Dimon's First Fruit

"Stop!"

Saint Gorosei suppressed his rage.

This had struck right at his weak spot. One son was missing, and another had been captured.

Being captured was one thing, but if he were sent into the hands of certain pedophilic nobles, it would bring shame upon the Figarland Family.

Compared to having his son killed, bringing disgrace upon the family was even harder for him to accept.

"I understand! I will prepare a top-tier Devil Fruit, but..."

"But?"

Dimon raised a brow. This guy still wanted to bargain.

"You were surely aware of what happened at God Valley as one of the participants. We no longer have any Mythical Zoans or Logia Devil Fruits in our possession!"

Dimon was willing to believe that.

So many top-tier Devil Fruits had been offered as prizes during the God Valley competition. The World Government was not made of miracles; it could not conjure things out of thin air.

The Devil Fruits in their possession also had to be collected from all over the world.

Of course, he only believed half of it.

"So what are you trying to say? You need time to collect them?"

"We truly have no Mythical Zoans or Logias, but Paramecias..."

Saint Gorosei paused there for a moment.

"There are plenty of powerful Devil Fruits among the Paramecias as well, such as Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit and Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit. And I have a Paramecia called the Age-Age Fruit!"

Dimon's eyes lit up at that.

Jewelry Bonney was the user of this fruit.

More accurately, she had not eaten it. Someone had injected her with concentrated fruit extract, turning her into an Age-Age Fruit user while she was still an infant.

Its abilities were rather abstract. Aside from changing the age of herself and her targets, it could also affect objects.

Objects affected by its power would rapidly age until they turned to dust.

Of course, judging by that alone, it seemed like an ordinary Paramecia at most, hardly a top-tier Devil Fruit.

But the Age-Age Fruit's true strength lay in distorted futures!

The user could transform herself into any possible future, so long as she possessed sufficient imagination.

For example, Bonney had imagined a "future like Nika," and she truly could transform into Nika Bonney.

Like Nika Luffy, her entire body turned white, and she had a white flame sash as well.

This fruit would do!

"Not bad, not bad. As expected of a high-ranking Celestial Dragon, your stockpile is truly impressive."

Dimon teased him, though honestly, he was a little envious.

It was practically a four-dimensional pocket. Reach inside, and more good stuff just kept coming out.

"Since you agree, then there is no problem. Can you return my son now?"

"Give me the fruit first. Once I have it, I will naturally return your precious son to you."

"I'll be waiting for you to collect it at the Holy Land!"

Saint Gorosei snorted. He guessed Dimon would not dare come. When the time came, they would lay down an inescapable net; even with teleportation abilities, there would be a strong chance of keeping him there.

There was more than a hint of mockery in those words.

"Looks like you still haven't recognized the situation. I should give your son a good beating, then." Dimon smiled.

"..."

Saint Gorosei's mouth twitched violently. He took a deep breath and forced down the fury in his heart.

"Just say it. How do you want to conduct this exchange?"

Dimon smiled. "Very simple. Put the note I left you on a table and unfold it, then press the Age-Age Fruit on top of the note. That's all."

Pangea Castle, Room of Authority.

"That simple?"

After ending the call, Saint Gorosei frowned as he looked at the note in his hand.

"Why not try it and find out?" Saturn said calmly. "It's just a useless trash fruit anyway."

The Age-Age Fruit sounded tremendously powerful. Calling it a "god-tier fruit" would not be an exaggeration.

But it had one fatal flaw.

Put simply, the Age-Age Fruit's power came from imagination. Yet the more clearly someone understood reality, the less steadfast her convictions became, and naturally, the less able she was to use the Devil Fruit's abilities.

In other words, whenever one's understanding of reality differed from the future one imagined, it was easy for one's heart to waver.

Once the heart wavered, the ability would weaken, perhaps even becoming unable to distort the future.

Saint Saturn wore a mocking smile.

"That guy snatched three Devil Fruits from Marineford a while ago, along with a damaged Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.

"He probably saw the Age-Age Fruit's description in the encyclopedia, but it certainly did not mention its weakness."

The old man holding a sword, Venus, frowned slightly.

"This time, he specifically demanded a top-tier Devil Fruit. It does not seem like he wants to use it for brewing wine, but to gain an ability."

At that, the other three shook their heads.

"He is a Paramecia User himself, isn't he? Perhaps the stronger the Devil Fruit, the better the effects of the Wine of Immortality it brews?"

"We need to find a way to get a bottle of Wine of Immortality. We know far too little about it."

"This guy has provoked us again and again. He has become a threat we cannot ignore. We need to find a way to deal with him!"

By deal with him, they naturally did not mean killing him. After all, Dimon's brewing ability mattered greatly to them.

Besides, they could not kill him. He possessed an immortal body.

They had to capture him and keep him under strict watch, just like Rocks.

The Five Elders discussed how to capture Dimon, one after another.

Saint Gorosei had no interest in joining them. His son had yet to be rescued.

After leaving the Room of Authority, he quickly arrived at a treasure vault within Pangea Castle.

The Age-Age Fruit was stored inside that vault.

When he opened the vault doors and walked in, he suddenly saw a slender figure from behind.

Saint Gorosei was startled and immediately dropped to one knee.

"Lord Imu!"

The person called Imu turned around. A finger beneath the sleeve moved slightly, and a Devil Fruit flew out of a treasure chest, drifting slowly before Saint Gorosei.

"Do it here. Imu will watch."

"Yes!"

Saint Gorosei did not hesitate in the slightest. Following Imu's instructions, he placed the note on the ground and unfolded it, then pressed the Age-Age Fruit onto it.

The instant he completed that step, a massive amount of black mist suddenly poured from the note.

The black mist twisted and coiled, drawing a pentagram magic circle in the blink of an eye.

The next second, the Age-Age Fruit was swallowed by the black mist's power and vanished.

"It can even be done like this?!" Saint Gorosei was astonished.

Imu stared intently at the scene, inwardly surprised.

Reverse teleportation?

Even Imu did not know such a technique.

After a long while, Imu said flatly, "Imu understands. Withdraw."

"Yes."

Saint Gorosei waited a moment before rising, only to discover that Imu had already left.

Doflamingo's bedroom.

Dimon took a sip of coffee, in a good mood.

The Age-Age Fruit's ability was extremely powerful. He could eat it.

It naturally had drawbacks, but those drawbacks were not drawbacks at all to him.

Saturn was an idiot. He simply could not recognize treasure.

Did Nika exist?

Of course Nika existed!

This was not a matter of belief. Dimon had seen him with his own eyes—on a computer screen!