Foxfire—it sounded like the name of a technique. For example, Kin'emon had demonstrated the swordsmanship of the Foxfire school. But in reality, foxfire was one of the youkai—a fox that released flames from its tail.
Jasmine's Oni ability was essentially that of a fox, granting her the power to manipulate flames. While flame manipulation was a power almost anyone in the New World could use, the foxfire of a fox was something special.
This Foxfire Fruit was the only Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit Ren had obtained since receiving the Vampire Fruit, which he later gave to Jasmine.
He himself no longer particularly liked continuing to acquire more varieties of fruits, as during this time, he had fully mastered all the previously consumed fruits.
Currently, Ren had mastered the Eight-Headed Soul (Yamata no Orochi), Rumble Soul (Enel's lightning), Okami Soul, O-nyudo Soul, Gudra Soul, Rot Soul, Gate Soul, and countless Zoan Beast Souls. Among them, the Vampire Fruit and Ripe-Ripe Fruit's souls were respectively called the Gudra Soul and Rot Soul.
In terms of combat power, Ren was now very well-rounded, as continuously acquiring more Devil Fruits wouldn't strengthen him further. After all, he could only manifest one Devil Soul at a time.
Therefore, unless the ability was particularly unique, Ren generally wouldn't acquire any more fruits now. Instead, it was more appropriate to save them for people he wanted to cultivate.
The two most qualified candidates were Buggy and Enel. Their talents were undeniable, especially Buggy—Ren even felt he might possess the qualifications of a King, just not awakened yet. He just didn't know if Buggy, growing up on his current path, would still be able to awaken Conqueror's Haki.
However, despite their talents, Buggy and Enel were still too young to be of much use right now. The ones who could truly help him now were Yukiko, Yayoi, and Shichigatsu.
In recent years, Inazuma's development had been relatively stable. After the war started by the Golden Lion, few people truly dared to harbor ill intentions against him. However, friction was inevitable.
With all parties' strength continuously increasing, this friction had become more cautious. The tension was thick, but it rarely escalated into large-scale wars because the true leaders never appeared. Only their subordinates奔波 across the seas.
Therefore, having a few capable subordinates was crucial.
For example, Kaido's bounty had been continuously increasing in recent years, seemingly catching up to veterans like Ren and the Golden Lion. But in reality, no one truly placed current Kaido on the same level as them.
Because their scales were different.
Kaido might be powerful, but he lacked capable subordinates. He had to personally enter battle each time, making his rivals people like Yukiko and Shutenmaru instead.
"Wano will fall into chaos too, especially if Orochi prepares to ally with Kaido. Then considerable strength would be needed to defend against that." Ren said. He had never underestimated Kaido-sensei.
This man had both wits and strength; what he lacked was time. Once he got the opportunity, he could soar like a real dragon.
"This time Jasmine is sailing with me. Later, I'll have Shichigatsu and Yayoi return when they can. If necessary, feel free to have the remaining fruits consumed." Ren instructed.
He was mainly telling this to Aoba.
Among those remaining in Kuri, Aoba had the most martial virtue, her strength not inferior to Yukiko's. But she was only a Black Widow-type Oni, and if she ate a Devil Fruit, her abilities would increase further.
Currently remaining in Kuri were five Paramecia Fruits: Sube Sube no Mi, Baku Baku no Mi, Maki Maki no Mi, Goru Goru no Mi, and Hana Hana no Mi. There were also three Logia Fruits: Mera Mera no Mi, Numa Numa no Mi, and Moku Moku no Mi.
That's right, Smoker's Moku Moku no Mi had been found by Ren. Although taking his fruit was somewhat regrettable, it was actually a good thing for Smoker. He would never develop this fruit properly, so keeping it was just holding both of them back.
Besides Aoba, Saori, who had eaten the Dango Dango no Mi, also possessed considerable combat power, though her strength wasn't in her personal abilities but in controlling a massive monster army led by the Four Winds Guardian, Dvalin!
The creatures of the New World formed a considerable force. Some were raised in the inner sea, while others hid in the southern Guardian Forest. When gathered, they could form a powerful strength.
Of course, the greatest insurance was the Ruin series.
Overseas, the Ruin Grader had just been put on the market, but in Kuri, several Ruin Hunters and three different forms of Ruin Sentinels had already accumulated. If an irresistible crisis occurred, these forces, even more powerful than an army, would be activated under Aoba's control.
"When do we depart, Ren-sama?" Jasmine asked, looking eager.
The last time she had sailed with Ren was when she was sixteen, and now five years had passed. During this time, she had watched the news from overseas, helplessly watching the bounty of that little runaway Shichigatsu skyrocket. To say she wasn't jealous would be a complete lie.
She wanted to increase her own bounty and help Ren develop his forces!
"We'll leave in a couple of days."
"Wuwu, Saori, I want to go sailing too." Saya said, lying on the back of a dinosaur with bat wings, looking listless.
She was incredibly envious of Shichigatsu and Jasmine.
"Saya, Jasmine isn't going out to play with Ren-sama." Saori said while feeding a dog carrying a giant katana. "If you trained as hard as Jasmine, you could be sailing with Ren-sama too."
"Pfft~" Saya stuck her tongue out at her.
After a while, she said, "Maybe I should eat a Devil Fruit too. Then even if my strength isn't enough, I could still help..."
Saya said dejectedly.
She felt she was the most useless one now. Everyone else, even Keiko-san who had no combat ability, had her role. Kuri could do without anyone, but absolutely could not do without Keiko. Moreover, Keiko sometimes even found time to visit Enkanomiya, where many scientists there might not even match her in knowledge.
Enkanomiya was actually Punk Hazard. After fully mastering the Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit), Ren had created a strange space, moving Punk Hazard and its laboratories to the bottom of the inner sea.
Now, Punk Hazard and the ancient ruins beneath the sea were called—Enkanomiy
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