Choice

"Xun, Xun, wake up, hurry and wake up." Hearing her sister's voice, the little girl groggily rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned involuntarily before suddenly coming to her senses and shouting, "Sister, run!"

"Ahahaha, little girl, you're still half-asleep, aren't you? You haven't even woken up yet."

The mocked little girl puffed up angrily, but the moment she saw Patch's ferocious appearance, she instantly lost her nerve. She still had not recovered from what happened before she fainted, so she could only turn pleading eyes toward her sister.

Xia looked at Xun with doting eyes, rubbed her little head, and said with a smile, "Xun, you don't need to be afraid anymore. Lord Roy saved us. From now on, we'll join Lord Roy's Pirate Crew. He's different from those pirates. He definitely won't hurt us."

By the end, Xia's tone had become less certain, because she herself did not know what differences there could be between pirates.

However, the little girl trusted her sister unconditionally. She turned around and curiously examined Roy and the others. She was clever enough to see at a glance that Roy was the one in charge, so she asked in a soft, sweet voice, "Excuse me, are you Lord Roy?"

"That's right, little girl. Can you tell me about your Devil Fruit Ability?"

"I'm not that little. I'm already ten." The little girl wrinkled her nose playfully in rebuttal, which surprised Roy somewhat. This girl really seemed malnourished—she looked no older than seven or eight.

"My ability is to share my life force with others. So, Lord Roy, I'm useful. Please don't abandon my sister and me."

Children from poor families matured early, and those who had suffered often grew up faster. This little girl clearly knew that using her ability would consume her life force, yet she still wanted to use it as the price for Roy to take in her sister.

It had to be said that sensible, obedient people were always more readily accepted. Roy had originally worried that there would be an unruly brat aboard his ship, but it seemed things would be much better than expected.

"Lord Roy, you definitely have a way, right?" Xia looked at Roy eagerly, waiting for his answer.

"Heh, judging from the method you used to absorb life force earlier, your ability can't possibly be that simple. Wait a moment and let me test it."

Roy stood up, closed his eyes, and extended his right hand toward the jungle.

Dream Domain: Almighty Pull.

Two rabbit-like small beasts were swiftly dragged out of the jungle and into Roy's hands. They struggled continuously, leaving Xia and Xun dumbfounded. They had no idea such miraculous methods existed in this world.

Roy lightly tapped with a finger, and a faint strand of Sword Qi instantly pierced the rabbit on the left. It twitched spasmodically, clearly on the verge of death.

Roy held the two rabbits out before Xun and ordered, "Absorb the life force of the rabbit that's still alive, then transfer it into the one that's about to die."

Roy narrowed his eyes slightly. This was also a test for Xun. He had no need for anyone on his ship who disobeyed orders or was overly merciful.

However, Roy had still underestimated how much hardship had changed this little girl. Faced with such a bloody scene, her expression did not change in the slightest. She merely focused intently as she placed both hands over the living rabbit.

Before long, that horrifying scene appeared again. The rabbit that had been lively just moments ago instantly became a pile of dry bones. Such a sight would have been a tremendous shock even for an adult, yet Xun only pressed her lips tightly together. It was not until a ball of light appeared in her palms that she smiled.

Roy and the others were also curious about the sight and watched without blinking.

Roy was not surprised in the least that life force could be manifested. After all, Tyrant Kuma could manifest air spheres, and Big Mom could manifest souls. There was nothing strange about Xun manifesting life force. Of course, with Xun's current ability, she could at most extract the life force of small beasts like this.

Xun stuffed the ball of light in her hand into the body of the half-dead rabbit. Then, something miraculous happened.

One of the rabbit's hind legs suddenly kicked twice. Then it opened its eyes and became lively again. Even the wound on its body healed as if by a miracle.

The heavy burden in the little girl's heart finally lifted. She raised her head slightly and revealed a sweet smile, like a puppy waiting for its master's praise.

"Clap, clap, clap. Very good, very impressive. Everyone, let's welcome our young Ship Doctor."

Naturally, no one had anything to say about Roy's decision. In fact, they were quite pleased by it.

Although Roy also possessed healing abilities, he was the captain after all. It would not be appropriate for him to constantly shoulder the Ship Doctor's duties.

Moreover, Roy's healing consumed a great deal of Dream Source Power, which would lower his overall strength for a short time. As the strongest person on the ship, the captain was best kept at peak combat strength at all times to handle unexpected situations.

In truth, Xun's Devil Fruit Ability was terrifying in combat as well. But Roy's ship was no longer particularly lacking in high-level combat power. In contrast, her healing ability was crucial to Roy and the others.

If this girl could develop her Devil Fruit to the point where those life force spheres could remain for a long time, then everyone on Roy's ship could practically become immortal superhumans. So long as they still had a breath left, they could replenish themselves with a life force sphere, reviving on the spot at full health and in perfect condition. Their enemies would probably lose their minds.

As for the source of life force, there was absolutely no need to worry. Catching any Sea King at random would provide an immense amount of life force. The Pirate World lacked nothing more than enormous monsters like those.

This could be called an incredibly powerful strategic resource. Once they understood Xun's value, everyone aboard looked at the little girl as though she were a priceless treasure. They all thought that she would probably become the ship's darling from now on, and no one would be willing to let her get hurt.

Patch in particular looked at Xun as if his eyes were about to shine. Do not misunderstand—he was not some creepy old man. He simply wanted to get a life force sphere from Xun as soon as possible. This sphere suited him far too well.

For someone like him, who loved charging into other people's headquarters and going on a rampage, he practically came with a natural taunt effect. Unfortunately, his Devil Fruit offered little in the way of defense. If he could obtain life force spheres, he would truly take off.

After settling the little girl's matter, Roy turned his attention to Xia again and said solemnly, "Xia, now it's your turn to make a choice."

"Ah? Me?" Xia had been happily celebrating for Xun and had not expected the topic to suddenly turn to her.

"Tell me, do you want power?"

"Yes. I dream of it." Having experienced the despair of death, Xia cherished her current life even more and yearned all the more desperately for power. She never wanted to experience that helpless feeling of being unable to change anything again. Only power could protect everything she treasured.

"Very good. Then make your choice. Choose one of these three fruits and eat it."

With a wave of Roy's right hand, three Devil Fruits slowly floated in midair, irresistibly enticing.