"It actually worked!"
At this moment, the most shocked person of all was Tiger.
When Yemu had first explained his idea to everyone—using the Baku Baku no Mi to strip Devil Fruit users of their abilities—Tiger had thought his captain was dreaming the impossible.
He knew very well that in the hundreds of years since Devil Fruits had appeared, countless people had entertained the same idea because of their immense value. Yet not a single one of them had ever succeeded.
Of course, maybe someone had, and he simply hadn't heard about it.
But his own captain…
Even if there was the example of the Doa Doa no Mi, that case clearly involved a large degree of coincidence.
If all it took to reclaim a Devil Fruit was placing a Devil Fruit user's corpse into a fruit, then it would have been solved long ago. It wouldn't be this difficult.
So even after witnessing the Baku Baku no Mi's abilities firsthand and acknowledging how extraordinary they were, Tiger still hadn't placed much hope in Yemu's idea.
Yet now, watching Kuromi actually use the power of the Atsu Atsu no Mi belonging to the man he had swallowed, Tiger felt his entire worldview crumble.
Baku Baku no Mi plus Atsu Atsu no Mi.
Standing before him might very well be the first dual Devil Fruit user in the known history of this world.
Tiger understood better than anyone that if what had just happened were to spread, it would undoubtedly shake the entire world.
"Th-this… this…"
He had no idea how to put his feelings into words.
The others, however, didn't look nearly as shocked.
Or rather, most of them simply didn't know much about Devil Fruits at all.
On the Grand Line, knowledge of Devil Fruits was more common, but in the Four Seas, very few people even knew they existed. Many regarded them with fear and distance, treating Devil Fruit users as monsters. Even members of CP9 often held such views.
Naturally, this was also influenced by the Marines and the World Government's propaganda.
Because of that, they only felt that the scene before them was incredibly strange and fascinating, not earth-shattering like Tiger did.
Baby-5 was too young to understand anything, so she didn't count.
Erik and Ayala, the brother and sister, simply found it amazing.
Enel looked completely unconcerned.
Flare, on the other hand, showed some surprise. It was clear she had heard some basic knowledge about Devil Fruits from her father.
This scene also made Tiger silently resolve that, for the safety of the entire crew, he would not only teach them combat techniques in the future, but also make sure they learned some basic knowledge about the Grand Line.
However, things didn't seem to be that simple.
Although Kuromi had successfully used the Atsu Atsu no Mi's ability, his condition didn't look very good. He appeared visibly uncomfortable.
"What's wrong? If you feel unwell, it's fine to spit it out!"
Kuromi shook his head and replied in a puzzled tone.
"Don't worry, boss. It's nothing. My stomach just feels a bit bloated."
"Bloated?!"
That caught Yemu completely off guard.
To develop Baku Baku Metal, Kuromi had spent the past two weeks constantly using the Baku Baku no Mi, eating all kinds of metal materials every day. He had swallowed at least dozens of tons in total and had never once felt bloated.
And yet now, he actually did.
"Yes."
Kuromi nodded, carefully sensing the changes inside his body as he spoke thoughtfully.
"Reporting to the boss, I can feel it. The Baku Baku no Mi seems to have a limit. At most, it can only consume one Devil Fruit user."
"Is that so?"
Yemu seemed to understand.
Indeed, that made sense. If the Baku Baku no Mi could endlessly consume Devil Fruit users and freely use all their abilities, it really would have been far too overpowered.
"Then how do you feel now? Can you extract a Devil Fruit ability and bestow it onto an object?"
That was the most critical question of all.
Kuromi frowned deeply.
"It feels like I can… but also like I can't."
"What do you mean?"
Kuromi carefully sensed the changes in his stomach and explained.
"Reporting to the boss, I can feel that I do have the ability to separate the Devil Fruit power from this human's body. But there's still a special connection between the two, something I can't really put into words. In other words, if this ability user dies, the Devil Fruit power that's been separated might disappear as well."
"!!!"
That was something Yemu had never considered.
He frowned slightly.
"Let's put that aside for now!"
As he spoke, he untied a sword from his waist. It was Tengoku. He drew the blade from its snow-white scabbard.
"Swallow it. Let's see if you can fuse the Atsu Atsu no Mi's power with my Tengoku."
"Understood! Boss!!!"
Kuromi's head swelled to an enormous size once again, like a hippopotamus. He swallowed Tengoku whole, then began chewing continuously.
At that moment, Yemu watched with a mix of anticipation and tension.
Finally, three minutes later, Kuromi opened his mouth and spat Tengoku back out.
The moment Yemu saw it, his eyes lit up. He grabbed the reborn Tengoku in his hand.
The blade, which had once borne patterns like white feathers, true to its name, had now turned completely crimson. Even the jet-black spine of the blade was etched with flame-like patterns.
"Ah… boss, I didn't disgrace you. I succeeded!"
As if finally relieved after severe constipation, Kuromi let out a long, comfortable breath and spoke happily.
Almost as if responding to his words, Yemu could clearly feel the terrifying power contained within this new Tengoku.
"You've worked hard, Kuromi."
But a new problem immediately surfaced. How was he supposed to use a Tengoku that had been fused with the Atsu Atsu no Mi's power?
At that moment, as if connected by instinct, Yemu held the sword and faintly sensed a strange bond.
Without the slightest hesitation, he tightened his grip on the hilt. The Mera Mera no Mi activated, and surging flames erupted outward.
Then, an astonishing scene unfolded.
Tengoku seemed to possess the ability to absorb flames. Like a dragon drawing in water, it swallowed all the fire straight into the blade.
"Boom!"
In an instant, Tengoku burst into roaring flames, bathing the entire engine room in a deep red glow.
"Did it work?"
Flare asked curiously.
At that moment, doubt appeared in everyone's eyes.
After all, Tengoku's current state didn't seem much different from when Yemu normally used the Mera Mera no Mi. The blade itself hadn't changed much, apart from the raging flames wrapped around it.
But only Yemu could truly feel it.
"It really worked."
The reason Tengoku hadn't transformed like Achino, becoming dazzlingly hot all over, was because something remarkable had happened.
At that moment, the power of the Atsu Atsu no Mi and the Mera Mera no Mi had merged together.
Tengoku absorbed flame energy to activate the Atsu Atsu no Mi's ability, while the heat produced by the Atsu Atsu no Mi was immediately transferred by Yemu through the Mera Mera no Mi and redirected into the flames themselves.
Just then, Kuromi let out a loud belch.
"Boss, this is really strange!!!"
"I feel like… if I digest the Devil Fruit user in my stomach, I won't have to worry about the ability disappearing if the user dies."
"Huh?! What do you mean?!"
"Digesting someone means they die, doesn't it?!"
Everyone looked utterly confused.
Kuromi himself looked puzzled, but his tone carried a certain confidence.
"Tiger-san, big sis, it's not the same. When I digest him, I'm using the Baku Baku no Mi to turn him into part of my own body. So it doesn't really count as killing him…"
Hearing this, Yemu's eyes lit up.
"Then if you digest him, does that mean you could keep swallowing Devil Fruit users…?"
Kuromi hesitated.
"That's what it feels like, but I'm not completely sure. I'll only know after I finish digesting him."
"Then how long will it take to digest him?!"
"This feels different from normal materials. He's hard to digest… probably about half a year!!!"