"Ho, don't get too ahead of yourself, Freyja; just because I'm exhausted doesn't mean I can't give you a good beating." Said Diddy with a grin while eyeing Freyja's abomination of an arm as she neared him.
"What makes you think I'm getting too ahead of myself? I just wanted to be a good Vice-Captain and assist my new crewmember." Replied Freyja while wickedly smirking as she lifted her large monstrous arm to her side, with the intention of punching Diddy.
"Umm, this isn't really necessary, is it? I'm sure there is a more verbal way to settle this." Asked Scar hesitantly as he stood to the side while watching the two seemingly about to go at it.
"It's totally necessary; how else am I supposed to be able to determine the strength of the person you fought? Besides, I'm much more of a hands-on learner." Replied Diddy with a grin as he dug the nails of his toes into the deck to give him more stability since he had a feeling Freyja would use more strength than necessary.
Once Freyja was ready, without hesitating even slightly, she punched me in the face, and while I could've easily blocked or evaded it, I didn't, mainly because I knew tanking her punch without so much as a scratch would annoy her, though it won't annoy her much considering she's still holding back.
The instant her morphed arm hit my face, I felt the force trying to send me flying through the air, but It was useless since I was latched onto the ship. The attack wasn't exactly weak nor strong; it was right in the middle, so other than managing to tilt my head slightly, it didn't do much damage, if any at all.
'Hmm, considering Freyja is definitely using slightly more strength than required, Bear-Man wasn't too weak; I suppose those three pass, barely though.' Mused Diddy with a thoughtful expression as he looked at Freyja once she retracted her arm from his face, only to click her tongue in annoyance.
"Can we try that again, Diddy? I think I didn't use the correct amount of strength." Remarked Freyja lightly as horns and a tail emerged from her body, increasing her strength even more, though Diddy wasn't a fool.
"Yeah, sure; that is if you can hit me." Replied Diddy with a smirk as he and Scar suddenly vanished from their spots, only for them to appear on the opposite side of the ship, though Scar was in Diddy's arms.
Eyeing Freyja from the complete other side of the ship, I smirked while watching her look at us as she grunted, her body returning to normal before she sat back down at the helm. Chuckling, I released my hold on Scar, who I was holding weirdly, but at the speeds, I could reach while using soru; if I didn't correctly grasp his head, he'd get whiplash and possibly die.
"W-What the? How'd I get over here? Wasn't I just standing beside the helm?" Questioned Scar in utter confusion as he looked around, only to notice Diddy standing adjacent to him.
"Heh, It's my Devil Fruit ability; it allows me to teleport between different places within my vision." Said Diddy with an amusing grin as he looked at Scar, who was astonished by such news.
"S-So you have eaten a Devil Fruit, Captain!" Remarked Scar in shock, though he quickly calmed down after giving it some thought.
"Well, that makes sense; how else could you be powerful enough to defeat Freyja and Father, two Devil Fruit users?" Added Scar while nodding as he looked at Diddy, though his words only served to irritate him.
"Tch, I haven't eaten a devil Fruit; I was merely joking; also, change that fucking mindset of yours; I don't want someone with such a weak mentality to sail aboard my ship; otherwise, I'll feed you to the Sea Kings." Stated Diddy as he growled in irritation, causing Scar to be taken aback.
"What do you mean, change my mentality, Captain? I'm not a man with a weak will if that's what you're implying." Said Scar in confusion as he frowned and furrowed his brows while looking at a Diddy who was on the verge of getting angry, causing him to take a few steps back.
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"Are you slow? Do you need me to spell it out for you? From your words, you think only a Devil Fruit user can defeat a Devil Fruit user; that's essentially what you're saying." Remarked Diddy with a frown as he folded his arms while looking at Scar.
"No, Trenza, Grand, and I had just defeated a Devil Fruit user; I just think that since Devil Fruits grant incredible powers, it would be easier for a Devil Fruit user to defeat another Devil Fruit user than it would be for a normal person." Replied Scar, though his words didn't do much to alleviate Diddy's irritation.
"Sure, a Devil Fruit may be powerful to the average person, but don't you know they come with many drawbacks? First off, who knows how many Devil Fruits there are? Secondly, you can't even determine what ability you'll get until you've eaten one; what if it's terrible? Thirdly, you permanently lose the ability to go into any water without being greatly weakened, and considering this world is at least 70% water, that's a terrible drawback. Fourthly, you can only consume one Devil Fruit; if you try to eat anymore, you'll die, so if you get stuck with a weak Devil Fruit that allows you to breathe underwater, you're fucking screwed." Declared Diddy, his every word shocking Scar as he was relatively ignorant of Devil Fruits.
"Now, after knowing all of those downsides, do you still think Devil Fruits grant incredible powers? Because I don't; after learning all of those cons, I've got no desire to consume a Devil Fruit." Added Diddy as he glared at Scar, who regained his composure after learning such shocking news.
"No, I-I never really thought about it that way, not to mention I've never realized they contained such a horrendous disadvantage." Muttered Scar his perception of Devil Fruits changes significantly.
"Hoho, that's not the worst part; I've heard the Marines have access to something called Seastone. They're supposedly naturally forming stones that carry within them the power of the ocean, causing any Devil Fruit user who touches them to weaken considerably." Said Sebas with a slight chuckle as he neared the two, while Grand and Trenza followed behind.
"Here is Grand and Trenza; Freyja told me you needed them for something, Captain." Added Sebas lightly as he turned around and quietly left while heading toward the helm to speak with Freyja, leaving the three stooges with Diddy.
'Gotta admit, Freyja may be annoying at times, but she's a damn good Vice-Captain, or I at least think she is; I've never had any other Vice-Captain after all.' Mused Diddy as he looked at Freyja, who was conversing with Sebas in the distance, before shifting his focus toward the three before him.
"Now then, you three, after your little fight against the Bear Pirates, I've decided to promote you all from interns to official members of the Frenzy Pirates." Stated Diddy with a slight smirk while eyeing the three, his words filling them with excitement.
"Haha! Yes!" Said Grand as he flexed his muscles, causing the bandages wrapped around his body to break.
"Finally! After that fight, we earned at least this much! So, what do we get by officially becoming members of the Frenzy Pirates?" Asked Trenza eagerly, whose torso was also wrapped in bandages, fisting the air in excitement as she looked at Diddy while Scar was the calmest of the two, merely smiling.
"Hmm, nothing." Replied Diddy with a grin as he noticed Trenza, Grand, and Scar's expression stiffen from his remark.
"W-We get nothing? Did I hear that correctly, Captain?" Asked Trenza with furrowed brows while carefully looking at Diddy, whose grin only grew in size.
"Yep, and not only do you three get nothing, your circumstance doesn't change either. If you don't continue getting stronger, I'll throw you overboard; the same applies to Sebas and Freyja." Commented Diddy as he watched the Grand and Scar frown while Trenza seemed to be on the verge of exploding in anger.
"So, what you're saying is, pretty much nothing has changed?" Asked Grand as he looked at Diddy, who responded by nodding his grinning face, finally sending Trenza over the edge.
"You- you freaking bastard!" Yelled Trenza angrily as she unholstered her dual pistols and began firing upon Diddy.
"Haha, this is what I like to see: chaos among the Frenzy pirates!" Remarked Diddy with a grin as he blocked each of Trenza's shots.
Once she finally ran out of bullets, which took a relatively long time, causing me to wonder where she even stores her bullets, I unholstered Naga-sa and pointed it at them.
"Listen, you three, especially you, Scar, since you're the only normal one among the three, Devil Fruits are capable of granting immense power and potential; however, they aren't be-all-end-all. Even people like Freyja and Sebas can defeated by someone who hasn't consumed any Devil Fruit since they are just accessories to your power; they aren't truly yours. Even though I haven't met them yet, the most dangerous and powerful people aren't the ones with a powerful Devil Fruit they've mastered after decades of training; they're the ones who have an unyielding will and a determination to do whatever they put their minds to. Those are, without a doubt, the most dangerous and powerful people in existence; lucky for you, not only are you looking at one, but he's also your Captain." Declared Diddy seriously with a grin as Naga-sa emitted a dangerous aura while a powerful pressure emanated from him, which was harmless to everyone aboard the ship, but to the various nearby sea life, they had all gone unconscious.