The Vermilion Bird's Path

Twenty meters away, the three of them watched Tashigi, who occasionally had flames erupting from her body.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Zhou Qi asked.

"It's fine!" Smoker nodded. "She just ate a Devil Fruit and isn't used to it yet. She'll be fine in a while!"

"Oh..." Zhou Qi nodded. After all, he came from a materialistic world. Although he had seen Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit, seeing Tashigi's Mera Mera no Mi still felt incredibly novel.

"They say Devil Fruits affect a person's personality. Is that true?" Zhou Qi asked.

"No!" Smoker scratched his head. "I didn't feel any change in my personality after eating the fruit."

"So you liked smoking even before you ate a Devil Fruit?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Yeah!" Smoker nodded. "Didn't you see my name?"

Smoker was a transliteration; his actual name was Smoker, meaning someone who smokes.

"Did your parents anticipate you would smoke when they named you?" Zhou Qi asked, a little surprised.

Smoker rolled his eyes and said plainly, "I don't have parents!"

"Huh?" Zhou Qi was taken aback.

"When I had memories, I was already an orphan!" Smoker said calmly. "I don't have parents, I don't know my origins, and I didn't have a name. Because I liked smoking, everyone just called me Smoker, and over time, that became my name!"

"I'm sorry..." Zhou Qi hadn't known Smoker had such a past.

"It's nothing, it's all in the past!" Smoker waved his hand. "I don't even care about that past anymore, and it wasn't your fault! Besides, aren't I doing well now? I've even become a Marine Colonel. This position, in the eyes of many, can be considered a great achievement!"

Zhou Qi nodded. Indeed, among the many people with the surname Zhou who had enlisted, not a single one had even come close to becoming a Colonel.

His third brother was probably the closest, having attended military school, but he was only a Captain now.

The conversation had reached a point where they didn't know how to continue. Fortunately, no more flames were erupting from Tashigi's side. It seemed she had begun to get used to the fruit.

"How do you feel? Has your strength increased?" Zhou Qi asked.

"I think so!" Tashigi felt her own state and then nodded.

"Alright, let's test it!" Zhou Qi said, pulling out a starting pistol again.

Koshiro, familiar with the routine, went to the finish line.

Ten seconds later, the test ended.

"8.59 seconds, nearly a second faster!"

Then came the standing long jump.

"4.52 meters, an increase of 0.84 meters!"

Reaction speed.

"175, an improvement of 14ms."

The dynamometer was broken, so they could only test grip strength.

Tashigi picked up the grip strength meter and squeezed hard!

"198kg!"

An increase of 73kg?

"This improvement is huge!" Although the improvements in speed and reaction time weren't significant, these were the hardest areas to improve.

The significant progress in the standing long jump and grip strength further demonstrated the effect of the Devil Fruit, almost doubling a person's strength!

"This is just the initial change!" Smoker saw that Zhou Qi wasn't smiling and thought he was dissatisfied with the data, so he added, "After eating a Devil Fruit, there's a period of explosive improvement. Don't underestimate Tashigi's current weakness; give her three to five months, and she'll be able to handle things on her own!"

"Mmm!" Zhou Qi nodded. This meant that Devil Fruits could indeed develop a person's potential and raise their upper limit, not just Zoan or Paramecia type Devil Fruits. Logia types also had this effect.

Perhaps Logia type Devil Fruits didn't strengthen the body as much as Zoan types, but their focus was different, not nonexistent.

Therefore, his idea was correct. Even if an Earthling's body was weak, eating the Thunder-Thunder Fruit could allow them to catch up to the strong tiers of the One Piece era.

The only problem was the difference in physique between Earthlings and people from the One Piece world, which was already evident in their differences in meditation.

Could Earthlings even eat Devil Fruits?

"Or, I could find someone to test it on, but I can't just grab someone off the street. I wouldn't be able to do it. Where would I find death row inmates? And even if I got close, I couldn't do anything to them; they're all under state control!"

Find foreigners? Their genes were different from those of Caucasians and Black people. What if it worked for them but not for him!

"I need to find someone from our own people, but they have to be deserving of death and not currently in the country..." Zhou Qi rubbed his chin. Were there such people?

Yes, quite a few!

"I'll plan something when I get back!"

But before that, he needed to study this Mera Mera no Mi more.

"Here, set something on fire, and I'll see how hot it gets!" Zhou Qi took out a barbecue thermometer again, pulled out the antenna-like temperature probe, and handed it to Tashigi. "Burn this!"

"Mmm!" Tashigi did as she was told. Orange-yellow flames emerged from her fingertips, and the thermometer instantly displayed the temperature.

"557℃?"

"What's this now?" Smoker asked curiously.

"A device for testing temperature!" Zhou Qi retracted the antenna.

"Let me try..." Smoker said.

Zhou Qi was speechless. How old are you, and you still want to play with everything!

Still, he handed it over and said, "Just place the head on whatever you want to measure."

"Okay!" Smoker first tested the probe on himself.

36.8℃.

Then he poked it into a tree.

14.6℃.

"Interesting!" Smoker immediately became infatuated with it, touching and looking at everything, wanting to measure it all.

Zhou Qi was speechless and couldn't be bothered to deal with him. He turned to Tashigi and said, "The essence of combustion is a redox reaction. The essence of flame is light and energy. From these three perspectives, there are at least three development directions for the Mera Mera no Mi: First is the redox reaction, which is the invasion and corrosion of all things by oxygen. On a long timescale, even steel will be corroded, let alone the human body. If you eat the Mera Mera no Mi, you can use your ability to accelerate this process..."

"By mastering redox, in a sense, you master time!"

Tashigi blinked. "What is redox?"

I don't understand!

Zhou Qi wasn't in a hurry to explain. "Let me talk about the next point."

"Light is a by-product of flame, a radiation of heat. From this perspective, the Glint-Glint Fruit is a lower-tier fruit than the Mera Mera no Mi. Of course, light can also condense into fire, and there's no inherent superiority between the two..."

Tashigi's eyes widened. She didn't understand redox, but she understood the Glint-Glint Fruit.

Isn't that Admiral Kizaru from the Three Admirals?

Does that mean the fruit I ate is the same as one of the Three Admirals?

Could I also become a Marine Admiral?

Tashigi suddenly thought of the small goal Zhou Qi had set for her before: to become a Marine Admiral.

She had previously thought it was just a pipe dream, but now, suddenly, that small goal no longer seemed out of reach!

"Light is an attack method with high speed and long range, which can effectively compensate for the shortcomings of flame's insufficient range. However, its power and lethality are also a real issue, so you need to find more ways to improve its energy."

"Increase the energy density of the flame. Externally, this means increasing the temperature of the flame!"

"Your current flame is less than six hundred degrees. At this temperature, let alone melting steel, it's hard to even burn wood. But if you develop it to thousands of degrees, or even tens of thousands of degrees, then a single flame could incinerate a strong opponent..."

"Oh, oh!" Tashigi nodded, understanding only half of it.

She didn't know how to develop the Mera Mera no Mi, but Zhou Qi had always given her the impression that he knew everything. Since Qi-kun said so, it must be for a reason.

"These three development routes can be pursued simultaneously. During combat, mainly use the latter two. As for the first one, the effect isn't apparent in the early stages, but its potential is infinite in the later stages. You can work on it gradually."

"Then what specifically should I do?" Tashigi asked.

"It's simple: combine the Mera Mera no Mi with swordsmanship!" Zhou Qi said. "Condense all your Devil Fruit abilities onto your sword. The more you condense, the higher the sword's temperature will naturally be. Then, swing the condensed flame-shaped sword like a sword energy. The faster it flies, the better the effect on developing the light aspect, and it will also be very powerful!"

"This swordsmanship can be named: Vermilion Bird Sword Style!"

"This method not only allows for the development of the Devil Fruit but also simultaneously improves your most familiar swordsmanship, so you won't fall behind. By the time your Devil Fruit ability awakens, your swordsmanship can also reach the level of a Sword Saint. At that point, how many people in this world will be your opponent?"

"C-can I really do it?" Tashigi blinked. Me? A Sword Saint? Is that possible?

"I can only say that as long as you work hard, anything is possible!" Zhou Qi said.

"I-I will work hard!" Tashigi clenched her fist. "Carrying the name Vermilion Bird, I will definitely not let everyone down!"

She's suddenly gotten all chuunibyou.

Zhou Qi nodded and added, "Of course, I'm just a master of theory. As for how to actually implement this Vermilion Bird Sword Style, you'll need to find Master Koshiro and have him design a sword style suitable for the Mera Mera no Mi for you..."

"Yes!" Tashigi nodded seriously.

Koshiro, who was sitting nearby, froze with a smile. So, I do all the hard work, and she still likes you the most...

But he couldn't possibly not put his heart into designing a sword style for Tashigi.

"Sigh..." Koshiro sighed. What can I do?

There's nothing...

He's completely got me wrapped around his finger!