I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

"Hahaha! You're too inexperienced to defeat me!" 

Liam stomped each foot, trapping Sandersonia and Marigold - neither of whom had suffered the gruesome disfigurement depicted in the manga as a result of being tortured by the Celestial Dragon - under their feet. 

"Even if you call your elder sister here, it won't be enough to bring me down!" 

With his hands on hips, Liam laughed out loud, his confidence overflowing. 

"Oh? Is that so?" 

Hancock's voice came from afar, brimming with annoyance at his brazen provocation. 

"Elder sister!" 

The two younger sisters, though not seriously injured, lay pitifully at Liam's feet, looking up at their big sister. "How's your devil fruit coming?" 

Hancock smiled confidently. "Don't worry! I've completely figured out the abilities of this Medusa Fruit. Now I'm invincible!" 

"Oh? Feeling that cocky?" 

The Snake Princess, who was standing next to Dragon and watching the commotion, looked at Hancock with a playful smile. "It must be quite an impressive ability, perhaps on par with Medusa's petrifying gaze." 

Dragon's tone was serious as he spoke. "Regardless of the ability, as long as one's 'Kenbunshoku Haki' (Observation Haki) is sharp enough, one can avoid immediate defeat and keep one's life intact." 

The snake princess rolled her eyes at him. "You think anyone can develop Kenbunshoku Haki to that level?" 

"Just wait and see! You'll be at my mercy soon enough..." 

Hancock laughed happily. Her already stunningly beautiful face suddenly became even more radiant, glowing with an enchanting charm. 

Her long black hair began to move on its own, transforming into writhing snakes. 

'Hiss Hiss Hiss...' 

The snakes at the ends of her hair flicked their tongues, emitting a sinister and terrifying aura. 

The combination of her enchanting beauty and the sinister serpent hair created an intoxicating allure tinged with danger. 

"So that's it! A special Zoan…" Liam stepped forward a few paces, releasing the two younger sisters. Seeing Hancock's transformation, he nodded knowingly. 

Katakuri's special Paramecia mimicked a Logia, so Hancock's special Zoan wasn't likely to resemble a Logia; it probably mirrored a Paramecia instead. 

"Hmph! Enough talking!" Hancock struck a pose, unable to hide her smugness. "You're about to regret underestimating me…" 

Despite Medusa's otherworldly allure, her cocky demeanor made her appear just a little too naive. 

Liam rolled his eyes. Ever since he had saved this girl from the Celestial Dragons' clutches, something about her had seemed…off. 

'Bang!' 

As Hancock, her snake-like hair thrashing wildly, charged toward him, Liam didn't even flinch. He simply fell backward in a perfectly straight line. 

Sandersonia and Marigold, seeing his falling figure, wanted to step aside, but their bodies froze in place. A quick glance at each other confirmed their silent agreement to feign weakness, letting Liam crash down onto them with exaggerated gasps and squeals. 

"Hehe," The sisters exchanged sly grins. 

Hancock noticed wisps of venomous mist emanating from the tips of her snake hair. Seeing this, she quickly manipulated the snakes to swallow the poison back. 

"What are you doing?" She snapped. 

"I'm out of strength!" Liam retorted grumpily. "Do you even realize how heavy your two younger sisters' hands are…?" 

"Really?" Hancock squinted in doubt. But Marigold and Sandersonia weren't about to admit they were weak. Naturally, they nodded along enthusiastically. 

Liam lay sprawled atop the soft forms of the younger sisters. "Something feels off… Were your snake hairs secreting venom just now?" 

"Hmph…" Hancock folded her arms, looking proud. 

"Do you have an antidote? It better not be your blood again!" Liam eyed her warily. "I don't trust you not to accidentally kill me outright…" 

"Hmph…" Hancock tilted her head back smugly, radiating satisfaction. 

"What does your snake venom do? Surely it's not just more petrification? That would be too unoriginal!" 

"Hmph…" 

"Are you mute now? Is all you can do humph?" 

"I'm not telling you!" Hancock shot him a glare. "Why don't you try it yourself and find out?"

The Snake Princess, watching the scene unfold, couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Pfft!" She teased Dragon, "Would you call this 'sufficiently sharp 'Kenbunshoku Haki' (Observation Haki)'? Haha…" 

Dragon: "…" 

Even Kuma, holding his ever-present Bible, couldn't help but smile faintly. 

Seizing the moment while Kuma seemed in good spirits, Liam approached him, looking up with hopeful anticipation. One annoying thing about the pirate world, Liam thought, was that even though he was 1.8 meters tall, he still had to crane his neck to look at people all the time! 

Kuma, true to Sabo's description of him as a gentle soul, sat down without hesitation and said softly, "Take it yourself." 

Dragon and the Snake Princess both turned to watch. Though they had already seen Liam use his peculiar method to interact with Devil Fruit's abilities before, it was still fascinating every time. 

Hancock and her sisters saw Liam cheerfully thank Kuma, then… go looking for B.I.B. 

Of course, he couldn't retrieve the Paw-Paw Fruit chip on his own. 

"Hey, Old Black! Brother Black!" Liam called out loudly, using the subtle connection between himself and his Stand to locate it. "Buddy!…" 

"Little guy!" 

"Dear son, your dad needs you…" 

"Please, save your poor child!" 

Kuma, sitting serenely on the Island Cloud ground, remained silent. 

Dragon and the others watched Liam yelling what sounded like gibberish to them. They wondered if this was his unique way of communicating with his 'ghost'. 

Before long, Robin returned, walking calmly across the cloud, having just returned the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. Beside her was the pitch-black Stand, which spotted its summoner from afar. 

Transforming into a shadowy blur, it shot toward Liam. 

"Paw-Paw Fruit, so beautiful!" Liam gestured toward Kuma, who sat cross-legged like a living Buddha. "Go borrow it from him…" 

B.I.B. understood its master's intentions and didn't waste words. It approached Kuma, its shadowy form extending a hand that pressed into Kuma's chest and disappeared inside. 

When B.I.B. withdrew its hand, it was holding a glowing triangular object. 

Kuma immediately felt his mastery of the Paw-Paw Fruit vanish completely. 

The Paw-Paw Fruit chip, along with the Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit) and Gasu Gasu no Mi (Gas Gas Fruit) chips, were retrieved from Liam's body. The three chips hovered around him momentarily. Liam instructed B.I.B. to insert the Paw-Paw Fruit chip into his own body. 

As it did so, Liam shuddered and took a deep breath. 

"Let's do this!" 

Liam opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and determined. With a confident smirk, he looked at his Stand and declared, "I'm not afraid of you anymore!" 

Dragon, the Snake Princess, Hancock, and her sisters, and even Kuma all looked at him, puzzled, unsure of what he was doing. 

B.I.B., however, knew exactly what Liam was attempting. If it had a mouth, it would have laughed, but lacking one, it maintained its cold and unamused demeanor. 

It casually placed the Shiro Shiro no Mi chip into the green Den Den Mushi in Liam's pocket, inserted the Gasu Gasu no Mi chip into its own chest "reactor," and finally merged back into Liam's body as a shadowy energy. 

In that instant, Dragon, the Snake Princess, Kuma, and even the experienced Hancock sisters all clearly saw Liam's entire body freeze up. 

His muscles bulged, veins standing out and pulsing as if he were enduring immense pain. 

The exhaustion from his daily training… 

The memories of his battle with Kuma on Kuja Island… 

The knowledge B.I.B. had gained from reading the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia with Robin… 

The conversations with the old scientist… 

All of these experiences, along with the overwhelming fatigue, flooded Liam's mind. 

At that moment, Liam spread his hands wide. To everyone's shock, the palms of his hands grew soft, pink paw pads. 

Turning his palms inward, he slammed them against his chest with force. 

'Bang!' 

Dragon and Kuma both showed expressions of surprise. 

As Liam's palms pressed into his chest, a massive, purple-red paw-shaped bubble began to expand rapidly from his back as if it were being blown up like a balloon.

(End Of This Chapter)

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