One Piece Quest Fruit - Chapter 49
Through Sunny’s inquiries, they confirmed that the cave where Lilith had been living was indeed the treasure site indicated by the map. The treasure itself was the Lilith Fruit, which could enhance human physical abilities.
It was likely that someone had discovered the cave and identified the Lilith Fruit but couldn’t take it at the time. They had to mark the location and planned to return when the fruit was ready. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the marker ended up in the hands of the cunning Malfoy and, eventually, Eust.
The story was full of twists and turns, laden with unexpected events and danger. The sea is as free as it is perilous.
Lilith must have obtained the Devil Fruit due to a series of coincidences, possibly related to the stormy night.
“Sunny, ask Lilith what Devil Fruit she consumed and what abilities she gained.”
…
“Meow, Lilith says she absorbed the Boat-Boat Fruit – Ghost Ship Form. It grants her the abilities of a ghost ship: automatic navigation, life consumption, hull repair, and ship evolution.”
“So it really is a ghost ship. Sunny, have her explain in detail.”
…
“Meow, the first ability, automatic navigation, means Lilith can power the ship’s movement herself, primarily using energy from consumed food.
Additionally, energy can come from sunlight, as Lilith retains some abilities of the original Lilith Fruit, but this energy is minimal—just enough to keep her alive but not enough to power the Boat-Boat Fruit’s abilities. Even now, her slow movement is powered by stored food energy.
The second ability, life consumption, is how she eats. She can only capture small animals, mainly to replenish her food supply and gain energy.
The third ability, hull repair, uses the energy from consumed food to fix the ship’s body.
The fourth ability, ship evolution, requires a lot of energy and specific ship details.
Currently, Lilith has two ship forms: the original boat form she had when she absorbed the Devil Fruit and the evolved small fishing boat form she gained by using the residual energy from the Devil Fruit.”
“Wow, the ghost ship Lilith has many abilities, all tied to energy. She’s quite the eater, no wonder she demanded protection and food. Never underestimate the appetite of an eater.”
While talking, Lilith carried Eust and his crew near their boat.
Eust wondered if Lilith could evolve into his small sailboat or even the larger boat that Malfoy had used. Lilith’s current small fishing boat form couldn’t venture far from the island, but his sailboat could travel for days and nights—perfect for short sea voyages.
Eust asked Sunny to check if Lilith could evolve into his sailboat and received a positive response, though Lilith could only evolve one ship at a time and needed a long period to adjust between evolutions.
Ship evolution required substantial food supplies and detailed information about the ship.
Lilith’s second form, the small fishing boat, resulted from consuming many wrecked fishing boats and the residual energy from the Devil Fruit.
Eust understood that the ability had a long cooldown period and required specific materials and energy. The materials could be a complete ship or multiple wrecked ships, and energy was provided by ample food.
Since Lilith’s ship evolution was ready, Eust wanted her to “consume” his small sailboat and evolve into a ghost sailboat for their adventures.
Upon inquiry, they learned that initiating the evolution required providing nearly equivalent amounts of food to the new form’s size. Fortunately, Eust’s small sailboat, built for 1-3 people, was within Lilith’s capacity to evolve.
Eust, known as the “King of Fishing,” didn’t see the food requirement as a problem, at lEust not immediately. He believed it wouldn’t be an issue even in the future as he continued to grow stronger.
Lilith was eager to evolve, so they agreed on the plan. Eust would supply ample food, and Lilith would accumulate enough energy to “consume” the sailboat and evolve.
That afternoon, Eust began his “fishing enterprise.” Despite the limited time, he caught many fish, some for dinner and the rest for Lilith.
Lyra, immersed in her navigation studies, doubled as the cook, handling the ingredients and preparing dinner. With two chefs, Sunny felt very fortunate.
Eust’s appetite had increased severalfold with his growing strength. Sunny, though small, had a big appetite, and Lyra could eat multiple portions. Their dinner was quite lavish.
Lilith tried cooked food but found it less energizing than raw food, so she preferred simply prepared fish. She didn’t appreciate the deliciousness of cooked food.
The conversation returned to Lilith’s Devil Fruit abilities. Eust wondered how Lilith consumed food.
He discovered that Lilith could ingest food through any part of her hull, but there was a limit to the size of each intake, similar to a human’s mouth (excluding someone like Luffy).
Lilith ate quickly but required Eust to cut the food into manageable pieces. This explained why the ghost ship legend mentioned it only consumed small animals.
Eust instructed Lilith to keep her abilities hidden, especially the consumption of food, to avoid unnecessary attention.
Other abilities also needed to be concealed. The principle of “innocence is no protection against bearing treasures” is applied here. Lilith joined Eust for protection, fearing for her safety.
Lilith had to learn to blend in as a normal ship. Eust specifically ordered that without his or Lyra’s command, Lilith should not use her Devil Fruit abilities.
As Lilith matured, Eust would relax these restrictions, allowing her more autonomy.
Parents are stricter when children are young but relax as they grow older. Otherwise, children would never mature if their parents controlled everything.
Lilith’s intelligence was akin to that of a seven- or eight-year-old child who needed growth.
Eust treated Lilith like a child. The more mature Sunny was a follower, while Lyra was both a companion and a follower.
Currently, Eust’s crew consisted of two humans, one cat, and one fruit—a unique combination.
Become a Patron to read chapters ahead of public release and support me 😉
Read up to 40 chapters ahead on p atreon.
