After absorbing the giant man-eating flower, Pea clapped his hands, looking completely at ease. He gazed at Roy with pure delight in his emerald-green eyes.
"See? Just like that! I can separate them from myself and take them back too. They're part of me."
Roy understood as he watched. It seemed to be more than simple plant control; it was closer to creation and fusion. The power of a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit really was no simple thing.
He reached out to ruffle Pea's short emerald-green hair, then smiled at his smug, boastful expression.
"Looks like you've grown a lot this past year too!"
"Yeah. Roy, I've been waiting for you for a really, really long time. If you hadn't come back soon, I was going to go looking for you."
"Don't worry! We came back this time to pick you up and take you with us."
"Really?"
Seeing the aggrieved expression on Pea's face, which was almost identical to his own, left Roy with rather mixed feelings.
"It's true. Traveling across the sea takes time, and we ran into a few things along the way. But we're here to get you now, aren't we?"
"Then are they the companions you've found?"
"That's right."
Roy stepped aside and introduced them to Pea. "The one whose hair is the same color as yours is Tesoro, and these are Stella, Savi, and Bullet. They're all trustworthy companions."
Tesoro still had a look of amazement in his eyes, but he greeted Pea when Roy introduced him. Savi and Stella did the same.
Only Bullet kept his arms crossed and gave a cool nod by way of greeting.
"Hello! My name's Pea. Um... I'm also called Roy now, but you can call me Pea."
Clearly, in Pea's world, Roy was one of a kind. During their three years together, the boy had taught him a great deal.
"Pea, can you control this form freely now? Can you still turn back into your original form?"
"I can!"
As Pea spoke, a green light shone from his body. The transparent wings on his back vanished, and his limbs began to change. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a three-meter-tall plant with emerald-green leaves and a flower bud on its head-a peashooter!
"Pfft." Savi couldn't help laughing, earning a gentle pat from Stella.
Pea's current form was visibly different from before. A pair of large eyes had grown on either side of his "cheeks," and a flower bud had appeared on his head, giving off a faint green glow.
The last of Roy's doubts vanished at the sight. Although Pea's true body was much larger now and his appearance had changed noticeably, Roy could still sense that he was the same Pea who had accompanied him for three years.
"Mm! Good. You can change back."
The green light shone again, and Pea returned to his boyish form.
The group returned to the ramen waterfall, picked up the food around them, and began to feast. After all, although Stella's cooking was delicious, it still fell well short of the food on the island.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, Roy began giving instructions.
"We'll stay on this island and recuperate for a few months. I have a little experiment I want to try, and there's something else..."
Roy looked at Bullet. "Bullet, this island is a good place to train. Keep training Savi and the others. Sea Kings come ashore from time to time, so you can take them to get some practice."
"Pea, you know this place best, so you're in charge of keeping watch. Also, collect more of the island's plants to grow, whether they can attack or produce food. Gather plenty of every kind. With your ability, these things are very important to us."
"Understood, boss/Roy!"
Pea puffed out his chest, his face full of confidence. "No problem! I also know where there are big guys to fight!"
And so, under Pea's guidance, the members of Roy's team began a brief period of training on the island.
Roy, meanwhile, took out the Paramecia Pocket-Pocket Fruit. He remembered that in the original story, there were objects that had eaten Devil Fruits. It was also said that every Devil Fruit had a will of its own, but Roy had already examined them with his psychic power long ago and found nothing unusual at all.
"Could it be that only Zoans have that trait? But I didn't find anything when I got the Giant Ape Fruit either!"
Roy stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Is it because the fruit is intact that I can't sense anything?"
"If I break the fruit open and put it together with an object, then seal them off with psychic power, could I detect the 'devil' inside? When all's said and done, my psychic power is also a form of soul. If I can trap the 'devil' inside, then it can only attach itself to the object I put in."
"It's just an ordinary Paramecia anyway. It won't be much of a loss if I waste it."
With that, Roy immediately picked up a small bag Stella had sewn.
"But it's better to be safe."
With that thought, he used his telekinesis to draw a large mass of seawater from the sea.
First, he placed the small bag and the fruit together and wrapped them in a layer of psychic power. Then he controlled the ball of water to envelop them, before wrapping another layer of psychic power around the outside.
"Mm, three layers of containment should be enough, right?"
Roy slowly guided the small bag into the Devil Fruit.
"Bzz..."
An extremely faint fluctuation emerged when the fruit was damaged. Unlike the psychic energy of a living creature, which bore its own unique mark, it was more like a program following instructions.
"Pop."
The innermost layer of Roy's psychic energy bulged into a cone and was breached in an instant, unable to hold for more than a few seconds. The seawater held it back for a moment, though, and Roy stopped holding back his psychic power, wrapping it in layer after layer.
Gradually, he compressed the energy into the bag. Slowly, Roy saw the Devil Fruit wither and rot away.
Only when he could no longer sense anything unusual did he withdraw his psychic power layer by layer and reach out to catch the falling bag.
Roy examined the bag carefully and found nothing different. Only then did he open it and reach inside. When half his arm had gone in, he discovered a vast space within.
The bag was only palm-sized, after all. Roy pulled out his hand, held the opening apart with both hands, and sent his psychic power inside. He discovered a space the size of three soccer fields.
"Hahaha!"
"I really am a genius!"
Meanwhile, Borsalino and Vice Admiral Varmo, who had returned to headquarters, were on their way to Admiral Sengoku's office.
In the office, Sengoku looked troubled after hearing the report. He hadn't expected Roy to grow so quickly. Could even Borsalino do nothing against him?
"There's more, Mr. Sengoku. During this attempt to capture them, another kid joined Roy's crew. He's another monster-level fighter."
"According to our subsequent investigation, the kid is Douglas Bullet, the hero of Galzburg, known as the Demon Heir. He joined them after his superior betrayed him, though."
Hearing Vice Admiral Varmo's report, Sengoku, seated at his desk, grew even more troubled.
"Even you couldn't defeat him?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Sengoku. I really couldn't defeat him in a short time." A trace of shame appeared on Walu's face. As a Headquarters Vice Admiral, he had fought a teenager on even terms and ultimately let him leave unharmed.
Sengoku pondered for a moment, but he couldn't think of a good solution either.
"Let's do this. First, arrange to increase their bounties. Have the intelligence department raise the threat level of Roy's crew and keep a closer eye out for their whereabouts. The next time they're found, we must capture the whole lot in one fell swoop."