Fruit Will and Compatibility

After everyone finished eating and Jora had the three little ones clear the table, they began discussing what had happened to the family recently.

As the family's head of logistics, Torrebol spoke first. "Nuh-nuh-nuh! A shipment from Sweet Potato Island was intercepted by a band of daring pirates. Someone needs to handle it!"

"Fufufufu." Doflamingo rubbed his forehead, almost laughing from sheer exasperation at those fools. "No matter the era or the time, there are always idiots who challenge consequences they can't afford to face!"

"Does the intelligence say which pirate crew it was?"

"According to the report from our men, it was a pirate crew called the Greybeards. The captain has a bounty of thirty-five million Beli!"

"Fufufufu. We haven't made a move in so long that any Tom, Dick, or Harry thinks they can provoke us."

"Gladius!"

Wearing his mask, Gladius tugged on his gloves, looking ready for a fight. "Here, young master!"

"You'll take care of it."

"No problem, young master! I'll give them a splendid funeral!" As he spoke, Gladius rose and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Doflamingo had suddenly caught sight of the three little ones and called Gladius back.

Gladius: ?

"What is it, young master?"

Doflamingo glanced at the three little ones, thinking, Gray is injured and can't go out. Besides, I need him to keep the newly arrived Shark Chili calm.

"Baby-5, Buffalo! You two are going with Gladius. Get a good look at how cruel this world can be!"

"Right!"

"Huh? Me?" Buffalo pointed at himself in confusion and looked at Doflamingo.

"Go on, Gladius. Take them with you!"

Gladius: "Yes, young master!"

"You brats, follow me!"

Though the assignment had taken her by surprise, Baby-5 quickly followed. "Gray-sama, I'll be back soon!"

"Okay! Be careful out there. If you run into danger, remember to hide until Gladius has taken care of it, then come back out!" Gray hurriedly reminded her in a low voice.

"I know, Gray-sama!" Being cared for like this made Baby-5 feel intoxicated all over again. If they hadn't been in a hurry, she probably would have fallen into that state once more.

After the three left, silence settled over the dining hall.

The heavy atmosphere made Gray feel so uncomfortable that he quickly looked for a chance to slip away. "Ugh, my head hurts a little. I'll head back first!"

As he spoke, Gray got up and left. Everyone watched him walk out the door.

"Whew! Why make things so heavy?" Gray patted his chest and complained, looking dissatisfied.

As a nobody, Gray had no say in a situation like this, nor did he have the nerve to stay seated. He could only look out for himself and leave.

"Forget it! I'd better go back and work on developing my Devil Fruit!" Taking two steps at a time, he hurried back to the small courtyard next door.

"Chirp!" Shark Chili swallowed a big mouthful of bloody beast meat, looked at Gray in confusion, then used his tail to push the last piece in front of him over to Gray.

Gray quickly waved his hands. "No, thanks. You enjoy it!"

"Chirp!"

After saying goodbye to Shark Chili, Gray returned to his bedroom and sat on the bed, closing his eyes in thought.

Well, it wasn't exactly thought.

He was using his Devil Fruit ability to sense the gravitational force acting on him.

If he couldn't even sense the force field, how could he hope to spin it?

Developing a Devil Fruit ability wasn't something you could do with a simple "I reckon I can."

Gray didn't know how other Devil Fruit abilities were developed, but he knew how to develop his own.

Only once he could feel it would he be able to spin it.

That was Gray's approach to developing his ability—or, rather, a necessary condition.

Time slipped by. Gray couldn't feel anything like gravity, but he could definitely feel himself getting sleepy.

"Ah! Lying down shouldn't stop me from sensing gravity, should it?" Sitting was pretty uncomfortable, so Gray decided to try another position.

After convincing himself, Gray lay down.

After who knew how long, the quiet room had fallen completely still.

Take a closer look—oh!

He'd fallen asleep!

As Gray slept, on another, unknown plane, the Spin-Spin Fruit's innocent will finally awoke, roused by Gray's tireless use of its power.

In this world, all Devil Fruits had a will of their own, though the strength of that will varied from fruit to fruit.

The most typical example was the Zoan Devil Fruit. Zoan wills were active, restless, and powerful. They were the easiest to awaken—and the most dangerous.

The wills of Logia and Paramecia fruits, on the other hand, were somewhat lethargic. They were harder to awaken and less dangerous.

As for the Spin-Spin Fruit's will, it was lazy and didn't want to move. But that wasn't its fault. Despite its power, it had been dismissed as a helicopter fruit that needed outside assistance.

How was it supposed to put up with that?

So, whenever someone with the ability ate it, it would wake up just long enough to sense how they planned to develop its power. Then, disappointed, it would fall asleep again.

But this time, after waking and sensing Gray's approach to developing its power, its drowsy spirit immediately perked up.

"Guys, does anyone get it?"

"It finally found someone who understands me!" That was probably the Spin-Spin Fruit's most genuine thought at that moment.

"Don't worry. Since you understand me, I won't let you lose!" Wanting to shine in a way it never had before, the Spin-Spin Fruit decided to give Gray its full support.

This was the best opportunity it had had since coming into being—and it might also be its last.

Only if Gray grew stronger would his name ring across these seas. The human thoughts his fame inspired would also bring the fruit immense benefits.

When a fruit supported its user, that was called compatibility on these seas!

There had always been a saying in this world: Devil Fruits had wills of their own, and the fruits chose their users.

In truth, it was simply that the fruit's will took a liking to a user and chose to cooperate.

A more powerful fruit's will could even control itself and escape—for example, the Nika Fruit.

The morning sun streamed through the window and fell across Gray's young face. His eyelashes fluttered as he woke groggily. "Aah..."

He stretched, and his mind cleared completely.

"Wait!"

"I was working on developing my Devil Fruit ability, wasn't I?" He awkwardly scratched his cheek. The flexible bottom line of a modern person immediately gave him an excuse. "Well, an ability can't be developed in a day."

"I'll just keep working on it today, along with what I was doing yesterday!" He got dressed, washed up quickly, and went downstairs toward the building next door.

"Chirp!"

"Oh! Good morning, Shark Chili!" After greeting Shark Chili, Gray headed into the dining hall.

"Good morning, Aunt Jora!"

Jora had been studying art at the table. She turned her attention away from her work and looked at Gray. "Good morning, brat!"

As a woman, Jora generally didn't lose her temper with children and was usually smiling.

"Aunt Jora, I'm hungry. Where's breakfast?"

"Over there. Help yourself." Jora pointed toward the kitchen. "When you're done, clean up your own dishes!"

"Th-this is your punishment for getting up so late!"

Gray: "Ah! No problem."

Cleaning up the dishes he'd eaten from hardly counted as a punishment.

Jora: "Don't get up so late next time."

"You're only getting away with it because you're injured. Otherwise, Diamante, your training instructor, wouldn't let you off the hook."

"Okay, Aunt Jora!"