The Banquet

"Is this how the Spin-Spin Fruit's flight ability works?" Doflamingo watched Gray flying in the sky above the training ground, and a question popped into his mind.

"Or~ was the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia I saw fake?"

"No, that can't be possible!" He shook his head. The fruits he'd checked against it before had clearly proven that the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia wasn't fake.

"If it isn't fake, then~ there's only one truth: the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia I saw was censored!" The encyclopedia he'd read had clearly described the Spin-Spin Fruit as a useless fruit.

Without something external to act as a propeller, it couldn't fly at all. But Gray's performance was completely different from what the encyclopedia said.

"Damn the World Government, those disgusting Celestial Dragons. Have they even concealed information about developing Devil Fruits?" Doflamingo finally concluded that the Five Elders were behind it all.

If the Five Elders heard that, they'd surely protest their innocence.

Who could have guessed that the Spin-Spin Fruit could also spin a field?

And with their level of education, they were nowhere near being scientists.

They couldn't understand things like the world's field or magnetism, so how could they develop this fruit?

"Phew, phew." Gray landed on the ground. His energy was spent, and his lungs felt ready to burst, but he was in an absolutely wonderful mood.

"I finally finished developing Field Rotation!" He wiped the sweat from his forehead, went back inside, and gulped down a big glass of water.

As for developing Field Rotation, Gray figured that basic flight and gravity already counted as about sixty percent of the development he had in mind.

What remained~ was to keep developing it further: making flight faster, turning more quickly, and increasing gravity by more times to make training easier.

As for his final idea for a gravity skill: it was too early for that!

In his estimation, he'd probably have to wait until he had some proficiency in Observation Haki before he could start developing it.

"Phew~ That's enough effort for today!" After resting a while and recovering some of his strength, Gray saw that dusk had fallen and headed to the cafeteria next door.

As soon as he walked in, Gray noticed that the atmosphere was strange. Everyone was staring at him.

Gray: ?

Gray looked himself over. Aside from smelling a little sweaty, he didn't see anything different, so he looked at them in confusion. "Why are you all staring at me?"

"Hey, Gray, was your flight this afternoon part of developing your ability?" Trebol, the most curious of them all, was the first to speak. After all~ there were very few abilities in this world that allowed someone to fly freely.

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

But even the String-String Fruit didn't allow true flight. Doflamingo merely wrapped his strings around clouds and swung through the air like Spider-Man.

So~ they were all curious about Gray's ability to fly freely, and eager to confirm whether the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia's description was accurate.

Gray had no reason to hide it. An ability like this would greatly improve his standing in the Donquixote Family. "That's right!"

"Fuffuffuffu!" For once, Doflamingo's laughter didn't sound so terrifying. Everyone could clearly hear how pleased he was. "Very good, Gray~ you haven't let us down!"

"Letting you eat this fruit was the best decision!" Gray had done better than expected, but Doflamingo felt no desire to suppress him or anything like that.

After all~ Gray had already proven his worth. Developing the fruit's flight ability had made him even more valuable in Doflamingo's eyes.

And when it came to family members he acknowledged, Doflamingo treated them fairly well, so long as they didn't betray him.

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

"Let's have a banquet!"

"Yeah~"

One of the things the world of pirates was known for was finding all sorts of reasons to hold banquets. They were also the best way for pirate crews to bring everyone together.

"Here, little Gray!" Diamante held out a glass of rum to him.

Gray: ?

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

"Hahaha! It doesn't matter whether you're an adult or not. How could a son of the sea not drink?" Trebol picked up the conversation, his tone full of provocation and mockery. "Unless~ you can't handle it?"

"Hey, hey! I can't just pretend I didn't hear that!" A man could be insulted about anything except being told he couldn't handle it. "All right, you've managed to piss me off. You're not walking out of here on your own tonight!"

"Hahaha! You're being underestimated, Trebol!" Diamante egged them on from the side.

"Kid, you're still too green!" Trebol picked up his barrel-shaped mug, thoroughly riled up.

Gray: "Come on! If you don't, you're my grandson!"

"Bring it on!"

Clang! Their mugs crashed together, and the two of them were swept up in a drinking contest.

"Phew~ ha! Hic~"

"That's it, Gray! Keep it up! Drink Trebol under the table!"

"Like I'd be scared of this kid!"

"Cut the crap. Drink!"

"Who's scared of you?"

Gray gave him a scornful look. "Are you raising fish in there or what? Drink it all in one go!"

"You brat!"

Gray put on a provoking expression. "Is that all you've got? If you can't handle it~ get out of here!"

"Don't get cocky, kid. I was drinking before you even knew where you were!"

"Why are you talking so much crap? Drink!"

No matter how old men got, there was always a childish side to them. And sure enough~ one banquet was all it took for everyone to get caught up in the drinking contest.

Their usual serious demeanor had long since been forgotten.

The next day, when Gray woke up, he couldn't help clutching his forehead. His stomach churned, and he felt like he was going to throw up. "Phew~ my head hurts!"

On top of that, his mouth felt dry as a desert.

"Damn those bastards! I'm just a little kid, and they still ganged up on me!"

"Just you wait. Once I've built up my tolerance, I'll drink you all under the table!" In his previous life, Gray had been a decent drinker. Having grown up immersed in Qianxinan Water-Fish Culture, he could put away half a jin of baijiu without much trouble.

Unfortunately~ he hadn't considered that his current child's body had never been exposed to alcohol. He'd ended up completely drunk and had no idea when he'd passed out.

He went to the bathroom, took off his clothes, and had a shower. It wasn't just because he was still sticky with sweat from yesterday's training; he'd also drunk to the point that he couldn't remember what had happened, and his clothes were covered in his own vomit.

There was vomit everywhere—not just on his clothes, but on the floor and the bed too.

"Ah! Forget it. These clothes and the bedding are beyond saving!" As a lazy person, and now a member of the Donquixote Family, Gray didn't care at all about throwing away these household items.

In his previous life, he'd been poor, so he'd had to be thrifty. Washing these things and using them again would have been no problem. But he'd reincarnated into a new life, and the Donquixote Family wasn't short on money. If he still scrimped and saved~ what was the point of reincarnating?

They weren't his things~ so he didn't feel bad at all!