OP: My Aircraft Carrier Evolves#214+215: Seizing the Luck-Luck Fruit! The Power of the Demonic Carrier and the Takeover of Gran

Beneath the moon, the Empress departed Cake Island under the cover of night.

Law and Ace were with them.

In war, speed is everything.

Seven or eight hours had already passed since Tesoro's death. The sharks were circling—the various powers vying for control of Gran Tesoro were undoubtedly already on their way.

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"Tell Tanaka and Dice to suppress any internal riots and hold the line against external threats," Jin ordered. "If they can do that, they'll have earned their keep."

Aboard the ship, Jin had forced the subdued Baccarat to contact the current managers of Gran Tesoro.

Tesoro’s death had been a devastating blow. With her escape thwarted and her life on the line, she had no choice but to submit.

But Jin could feel it.

A deep, hidden hatred coiled within her.

Her surrender wasn't just about survival. It was fueled by a thirst for vengeance—a promise to herself that kept her going, forcing her to play the part.

Jin was surprised at first, but then it clicked.

Love?

This woman had loved Gild Tesoro.

In truth, Baccarat's appearance was a near-perfect match for Stella—the most important woman in Tesoro's life.

She was likely a replacement, a stand-in he had found to fill that void.

If so, their relationship must have been anything but simple.

Her hatred for him, then, was only natural.

It was the same reason Jin had signed Tesoro’s death warrant the moment he’d threatened Uta and Reiju.

From a purely rational standpoint, keeping Tesoro alive to indirectly control Gran Tesoro would have been the optimal choice.

But Jin had killed him anyway.

He had to crush any notion that he could be threatened. He had to send a message to the world: anyone who dared to use his loved ones as leverage would die.

No exceptions.

If he had spared Tesoro, it would have been seen as a weakness, a sign that his bottom line was negotiable if the price was right.

It would have invited an endless stream of challengers.

Furthermore, killing Tesoro was a show of force directed at the Big Mom Pirates.

It was a clear signal that in his previous duels with Katakuri and Oven, he had been holding back.

He was making an example of Tesoro.

A warning.

If they pushed him any further, the gloves were coming off.

Big Mom, it seemed, had gotten the message. She had read the killing intent in his eyes when their gazes met. The balance between the Four Emperors was a delicate one, built on military might. Any attempt to eliminate one would only create an opportunity for the others.

Even if she could have defeated Jin, it would have come at a terrible price. It was better to play the gracious host, to laugh it off and de-escalate.

And that had led to their subsequent cooperation.

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Baccarat was a beautiful woman.

Her figure, in particular, was stunning—tall, slender, and impossibly curvaceous.

A true femme fatale.

A shame.

Love...

Jin beckoned for her to come closer.

Baccarat, after a moment’s hesitation, put on a seductive smile. She swayed her hips and gracefully settled into his lap, pressing herself against his chest.

She knew her chances to kill him were slim. Her only real shot was in a moment of passion, to use her Luck-Luck Fruit to drain his fortune and create an opening.

"So, you and Tesoro were lovers," Jin said, his voice a low murmur.

Baccarat's reaction was instantaneous. She drew a dagger from a hidden sheath on her thigh. But Jin was faster. He wrapped an arm around her neck, cutting off her air.

"Deep breaths," he said, his voice cold. "It's normal to feel a little faint."

There was nothing more to say.

In the face of absolute power, her luck had run out.

He snapped her neck.

Her body went limp, her face a mask of bitter resentment, her beautiful features twisted with a final, burning hatred.

It was cruel, but reality often is. Jin had no intention of leaving a ticking time bomb at his back.

Her Luck-Luck Fruit was a cheat ability. In a moment of carelessness, it could have posed a real threat.

And more importantly, her love for Tesoro meant she would have stopped at nothing to get her revenge.

They were enemies.

And so, even for a beauty like her, Jin showed no mercy.

He glanced at the body, feeling no perverse urge. The floor split open and swallowed her, and the power of her fruit flowed into him.

The Paramecia Luck-Luck Fruit.

Its core ability was the manipulation of fortune, with three main applications:

—Draining the luck of others through physical contact, plunging them into a state of perpetual misfortune.

—Converting stolen luck into personal advantage, making impossibly improbable events occur.

—Transferring luck between individuals.

Gran Tesoro's success was largely due to Baccarat. As a concierge, she would casually touch the high rollers, draining their luck. No matter how much they won, once she had touched them, they would inevitably lose everything.

The only reason she had lost to Usopp was because she had run into someone with an even more broken cheat ability.

"Imagine what would happen if I touched Buggy and stole his luck," Jin mused. The thought was tantalizing.

As he absorbed the fruit, he could faintly sense the flow of "fortune" around others. His own luck had also been tangibly enhanced.

But within the fruit's will, a sliver of Baccarat's hatred for him remained.

Jin had discovered that a user's intense, extreme emotions could merge with their fruit, becoming a part of its "demon." Tot Musica was a prime example. On the other hand, some users' wills were so strong that they could completely rewrite the nature of their fruit.

Like Nika.

He had some experience with this now. The most direct method was to simply burn away the residual will with his soul-flames. And each time the demonic carrier evolved, it would also purify a portion of the fruit's negative "demonic" will.

He then took a moment to experience the Gold-Gold Fruit. Because Tesoro had already pushed it to the level of Awakening, it was already awakened when Jin absorbed it.

He touched a nearby object, and it turned to gold. Within the range of the gold, his will, his senses, expanded. This was how Tesoro had maintained complete control over Gran Tesoro.

In other words, Tesoro's and Baccarat's fruits were the core "technology" of the golden city.

Without them, would it still have a future?

Jin considered the problem.

He could assign the two fruits to new managers to maintain the city's operations.

Or... he could just swallow Gran Tesoro and make it a part of the demonic carrier.

An external module, of course.

Once it was a part of the carrier, he could easily apply the effects of both fruits to it. And he could use it to collect the "luck" of the gamblers, channeling it into the carrier.

Plus, there would be no shortage of troublemaking pirates in the city of gold. A steady supply of soul crystals.

It was a multi-faceted win.

The second option it was.

A smile spread across Jin's face. He then examined the three Devil Fruits he had won from Katakuri.

Two Zoans.

The Snake-Snake Fruit, Ancient Model: Titanoboa. The largest snake ever recorded, now extinct.

The Horse-Horse Fruit, Mythical Model: Pegasus. The fruit eaten by Stronger, Doc Q's horse?

And one Paramecia.

The Smelt-Smelt Fruit. It allowed the user to consume various ores, smelt them at high temperatures within their body, and extract molten metal from their abdomen.

The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia noted:

A high-risk, combat-oriented Paramecia.

Conversion efficiency for iron ores up to 89%.

Side effect: "Metal Overload." Continuous use for over two hours results in organ metallization.

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Jin's eyes lit up.

For an ordinary person, the Smelt-Smelt Fruit was decent, but the side effect was a major drawback.

But for Jin, integrated into the demonic carrier and combined with the Munch-Munch Fruit, it was practically a god-tier fruit.

It would dramatically increase the carrier's efficiency in refining and smelting ores. It would be one of the cornerstones of his industrial revolution.

The fruit also reminded him of Silver Mine island. He still needed silver.

An Ancient Zoan, a Mythical Zoan, and a powerful Paramecia... Big Mom's family had really put some thought into this.

Indeed, Big Mom had pulled a lot of strings, spending months scouring the world for these fruits. They were supposed to be a "Betrothal Gift" for Jin.

But after their little spat, that was off the table.

It seemed like the Big Mom Pirates had taken a loss. And they had...

But Jin believed that if Big Mom was rational enough to accept his terms, she would get much more in return.

At the very least, after she was gone, he would protect her family instead of kicking them while they were down.

Jin took a deep breath and opened the carrier's interface.

——————

[Primary Authority: Captain Jin]

[Hull Data: Length 85m | Width 25.2m | Height 14.6m | Weight 2750 Tons] [Internal Space: 25.8 x 15.2 x 1.4 km³]

[Abilities: Munch-Munch, Mushroom-Mushroom, Candy-Candy, Hell's Red Serpent, Calm-Calm, Tricera-Tricera, Bomb-Bomb, Spring-Spring, Copper-Copper, Kraken-Kraken, Castle-Castle, Kilo-Kilo, Barrier-Barrier, Scream-Scream, Chain-Chain, Steel-Steel, Slow-Slow, Rumble-Rumble, Ton-Ton, Leopard-Leopard, Silver-Spider, T-Rex, Bubble-Bubble, Giraffe-Giraffe, Wolf-Wolf, Door-Door, Elephant-Elephant, Gold-Gold, Luck-Luck, Pegasus, Titanoboa, Smelt-Smelt]

[Armaments: Fighter Jets (8) | Main Cannons (56) | Heavy Cannons (325) | Firearms (12,068) | Blades (11,564)]

[Crew: Bartholomew Kuma (Chef) | Sir Crocodile (Boatswain) | Trafalgar Law (Doctor) | Nico Robin (Intelligence Officer) | Maya (Secretary) | Vinsmoke Reiju (Enforcer) | Portgas D. Ace (Vice-Enforcer) | Uta (Musician) | Boa Hancock (Helmsman)]

[Next Evolution Requirements: Soul Crystals (7567/10,000) | Refined Steel (180,000/10,000 tons) | Gold (4420/100 tons) | Silver (240/500 tons) | Rare Earth Metals (98/2000 tons) | Biological Matter (21/30)!]

——————

He'd already collected twenty-one Devil Fruits?

Jin was overjoyed.

But it made sense. As his status, power, and strength grew, all sorts of resources would naturally gravitate toward him.

Money, connections, women... all within his grasp.

Devil Fruits were rare, yes, but the people he was dealing with now were the top players in the pirate world. They had deep reserves. Squeezing a few fruits out of them... it wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible.

Of course, it would get harder as time went on. There were only so many fruits in the world.

As Jin was lost in thought...

"Master, radar has detected Gran Tesoro. Bearing, nine-thirty, port side!"

That was right. Gran Tesoro was a ship.

A ten-thousand-meter-long golden behemoth, pulled by two giant sea turtles, capable of navigating the Calm Belt.

It was a city on the sea, complete with casinos, theaters, hotels, and all manner of entertainment.

After learning of Tesoro's death, Tanaka had known trouble was coming. He had immediately taken control of the ship and steered it toward the Calm Belt.

But the real trouble was on the inside.

When the news of Tesoro's death had reached the gamblers, some had seen an opportunity and had started to riot, to loot. The stronger ones were trying to take control of the golden city.

Fortunately, Jin's message, relayed through Baccarat, declaring his ownership of Gran Tesoro, had quelled some of the unrest.

His name, after the battle at G-5, now echoed throughout the New World. It was enough to deter most.

But the boldest, the ones who thought they could seize Gran Tesoro first and then negotiate with Jin for a piece of the pie, were still causing trouble.

And the pirate crews who were scraping by in the shadows of the Four Emperors, the ones with good intelligence, weren't about to miss this opportunity. They were all converging on the golden city.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The sound of cannon fire echoed across the sea.

The pirate crews that had already arrived were attacking Gran Tesoro... and each other.

As the first light of dawn broke the horizon, the sounds of cannons and guns added a bloody note to the morning air.

Jin stood on the conning tower, gazing out at the scene.

Robin, Reiju, Wyper, Raki, and the others, having rested for the night, were now on deck, their energy restored.

"Ai," Jin commanded, "eliminate the pirates on the perimeter."

"OK!"

"Let the games begin."

"Let's hunt those who have fallen into the darkness."

The BGM kicked in.

'Legends Never Die.'

The song echoed across the battlefield, drawing the attention of the fighting pirates.

A warship, like an arrow, pierced through the darkness and, in the blink of an eye, appeared before them.

A "cannon" opened at its bow, and a brilliant light began to gather. In time with the soaring music, it collected the sound of the rising sun.

The Paramecia Scream-Scream Fruit!

As the song reached its crescendo, the stored sound was unleashed in a deafening, piercing blast.

A three-masted sloop was blown to smithereens. The weak were torn apart; the strong were thrown into the sea.

The battlefield fell silent.

The sheer power of the attack had stunned everyone.

"Who...??"

"That's..."

In the morning light, a lookout spotted the black dragon flag.

"The Bloody Black Dragon flag! It's the King of Paradise!" he shrieked, his voice filled with terror.

"Him?"

"Dammit! Shouldn't he still be in Big Mom's territory? How did he get here so fast? Does he fly?"

The other captains were in shock.

"Normally, it would take at least three days to get here from Big Mom's territory, right?"

They couldn't understand. It wasn't just the distance. The New World was far more dangerous than Paradise. The weather, the currents... they were all unpredictable.

"Forget that! RUUUUUUUUUN!"

But it was too late.

The moment they had entered the demonic carrier's field of vision, their fate was sealed.

The core of the Ark Maxim, the "Despair" engine, activated, releasing a cloud of "bubbles" that formed a thundercloud.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit unleashed its kinetic energy.

The entire warship crackled with arcs of lightning.

It "teleported," appearing behind a pirate ship. The cannon at its bow fired a 20-million-volt blast of lightning.

The pirate ship was pierced through.

In a flash of light, a series of chains shot out, impaling the ship's hull and dragging it into the Munch-Munch space.

It was all so fast.

The demonic carrier was now in the midst of the battlefield. More cannons opened on its sides, locking onto the pirate ships.

Cannon fire roared. But they weren't firing cannonballs. They were firing a "mess" of other things.

Hypnotic mushroom bombs that put entire crews to sleep.

Syrup cannons that encased ships in amber.

Slow-down beams that reduced their speed to a crawl.

Sonic blasts...

It was a kaleidoscope of devastation.

The demonic carrier "flickered" across the sea, and in less than thirty seconds, all the attacking pirates on the perimeter had been wiped out.

Robin, Reiju, and the others were all stunned.

They had never imagined that the ship they had been traveling on was so terrifyingly powerful.

No... they should have known. But it had never shown its true colors before, so they had subconsciously overlooked it.

The Empress was Jin's greatest weapon.

The thundercloud created by "Despair" drew in the surrounding clouds, covering the entirety of Gran Tesoro in a thick fog.

A sea fog that stretched for dozens of miles, obscuring all vision.

And then, the Empress opened its massive maw, a giant black hole that swallowed the golden behemoth whole.

"LIBRAAARY!"

At Ai's command, Robin, Reiju, and all the others were teleported into the golden city by the power of the Castle-Castle Fruit.

Their mission: to suppress the rioters within Gran Tesoro.

Difficulty: easy.

"Alright, you meatheads," Jin's voice boomed. "Get to work!"