—Broadcast—
Charlotte Hikaru held her beloved "sister"—the Devil Fruit consciousness called Nanica wearing her twin brother's body—and walked with firm, deliberate steps toward Charlotte Katakuri's medical ward. Each footfall carried weight of desperate hope mixed with profound uncertainty about what would happen next.
The five-year-old girl's expression displayed determination that shouldn't belong to kindergarten-aged child, her Sharingan eyes blazing with crimson intensity as she navigated corridors leading to where their mutilated older brother awaited miracle healing or final death.
At this critical moment—understanding that he must demonstrate absolute commitment to receive Nanica's full healing power—Charlotte Katakuri had taken the initiative to leave the transparent nutrient tank that had preserved his catastrophically damaged body. The decision proved agonizing both physically and psychologically: abandon the life-support system sustaining him or remain dependent on it indefinitely.
He'd chosen confronting death directly over prolonged helpless existence.
Without external nutritional supplementation, Charlotte Katakuri's mutilated body could die at any time—potentially within minutes given the severity of his injuries and the tremendous caloric demands his massive frame required even at rest. The nutrient solution had been continuously providing sustenance, keeping his organs functioning despite catastrophic tissue loss.
The pain from the shark bite wounds covering every centimeter of his torso—the overlapping tooth marks where Admiral Kisame's water constructs had systematically devoured him—could no longer be resisted through mere adrenaline secretion. His adrenal glands had exhausted themselves hours ago, flooding his system with stress hormones until the biochemical wells ran dry.
Charlotte Katakuri could only rely on his willpower alone to resist death's increasingly insistent call. No pharmaceutical support. No medical intervention. Just pure mental discipline preventing his consciousness from surrendering to the screaming agony consuming every nerve ending simultaneously.
Just a little longer, his thoughts maintained with desperate focus. Hikaru is coming. Alluka is coming. Nanica will heal me or kill me, but either outcome ends this unbearable existence. Just... hold... on...
"Nanica, use your power to completely heal my brother," Charlotte Hikaru commanded with voice mixing childish tone and absolute authority. She wasn't requesting—she was ordering the Devil Fruit consciousness to fulfill the wish she'd paid for with three completed requests.
The older sister placed her transformed younger sibling—the small form wrapped entirely in creepy black aura that seemed absorbing surrounding light—on the bedside directly next to Charlotte Katakuri's barely-breathing body.
The girl stretched out her white and tender little hand, the innocent appendage contrasting horrifyingly with the demonic darkness radiating from her possessed form. That small palm descended slowly, deliberately, until it placed itself directly on Charlotte Katakuri's chest—positioning over his heart, where life's final embers flickered desperately.
Then a dazzling white light appeared in Nanica's palm.
The radiance started small—pinpoint brilliance concentrated in the center of the possessed child's hand—before exploding outward with catastrophic intensity. The white illumination engulfed the entire ward within seconds, flooding through windows, seeping under doors, creating luminescent cocoon that isolated the healing space from external observation.
The light possessed wrong quality—too pure, too absolute, suggesting illumination originating from sources beyond mortal comprehension. This wasn't mere photons scattering through electromagnetic spectrum. This was reality itself being forcibly rewritten, causality bending to accommodate impossible outcomes.
Since no surveillance cameras existed in the medical ward—privacy protocols for injured family members demanded it—the other Big Mom Pirates members couldn't observe the healing process directly. They could only watch brilliant light seeping from every crack and opening, hear the building's structure groaning under metaphysical stress, feel the wrongness radiating through walls themselves.
The assembled Charlotte siblings were also afraid of being implicated by the Wish-Wish Fruit's equivalent exchange mechanism. Nobody knew what price Nanica would demand for healing Charlotte Katakuri's catastrophic injuries. If the cost required collateral casualties—if family members standing too close might be selected as payment—then maintaining distance represented only rational precaution.
So they hid outside the building entirely, clustering together at safe range while waiting for treatment results. Dozens of siblings exchanged nervous glances, hands unconsciously reaching toward weapons or each other for comfort, everyone silently praying that Charlotte Hikaru's gamble would succeed without extracting unbearable costs.
Tien Shinhan stood at the group's perimeter alongside Charlotte Pudding, his three eyes constantly scanning their surroundings with professional vigilance. As for the current military situation on Cake Island—with Four Emperors Charlotte Linlin often mentally incapacitated and fundamentally unreliable—the Three-Eyed warrior currently represented the strongest active combatant in Big Mom Pirates' territory.
The responsibility weighed heavily. He must always remain alert, monitoring every approaching presence, prepared to intercept threats before they could disturb Nanica's healing process. Any interruption during critical metaphysical operation might result in catastrophic failure—Katakuri's death, Hikaru's death, Alluka's permanent consumption by Nanica, or all three outcomes simultaneously.
Charlotte Pudding noticed something had changed in Tien Shinhan's demeanor. His normally calm professional bearing had shifted into combat-ready tension—muscles coiled, breathing controlled, third eye turning constantly in all directions as though tracking invisible targets.
Could it be, Pudding's thoughts raced with sudden dread, that the Admiral of the Marine has gone back on his word and returned? Admiral Kisame coming back to finish what he started?
"Has that fish-man come back again?" Charlotte Pudding asked quietly, her voice barely audible despite the urgency driving the question.
"It's not him," Tien Shinhan replied with grim certainty, all three eyes narrowing simultaneously. "One more person—no, two people. The auras of both individuals are very unfamiliar to me."
For a Ki master of Tien Shinhan's caliber, he'd become intimately familiar with the Ki signatures of everyone present on Cake Island during his months residing here. Charlotte Pudding's gentle spiritual energy. Charlotte Perospero's anxious fluctuations. Charlotte Smoothie's contained power. Even the civilians and servants possessed distinctive bioelectric patterns he could identify unconsciously.
But just after Charlotte Hikaru carried Nanica into the medical ward—mere seconds after the healing process began—the auras of two complete strangers suddenly appeared and disappeared from his perception range. The manifestation lasted perhaps half a second before vanishing entirely, as though the unknown presences had realized their mistake and immediately concealed themselves.
The other intruders had just let slip a small flaw, a momentary lapse in whatever technique concealed their Ki signatures. But that instant proved sufficient—Tien Shinhan had noticed the anomaly immediately and entered state of full combat alertness, preparing for potential hostile action against the vulnerable healing operation.
Two unknowns, his tactical assessment calculated rapidly. Appeared via spatial displacement given the sudden manifestation. Concealing themselves through Devil Fruit ability or advanced technique. Timing their arrival to coincide with Nanica's emergence suggests intelligence gathering rather than random coincidence. Threat level: unknown but assume maximum.
What Tien Shinhan sensed through his Ki perception was absolutely correct. There were indeed two outsiders on Cake Island at this precise moment—infiltrators who possessed neither invitation nor legitimate business, individuals who'd employed Devil Fruit powers to teleport directly here for single specific purpose.
They'd come to observe firsthand exactly how powerful Charlotte Alluka—the user of the Nega Nega no Mi (Wish-Wish Fruit)—could truly be when Nanica's consciousness fully manifested.
"The Governor asked us to make this trip specifically," one infiltrator stated quietly to his companion, voice carrying mixture of professional efficiency and personal curiosity. "I genuinely hope the intelligence provided by that informant proves accurate. Otherwise we've wasted tremendous effort for nothing."
The person speaking possessed very fair skin—almost pale complexion suggesting someone who spent minimal time under direct sunlight, preferring shadows and indoor environments. In the center of his forehead sat a distinctive purple cross tattoo, the marking seeming to represent some personal significance—perhaps mark of fate, perhaps organizational symbol, mysterious and unique regardless.
He wore blue earrings on both ears, the jewelry sparkling with faint luminescence that added sense of depth and calculated coldness to his overall aesthetic. His hair was always neatly combed back—all black locks slicked away from his face in style suggesting meticulous grooming habits and preference for clean, unobstructed vision.
The hairstyle made him look both neat and revealing an unruly demeanor—paradoxical combination of disciplined appearance masking fundamentally rebellious nature.
Character Profile: Chrollo Lucilfer
Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates' Second Ship
Nusumu Nusumu no Mi (Thief-Thief Fruit) User - Paramecia
Ability: Steal and temporarily use other Devil Fruit powers
"After we finish investigating this matter, we'll return immediately," Chrollo Lucilfer continued with clinical detachment, as though discussing routine reconnaissance rather than infiltrating Yonko territory. "Then we collect the Governor and withdraw before the Marines realize where he's gone."
Chrollo's companion proved significantly less polished in presentation. The man wore a strange black hat with unique shape far removed from common maritime fashion—wide-brimmed design that cast perpetual shadow across features. A cross-shaped eyepatch covered his right eye, the distinctive marking suggesting either injury or aesthetic choice related to his marksmanship specialization.
He possessed long face with slightly protruding chin, overall facial structure creating vaguely equine impression. A full beard covered most of his lower face, the facial hair appearing somewhat unkempt and suggesting minimal attention to grooming compared to Chrollo's meticulous presentation.
A black cloak draped his entire body, the garment seeming to isolate him from the world around him—creating physical and psychological barrier between himself and external environment. His overall image resembled musketeer assassin hiding in darkness, combining aristocratic flair with predatory menace.
Character Profile: Van Augur
Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates' Third Ship
Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit) User - Paramecia
Ability: Create spatial doors for instantaneous teleportation
Two of the top three strongest cadres of the Blackbeard Pirates had used Van Augur's Door-Door Fruit to cross space without invitation, arriving on Cake Island as uninvited guests whose presence couldn't be dismissed through mere trivial diplomatic measures. These represented elite combatants, strategic assets that Marshall D. Teach deployed only for missions demanding highest caliber operatives.
After the hardworking Van Augur had first dropped the Governor-General off on Nine Snake Island—delivering Marshall D. Teach to Amazon Lily for purposes still unclear—the sniper had immediately returned to Beehive Island using his Door-Door Fruit's spatial manipulation.
Then he'd brought Chrollo Lucilfer directly to Cake Island, the two elite cadres traveling instantaneously across thousands of miles of ocean through supernatural portals that bypassed conventional geography entirely.
The moment they'd crossed through the Door-Door Fruit's dimensional gateway—that brief instant when their bodies transitioned from Beehive Island to Cake Island—Tien Shinhan had sensed the Ki signatures of both intruders. The Three-Eyed warrior's perception proved frighteningly accurate, detecting even fractional-second manifestations most sensors would miss completely.
After Chrollo Lucilfer exited the Door-Door Fruit's effective range—after Van Augur's portal closed behind them, sealing the spatial corridor—the Thief-Thief Fruit user immediately tore a single page from the book he carried in his left hand.
The page recorded complete specifications of another Devil Fruit's abilities—specifically, the Suke Suke no Mi (Clear-Clear Fruit), the Paramecia-type that granted perfect invisibility to user and anything they touched.
Through the Nusumu Nusumu no Mi's stealing mechanism, Chrollo had acquired temporary access to the Clear-Clear Fruit's powers despite never consuming it himself. The theft allowed him possessing abilities of two Devil Fruits simultaneously for limited duration—his native Thief-Thief Fruit plus whatever stolen power he'd most recently activated.
In this case, he immediately used the stolen Clear-Clear Fruit ability to render both infiltrators' bodies completely transparent. Not merely camouflaged or obscured—perfectly invisible to visual detection, existing as clear as glass or empty air.
More impressively, the transparency effect also completely covered up their Ki signatures, concealing the bioelectric emanations that Tien Shinhan's Ki mastery normally detected effortlessly. Even though the Three-Eyed warrior represented genuine Ki master with decades of training, he could not retrieve the specific locations of the Blackbeard Pirates members through their auras once Chrollo's stolen ability activated.
They're still here, Tien Shinhan's thoughts concluded with cold certainty. I felt them arrive. I know they haven't left. But I cannot pinpoint their positions—they've employed concealment technique sophisticated enough to bypass even my Ki perception. This represents extremely dangerous situation.
Just as the two sides engaged in tense cat-and-mouse game—Tien Shinhan searching desperately for intruders he knew existed but couldn't locate, Chrollo and Van Augur observing while maintaining perfect concealment—a sudden dramatic development interrupted all tactical calculations.
A beam of dazzling white light shot out from the medical ward, ascending vertically with tremendous velocity. The luminescent pillar punched straight through the building's roof without slowing, continuing upward into the sky itself until it became visible across entire Cake Island.
The horrifying beam possessed diameter of perhaps five meters—massive column of radiance that seemed capable of vaporizing anything touching its boundaries. The light carried wrong quality—too pure, too absolute, suggesting energy operating on frequencies beyond conventional electromagnetic spectrum.
More disturbing still, the white pillar was surrounded by black gas that kept rising upward in spiraling tendrils. The darkness seemed almost alive—conscious malevolence given physical form, demonic essence manifesting as visible corruption around the healing light's core.
The juxtaposition proved deeply unsettling: brilliant white light representing miraculous restoration, wrapped in oppressive black aura suggesting terrible costs being extracted somewhere. Beauty and horror intertwined inseparably, making it impossible to celebrate the healing without acknowledging the wrongness enabling it.
The extremely ominous feeling radiating from the phenomenon made everyone shudder involuntarily—even hardened pirates who'd witnessed tremendous Devil Fruit abilities felt primordial dread response triggering deep in their hindbrains. Something about the light-and-darkness combination activated instinctive warnings that transcended rational assessment.
"Oh my God, is this really something a Devil Fruit can accomplish?!" one Charlotte sibling exclaimed with voice mixing awe and existential terror.
"This breath—this spiritual pressure—it's absolutely amazing!" another added, feeling the metaphysical weight pressing down on everyone within visual range of the phenomenon.
Everyone expressed their shock and ignorance one after another, struggling to articulate exactly what they were witnessing. The Devil Fruit exerting its true power through Alluka's body as intermediary made them gradually realize one horrifying truth they'd suspected but refused acknowledging explicitly until this moment:
The Devil Fruit inside Charlotte Alluka's body possesses genuine self-awareness—not metaphorical consciousness or programmed responses, but actual independent entity capable of thought, decision-making, and autonomous action.
The appearance of Nanica—the demon who can achieve everything—in this world did not represent gift from God to struggling ants. This was extremely sinister curse, supernatural affliction that granted impossible powers while extracting terrible prices and gradually consuming the human hosts foolish enough to accept such bargains.
The Big Mom Pirates could not answer what kind of impact opening Pandora's Box would have on the world. Neither could the Marine. Neither could the World Government.
We've unleashed something we don't understand, the collective realization struck simultaneously. And now that it's been released, we cannot put it back. Nanica exists. The world knows. And nothing will ever be the same.
"This trip was absolutely not in vain," Chrollo Lucilfer stated with voice thick with barely-suppressed excitement, his normally controlled demeanor cracking to reveal genuine passion beneath professional facade. "It turns out there are such tremendously powerful Devil Fruits existing in this world—abilities that transcend anything I've previously stolen."
The Thief-Thief Fruit user looked at the white light pillar rising into the sky with obsessed expression dominating his features. His eyes gleamed with acquisitive hunger that approached religious fervor—the look of collector who'd just discovered the ultimate treasure for his personal gallery.
The Wish-Wish Fruit must become my best collection, Chrollo's thoughts burned with absolute conviction. This ability represents pinnacle of what Devil Fruits can achieve—reality manipulation at metaphysical level, granting any desire regardless of physical limitations. With this power added to my stolen arsenal...
"This time, no matter what price I must pay on Cake Island," Chrollo continued aloud, his voice carrying weight of solemn vow, "I absolutely must steal Charlotte Alluka's ability. The Nega Nega no Mi will be mine."
Van Augur shifted uncomfortably at his companion's declaration, understanding the implications completely. Stealing a Devil Fruit ability from living user through Chrollo's Thief-Thief Fruit required direct physical contact and several minutes of uninterrupted connection. Against cooperative subject, the process proved straightforward. Against hostile target defended by dozens of siblings and one extremely alert Three-Eyed Ki master...
"Can you deal with the Three-Eyed creature who discovered us?" Van Augur asked pragmatically, turning his gaze toward where Tien Shinhan stood in visible tension despite being unable to see the invisible infiltrators.
The Three-Eyed warrior possessed strong muscular body that practically radiated physical conditioning and combat expertise. He was clearly tough opponent excelling at close-quarters combat—the exact type of adversary that snipers feared most.
As primarily ranged combatant, Van Augur understood his own fundamental weakness: insufficient physical strength for melee engagement. Once a strong man of the Three-Eyed Clan seized the opportunity to close distance, Tien Shinhan would easily crush Van Augur to death like stepping on ant—no amount of marksmanship could compensate for the overwhelming disadvantage in hand-to-hand fighting.
The moment he locates me precisely, Van Augur's tactical assessment concluded grimly, I have perhaps three seconds before he crosses the distance and kills me with bare hands. My only advantage is maintaining concealment and striking from range before he realizes where the attack originated.
The two elite cadres continued discussing their tactical plans while standing invisible in darkness, weighing options for stealing Charlotte Alluka's ability against risks involved.
Meanwhile, the white light pillar rising from the medical ward area began gradually weakening, its tremendous intensity diminishing as whatever metaphysical process it represented approached completion. The luminescence started dissipating bit by bit, fading from blinding radiance to merely brilliant glow to gentle illumination to nothing.
The creepy black gas surrounding the pillar also disappeared progressively, tendrils of darkness evaporating as though they'd never existed. The ominous feeling pressing down on everyone's consciousness lifted gradually, replaced by anxious anticipation about what the final result would reveal.
As for the ultimate outcome—whether Charlotte Katakuri had been completely healed or whether the attempt had failed catastrophically—everyone looked toward the medical ward's exit with desperate hope mixed with profound dread.
Dozens of Charlotte siblings held collective breath, hands unconsciously clutching each other or gripping weapons, every eye fixed on the doorway where light had been seeping mere moments ago.
Soon a strong and tall figure walked out from inside the medical building.
Charlotte Katakuri appeared before everyone with completely intact body.
Not merely healed—perfectly restored. Every wound closed, every severed limb regenerated, every shark bite scar erased as though they'd never existed. His tremendous 509-centimeter frame moved with the same fluid power he'd possessed before Admiral Kisame's catastrophic assault, muscles rippling beneath skin that showed zero evidence of recent trauma.
All the defects and wounds on his body had been healed by the Wish-Wish Fruit through Nanica's reality-warping intervention. Severed arms regenerated down to individual fingerprints. Severed legs restored with perfect muscular function. Reproductive organs completely reformed. Facial damage reversed entirely, revealing his normally-hidden mouth without the customary scarf concealing it.
Charlotte Katakuri stood as living proof that the Nega Nega no Mi could accomplish truly impossible feats—not merely healing injuries but reversing death itself, regenerating tissue that by all natural laws should never exist again.
Faced with this incredibly exciting result, his loving brothers and sisters excitedly rushed forward to embrace their restored sibling. The emotional dam broke completely—weeks of suppressed grief and terror giving way to overwhelming joy and relief.
Each sibling touched Charlotte Katakuri's skin with curious hands, verifying the miracle through direct tactile confirmation. They felt the vibrant vitality radiating from him—warmth of living flesh, pulse of healthy blood circulation, strength of regenerated muscles responding to neural commands.
It's real, the collective thought echoed through dozens of minds simultaneously. He's actually healed. Not bandaged or stabilized—completely restored as though the injuries never happened. This is genuine miracle.
This person who had just returned from death's absolute brink felt for the first time that his relatives were perhaps a little too enthusiastic in their verification procedures. After being surrounded and touched all over by dozens of hands simultaneously exploring every centimeter of his body—siblings confirming arms, legs, torso, even his restored face—Charlotte Katakuri felt genuinely embarrassed.
"Everyone, please," the normally stoic warrior pleaded with unusual vulnerability, his cheeks actually flushing with discomfort. "I appreciate your concern, but this is... this is becoming excessive. You've all confirmed I'm healed. Perhaps we could... stop touching quite so much?"
But the relieved siblings ignored his protests, continuing their joyful tactile examination. After watching him nearly die, after witnessing his months of helpless suffering, they'd earned the right to verify his restoration as thoroughly as they desired.