Banquet

"Is this really what the flight capability of the Spin-Spin Fruit looks like?" Doflamingo, standing in the training grounds, watched Gray flying in the sky above and couldn't help but wonder.

"Or could it be... that the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia I read is fake?"

"No, that should be impossible!" He shook his head. Every fruit he had cross-referenced in the past had clearly proven that the encyclopedia was authentic.

"Since it isn't fake, then there is only one truth: the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia I saw was censored!" In the version he had read, the Spin-Spin Fruit was explicitly labeled as a trash-tier fruit.

Without external objects to act as propellers, it was supposedly impossible to fly. Yet, Gray's performance was completely at odds with the description in the book.

"Damn World Government, disgusting Celestial Dragons—did they even cover up the development information for the fruits?" Doflamingo finally reached a conclusion: the Five Elders were behind it all.

If the Five Elders knew this, they would surely cry out in injustice.

Who could have guessed that the Spin-Spin Fruit could be used to rotate a field?

Given their level of education, they couldn't even begin to think like scientists.

They couldn't comprehend concepts like world fields or magnetic fields, so how could they ever hope to develop this fruit?

"Hoo, hoo." Gray landed on the ground. Even though his stamina was exhausted and his lungs felt like they were about to burst, his mood was absolutely wonderful.

"Field Rotation, it's finally finished!" Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Gray returned to his room and gulped down a large amount of water.

In his estimation, the development of Field Rotation—limited to simple flight and gravity—could be considered sixty percent complete.

What remained was further deep development: making flight faster, turning more agile, and increasing the gravity multiplier to facilitate training.

As for his final idea regarding gravity-based skills, it was still too early for that.

In his vision, he would likely need to achieve a certain level of mastery in Observation Haki before he could begin developing those.

"Whew, today's hard work is done!" After resting for a while to recover some strength, Gray saw that dusk had fallen and headed toward the nearby cafeteria.

As soon as he walked in, Gray noticed the atmosphere was strange; everyone's eyes were fixed on him.

Gray: ?

Gray checked himself, but other than noticing he smelled a bit like sweat, nothing seemed different. He looked at them in confusion: "Why are you all staring at me?"

"Na-na-na! Gray, was your flight this afternoon all due to your ability development?" Trebol, the most curious of the bunch, was the first to speak. After all, the ability to fly freely in this world had always been a rarity.

Within the Donquixote Family, the closest thing to flight was Doflamingo's String-String Fruit.

But even with the String-String Fruit, it wasn't true flight; Doflamingo simply attached his strings to the clouds and swung around like Spider-Man.

Therefore, they were all very curious about the ability to fly freely, and it served as another confirmation of the authenticity of the information in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.

Gray had no reason to hide this; having such a flight ability would significantly boost his status within the Donquixote Family: "Yes!"

"Fufufu!" This time, Doflamingo's laughter didn't sound terrifying; everyone could clearly hear the joy in it: "Very good, Gray—you didn't let us down!"

"Giving you this fruit was the best decision!" Even though Gray's performance was better than originally planned, Doflamingo felt no urge to suppress him.

After all, Gray had already proven his value, and this development of flight through his fruit ability made Gray even more important in his eyes.

As for the family members he acknowledged, as long as there was no betrayal, Doflamingo was quite protective.

"Family, let's celebrate Gray's successful development of his flight!"

"Time for a banquet!"

"Oh!"

The hallmark of the pirate world was finding any excuse to throw a banquet, and it was also the best way for any pirate crew to win over hearts.

"Come on, little Gray!" Diamante, standing nearby, raised a glass of rum toward Gray.

Gray: ?

Wiping the grease from his mouth, Gray said helplessly: "I'm not even an adult yet!"

"Hahaha! Whether you're an adult or not, as a man of the sea, how can you not drink!" Trebol took over, his tone full of provocation and mockery: "Don't tell me... you can't handle it!"

"Hey, hey! I can't let that slide!" For a man, you could say anything, but you couldn't say he couldn't handle it: "Fine, you've successfully angered me. You aren't walking out of here standing today!"

"Hahaha! You've been looked down upon, Trebol!" Diamante, standing nearby, chimed in, eager to stir up trouble.

"Kid, you're still too green!" Lifting a barrel-sized mug, Trebol's temper was fully ignited.

Gray: "Bring it! If I don't, I'm your grandson!"

"Bring it!"

"Clang!" The sound of glasses clashing violently rang out, and the two were completely immersed in the drinking contest.

"Hoo—ha! Hiccup—"

"That's it, Gray, keep it up, drink Trebol under the table in one go!"

"As if I'd be afraid of this kid!"

"Stop the chatter, drink up!"

"Think I'm afraid of you?"

Gray gave him a look of disdain: "Are you keeping fish in there? Drink it all in one breath!"

"Damn brat!"

Gray wore a provocative expression. "Is that the extent of your capacity? If you can't handle it, just get out of here!"

"Don't get cocky, kid. When I was drinking, you didn't even know where you were!"

"Why talk so much crap? Just drink!"

No matter how old a man gets, there is always a childish side to him. And so, in the span of a single banquet, everyone was caught up in a drinking contest.

Their usual serious facades had long since been cast aside and forgotten.

The next day, when Gray woke up, he couldn't help but clutch his forehead, his stomach churning with nausea. "Hoo... my head is killing me!"

Not only that, but his mouth felt parched and dry.

"Damn it! Those bastards, picking on a kid as small as me!"

"Just you wait. Once I train my tolerance, I'll come back and drink you all under the table!" In his past life, Gray had a decent tolerance; as someone raised in the Qianxinan Water-Fish Culture, half a catty of baijiu was no problem at all.

Unfortunately, he hadn't considered that his current child's body had never been exposed to alcohol culture. He had become completely muddled and had no idea when he had passed out.

He went to the bathroom, stripped off his clothes, and took a shower. It wasn't just because of the sticky sweat from yesterday's training; it was also because he had no idea how much he'd had to drink last night, and his clothes were covered in his own vomit.

It wasn't just his clothes—the floor and the bed were covered in it too.

"Sigh! Forget it, these clothes and the quilt are ruined!" As someone suffering from terminal laziness, and now that he had joined the Donquixote Family, Gray didn't feel a shred of heartache about tossing these daily necessities away.

In his past life as a poor man, he would have had to be frugal and wash them to reuse, but since he had transmigrated into this life and the Donquixote Family wasn't short on money, what would be the point of being frugal? It would be a waste of his transmigration!

Since it wasn't his own money—he didn't feel a thing!