Only after Judge left with Reiju did Yemu turn his full attention to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia in front of him.
After flipping past the table of contents, the first Logia-type Devil Fruit listed was Enel's Goro Goro no Mi.
"Goro Goro no Mi · Logia"
"The ability to turn the body into lightning. It allows the user to move through conductors and the air at lightning speed in the form of lightning itself. It can be used to release electricity directly for attacks, generate extreme heat through electrical energy, and even stimulate thunderclouds to unleash lightning strikes over a designated area. It is regarded as the strongest among Logia fruits. Other details unknown..."
Besides the text, there were also illustrations and records of past users.
Honestly, none of it surprised Yemu. He had already known all of this.
Next came the Magu Magu no Mi.
It seemed even the compiler of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia acknowledged just how terrifying the Magu Magu no Mi was.
The third was the Pika Pika no Mi, the fourth was the Arashi Arashi no Mi, the fifth was the Yami Yami no Mi, and only the sixth was Yemu's Mera Mera no Mi.
How should he put it? There was nothing especially new about the Logia-type Devil Fruits. Perhaps because they were simply too rare, most of the fruits recorded in the encyclopedia were the same ones that had already appeared in the story. Of course, there were also some that weren't listed, such as the Suigin Suigin no Mi (Mercury) and the Tsuchi Tsuchi no Mi (Earth).
Yemu counted them. Judging from the page numbers, only thirty-six Logia-type Devil Fruits had been recorded.
That number was not exactly small, but compared with the Paramecia-type fruits that came next, it was still very scarce.
When Yemu flipped to the Paramecia section, his first impression was chaos.
Maybe it really was because it was such a mixed bag. All kinds of strange and bizarre abilities were listed there, some of which even Yemu had never imagined.
He had been quite interested at first, but after turning dozens of pages, he started to get a headache.
It felt like reading an encyclopedia with an absolutely terrible layout.
By the time he finished skimming through it, his overall impression was that it was a complete mess. There was no logic to it at all, as if any Devil Fruit could exist so long as someone happened to think of it. He did not spot anything particularly eye-catching, either.
In the end, Yemu could only skim through the pages. Judging by the page numbers, there were at least more than four hundred Paramecia-type Devil Fruits.
"That really is a lot."
After that, he casually flipped through the Zoan Devil Fruits at the back. Judging by the page count, there were quite a few of those too, more than two hundred in total. But because they were categorized according to different animals, they were actually much easier to read.
Even so, going through more than two hundred pages would still take quite a while.
Yemu was in no hurry. He flipped back to the table of contents and began searching through the Paramecia-type entries.
"Gomu Gomu no Mi... Gomu Gomu no Mi... found it, page 358..."
Yemu quickly turned to page 358. Sure enough, a purple Devil Fruit covered in spiral patterns appeared before his eyes.
"Gomu Gomu no Mi · Paramecia-type"
"The ability to turn the body into rubber. Any part of the body, including the internal organs, skin, and teeth, can become rubber, allowing it to stretch and rebound at the user's will. A rubberized body possesses exceptional elasticity and flexibility. The distance it can stretch is directly proportional to the user's own strength. Other abilities unknown..."
What followed were illustrations and some additional notes.
To be honest, Yemu did not find anything particularly interesting in it, but his eyes still lingered on the page for a long time, hoping to spot something unusual.
There was no helping it. After all, this was the Devil Fruit of the Chosen One, the protagonist himself. If there were nothing extraordinary about it, even Yemu would not believe it.
But no matter how long he looked, he could not find anything especially unusual in those lines.
Could the Gomu Gomu no Mi really just be an ordinary Paramecia-type Devil Fruit?
Just as Yemu was puzzling over it, a low female voice suddenly rang out in the empty room.
"Young Master, are you also interested in this Devil Fruit?"
Yemu froze for a moment. Then, within the range of his Observation Haki, he sensed it.
Not far away, sitting in the sunlight by the window, was a white Cloud Fox, staring at him with eerie vertical pupils.
Yemu looked over as well, a faint note of surprise in his voice as he said,
"I thought you would leave Whole Cake Island as soon as you were rescued."
"Do you really want me to leave, Young Master?"
"No."
Yemu shook his head.
"If you're willing to stay, then of course I'd be happy. There's still a lot I want to know. But I've never liked forcing people. Enemies are the only exception."
At that moment, the fox named Lillilu looked at Yemu with a serious, piercing gaze completely at odds with her small and adorable body.
In the end, she withdrew her gaze, raised a paw, licked her fur, and only then spoke.
"Since my master is dead, and you are my Young Master, then naturally I will follow you."
"Then welcome, Lillilu, to the Sky Pirates."
As he spoke, he let out a sigh.
"Today really is a lucky day. The Sky Pirates gained two new companions all at once. We'll hold a welcome banquet for you after we leave Whole Cake Island. But first, let's get back to the point. What did you mean by what you said just now? Is there something special about this Devil Fruit?"
As he spoke, Yemu pushed the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia forward and placed it in front of Lillilu.
Lillilu glanced at him and answered directly, without trying to build suspense.
"My master once mentioned this Devil Fruit..."
Yemu paused. By "master," she clearly meant Rocks. Could the Gomu Gomu no Mi really be different from the others?
Lillilu slowly continued.
"He once said that even among the many Devil Fruits, this Gomu Gomu no Mi is an especially unique one."
"What do you mean? What's special about it?"
Lillilu's eyes drifted into memory.
"My master once said that humans cannot create something they do not know. Most great unknown creations come from chance."
The remark was baffling enough to leave Yemu momentarily stunned, but he did not interrupt.
"And the rubber represented by this Gomu Gomu no Mi does not exist in the historical records of this world from eight hundred years ago."
Yemu instantly thought of something. It seemed rubber did not exist on Skypiea either.
"Then if rubber did not exist in this world eight hundred years ago, where did the name Gomu Gomu no Mi come from?"
This time, Yemu was truly stunned. His mind began racing.
If rubber did not exist eight hundred years ago, then naturally no one would have named a Devil Fruit after it.
Very quickly, he arrived at a conclusion.
"So that means the real name of the Gomu Gomu no Mi is not actually Gomu Gomu no Mi?"
Then a second question surfaced in his mind.
"If this Devil Fruit is not really rubber, then what is it?"
And finally, an even more terrifying thought suddenly appeared.
"Does that mean all Paramecia-type Devil Fruits might have the same issue?"