Many people felt somewhat dissatisfied but dared not voice it openly. The issue was that the strength of each Devil Fruit wasn't explicitly stated. Instead, everyone had to enter and make their own choice after seeing them.
If one's talent was insufficient, even if the Devil Fruit was powerful, the contract would fail, and they wouldn't be able to obtain it.
If one's talent was sufficient but the Devil Fruit they chose wasn't powerful, it would still be a significant loss.
Although contract failures allowed for additional attempts based on one's talent level—for example, a Level 3 talent could try twice more after the first failure—if all attempts failed, they could no longer form a contract. They would either have to remain ordinary or rely on their own efforts to improve, though it was understood that such efforts wouldn't lead to great strength.
Therefore, everyone wished for the Devil Fruits to be clearly ranked so they could make informed choices, but this wasn't possible.
When the Contract Vortex Stream appeared, Ye Yu didn't enter immediately. Even though he possessed one of the rare Level 10 talents in the entire Dragon Kingdom, he chose to wait. It was well known that with a Level 10 talent, any Devil Fruit chosen would result in a successful contract.
To avoid selecting a weak Devil Fruit, those with Level 10 talent decided to choose last. They weren't worried about the most powerful Devil Fruits being taken, as those with Level 9 talent might not be able to successfully contract with them.
By choosing last, they also wouldn't end up with a weak Devil Fruit, as the weaker ones would have already been taken by others. Thus, those with Level 10 talent always chose the best ones at the end.
As for those with Level 9 talent, only a few chose to wait.
After all, there were quite a few prodigies with Level 9 talent in the Dragon Kingdom, numbering over two hundred. Many of them chose to enter immediately, fearing that the powerful Devil Fruits would be taken by others with Level 9 talent.
They weren't overly concerned about ending up with a weak Devil Fruit, as they would choose carefully upon entering. Although the strength of the Devil Fruits wasn't disclosed, they all had names, which could be used to make an educated guess.
As for letting those with lower talent levels choose first to weed out the weaker Devil Fruits, many geniuses favored this approach, but those with lower talent levels weren't willing.
After all, those with Level 1 talent only had one chance to choose. If they made the wrong choice, it was over—they could never become Ability Users.
If those with lower talent levels were forced to enter first and ended up with weak Devil Fruits, thereby reducing the chances of those with higher talent levels getting weak ones, the lower talent individuals would be discontent and might riot.
Thus, it was impossible to enforce such a requirement. At this stage, everyone was still an ordinary person with similar strength, as no one had yet formed a contract or begun their personal cultivation. The differences in strength were minimal, and everyone was still somewhat vulnerable to firearms.
Therefore, it was impossible to force those with lower talent levels to eliminate the weaker Devil Fruits first.
However, some prodigies made promises to certain individuals: if they chose first and failed to obtain a Devil Fruit, they could join the Pirate Crew founded by the prodigy.
As a result, some with lower talent levels were willing to enter and choose first. They figured that if they couldn't become strong themselves, they might as well latch onto a powerful figure by joining a strong Pirate Crew for protection. Even as a low-ranking member, it was better than sailing with a weak Pirate Crew.
As for continuing to live as an ordinary person?
Those who were already wealthy might not mind, but those under significant life pressures hoped to become Pirates.
At this moment, those who entered were presented with two entrance choices: the Devil Fruit Gate and the Non-Ability User Gate.
Devil Fruits can only be possessed by one person, but Non-Ability Users with high talent can form multiple contracts, and the combat power of the contracted Non-Ability Users can be stacked.
However, many people still choose to enter the Devil Fruit Gate, even though there are only a million Devil Fruits, and the nine billion people in Dragon Country who can enter still all want to step through the Devil Fruit Gate.
As for why only nine billion people can enter, it's because children under five and the elderly over seventy don't even possess the talent to begin with.
And why are there as many as a million Devil Fruits? It's because many of them are Artificial Devil Fruits.
Among the Pirates, the true Devil Fruits number only 720.
Many talented individuals enter and begin to carefully and quickly make their choices, as there is a time limit. Each person cannot stay inside for a duration corresponding to their talent level; Level 1 can only stay for one minute, while Level 9 can stay for nine minutes.
At this moment, Ye Yu's mind was already very clear. He was familiar with the Pirate King, so it was as if he had a cheat code, a god's perspective.
Ye Yu thought to himself: "Devil Fruits, and Non-Ability Users are only among the Pirates. Those powerful fruits in the Navy, like the Glint-Glint Fruit, Magma Fruit, Ice Fruit, and Gravity Fruit, are not included. Even powerful Non-Ability Users like Garp and Kong are not part of the contract because they belong to the Navy."
Soon, Ye Yu had a summary in his mind about which Devil Fruits were strong and which Non-Ability Users were powerful.
At this time, Ye Yu's phone rang.
"Chicken You So Beautiful, Baby, Chicken You So Beautiful, Baby."
He took it out and saw that it was a call from his senior, Xia Ling, who was already a freshman in college. She was also his neighbor, and they had grown up playing together. Ye Yu already knew that Xia Ling was a Level 9 talent, a prodigy.
Answering the phone, Xia Ling asked, "You haven't gone in yet, have you?"
"No, after all, everyone wants the highest Level 10 talents to choose last."
Xia Ling nodded, "Yes, that's the safest way. The Navy will arrive in three years, so the higher-ups still hope everyone can choose the right one. I'm Level 9, so I'll go in first."
"Alright, I hope Ling Jie chooses the most suitable and powerful Devil Fruit."
"With your blessing as the strongest talent, I'm sure I can. If I'm unlucky and end up with one that's not very powerful, one that seems strong by name but isn't, then you'll have to look out for me in this world, little brother. You're Level 10, after all, and you'll only be left with the strongest ones, the ones even Level 9 talents can't choose."
Ye Yu smiled and assured her, "Of course, I'll look out for you in this dangerous world, Ling Jie."
Xia Ling was the standard beautiful older girl next door, three years older than him, almost like a childhood sweetheart.
After hanging up, Xia Ling went in to make her choice.
Ye Yu didn't tell Xia Ling which Devil Fruit to choose because, at this point, no one knew the names of the Devil Fruits.
Nor did he tell her to choose a Non-Ability User or inform her about some powerful Non-Ability Users.
The reason he didn't say anything was that it would be hard to explain if he did.
However, he felt that it was unlikely she would end up with a weak one, as most Devil Fruits' strength could be gauged by their names.
At this moment, many individuals with second or third-tier talents were entering the selection process on the field, as Lin Muxue had promised that even if they failed to be chosen, they could still rely on their own cultivation to become the lowest-ranking crew members of the Chosen One Pirate Crew.
Lin Muxue was waiting for these people to pick the weaker Devil Fruits, thereby reducing her own margin for error.
The contracts were being made, and not many people chose to become Non-Ability Users, as everyone believed that since it was the era of Devil Fruits, it was undoubtedly best to possess one. The path to becoming stronger relied on the abilities granted by Devil Fruits.
Non-Ability Users relied solely on themselves. They pondered, how strong could they become through pure self-discipline and training?
Thus, everyone believed that Non-Ability Users were only chosen as a last resort when one couldn't obtain a Devil Fruit.
There were millions of Devil Fruits, but the number of Non-Ability Users was even greater, reaching tens of millions.
This further solidified the notion that the ordinary pirates of the pirate world, who lacked abilities, were no
t particularly formidable.
However, Ye Yu did not think this way. And he had already decided to choose the path of a Non-Ability User!
(End of Chapter)