Four People

As Gigue recounted this experience, not a trace of emotion showed on his face.

Ginny and the others were stunned speechless. They could not imagine that such a father existed in this world. Calling him worse than a beast would have been a compliment.

Gigue lowered his eyes, a wisp of black smoke drifting from the corners of them. Clearly, he was nowhere near as calm as he appeared.

"I will return to Mary Geoise and kill him with my own hands!"

Ginny's heart tightened. She unconsciously gripped Gigue's hand harder and asked anxiously,

"Big Brother Gigue, are you going to leave us behind?"

Ivan blinked furiously, expressing his anxiety that way. Kuma also raised his head and looked at Gigue nervously.

Gigue froze for a moment, then shook his head and laughed softly.

"How could I? I'm pathetically weak right now. Even if I'm going back to Mary Geoise, it won't be now!"

Only then did Ginny and the other two breathe a sigh of relief. Having escaped from God Valley together, the bond between them ran incredibly deep.

Moreover, Gigue's actions throughout God Valley had long made him the pillar of their little group. This feeling was especially strong for Ginny, the only girl among the four.

So, after confirming that Gigue had no intention of returning to Mary Geoise for the time being, Ginny was undoubtedly the happiest.

She could not help hugging Gigue, rubbing her face hard against his as she shouted,

"That's great, Big Brother Gigue! We'll always be together! We'll never be apart!"

Ivan painfully clenched his bandaged hand. Just as he was about to speak, Kuma beat him to it.

"Big Brother Gigue, you're the one who gave me this power. I'll train hard and never hold everyone back!"

A brilliant smile bloomed across Gigue's face. Yet, against the darkness curling around his eyes, that smile carried a hint of wickedness.

"Kuma, do you not care that I'm a Celestial Dragon?"

Kuma shook his head and said softly,

"No! Gigue is still Gigue! You'll always be my big brother!"

Ginny turned her head and asked in confusion,

"Little Kuma, then why were you looking down just now? You had us so worried!"

"I-I'm sorry. Actually, when Garling mentioned Figarland, I already knew. I'd heard of that family when I was a slave... But I didn't want it to ruin our relationship. I thought that if I pretended not to know, we could keep living together. I didn't expect Big Brother Gigue to bring it up himself..."

As he spoke, Kuma scratched his head. To Gigue, that slightly foolish gesture seemed so innocent and sincere.

Gently pushing Ginny out of his arms, Gigue swept his gaze over the three of them. A mass of darkness flickered into view behind him.

"Enough about me. You were all persecuted by the Celestial Dragons too. I'll help you avenge your grievances as well!"

Ginny was, after all, a girl. To her, it was already enough if everyone could live well. So when she heard Gigue's words, she could not help feeling uneasy.

"But Big Brother Gigue, are the Celestial Dragons really something we can fight against?"

Gigue smiled faintly. He raised his pitch-black right hand and said in a low voice,

"Of course. Otherwise, wouldn't I be letting this Dark-Dark Fruit down?"

The moment he finished speaking, endless darkness surged from Gigue's body, wrapping the entire church like a black curtain and blotting out every trace of light.

Ginny was frightened by the sight and tightly clutched Gigue's lapels.

Fortunately, the darkness did not last long. It quickly receded, revealing a clean and tidy hall before Ginny and the others.

"Th-this is?"

Seeing the spotless surroundings, Ginny covered her little mouth in shock, her face full of wonder.

Kuma, also an Ability User, was even more astonished. What shocked him was that Gigue could already control his Devil Fruit power so well!

He had already witnessed the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit. That terrifying giant maw of darkness had nearly swallowed all three of them at once. Even now, Kuma broke out in a cold sweat whenever he thought about it.

He could sense the ultimate destructive power contained within that darkness, a force capable of grinding everything into dust!

Yet Gigue had just unleashed Darkness Power on such a large scale while avoiding the furnishings in the hall and the three of them, drawing in only dust and trash. That level of meticulous control made Kuma feel ashamed.

If it had been him, he might have created a massive paw-shaped bubble to envelop the church before cleaning it.

But leaving aside how difficult it would be for him, at his current level, to create a paw-shaped bubble large enough to cover the church, he would still have to control his ability afterward to repel the trash from inside it.

If he had really used it, he might have sent the entire church flying along with the trash. This only made Kuma admire Gigue even more.

The reason Gigue's control over the Dark-Dark Fruit had improved so much was that he had now completely fused with the original body, giving his soul a strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

And because of that, his already extraordinary talent had naturally awakened Observation Haki!

Ginny did not think as much as Kuma did. The magical sight made her little face flush red with excitement as she clapped hard.

"Gulp..."

Ivan swallowed, envy showing in his eyes.

Among the two and a half boys present, he was the only half-boy who had not obtained a Devil Fruit. After witnessing Gigue's and Kuma's powers one after another, he desperately hoped to gain a Devil Fruit of his own as well.

But he did not feel the slightest jealousy. In his eyes, Gigue and Kuma were clearly more suited to those two Devil Fruits than he was.

Gigue noticed Ivan's reaction. Being skilled at reading people, he easily saw what Ivan was thinking and immediately said with a smile,

"Ivan, don't rush. The Devil Fruit that suits you hasn't appeared yet. Believe me, that Devil Fruit is destined to be yours."

Ivan immediately began dancing with excitement. He trusted Gigue's words completely and promptly asked,

"What is that fruit called?"

Gigue wagged a finger and said mysteriously,

"I won't tell you that yet. You only need to know that it'll perfectly satisfy that little quirk of yours!"

That only made Ivan itch with even greater curiosity. He pestered Gigue endlessly, but no matter how much he begged and pleaded, Gigue would not utter a single word, driving him mad.

In the end, Ivan pestered Gigue until he could not take it anymore. A wisp of black smoke rose from his finger as he lightly swiped it across Ivan's big mouth.

Darkness covered Ivan's mouth, its suction just strong enough to force him to pucker his lips hard.

"Mmph mmph mmph! (I haven't eaten yet!)"