Divine Canon / The Evolution of the Book-Book Fruit

The Owl Library's collection was not merely Ohara's accumulated knowledge; it also contained Elbaf's inheritance, passed down through countless generations.

Giants had an average lifespan of three hundred years. Even the Void Century had only been eight hundred years ago. To the older generation of giants, it might well have been a story from their own slightly older grandfathers.

Devil Fruit abilities came in many forms, and their paths of development differed as well, but environmental compatibility absolutely played a part.

Leaving aside how Mobius had tempered the Red Dragon Fruit with the lightning on Thunder God Island, there was Gild Tesoro from the story.

By all accounts, Tesoro, paired with his Golden Giant Ship, possessed Admiral-level strength. Yet after seawater washed away his home-field advantage, Tesoro lost to Fourth Gear Luffy and had to sit at the same table as his fellow unfortunate brother, Doflamingo.

Mobius had come to the Owl Library not only for the knowledge of Ohara and the Giant Kingdom, but also to try developing the power of the Book-Book Fruit.

Book World!

"If there are any books you want to read, feel free to look through them. And if you need my help with anything, just say so."

Saul was incredibly welcoming. Perhaps, in his eyes, no one who loved reading could be a bad person.

Shyarly raised her hand. "I want Journey to the West."

"Sure~" Saul chuckled as he prepared to act as the library's book finder. Before leaving, he casually asked Mobius a question.

"Mobius, is there any book you need me to find for you?"

"No need. I have my own way of reading." Mobius refused with a smile. Then, under Saul's mildly astonished gaze, he raised his head and actually summoned a book out of thin air.

He stepped forward and aimed the book summoned by the Book-Book Fruit at every volume in the Owl Library. An invisible force began to spread.

On the thick branches, the napping owls seemed to notice something unusual. They opened their eyes and looked down in confusion.

A strange sight appeared. As the book Mobius had summoned opened, that floating power seemed to spread to every book.

In an instant, every book in the Owl Library rose into the air and opened. The rustling sound of pages turning rang out endlessly, orderly rather than chaotic.

The owls froze, as did Saul, who had been about to leave in search of a book. They stared at the scene in utter shock.

What was going on? Could Mobius... be a Devil Fruit user?

From a perspective neither the owls nor Saul could see, Mobius witnessed another scene.

Strings of translucent words flew from those opened books, all converging on the book at the center and merging into it.

Knowledge was piling up, accumulating, while the summoned book's page count increased at a frantic rate.

Hundreds of pages, thousands of pages, tens of thousands of pages, millions of pages...

All the words recorded in every book in the Owl Library were absorbed by the book created by the Book-Book Fruit and transformed into another kind of energy.

Mobius could feel the Book World created by the Book-Book Fruit expanding bit by bit.

It was as though Pangu were holding up heaven and earth, pushing them farther and farther apart and making the world ever larger. The more words merged into it, the more the Book World expanded.

It had originally covered only the area of a small island, but by Mobius's current estimate, the Book World was gradually surpassing the New World in size.

The accumulation continued.

Until, in Saul's eyes, Elbaf's oldest surviving book, Divine Canon, opened. Ancient words flew out and merged into it.

In an instant, the Book-Book Fruit's Book World underwent a drastic change, or rather...

A new Book World was torn open and born!

"First World:

Upon the earth, there was fire.

Humanity was defeated by desire and touched the forbidden sun.

The enslaved people prayed,

and then the "Sun God" descended.

The gods of the earth flew into a rage,

and together with the Serpent of Hellfire,

devoured the world with death and darkness.

From then on, they could never meet again."

"Second World:

Within nothingness, there was breath.

The god of the forest sent demons down.

The sun spread the flames of war without end.

The people of the half-moon had a dream,

and the people of the moon had a dream as well.

After killing the sun, humanity ascended to godhood.

Yet the god of the sea burned with rage.

From then on, they could never meet again."

"Third World:

Within chaos, there was blankness.

Turbulent afterimages remembered

that promised day,

and listened to the whispers of the shattered moon.

The "Sun God" danced and laughed,

leading the world toward its end.

The sun would return once more,

and a new dawn would arrive.

They would eventually meet again."

Earth, fire, sun, Serpent of Hellfire, death, and darkness...

Nothingness, forest, half-moon, moon, sun, and sea...

Chaos, blankness, afterimages, shattered moon, Sun God, and dawn...

A new book appeared in Mobius's hands. Like the first book he had summoned, it could open a Book World, only this was another world.

Looking through the contents on its pages, Mobius saw, with just one glance, an enormous and exceptionally dazzling sun. It seemed to be looking back at him.

A dangerous feeling rushed at him, yet Mobius could not sense any actual threat.

He reached out and tapped the new book, then closed it for the time being.

"Let's call this new Book World the Divine Canon World. Just words and records alone can give birth to an entirely new Book World..."

Mobius murmured a few words. For some reason, he had a premonition that once he could awaken the Book-Book Fruit, he would be able to make the records within this Divine Canon World descend upon this world.

"What a terrifying ability~"

Mobius sighed. At that moment, every book in the Owl Library had finished being recorded. They closed once more, then returned to their original places.

The summoned book fell, and Mobius steadily caught it with an outstretched hand.

No new memories appeared in his mind. The books recorded by the Book-Book Fruit would not directly place knowledge into the user's mind.

But...

With a thought from Mobius, the book in his hand immediately began flipping through its pages when he considered a medical question, stopping only once the words containing an answer appeared.

When he asked another question, the recorded text even produced new writing based on the knowledge it already possessed, until an answer that satisfied Mobius appeared.

"Books are vessels for words, and likewise vessels for knowledge."

After murmuring that, Mobius roughly understood what he had gained—an encyclopedia that could automatically search, summarize answers, and improve alongside its knowledge base, as well as a new Book World.

"A satisfying harvest."

Only after seeing everything return to normal did Saul snap out of his daze. He looked at Mobius several times before asking somewhat haltingly.

"Mr. Mobius, what... what did you just do?"

"Recorded knowledge. Teacher Saul, you can understand it as my ability."

Mobius raised the book in his hand and flashed a brilliant smile.

Saul nodded in confusion. After thinking about it without reaching an answer, he simply smiled and turned to fetch Journey to the West for Shyarly.

Mobius watched Saul's retreating back, wondering whether he should ask him to look for Nico Robin. After thinking for a while, though, he realized he did not know where Robin was right now, so he temporarily put the thought aside.

When he turned to look at Shyarly, the girl was somewhat confused as well, but she obediently did not ask any questions.

Mobius smiled at her, considering whether he should have her attend classes at Walrus School next. She was still young, so it would be best for her to learn something.

Just as he was thinking about it, another urgent cry suddenly rang out beside him.

"Teacher Saul!? Are you there? Mom, Mom's condition is really bad right now!"

"Hm?"

Mobius froze. This was...