"Wow! So many Devil Fruits!"
Nami stood beside Ryūjin, staring at the boxes packed with bizarrely shaped fruits. Her eyes sparkled with disbelief, and excitement spread across her face.
"I've never seen this many Devil Fruits in one place!"
In the world of pirates, Devil Fruits were treasures beyond measure.
One Devil Fruit alone could create a powerful fighter.
One Devil Fruit alone could trigger bloodshed across entire seas.
Seeing dozens gathered together like common cargo created an overwhelming visual impact.
Ryūjin glanced at Nami's shining eyes and chuckled softly.
"Today's haul wasn't bad."
He casually rested a hand on one of the boxes.
"You've been with me for a while now, Nami. I'm not the type to treat my people badly."
His tone remained relaxed.
"Pick one."
Nami blinked.
"Huh?"
"You can choose any Devil Fruit here."
To Ryūjin, Devil Fruits were useful only as energy sources to increase chakra.
The powers they granted, the abilities countless pirates risked their lives for, meant very little to him.
Compared to the benefits he gained from devouring them, giving one away was nothing.
Especially after collecting this much.
Nami stared at him in disbelief.
"Really… Ryūjin-san?"
Her voice carried obvious excitement.
A Devil Fruit.
One of the rarest treasures in the world.
And he was casually offering her one?
At that moment, Nami genuinely felt like throwing herself at him.
Maybe hugging him.
A man who casually handed out treasures worth kingdoms without hesitation was dangerous in an entirely different way.
Nearby, Nico Robin quietly watched the interaction.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Since the age of eight, she had wandered the seas alone.
She had seen cruelty.
Betrayal.
People smiling to your face while planning how to sell you out.
Even during her time working with Crocodile, trust was little more than a convenient lie.
Schemes, manipulation, and hidden knives had become normal.
But that life was never what she wanted.
As the sole survivor of Ohara, the infamous Devil Child hunted by the World Government, and the only scholar alive capable of reading the Poneglyphs, survival had forced her into darkness.
She had no choice except to rely on dangerous people.
Yet after boarding Ryūjin's ship, things slowly changed.
For the first time in years, she had somewhere to stand without constantly looking over her shoulder.
Someone strong enough to shield her from the storm.
Someone who made enemies think twice.
Watching Ryūjin casually offer a Devil Fruit to his navigator without a second thought gave Robin an unfamiliar feeling.
Security.
It felt strange.
But not unpleasant.
Deep down, she was grateful fate had let her meet Ryūjin.
Still, Nami's excitement quickly faded into hesitation.
"Ryūjin-san…"
She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"There's one problem."
"We don't have a Devil Fruit encyclopedia."
Without the encyclopedia, choosing randomly meant gambling blindly.
Sure, she could end up with an amazing power.
But what if luck betrayed her?
If she accidentally got some weird Zoan fruit and turned into something ridiculous…
Nami shivered.
Just imagining herself turning into some giant animal every day made her want to scream.
"No thanks."
Ryūjin looked completely unconcerned.
"Then wait until we get one."
Simple.
A Devil Fruit encyclopedia wasn't exactly impossible to obtain.
He could just have Crocodile arrange it through Baroque Works.
Compared to everything else, this was barely an inconvenience.
After discussing it for a bit longer, Nami brightened again.
"Alright!"
She suddenly grabbed Robin's hand.
"Robin, let's go check out the island!"
Robin blinked.
"Oh?"
Nami grinned proudly.
"I need to map this place."
Creating a map of the entire world had always been her dream.
She had already told Ryūjin about it long ago, and unlike most people, he never laughed at the idea.
Instead, he supported it.
Ryūjin simply nodded.
"Go ahead."
As the two women left to explore the island, Ryūjin stayed behind without saying much else.
Meanwhile…
Far away from the island, Sengoku's warship had already departed.
Inside a luxurious private room aboard the Marine flagship, the atmosphere had become suffocatingly heavy.
Sengoku.
Garp.
Aokiji.
Kizaru.
All four sat across from one another in silence.
Nobody looked good.
The mission to retrieve the Admirals had ended with one of them dead.
Marine Headquarters had suffered humiliation unlike anything in recent memory.
Even now, nobody could fully accept it.
Sengoku finally broke the silence.
"I never imagined Demon Eye Ryūjin would be this dangerous."
His expression darkened.
Even now, he could not understand what happened back on the island.
Akainu, a Logia user, had died instantly.
No elemental transformation.
No resistance.
Nothing.
It made no sense.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku…"
Aokiji spoke with unusual seriousness.
"Ryūjin is far stronger than the intelligence reports suggested."
He paused.
"To be honest, I've never seen anyone like him."
Kizaru remained quiet.
Aokiji continued.
"Back on Skypiea, when Kizaru and Sakazuki came to rescue me…"
"The three of us fought Ryūjin together."
The room grew quieter.
"And?"
Sengoku narrowed his eyes.
Aokiji exhaled slowly.
"He beat all three of us."
"It didn't even take ten minutes."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Sengoku and Garp both stared at him.
Shock filled their expressions.
The Marines had assumed Ryūjin defeated them separately.
Or maybe used tricks.
Or dragged the fight out somehow.
Nobody imagined he had crushed three Admirals simultaneously.
In under ten minutes.
If those words came from anyone else, Sengoku would have dismissed them immediately.
But Aokiji wasn't someone who exaggerated.
Garp folded his arms tightly.
"That brat…"
His face became unusually serious.
"He's more dangerous than Rocks."
"More dangerous than Roger."
"Hell, maybe even more dangerous than the Four Emperors."
The room grew heavier.
Then another question surfaced.
"If someone like this exists," Garp muttered, "why have we never heard of him before?"
"And how the hell does one person have so many abilities?"
"Not to mention," Sengoku added grimly, "he extorted forty Devil Fruits from us."
"For someone already this powerful, why would he even care about collecting Devil Fruits?"
Nobody had answers.
Then Aokiji suddenly spoke again.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"When Ryūjin fought Whitebeard…"
"Kizaru and I saw him use my Ice-Ice Fruit powers."
The room froze.
"So I've been thinking…"
Aokiji's expression turned grave.
"What if Ryūjin has some way of copying Devil Fruit abilities?"
Nobody spoke.
Even Sengoku's expression shifted.
"That's a bold assumption," Sengoku said slowly.
"We've never heard of something like that."
"But it explains everything," Aokiji replied.
"How he possesses so many abilities."
"And why he's collecting Devil Fruits."
A heavy silence followed.
If true…
Then Ryūjin had shattered the rules of the sea itself.
Suddenly—
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The ocean outside stirred violently.
Marine warships emerged from beneath the sea one after another.
Ten warships.
Arranged in a wide formation.
Completely surrounding the nameless island where Ryūjin remained.
These ships had been hidden underwater the entire time.
Waiting.
Lurking.
Prepared for one purpose.
The Buster Call.
Vice Admiral Onigumo stood aboard one of the ships.
He pulled out a golden Den Den Mushi and contacted Sengoku.
Buru Buru…
The call connected.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Onigumo reported, "everything is ready."
"Should we proceed with the Buster Call?"
Sengoku adjusted his glasses.
His face darkened.
After several seconds, he finally spoke.
"Proceed."
"Understood."
The call ended.
Kizaru glanced over casually.
"A Buster Call?"
"Who's the target this time?"
Then realization hit him.
His face changed.
Sengoku spoke coldly.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin."
"He's too dangerous."
"He needs to be eliminated immediately."
Capturing Ryūjin alive would have been ideal.
Sengoku wanted Vegapunk to study him.
But Ryūjin was too unstable.
Too dangerous.
Anyone capable of instantly killing an Admiral could not be left alive.
Then suddenly—
"What?!"
Kizaru nearly stood up.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, stop it!"
Aokiji's face changed too.
"Ryūjin has spatial abilities!"
"He can hide people in another dimension!"
"He can disappear himself too!"
"The Buster Call won't work!"
Sengoku froze.
Spatial ability?
Then suddenly, realization struck him.
The way Ryūjin had released Akainu before…
So that was what happened?
Without hesitation, Sengoku grabbed the Den Den Mushi again.
The line connected.
"Onigumo!"
His voice turned urgent.
"Cancel the operation immediately!"
"Stop the Buster Call!"
Cold sweat appeared on Onigumo's forehead.
"Fleet Admiral…"
His voice stiffened.
"I already gave the order."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sound of cannons erupted.
Dozens upon dozens of shells launched simultaneously.
Like a storm swallowing the sky.
Sengoku's expression changed instantly.
Even Garp stiffened.
Kizaru and Aokiji felt cold sweat drip down their backs.
Things had just gotten much worse.
Back on the island—
"What was that sound?"
Nami frowned while exploring near the coast.
Instinctively, she looked upward.
Then froze.
Her pupils shrank.
The sky was covered in cannonballs.
Robin's expression changed immediately too.
"This is bad."
There were too many.
Dodging was impossible.
Just as destruction was about to descend—
A voice echoed nearby.
"Shinra Tensei."
Whoosh!
The entire sky shifted.
Every cannonball was blasted backward instantly.
Nami's eyes widened.
"Ryūjin!"
Relief flooded her face.
Robin exhaled quietly.
Moments later—
The world blurred.
Before either woman could react, their surroundings changed entirely.
An endless desert stretched before them.
Crocodile was already waiting nearby.
"Lord Ryūjin."
Without question, this was Ryūjin's Space.
Using Kamui repeatedly during a bombardment would waste time.
So Ryūjin simply moved everyone at once.
"Stay here."
His voice remained casual.
"I've got something to deal with."
Then his eyes turned colder.
A dangerous chill entered them.
"Buster Call?"
"Sengoku…"
A faint smirk appeared.
In an instant—
Ryūjin disappeared.