!” Chopper yelled, clutching his head.

“Here you go. They were already packed in the sleigh,” Rowen handed Chopper a backpack.

“My bag…” Chopper stared blankly for a moment, then his eyes reddened. He understood Doctorine’s true intentions.

WHOOSH! BANG!

The next moment, an explosion echoed from the mountain peak.

Countless particles of pink dust rained down from the snowy summit, adhering to the falling snowflakes.

From a distance, centered around the snowy mountain, it looked as though a giant cherry blossom tree had miraculously bloomed in the winter landscape.

“DOCTORINE! DR. HIRILUK! I’M OFF!” Chopper yelled towards the mountain, his voice choked with emotion.

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—[Trait list equipable from Chopper updated.]—

—[Human-Human Fruit equipping in progress.]—

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