More often than not, a fruit's upper limit depended on its user.
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There were no useless fruits, only useless people.
That wasn't entirely wrong.
But what if...
What if an exceptional person got an exceptional fruit?
Wouldn't they become even more exceptional?
Often, a fruit could make up for its user's inherent weaknesses and enhance their potential. This wasn't limited to Zoan Fruits, either.
The Mini Fruit might not be especially powerful, but it was one of the best fruits for a Giant. It could make up for the drawbacks of a Giant's enormous body.
The Mini Fruit shrank its user's body, but preserved their original strength even as they grew smaller.
Just imagine: if the strength of a Giant Tribe member were concentrated into an arm as small as a needle, there would be no defense in the world capable of withstanding the resulting destructive force.
And although the body shrank, the amount of Haki they had trained as a Giant remained unchanged.
That meant Lipri had dozens, even hundreds of times as much Haki as an ordinary person. Even if its quality was a little lower, the sheer quantity alone was enough to make anyone despair.
So Mongge wasn't worried at all about the mission ahead.
What concerned him was another little crewmate aboard his ship.
"Rocks, do you know why I sent Lipri on this mission instead of you?"
"Because it's an internal matter for Elbaf."
"Wrong. It's because you're too weak. I'm afraid those guys will kill you if you're not careful."
Mongge's words made Rocks blush. He wanted to argue, but couldn't find a reason to.
Because right now, he really was no match for Lipri.
"Do you know why I gave the Mini Fruit to Lipri instead of you?"
"Because she's stronger..."
"Wrong again!"
Mongge shook his head, looking at Rocks as if he just couldn't live up to expectations.
"Because she doesn't have enough potential!"
"(⊙o⊙)..."
Rocks's eyes widened. This was the first time he'd heard Mongge give such a blunt assessment of Lipri.
"Rocks, let me ask you. Have you mastered the Six Powers?"
"More or less."
"What about Haki?"
"Not yet... but I'm close!"
As if he wanted to prove himself, Rocks raised his voice. "Give me two more months, and I'll definitely master Haki!"
"Fine. Two months—I'll even give you six. Rocks, do you think it'll take you more than a year to learn Haki?"
Rocks shook his head.
"Then what if I told you that Lipri had been practicing how to use Haki ever since she first met me ten years ago?"
"Uh..."
"It took Lipri ten years just to get a basic grasp of how to use Haki, while you'll need at most one year."
"Do you understand the difference between you and Lipri now?"
Rocks nodded silently.
Everyone around him had always been an old pirate like Mongge or a member of the Giant Tribe like Lipri. Rocks had always felt anxious about his own strength.
The more he improved, the more keenly he felt the gap between himself and Mongge and Lipri.
But after hearing Mongge explain it, Rocks suddenly understood.
It wasn't that he was incapable.
Mongge and Lipri had simply been training for much longer than he had.
"Rocks, what do you think has the biggest impact on someone's strength?"
"Swordsmanship? Combat skills? Or Devil Fruit abilities?"
"None of those!"
A feverish glint shone in Mongge's eyes.
"In this world, the thing that has the greatest impact on strength is Haki!"
"Only Haki stands above everything else!"
Mongge used to think that a powerful Devil Fruit ability could match powerful talent, and that getting lucky and finding a powerful fruit was one way to gain strength.
Then, one day, he learned that Haki strong enough could even nullify the abilities of a Devil Fruit user.
And then he understood.
In this world, Devil Fruit abilities and swordsmanship were all worthless.
Haki was the strongest!
That was why Mongge had been so bitter and helpless when he learned he didn't possess Conqueror's Haki. The highest level of Haki came from those who wielded Conqueror's Haki.
"With Haki, all Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia Devil Fruit abilities can be nullified!"
"With Haki, even if you don't know a single sword technique, you can still wield a Supreme Grade Blade—the kind only a Great Swordsman can forge."
"With Haki, no matter how powerful your enemy is, they'll still end up kneeling at your feet!"
Mongge gave Rocks a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Rocks, you know I've always believed in you. From the first moment I saw you, I knew you had what it takes to reach the very top!"
"Fruits and all that don't matter. They're for the weak. Even I wouldn't eat this Mythical Zoan Fruit if it were offered to me, not with my lack of talent."
"Rocks, do you want to become an Overlord of the Sea someday, only for people to say you got there thanks to your powerful Devil Fruit ability?"
"No!"
Rocks hurriedly shook his head.
"Exactly. Once we set sail, we might come across plenty of fruits. But remember: only the weak eat them."
"The strong rely on themselves!"
Seeing Rocks looking solemn, finally recovering from his disappointment and no longer dwelling on the fact that he'd given the fruit to Lipri, Mongge let out a sigh of relief.
As the saying went, people didn't worry about having too little, but about things being unfair. With Rocks's talent, he didn't need to eat a fruit. But Rocks might still get the wrong idea!
So while Rocks was still young and impressionable, Mongge had to nip that thought in the bud. That way, if he got another fruit later, Mongge wouldn't have to explain himself all over again.
An explanation would only sound like an excuse.
Heaven was his witness: Mongge had no intention whatsoever of holding Rocks back.
But letting Rocks eat a fruit now would do nothing but distract him. It wouldn't help him at all.
After all, most fruit abilities needed to be trained day after day before they could be used to their full potential. Lipri had just eaten the Mini Fruit, and so far, she could only make herself bigger or smaller. She still had a long way to go before mastering her ability.
Out at sea.
After sailing nearly a hundred kilometers from Elbaf, the CP0 agents aboard the ship finally let out a sigh of relief.
"That mission was way too dangerous."
"I can't believe White Wolf Moger was on Elbaf."
"Thank goodness Admiral Scarlet Snake was there."
"..."
The three who had escaped Elbaf weren't worried about whether Rona could make it out unharmed after fighting Moger. That wasn't even a question.
What a joke. If Moger could beat a Marine Admiral, he'd already be an Overlord of the Sea.
The Marines wouldn't have been chasing him all over the place otherwise.
Once they had relaxed, the three failed to notice the giant eagle that had been following them from afar under cover of darkness.
Nor did they see Lipri, who had struggled to change direction in midair before finally using Elbaf's specialty, sunstone, to land on their ship. She was only five millimeters tall.
As soon as all three CP0 agents had gathered together, Lipri didn't hesitate to return to her original size. She faced them and brought her enormous fist crashing down.
One strike to decide the victor!
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