Rumble-Rumble Fruit Acquired!

The blue dragon did not answer.

It turned its head and looked at the earliest mural, its sapphire eyes filled with loneliness.

Palaces stood in clusters, flower petals danced through the air, young dragons played, and soaring sea currents endlessly battered the cliffs above the clouds. This mural depicted the magnificent scenery of its homeland, Ansaya on Sky Island.

"...Hey, big guy."

Noah suddenly spoke. "What if I had a way to make your people stop seeing you as an outcast and accept you again?"

The blue dragon froze, then abruptly turned back, staring wide-eyed at Noah.

"Don't be so surprised yet."

Noah met its gaze, raised one finger, and said softly:

"There's a price to pay. First, I'll deprive you of your Devil Fruit. That means you'll never be able to control lightning again, and your strength will be greatly reduced."

What kind of price was that? Could something this good actually happen? The blue dragon's eyes lit up, and it nodded furiously without hesitation, letting out low whimpers.

"So that's it. You've regretted eating that fruit out of curiosity all these months..."

Noah understood what it meant. He shook his head and raised a second finger.

"As long as you can accept that, then it's fine. As for the second point, it isn't really much of a price either. I'll send all the children back to the tribe shortly, and you have to go with them and apologize to the people there in public."

Couldn't it just not go...? The blue dragon scratched its head miserably and looked at Noah pleadingly. It truly had no face left to meet those believers. Otherwise, it would not have waited until the middle of the night every time to sneak into the village and take the children away.

"Of course not."