"Jihahahaha! Adolf, welcome to the Flying Pirates-no, I should say the Sky Empire!"
In the North Blue, at the Germa Kingdom's base, which had wandered near Maidan Island, Shiki laughed and spread his arms to welcome his partner.
Ever since their last conversation, Shiki's words had kept echoing in Adolf's mind.
Because of this, Adolf suffered from insomnia almost every night, to the point that it affected his work during the day. Quite a few of his colleagues had asked whether something was wrong with his health and whether he needed some time off.
Naturally, Adolf would not tell them the truth. He mostly brushed off his colleagues' concern with whatever excuse came to mind, but this only left him more lost and made him think harder about what he truly wanted.
At the same time, the scales in his heart unknowingly began tipping toward Shiki.
And so, today's meeting came about. Adolf took the opportunity of a visit to the Germa Kingdom to meet Shiki again.
"Mr. Shiki, Mr. Judge, I look forward to working with you." Looking at the two figures welcoming him, Adolf completely cast aside his inner conflict and greeted them with a smile.
"Mr. Adolf, we finally meet. I've long admired you, the Speaker of the North Blue, from afar. I never imagined that one day we'd become partners!" Judge, who had remained silent until then, smiled and spoke when Adolf took the initiative to greet him.
"Jihahahaha! From now on, we'll be comrades fighting side by side. To welcome our new partner, I've prepared a special gift for you."
After giving Adolf a warm embrace, Shiki took a strangely patterned fruit from inside his clothes.
"A Devil Fruit!" Adolf exclaimed in surprise as he looked at Shiki's gift.
"That's right. Although I'm not counting