Two Devil Fruits

Under the sun, the sea shimmered.

One by one, azure human-shaped figures climbed out of the sea. They moved with stiff steps, heading in every direction toward the floating pieces of sailboat wreckage.

On the deck, the members of the Red-Haired Pirates stared wide-eyed at the figures, which had no discernible gender, facial features, or organs.

"What the hell are those things?!"

Shanks narrowed his eyes. He racked his memory, then finally found something similar. "Are they like Homies?"

The Roger Pirates had once made rubbings of the Poneglyphs in Big Mom's territory, so Shanks had naturally seen Homies there.

He quickly connected Louis's Devil Fruit creations with Big Mom's Homies.

Shanks watched the human-shaped creations stride away over the sea, a meaningful look in his eyes.

"Just like Big Mom, you can use your abilities to control seawater..."

Meanwhile, after doing his part, Louis leaned back against the railing, perfectly content to watch everyone else work.

Beside him, Yelena realized she ought to do something too and stepped forward to help.

But Hongou firmly turned her down, and she ended up sitting back down next to Louis, dejected.

Before long, the equipment for the feast had been set up on the ship. Gabu, with his dark red hair, and Snake, wearing sunglasses, plunged into the sea.

They planned to find some lucky spectators on the seabed and warmly invite them to become special guests at the feast.

Soon, the human-shaped figures formed from seawater gathered together, carrying some of the ship's wreckage over to Louis.

With that done, their mission was complete. Louis reclaimed their vitality, and they dissolved back into the sea as mere seawater.

"Louis, what do you call those creations of yours?" Shanks had finished his task and walked over from the other side.

"They don't have names," Louis replied with a shake of his head.

Until he had his own ship or territory, Louis had no plans to create anything that would last for a long time.

So he couldn't be bothered to come up with a collective name for his creations.

Shanks paused at that, then smiled. "You haven't even named them?"

"That reminds me of someone I met in Loguetown..." As he spoke, a glimmer of recollection passed through his eyes. A man with the eyes of a hawk appeared in his mind.

Louis mulled that over.

Loguetown. Someone who didn't name his techniques.

He must mean Hawkeye, right?

Judging by what Shanks had said, the only person who fit the bill seemed to be Hawkeye Mihawk.

Louis soon put the thought aside. He ignited the flames on his back and guided a fiery serpent along his arm, forming a miniature orange-yellow sun in his palm.

The sun radiated intense heat, raising the surrounding temperature in an instant. Heat shimmered in waves, warping the air.

The heat continued to pour out, baking the wet pieces of shipwreck in front of Louis and quickly evaporating the seawater clinging to them.

The crew on deck stared at the miniature sun hovering in Louis's palm, the corners of their mouths twitching.

They could sense how terrifyingly hot it was. If it exploded, it could vaporize an entire warship in an instant.

Yet Louis was using this dangerous sun to dry firewood.

They sighed to themselves. They'd already known Louis was reckless from the fact that he'd gone to sea at ten.

But seeing him do this made them realize they'd been far too conservative in their estimation of him.

Louis noticed their strange looks and felt confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Carry on." Everyone waved their hands in unison, their expressions and tones bizarrely inscrutable.

"The people on this ship really are a little unhinged..." Louis turned away and went back to his work.

Once Louis felt that all the moisture had evaporated from the wood in front of him, he extinguished the miniature sun with a flick of his hand.

The crew soon finished setting up the equipment and fuel needed for the feast.

Everything was ready. All that remained was the special guests.

"Splash!" Two splashes rang out in succession as Gabu and Snake surfaced, each bringing along the special guest they'd found.

They were... two unconscious, small sea beasts.

"Thud, thud..." The two leaped out of the water one after another and landed on the deck.

"Damn, why is it so hot?"

"You guys started eating without us?"

As soon as they returned to the Red Force, they felt the heat washing over them, and the seawater still clinging to their bodies evaporated even faster.

The crew didn't answer them right away. Instead, they instinctively turned to look at Louis.

"..."

Seeing their reactions, Gabu and Snake more or less figured out what was going on. But they didn't dwell on it and instead called out to Shanks.

"Boss, we found something good!"

Gabu grinned, baring his mouthful of sharp, serrated teeth, and tossed a small wooden box in each hand.

"Something good?" Shanks was talking to someone over a Den Den Mushi. He paused, then ended the call and walked over.

Nearby, Uta was playing with Yelena. When she saw the two wooden boxes in Gabu's hands, she was reminded of something.

She quickly came back to her senses, squeezed through the crowd, and moved to the front to look at the boxes curiously.

"Shanks, could there be a kid inside?"

"..." Shanks gave her a helpless smile. "How many kids do you think can fit inside treasure chests?"

Yasopp teased her, "Besides, Gabu fished those two boxes out of the sea. Even if there were someone inside, it'd have to be a little mermaid, wouldn't it?"

Uta seemed to consider that.

In the end, she shook her head. "Never mind. There can't be a second kid on this ship!"

"Mermaids don't count either!" Uta sounded determined, her expression resolute, as if she planned to toss any kid they found onto another ship.

The crew burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, Uta."

"No one can take our love away from you!"

"Exactly!"

Uta's ears turned red, and her mouth curved upward despite herself. To hide how she felt, she spoke to her father in an impatient tone. "Shanks, hurry up and open them!"

Shanks didn't waste any time. He sliced through the steel chain lock with his sword, then opened the box as everyone watched in anticipation.

Inside was a strange fruit, pink all over and patterned like a living brain, with a stem shaped like a musical note.

"A Devil Fruit?" Everyone froze.

"I can't believe it's a Devil Fruit..."

"Boss, what about the other one? Open it!"

Shanks reached out and lifted the lid of the other wooden box.

"??"

"It really is another Devil Fruit?"

"But... why are there two different fruits attached to the stem?"

At the edge of the crowd, Louis had been admiring the vast expanse of the sea. He froze. "A Twin Devil Fruit?"