Developing Hina's Devil Fruit

Ever since officially becoming Hina's adjutant, Yang Yunzhi had begun a busy working life.

First, he signed an agricultural produce supply contract with the mayor of Glazed Town, requiring its residents to cultivate large amounts of wasteland for growing grain and vegetables. The Marine base would purchase them at market prices, and the Marines would protect Glazed Town from pirate attacks.

Second, he contacted the fishermen along Gem Country's border and organized them into a small fishing company. They were required to deliver a fixed amount of seafood to Marine Base 36 every morning, again at market prices.

Though the purchases were made at market prices, cutting out the middlemen and saving substantial transportation costs meant that the residents of Glazed Town and the fishermen of Gem Country still earned considerable profits.

Though Yang Yunzhi purchased supplies at market prices, the same amount of money somehow bought more supplies than before Hina arrived!

That was because the previous adjutant of Base 36 had taken huge kickbacks while purchasing supplies, making the prices far higher than market value.

Now that Yang Yunzhi was not taking kickbacks, the money naturally accumulated.

Besides procuring supplies, Yang Yunzhi also assisted Hina in adding military discipline to recruit training: standing at attention, saluting, marching in step, goose-stepping, and organizing their quarters.

At first, Hina had merely decided to give this training a try, but in less than five days, she discovered its benefits.

The soldiers under her command stood straighter, their backs held higher.

Even more remarkably, whenever several hundred soldiers stood together, they would naturally form neat, square formations.

Even though they were only recruits who had never seen blood, those orderly ranks alone gave people the impression of elite troops!

That made Hina extremely curious.

So, one evening a week later, after all the training had ended, Hina noticed that Yang Yunzhi's office was still lit and simply went to find him.

"Yang Yunzhi, isn't it time to rest? Why aren't you asleep?"

"Hina is curious!" Hina asked. "Standing at attention, goose-stepping, forming square formations... those aren't ordinary navigation school lessons, are they? What exactly did you learn at that navigation school?"

"Look at these soldiers. They stand straighter than the elites at Marine Headquarters, and they practically walk with the wind behind them. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder whether you secretly served as an instructor for some mysterious unit.

Tell me, what exactly is the background of your navigation school? Did it teach more than sailing? Did it also teach how to turn a rabble into an elite force?"

"Uh..." Yang Yunzhi was speechless. This really was not easy to explain.

After thinking briefly, he said calmly, "What navigation school would teach this? I figured it all out myself!"

"You figured it out yourself?" Hina looked doubtful. "Really? Why can't Hina figure out such things? Heh, how interesting. Go on, then. How did you 'figure' it out? Did you see a flock of seagulls flying in formation one day and suddenly achieve enlightenment?"

"Have you forgotten? I'm the man who figured out the truth of the world. I convinced you to oppose the World Government, and I wrote that report on how to completely wipe out the West Blue Mafia!" Yang Yunzhi smiled faintly. "Am I an ordinary person?"

Hina froze. What he said actually made a lot of sense!

She shook her head, her pale pink hair swaying beneath the lamplight. Her eyes held both teasing amusement at his self-praise and a trace of undisguised admiration.

"I truly have no way to refute what you said against the World Government, nor that report about the Mafia. Even Staff Officer Tsuru praised the depth and feasibility of those things."

"She read the report? What did she say?" Yang Yunzhi asked curiously.

"I don't know. She only praised you to me! She said you were talented!" Hina smiled. "After all, she and I can only communicate over the phone. I can't see her actual reaction!"

"I see." Yang Yunzhi nodded.

"But she must think highly of you!" Hina added.

"How can you tell?"

"Because her only instruction was for me to listen more to your opinions!" Hina frowned. "Though a Marine commanding officer does need to listen to an adjutant's suggestions, I could clearly tell from her words that she vaguely wanted me to prioritize you!"

"So that's it!" Yang Yunzhi suddenly understood. No wonder Hina had been so cooperative these past few days. Tsuru had spoken?

Still, he would not take back his earlier assessment of Hina. After all, just because a superior told someone to cooperate did not mean everyone would actually do so.

Instead, they might think their superior looked down on them and believed they were inferior to the other person.

Then they would desperately try to prove themselves while also doing everything they could to suppress the person their superior favored.

In the end, either both sides would suffer, or one would resign and make way for the other.

Such situations appeared often in political workplace novels.

But what had Hina done? She had not complained or grown jealous. She had genuinely followed Tsuru's instructions.

No matter what Yang Yunzhi suggested, she did her best to cooperate. She had even handed the Marine base's recruitment authority and financial authority entirely to Yang Yunzhi.

That made it difficult for Yang Yunzhi to think of using her as a stepping stone to climb higher.

Perhaps earning merits and advancing together was also an option.

The only problem was Hina's strength.

Even twelve years later, she had not learned Armament Haki or Observation Haki and still relied on the Cage-Cage Fruit for offense.

Twelve years later, Smoker had already become a Marine vice admiral, while she was still only a Marine rear admiral.

Is there any way to help her improve her strength? But she has already eaten a Devil Fruit, so changing Devil Fruits is impossible. Physical training probably won't work either. If she had talent for it, Zephyr would have made her train long ago!

Or perhaps I can start with developing her Devil Fruit?

"What are you thinking about?" Hina saw Yang Yunzhi suddenly fall into thought midway through speaking and was immediately somewhat surprised.

There were actually people who fell into deep thought every so often?

But she seemed to understand Yang Yunzhi a little better now.

No wonder he was so capable of gaining insights. With the ability to start thinking anytime and anywhere, if he did not achieve enlightenment, who would?

Could it be someone who never thought at all?

Oh, Hina herself did not seem to enjoy thinking very much!

"I was thinking about how your Devil Fruit should be developed!" Yang Yunzhi was roused by Hina. He had no intention of hiding it anyway; after all, he was thinking for her sake.

"Oh?" Hina froze. "You have insights into Devil Fruit development too?"

"I do have some." Yang Yunzhi nodded.

"Then how do you think my ability should be developed?" Hina asked. "I truly am not good at this. My teacher placed more importance on martial arts and Haki, and he never taught me this. I've eaten this Devil Fruit for over five years, yet aside from its most basic abilities, I don't seem to have developed anything else useful!"

"I think your ability should focus on sealing."

"Sealing?" Hina frowned. "What do you mean?"

"What is a prison for?" Yang Yunzhi asked. "Isn't it used to isolate inside from outside and seal away the freedom of a person or object? Then you should focus on developing that aspect. If you can develop prisons that suppress Devil Fruit abilities, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, or even martial arts, swordsmanship, and shooting, wouldn't your Cage-Cage Fruit become incredibly useful?"

That was right. Yang Yunzhi felt that the Cage-Cage Fruit was not an offensive Devil Fruit. It should be an environmental card, or perhaps a field card.

After all, prisons were inherently meant to restrain people!

"Can this fruit really develop such abilities?" Just listening to Yang Yunzhi's description, Hina could already sense how powerful such an ability would be.

For example, if she encountered someone who only relied on Logia abilities and was not skilled in martial arts, swordsmanship, or Haki, she could directly suppress their Logia powers. What combat ability would they have left?

He was referring to Smoker, of course!

Since Smoker was the top student of their class, he had naturally become the opponent Hina most wanted to defeat.

But this kind of ability was mysterious and elusive. Could it really be developed?

"It can!" Yang Yunzhi said seriously. "And this may be the true nature of your ability. Haven't you always failed to use a complete prison? Instead, haven't you only used part of one?"

"Now that you mention it, yes!" Thinking about it, Hina realized it was true. Every time, she had only created one wall of a prison to skewer people.

She had rarely created a complete prison, let alone developed its sealing abilities!

Had she really been developing her Devil Fruit in the wrong direction?

"You see? You don't even believe in your own Devil Fruit, so of course you can't develop powerful abilities!" Yang Yunzhi said seriously. "From today onward, remember this: your Cage-Cage Fruit is also a powerful Devil Fruit. Its offensive power may not be strong, but it is a large-scale control-type Devil Fruit, a strategic-level ability!"

"I understand. I'll start training that aspect of my ability tomorrow!"