Southward! The secret of Dressrosa

The last week of the seventh month after the God Valley Incident.

Ginny shut herself in the Intelligence Room and did not come out for three whole days.

When Lin Yuan knocked on the door, a jumble of noises came from inside—the sound of papers falling to the floor, a chair tipping over, and Ginny cursing. Then the door opened.

Ginny stood in the doorway with great dark circles under her eyes, her hair a bird's nest, and a stack of crumpled notes clutched in her hand.

"I found it," she said.

"Found what?"

"The Glint-Glint Fruit."

Lin Yuan's eyelid twitched.

"What did you say?"

"The Glint-Glint Fruit. It's a paramecia that lets you see through everything once you eat it—any place, any object, anyone's thoughts within a four-thousand-kilometer radius." Ginny shoved the notes into Lin Yuan's hand. "It's not a legend or a rumor. The fruit really exists."

Lin Yuan looked down at the notes. Several lines were scrawled across them in Ginny's handwriting:

"Glint-Glint Fruit—in the custody of the Dressrosa Kingdom's Riku Royal Family. Origin: unknown. Authenticity: confirmed three times by an informant, 85% reliable. Note: the royal family apparently does not know the fruit's true value and has kept it locked in the treasury."

Lin Yuan looked up.

"Dressrosa?"

"In the South Blue. It's a famous kingdom, known for its passion, dancing, and bullfighting." Ginny rubbed her eyes. "King Riku is the king. He's a good man who treats the common people well. But the country's not very wealthy, and it's been dealing with pirates from the surrounding area for the past few years. Times have been tough."

"How did you confirm the fruit was real?"

"My informant saw it himself. He used to work as a servant in the Riku Royal Family's castle and saw it while cleaning the treasury. A purple fruit with eye-like patterns on its surface," Ginny said. "He took a picture."

She pulled a crumpled photograph from her pocket. It showed a purple fruit lying on a velvet cushion. Eye-shaped patterns covered its surface, like countless eyes staring at the camera.

Lin Yuan stared at the photograph for a few seconds.

He recognized the fruit. The Glint-Glint Fruit. It was the one Viola of Dressrosa ate in the original story. And Viola was King Riku's daughter, who should still be an infant at this point. The fruit was still in the treasury; no one had eaten it yet.

"We're going to Dressrosa." Lin Yuan handed the photograph back to Ginny. "You're coming with me."

Ginny paused.

"Me?"

"You're in charge of intelligence. This fruit is for you."

Ginny's hand went still.

"For... me?"

"Yes. Once you eat it, your intelligence-gathering abilities will increase tenfold. Then we won't have to wait for Morgans's newspaper every day."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but the words did not come out. Her eyes reddened a little, but she held back.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow."

Dressrosa.

The brightest pearl of the South Blue.

The island was shaped like a circular arena, with the royal palace in the center and colorful houses all around it. Flowers and fountains lined the streets, and the air was filled with the aroma of grilled meat and the rhythm of music. Women wore flamenco dresses, men wore wide-brimmed hats, and children played soccer in the square.

"This place is lively." Ginny stepped through the door and stood in the shadow of an alley, watching the people in the street. "It's completely different from Hachinosu."

"Hachinosu used to be like this too." Lin Yuan followed her, hands in his pockets. "Then pirates took it over, and it became a pirate den."

"Can we build Hachinosu up like this someday?"

"Better than this."

Ginny smiled without saying anything.

The two crossed the streets, heading toward the royal palace. Lin Yuan's Spatial Perception had already locked onto its location—at the center of the island, built on a small hill, its white walls gleaming in the sunlight.

"The guards are pretty tight," Ginny said.

"It is a royal palace, after all."

"How do we get in?"

Lin Yuan glanced at her.

"Did you forget my ability?"

He opened a small door beside him and peered through it. Beyond the door was a study in the royal palace, and no one was inside.

"Let's go."

King Riku sat in his study with a pile of documents spread out before him.

He was a burly middle-aged man with a short beard, dressed in deep crimson royal robes. Dark circles lay beneath his eyes, as though he had not slept well in a long time.

A door opened.

Not the study door, but a door in the air. Two people stepped through it—a young man in a black trench coat, his hands in his pockets, and a young woman with pink hair, holding a ledger.

King Riku put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"Don't be nervous," Lin Yuan said. "We're here to do business."

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"Lin Yuan. Hachinosu."

King Riku's pupils contracted.

"The Space Demon... Lin Yuan?"

"That's me."

King Riku loosened his grip on his sword hilt, but his gaze remained wary.

"What have you come to Dressrosa for? I have nothing here for you to plunder."

"You do," Lin Yuan said. "A fruit in your treasury. The Glint-Glint Fruit."

King Riku's expression changed.

"How did you know..."

"My intelligence officer found out." Lin Yuan glanced at Ginny, who nodded to King Riku. "That fruit has been sitting in your treasury. Do you know what it does?"

King Riku was silent for a moment.

"No. My father left it to me. He said our ancestors brought it back from overseas. It's been locked in the treasury ever since, and no one has touched it."

"Then I'll tell you," Lin Yuan said. "It's the paramecia Glint-Glint Fruit. Once eaten, it lets you see everything within a four-thousand-kilometer radius, see into people's hearts, and see through objects. It's a strategic-level fruit."

King Riku's expression changed again and again.

"You... you want it?"

"Yes," Lin Yuan said. "I'll buy it, not steal it."

"Buy it?"

"Buy it." Lin Yuan glanced at Ginny, and she opened the ledger.

"One hundred tons of grain. Fifty tons of weapons. Plus two hundred million Beli." Ginny listed the figures. "Enough grain to feed your whole country for two years, enough weapons to arm your army to the teeth. You could fight pirates with all that for ten years and still not use it up."

King Riku fell silent.

One hundred tons of grain. Fifty tons of weapons. Two hundred million Beli. Dressrosa had been harassed by pirates for years. There was not enough food or weapons, the treasury was empty, and the army was exhausted. These supplies would be enough to keep him going for several years.

"How can you guarantee these things will be delivered?"

"I'll open a door and deliver them," Lin Yuan said. "Payment and delivery today."

King Riku stared at Lin Yuan for a long time.

"Is that fruit... really worth so much?"

"Not to you," Lin Yuan said. "If you eat it, you'll become an ability user, but your descendants won't get to eat it, because there's only one Devil Fruit. Locked in the treasury, it's just an antique. But to me, it's worth it."

King Riku stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the palace square.

Children were playing soccer in the square. A young woman pushed a baby carriage past, with a pink-haired infant sleeping soundly inside. That was his daughter, Viola. She was not yet a year old.

If he kept the fruit and gave it to Viola someday, she would become an ability user. But what then? She could see four thousand kilometers around her and see into people's hearts, but could she see Dressrosa's future?

He did not know.

"Deal." King Riku turned around. "The fruit is yours. The supplies arrive today."

Lin Yuan held out his hand.

King Riku took it.

"A pleasure doing business."

"A pleasure doing business."

King Riku fetched the Glint-Glint Fruit from the treasury.

It was purple, its surface covered in eye-shaped patterns. In the candlelight, the eyes seemed to blink, watching everyone present.

Ginny took the fruit, her hands trembling.

"Eat it," Lin Yuan said. "Eat it here. We'll leave when you're done."

Ginny took a deep breath and bit into it.

Her face twisted for an instant—the taste was terrible, like spoiled rubber and rotten bananas boiled into a paste. But she did not spit it out. She chewed twice and swallowed.

Then came the second bite, and the third.

She ate the whole fruit.

Ginny closed her eyes, feeling the power surging inside her. A strange energy spread from her stomach to her eyes, and her eyeballs grew slightly warm, as though two balls of fire were burning in their sockets.

She opened her eyes.

The world had changed.

She could see the streets outside the palace, the children in the square, the ships moored at the harbor, and the warships sailing on the sea. Her field of vision expanded: one kilometer, ten kilometers, a hundred kilometers, a thousand kilometers—stretching all the way to the horizon four thousand kilometers away.

She saw Hachinosu. She saw King training with his eyes closed on the lookout, Kaido gnawing on meat in the warehouse, Bullet smashing seastone on the training ground, Kuma clapping his hands by the sea, Moria practicing with shadows in a dark room, and Inazuma unpacking boxes in the warehouse.

She could even see their heartbeats, body temperatures, and breathing rates.

"Ginny." Lin Yuan's voice came from very close by.

She turned and looked at Lin Yuan.

Then she saw his heart.

Not the organ, but his thoughts. His brain was like an open book, and she could see what he was thinking: Can Ginny control this ability? Will too much information drive her mad? Will her eyes hurt?

"I can control it," Ginny said. "There's a lot of information, but I don't need to look at all of it. I can filter it, focus, and zoom in."

Lin Yuan paused, then smiled.

"That's great."

King Riku stood nearby, a complicated expression on his face. He saw Ginny's eyes glowing, countless images flickering in them like a kaleidoscope.

"Your ability... is very powerful," King Riku said.

"Thank you." Ginny turned to look at him, then smiled. "King Riku, you're a good man. You won't regret today's decision."

King Riku gave a wry smile.

"I hope so."

Lin Yuan raised his hand and opened a huge door in the square outside the palace. Beyond it was a warehouse on Hachinosu, where grain and weapons were piled into small mountains.

"The supplies are here. Send your people to move them."

King Riku walked to the window and looked at the huge door in the square, silent for a long time.

"Lin Yuan."

"Hmm?"

"Who are you, really?"

Lin Yuan thought for a moment.

"Someone who doesn't want to die."

He opened a door and walked through it with Ginny.

The door closed.

The study fell quiet again.

King Riku stood by the window, looking at the mountains of grain and weapons piled in the square. He was silent for a long time.

"Someone who doesn't want to die..." he murmured. "Who in this world wants to die?"

No one answered.

Outside the window, the children were still playing soccer.

The baby was still asleep, her pink hair gleaming in the sunlight.

(End of Chapter 50)