"Treasure worth 32.3 billion... well, Captain John sure accumulated a lot of wealth," Duke said with a secret smile on his face.
"But are the three Devil Fruits the most valuable part?"
On a merchant ship specially modified by Jester, in the first half of the Grand Line, Duke spoke quietly.
Just a moment ago, after easily bypassing a series of traps set by Captain John, Vladimir had already transferred most of Captain John's treasure into the system!
In addition to the treasure, Captain John's hoard also contained three extremely valuable Devil Fruits, which were specially preserved.
There were more than just three Devil Fruits in Captain John's collection. Duke's heroes, including Gangplank, had also found many Devil Fruits after conquering the treasure troves of different nations.
Of course, for ordinary Devil Fruits, Duke usually ordered the heroes to convert them directly into the system!
Duke and his heroes never planned to eat Devil Fruits themselves.
Even though Devil Fruits could potentially give their users greater strength and abilities, the drawbacks were too big.
Duke also suspected that Devil Fruits were probably not a natural creation.
A long time ago, in the pirate world, there was clearly a civilization with very advanced technology.
If Vegapunk can create Zoan and even mythical beast Devil Fruits, could it be possible for an ancient civilization in the pirate world to have created Paramecia and Logia types as well?
Were there hidden dangers in those Devil Fruits?
Duke didn't know, and he didn't want to risk the future of himself or his heroes.
Instead of eating a Devil Fruit and risking an uncertain future with a dangerous weakness, why not just use the Devil Fruit to recharge the system?
Of course, this only applied to ordinary Devil Fruits!
Special and powerful Devil Fruits couldn't be recharged directly.
Even if they could add billions to Duke's wealth, that would be too wasteful.
In the world of pirates, technology is the main driving force for productivity, but Devil Fruits are also a key source of power.
The three special Devil Fruits included a Logia and two Paramecia types!
The Earth Fruit allows control over soil, and when awakened, it can even permanently change the terrain.
The Raw Fruit, a superior Paramecia fruit, can freely absorb and control the life force of all things. If awakened, it might not grant immortality, but it can greatly extend one's life or that of others.
Lastly, there is the Quick Fruit, another Paramecia fruit.
Later, Blackbeard used the Dark Fruit to find the Power Fruit for the fighter Badgers.
Among Captain John's great treasures, the Speed Fruit is just as powerful, even surpassing the Strength Fruit.
All martial arts in the world can be beaten, except for speed.
Speed is power.
Of course, Duke thinks the best way to use the Speed Fruit is to pair it with powerful weapons.
For example, an extremely sharp stabbing sword coated with blood-sealing poison or a scimitar.
The strong fighters in the pirate world have extraordinary physiques. It's not too hard to hurt them, but it's not easy to seriously injure or kill them.
However, if the Speed Fruit is paired with a powerful weapon, it's possible to instantly kill those tough fighters with amazing physiques.
After all, no matter how strong their healing abilities are, they can't survive if their head is cut off, right?
Not everyone can be like the Yamato no Orochi, with seven heads, where losing one doesn't matter...
Duke ordered Vladimir to store the three powerful Devil Fruits directly.
Then, looking at the wealth value of over 30 billion on his system panel, Duke casually took a shower, changed clothes, and washed his hands carefully.
While doing so, he also lit a stick of incense for the legendary pirate Ochoku and pressed the lottery button.
"System, give me an SS-level lottery prize!" he said.
"It's time for a legendary reward!"
He exchanged legend for legend, and there was nothing wrong with that.
Duke then looked at the system's reward and burst into laughter.
[After consuming 20 billion wealth, Host's remaining wealth is 12.3 billion. Congratulations to the Host for winning the SS-level prize and receiving the Guardian Angel.]
Guardian Angel: When equipped, it slightly increases strength and defense and allows the wearer to resurrect instantly within half an hour of death. The cooldown is thirty days!
"Resurrection Armor?"
"Haha, I finally got the Resurrection Armor. If I can get the Central Asian Golden Body next, I can use the Summoner Skill to resurrect."
"In this pirate world, who can kill me?"
Duke was extremely excited. Although he didn't win a powerful hero in the SS-level lottery this time, drawing the Resurrection Armor was even more satisfying than getting an SS-level hero.
The hero can continue drawing in the future, but Duke only has one life.
Well, now he has two!
In the real world, nothing is more important than staying alive.
Only when you're alive can you achieve things, and only when you're alive can you have a future.
Duke quickly equipped the Guardian Angel.
With the Fanatic Banshee Demon-Drinking Knife already equipped, having four powerful items gave him a sense of security.
After a moment of excitement, Duke decided to take advantage of his luck from sacrificing Ochoku and pressed the lottery button again without hesitation.
"System, next, give me twelve consecutive S-level draws!" he ordered.
In a few days, Duke could find a way to gather eight billion Berries worth of wealth from the forces under his command.
However, compared to another SS-level lottery, he was hoping for a higher-level prize this time.
Duke was willing to lower the quality of the prizes and increase the number of draws in order to get more heroes.
It wasn't that Duke himself was lacking in strength, but whether it was North Blue's Zoan Group, South Blue's Bounty Hunters Guild, Janna's smooth shipping, the Noxus Empire, or other forces, they were all hoping for help from Duke's heroes.
No healthy and powerful force in the pirate world can be fully supported by just one strong hero. They also need more support.
[Consuming one billion wealth, congratulations to the Host for winning the S-level prize and equipping Rylai's Ice Crystal Scepter!]
[Consuming one billion wealth, congratulations to the Host for winning the A-level prize and equipping the Vampire Scepter!]
[Consuming one billion wealth, congratulations to the Host for winning the S-level prize, Hero Card Master!]
[Consuming one billion wealth, congratulations to the Host for winning the A-level prize and equipping Caulfield's War Hammer!]
[Consuming one billion wealth, congratulations to the Host for winning the S-level prize, the heroic explorer Ezreal!]
[A series of prompts kept popping up in Duke's mind.]
Duke looked at the prizes from this lottery and smiled with joy.
"Three complete pieces of equipment, three small items, five heroes, and an elemental dragon!"
"This is a huge win!"
"The legendary pirate Ochoku truly lives up to his legend!"