Marine Headquarters, in the Fleet Admiral's office,
Chiga looked at the three boxes in front of him, thinking that these must be the Devil Fruits awarded by the headquarters this time.
Sengoku didn't keep him in suspense and directly introduced what was inside the boxes.
"These three boxes contain the rewards for you coming in first in the assessment, three Devil Fruits for you to choose from."
Upon confirmation, Chiga nodded. Next would be the information on the three fruits. According to previous information, the fruits awarded for first place were all recorded in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, to prevent a trash fruit from ruining someone's future.
Sengoku saw Chiga's calm reaction and thought he was worried about the quality of the fruits, so he continued,
"Don't worry, these are all abilities recorded in the encyclopedia, and I've even helped you filter them slightly. They shouldn't disappoint you."
Chiga looked at Sengoku in surprise. The Fleet Admiral of the Marines personally filtered them slightly? He was really afraid that the back door he opened for him wasn't wide enough. Was he directly leading him in now?
Regardless, Chiga appreciated it. Sengoku had helped him a lot, and so had Zephyr.
Although a large part of their help was due to his talent and strength, the fact remained that they helped him. A gentleman judges by actions, not intentions, right?
He also had to give something back. It wasn't good to always owe favors. He wondered how Corazon was doing now.
Chiga knew that Sengoku had deep feelings for Corazon. In the anime, upon hearing of Corazon's death, Sengoku cried out loud, showing his grief. So, if he had the chance, he would step in to save Corazon.
Sengoku, of course, was unaware of Chiga's thoughts. He continued with the introduction of the Devil Fruits.
"The one on the far right is the Paramecia Scythe-Scythe Fruit. Its ability is to generate air slashes like sharp scythe blades, with decent offensive power."
"The one in the middle is the Zoan Cat-Cat Fruit, Ancient Zoan, Saber-toothed Tiger form. It offers a more balanced improvement to your physical abilities, but it might have some impact on your personality."
When he got to the last one, Sengoku specifically looked up at Chiga. Seeing that he had no reaction to the first two fruits, he thought, 'I knew this kid's standards weren't low. These two fruits are already abilities that people would fight over outside, yet he doesn't even care.'
'But no matter how high your standards are, I don't believe you can remain indifferent to this last fruit. This is a treasure among treasures in the Marine's collection. Compared to the last one, the first two are just a warm-up.'
Thinking this, Sengoku still introduced the last fruit with an unchanging tone.
"And this last one, it's also a Zoan, but a rarer Mythical Zoan. Its name is the Cat-Cat Fruit, Bakeneko Form!"
Chiga's expression finally changed upon hearing this name, not just because this last fruit was a precious Mythical Zoan, but more so because of the fruit's name.
'Isn't this the Tailed Beast from my previous life?' Chiga was a bit confused, but then he thought, 'There are indeed Bakeneko in Japanese mythology. They should be two different creatures.'
Sengoku saw Chiga's expression finally change and thought, 'Little brat, you're stunned by my generosity, aren't you? Do you understand the value of a Marine Fleet Admiral? I personally retrieved this one. It seems you do know a thing or two.'
"I'll take this Bakeneko Fruit!"
Chiga no longer hesitated and immediately made his choice.
Sengoku saw that Chiga indeed chose the Bakeneko Fruit and stroked his small beard with satisfaction. He pushed the box containing the Bakeneko Fruit towards Chiga and asked,
"Do you want to eat this fruit now, or do you want to do some preparation?"
"Now!"
Chiga didn't want to waste time. When the box was pushed in front of him, he felt his eyes heat up, and an uncontrollable, intense craving arose in his heart. He hadn't expected that ever since absorbing the Door-Door Fruit, Devil Fruits had become increasingly tempting to him.
Sengoku, seeing Chiga's eagerness, thought, 'He's a young man after all, quite impatient.' But he could understand. Eating a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, as long as one's body wasn't too weak, could secure them a place on the seas.
However, Devil Fruits were very difficult to eat. Sengoku, having eaten one himself, still couldn't forget that taste. They said it tasted worse than excrement. He had certainly never eaten excrement, but he could confirm that this statement was absolutely not an exaggeration.
So, upon hearing that Chiga was going to eat the Devil Fruit now, Sengoku stared intently at Chiga, ready to enjoy the expression on Chiga's face after eating something that tasted like excrement.
However, the subsequent scene was destined to disappoint Sengoku. Chiga opened the box, revealing a black fruit shaped like an apple. He then slapped it directly, activating the Preta Path ability. In a moment, the fruit devolved into a normal red apple.
A whole Devil Fruit was just a special energy body to Chiga. He didn't even need the Human Path's cooperation; he could directly absorb the ability using the Preta Path, which was convenient, effortless, and worry-free!
Having completed the absorption, Chiga clapped his hands and pushed the box back to Sengoku, indicating that it was over.
Sengoku's eyes almost popped out. He looked at the large red apple on the table, then looked up at Chiga and asked,
"Done?"
"Done."
'Just like that?! Where's the "eating excrement" face I was promised? And what kind of eating method is this, Chiga? Why is it so different from how I did it?' Sengoku was truly about to lose his composure.
Chiga, meanwhile, touched his right eye. At this moment, another tomoe had appeared in his right Rinnegan. However, this time the feeling was somewhat peculiar. He always felt that this tomoe was restless, as if it had a life of its own.
He tried to activate the fruit's ability. The next moment, black flames ignited on Chiga's exposed hands, but there was no burning sensation; instead, it carried a hint of coldness. Black fur appeared on the skin within the flames, and his nails became sharp.
This was a partial beastification of the Zoan type, which was Chiga's favorite combat state. In this state, attack power, recovery power, and stamina would all be greatly enhanced, especially the speed of feline animals, which saw the most significant improvement.
But even after using the ability, the newly formed tomoe in his right eye continued to pulsate, as if trying to break free. This feeling made him uncomfortable, and he didn't know how to resolve it, so he could only temporarily close his right eye.
Sengoku's heart tightened when he saw his action. He worried that something had gone wrong with Chiga's method of absorbing Devil Fruits, and the problem was in his eyes. That wouldn't do; Chiga's eyes were more precious to the Marines than any Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit! He quickly asked,
"What's wrong? Is there something uncomfortable with your eyes? Do you need a doctor?"
Chiga waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. Sengoku was still somewhat uneasy and pressed on,
"Is it possible that your absorption method caused a problem? Can you explain this method?"
To be honest, he hadn't intended to ask Chiga about this. Everyone had their own secrets, especially concerning their strength. However, he was worried about Chiga, which was why he asked. It could be said that apart from Corazon, Uchiha Chiga was Sengoku's most concerned junior now.