Lin Yuan flew through the air, controlling the Flame Clouds as Stella, Erza, and Emile clung to them for dear life, gazing fearfully at the scenery below.
Every so often, they turned to look at Lin Yuan, as if afraid he might disappear.
"It's all right. These Flame Clouds are pretty sturdy."
Lin Yuan smiled. Creating Flame Clouds with Zhu Jiuyin's abilities wasn't too difficult. If he wanted to, he could even have taken those several hundred people with him.
But Lin Yuan didn't want to reveal too many of his abilities in front of others. Besides, in the sea, Fisher Tiger and the others were capable of dealing with ordinary strong opponents.
Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Stella, Erza, and Emile finally breathed a little easier.
"My lord, where are we going?"
Lin Yuan glanced at Stella and said with a smile, "Someone asked me to rescue you this time. He's already waiting for you to return."
Hearing that, Stella thought of a man with pale green hair, the man who had given her a little hope when she was in despair.
Her eyes grew moist, and tears began to flow.
"Te-Tesoro, is he all right?"
"He should have recovered somewhat by now. When I saw him, he was in a terrible state, practically at death's door."
At that, Stella's tears flowed even harder. Erza and Emile hurried over to comfort her.
Lin Yuan said nothing more. Instead, he waved a hand, and a fierce wind surged up, sending the Flame Clouds speeding forward.
"Lord Lin Yuan, thank you."
"You're welcome. I only did what I promised Tesoro. He's someone I have high hopes for, and I'll need your help in the future!"
"Mm!"
Stella nodded. Lin Yuan had saved her life, and she had long wanted to repay him. Once she saw Tesoro, she would definitely talk to him about it.
If Lin Yuan had known what Stella was thinking, he would have been delighted. She hadn't even seen Tesoro yet, and she was already planning to whisper in his ear.
For the next three days, Lin Yuan cultivated quietly while Stella familiarized herself with her fruit's abilities. By now, she could use them skillfully.
From time to time, she transformed into a swift and flew through the sky, making Emile and Erza green with envy.
After some thought, Lin Yuan took two more Devil Fruits from his backpack. They were two of the Paramecia fruits.
"These are the Paramecia-type Smooth-Smooth Fruit and Bubble-Bubble Fruit. Their abilities aren't particularly powerful, but they can make you stronger. If you don't want them, I'll help you look for others later."
To be honest, he had been a little surprised when he obtained the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, but it was hardly strange considering the fruit wouldn't appear for more than ten years.
Erza and Emile exchanged a glance, excitement showing on their faces. They hadn't expected Lin Yuan to grant them fruits.
At that moment, the two sisters, of one mind, decided to live their lives for Lin Yuan from then on. As for the Devil Fruits, they naturally chose to accept them.
These were secret treasures of the sea, things everyone coveted. Obtaining even one was an immense stroke of luck. They weren't picky.
"Lord Lin Yuan, we'll follow you and serve you forever!"
Erza and Emile knelt at the same time and performed a servant's salute to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan was taken aback. He had only wanted to recruit some subordinates. He wasn't planning to take any women for the time being, not to mention he was still only a twelve-year-old child.
Although his body had grown to nearly 1.9 meters in the pirate world, he had no interest in seeking out women for the time being.
But Erza and Emile gave Lin Yuan no chance to react, taking the Devil Fruits straight from him.
Erza took the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, while Emile took the Bubble-Bubble Fruit. Excited as they were, they had seen Stella eat a Devil Fruit.
The two identical beauties closed their eyes and opened their small, cherry-red lips, determined looks on their faces.
Stella had just returned, and the sight seemed to remind her of something. Her face turned pale, and she looked ready to vomit. Even now, she couldn't forget that horrifying taste.
"Crunch..."
"Crunch..."
"Bleurgh..." X2.
Erza and Emile had never felt as desperate as they did at that moment. The taste was a hundred times worse than the scraps they had eaten as slaves, and it made their scalps tingle.
Their beautiful faces scrunched up, and stomach acid rose uncontrollably in their throats.
"Eat all of it. Don't leave a single bite."
Just then, Lin Yuan's stern voice rang out. Whether or not others could gain the ability with one bite, under Lin Yuan's rules, they had to finish the whole thing, no matter how painful it was.
Erza and Emile grimaced as tears welled up beyond their control, but they gritted their teeth and kept eating.
At that moment, Emile envied her older sister Erza, because she had noticed that her Bubble-Bubble Fruit seemed a little bigger than her sister's.
By the time they finally finished, both were drenched in sweat and collapsed limply on the Flame Clouds, their slender figures faintly visible. Even Lin Yuan couldn't help taking a few extra looks.
Stella rolled her eyes at Lin Yuan. Although she knew he was only twelve, she still scoffed inwardly. Hmph, men.
But Erza and Emile were only fifteen themselves. After some thought, Stella discreetly blocked Lin Yuan's view.
Lin Yuan: ...
Although Erza and Emile looked as though they had been bullied, they soon underwent a tremendous change.
First was their skin. Once somewhat rough from prolonged mistreatment, it became incomparably smooth, as though water could be squeezed from it.
Their features also changed subtly, their already beautiful faces becoming even more exquisite. If their charm had been a ninety before, it was definitely a ninety-nine now. The last point was withheld to keep them from getting conceited.
To Lin Yuan's surprise, the Smooth-Smooth Fruit and the Bubble-Bubble Fruit seemed to achieve the same result by different means.
Although the fruits were different, the changes in the two were vastly different. Anyone who didn't know them still couldn't tell them apart at a glance.
Stella was so envious of the changes in Erza and Emile that she couldn't resist pinching them, making both sisters terribly bashful.
Although Erza and Emile couldn't see the changes in their own faces, they could clearly see the changes in their skin and in each other. Both stared at their own skin in delight.
It seemed that no matter the world, women's love of beauty was always the same.
Although Lin Yuan was also surprised by the sisters' transformation, he wasn't all that shocked. Having been familiar with the original story, he already knew what the fruits could do.
Now that he had seen the cruelty of this world, he spent all day thinking about how to grow stronger. As for women, the strong never lacked them.
It wasn't that Lin Yuan was confident. Rather, no matter the world, women's nature to admire strength was just like men's love of power.
Without great strength, everything was empty talk. Lin Yuan now thought a saying from his previous life made a lot of sense: women would only slow down the speed at which he drew his sword.
Over the next few days, however, Lin Yuan was left with a headache, because ever since Erza and Emile had eaten the fruits and undergone their tremendous changes,
the three women's conversation had shifted in an instant from their hopes for the future to how to care for their skin.
Especially in the pirate world, women changed so much when they grew old that they were simply hard to look at.
Lin Yuan wanted to make a comment or two: the Smooth-Smooth Fruit and Bubble-Bubble Fruit were the best fruits for beauty, so there was no need to worry about the future.
But after he casually said as much, the three women, who had been very obedient, immediately argued back. Lin Yuan was left speechless and could only let them be.
After arguing with Lin Yuan, however, the three also became somewhat more restrained, their hearts pounding. Erza and her sister in particular felt a little ashamed.
Seeing that Lin Yuan wasn't angry, they breathed a sigh of relief. In the end, they obediently accepted his guidance.
As for developing the two fruits' abilities, Lin Yuan only offered some of his own ideas and suggestions. How strong the two ultimately became would depend on their own efforts.
Finally, after several days of flight, Lin Yuan and the others spotted a small boat on the sea. It was thanks to Stella's scouting, and they had also changed direction several times along the way.
Tesoro lay alone on the deck. Two days had passed since the time he had arranged with Lin Yuan. His face was haggard, and there was even a trace of despair on it.
Over those two days, his full heart of hope had gradually given way to all sorts of thoughts, eventually turning into despair and even a trace of numbness.
He hadn't eaten, drunk water, or even slept for two days. His face was haggard, and Tesoro even felt it wouldn't matter if he died just like this.
His dead-fish eyes were vacant as he stared blankly at a cloud in the sky, watching it drift rapidly along. How he wished he could become a cloud and soar freely with Stella.
But he knew it was only a fantasy. The man who had wanted to call him brother and said he would entrust his back to him had probably failed, perhaps even died.
"I don't deserve to be your brother. I'm the one who doomed you and Stella!"
"In the next life, I'll become a cloud with Stella, and we'll travel slowly around the whole world. Heh heh, this cloud can even grow bigger and float down."
Tesoro's voice was hoarse, and traces of blood had appeared on his cracked lips. In a daze, he even reached out to touch the Flame Cloud.
"Hey, playing dead? And what's this about becoming a cloud? In your dreams! Get up and receive your guest!"
Stella's face was bright red by now, her initial excitement turning somewhat awkward. Beside her, Erza and Emile were laughing quietly to themselves.