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Chapter 14: Esune's POV
I met "Big Brother" the day after my entire life turned upside down—the day after I accidentally ate a Devil Fruit.
Having unknowingly consumed the Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit and become a rabbit human, I found myself entirely alone in the bustling plaza of Grove 41. I had run away from the crowded shopping districts to practice my transformations, desperately trying to learn how to control these bizarre new powers.
"Ah!? I meant to hide my rabbit ears, but I turned into a full rabbit..." I whined, staring at my tiny, furry paws.
My control was an absolute mess. If I lost focus for even a second, I'd turn completely into a rabbit, snap back to a human, or end up as some awkward, half-rabbit hybrid with fluffy ears and a twitching nose.
Dropping down to a rabbit's perspective from my normal human height was dizzying and disorienting. The towering Yarukiman Mangroves looked even more intimidating, and the passing humans felt like giants. I had to walk on all fours, too, stumbling over my own paws as I tried to figure out the mechanics of my new body.
Fortunately, my clothes seemed to possess some strange property that allowed them to shrink and stretch to fit whatever form I took. Yeah... I was really glad I didn't end up naked out here in the open...
I was messing around with my new Rabbit-Rabbit powers, feeling entirely helpless and overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the world around me, when...
"Theeere, there, there's nothing to be afraid of~"
A gentle, surprisingly high-pitched voice called out to me. A boy who was roughly the same size as my rabbit form approached me. He had a goofy, reassuring grin on his face and reached out to pet my head as if I were just a stray animal.
"Eh!? A-A dwarf!?" I gasped, my voice squeaking out from my tiny rabbit mouth.
"Huh...?"
The dwarf flinched and froze stiff, his hand hovering awkwardly in the air. We stared at each other in stunned silence for a long moment. And then...
"THE RABBIT TALKED!!?"
"THE DWARF TALKED!!?"
That was how I met Line, my big brother.
—————
Since I had no friends my own age and had just become a freakish Devil Fruit user, big brother treated me with incredible kindness. He didn't care that I was different.
We played a lot, talked a lot, and the days I spent with him in the Sabaody Archipelago were incredibly fun. He was so full of life, always buzzing with an infectious energy that made my worries melt away.
"I'm gonna eat the Huge Huge Fruit and become the biggest man in the world!" he would boast, puffing out his tiny chest. "That's my dream, fuhehehe!"
Big brother told me he had traveled all the way from an island called Dressrosa, braving the treacherous seas in search of that specific Devil Fruit.
He also bragged that he had two big-breasted girlfriends back home named Viola and Monet, and that he was incredibly popular with the ladies everywhere he went.
...I wonder if that was actually true? Looking at his tiny, twenty-centimeter stature, it was hard to imagine, but the sheer confidence in his voice almost made me believe it.
My conversations with big brother were always so fun and interesting that the time just flew by. For the first time in my life, I felt truly happy.
And then, about a year after we met...
That unforgettable, nightmarish day arrived.
The Descendants of the Creators, the Celestial Dragons, descended upon the Sabaody Archipelago. The vibrant, bustling streets fell dead silent. Everyone dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in sheer terror. My parents had pulled me down with them, holding my hands tightly.
"You've got quite a pretty face."
"...Eh?"
I cautiously looked up. It was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his late thirties, wearing an absurd bubble over his head and riding atop a heavily bruised, groaning slave. I had caught the eye of a Celestial Dragon.
"Alright! I'll make you my twenty-first wife!"
The Celestial Dragon smirked as he triumphantly declared that, as if he were picking out a piece of fruit from a market stall.
...Honestly, I didn't understand what he meant. Wife? Twenty-first? Make me? I was only eleven years old. As I stood there frozen and confused, my dad rose to his feet. His face was pale with panic as he spoke to the Celestial Dragon.
"P-Please wait! My daughter just turned twelve...!"
It happened so fast. There was no warning. No hesitation.
BANG!
The Celestial Dragon shot my dad.
The deafening crack echoed through the silent plaza. Blood sprayed across the cobblestones. When my mom screamed and lunged forward in despair, he simply aimed his pistol again.
BANG!
Right in front of me, the blood-stained, lifeless bodies of my dad and mom were just lying there. The warmth of their hands was instantly replaced by the cold, biting reality of the world.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! MOOOOOM!! MO... DAAAAAAAD...! Uwa... a... AAAAAAHH... AAAAAAAHHHHH....!!!!"
My throat tore as I screamed, the agony ripping through my chest. The world spun out of control.
"I said shut up! Do you want to be shot to death too!?"
"...!! Uwa... a, gu...!! ...Hic..."
The Celestial Dragon pointed the smoking barrel of his gun directly at my face. I had no choice but to bite my lip and fall silent, choking on my own sobs.
"Yes. That's a good girl." He smiled, a sickeningly sweet expression that made my stomach churn. "Now, once we return to Mary Geoise, we're going to do plenty of things that feel good Muffuffu ♡"
The Celestial Dragon grabbed my arm. A horrifying chill ran down my spine, making my skin erupt in violent goosebumps. Was I going to have to become the bride of the man who just murdered my parents? To live with him? To be touched by him?
No... "bride" makes it sound far too nice.
He was going to treat me like a toy. A slave.
"...Ah...! N-No! Stop it! No! NOOO!! Somebody... somebody help me...!! Uwaaaah...!"
"Hey! Stop resisting!"
I hated it so much that I fought back, thrashing wildly. He casually backhanded me across the face. I hit the ground hard, my nose bleeding, my vision blurring.
It hurt. I was scared. I was so sad. It hurt so much. Please, help me...
My dad and mom were killed. There was no one left to help me. No one left to love me.
I looked around the plaza. Hundreds of people were kneeling there, watching. Strong men, pirates with swords, Marines with rifles. But no one moved. No one was going to step in. In this vast, crowded plaza, I was now completely alone.
It was obvious. Never defy a Celestial Dragon. It was the absolute law of this world, a common sense so deeply ingrained that even a child knew it. To step forward meant death.
Even so, as I lay bleeding on the ground, a desperate prayer echoed in my heart. Please... somebody, help me...
"UOOOOOOOOOOHHH!"
"Eh...?"
"RAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
"!!!"
KABOOOOOOOM!!!
I will never forget that sight for the rest of my life.
There was a tiny blur of motion, followed by a shockwave that shattered the pavement. The sight of Line—my tiny, goofy big brother—defying the absolute laws of the world and raising his fist against a god, all for my sake.
—————
After that day, my life changed forever. Thanks to big brother, I was taken in and allowed to live at Shakky's bar in the Lawless Zone.
Big brother fought for me until he was battered, bruised, and nearly dead.
Big brother desperately bowed his head to a fearsome pirate like Silvers Rayleigh, begging for a place for me to stay when I had nowhere else to go.
I am who I am today because of him. Truly... I could never thank him enough. I owed him my life, my sanity, my everything.
"Thank you... big brother..." I would whisper to him every night as he slept.
My new life at Shakky's bar was unconventional, but it was quite fulfilling.
"Esune-chan, put a little more strength into your legs. A proper kick needs a solid foundation. ...Yes. Like that. That's looking pretty good."
"Y-Yes! Thank you, Shakky-san!"
"Ufufu, you're a fast learner. You've got quite a bit of talent for combat, you know."
Shakky was strict when she taught me how to fight and survive, but she was always kind and protective, just like a mother.
"Esune, did you have fun at Sabaody Park the other day?"
"Y-Yes, Ray-san! The Ferris wheel was incredibly fun!"
"I see, I'm glad to hear that. We'll all have to go again sometime when the Marines aren't patrolling so heavily."
Ray-san was boisterous, doting, and gentle, just like a father.
"Esune! Happy birthday! Here, this is my present to you—earrings made out of specially bred flowers! They'll never wilt!"
"They're beautiful... Thank you, big brother."
"Don't mention it! Looking after my little sister is a big brother's duty, after all."
"Little sister..."
"Yep. You're already my sister, Esune. No matter what happens, your big bro will protect you! You're safe with me."
"Yeah..."
As for big brother... it goes without saying. He was the kindest, coolest, and most wonderful big brother in the world.
But as the years passed, that admiration blossomed into something deeper. He was so wonderful that, lately, being constantly called his "little sister" hurt just a little bit.
Does big brother... only see me as a little sister?
I'm a girl, too. I can fall in love. Over the past six years, as I grew from a traumatized child into an eighteen-year-old woman, I had ended up falling for him romantically. His size didn't matter. His heart was bigger than anyone else's.
But big brother already had Viola and Monet.
The beautiful, big-breasted girlfriends he had left back home in Dressrosa. I would often stare at myself in the mirror. Now that I was eighteen, my body had developed, and my breasts had gotten pretty big too, but I guess it still wasn't enough to make him look at me differently. He still just saw the crying eleven-year-old girl he had saved.
I figured that once big brother finally found the Huge Huge Fruit and returned to his normal size, he would officially become lovers with them. He would go back to his real home.
And that was fine.
Even if big brother didn't choose me... that was fine.
Because if big brother could be happy, that was all that mattered in the world to me.
But the problem—the gnawing guilt that kept me awake at night—was the realization that I was actively getting in the way of his happiness.
How long... am I going to keep relying on him for everything? Just how long am I going to keep holding him back...?
Back then, I was so desperate just to survive the trauma of losing my parents that I didn't think too deeply about it. I clung to him because he was my lifeline.
But after six years, even I could realize the truth: my presence was tying him down to this island. He had assaulted a Celestial Dragon to save me, making himself an infamous wanted criminal. Because he had to look after me, he couldn't leave.
If I weren't here...
Big brother would have immediately set out on a new adventure to find the Huge Huge Fruit.
He would have left the Sabaody Archipelago years ago, braving the Grand Line and sprinting toward his dream with everything he had.
But I... my very existence, my weakness, was holding him back.
"Uugh... big brother..."
Big brother had given me so much happiness. He had given me a second chance at life.
That was why I wanted him to grasp an even greater happiness for himself. I couldn't be a burden anymore.
I couldn't be the one... to get in the way of his dream...!
—————
After that realization, I started acting on my own. I began sneaking out to the other Groves by myself while big brother was busy tending to his garden.
The Lawless Zone from Groves 1 to 29 was relatively dangerous—swarming with kidnappers, bounty hunters, and violent pirates—but as long as I traveled in my tiny rabbit form, practically no one paid any attention to me.
And so, I ran all over the island, desperately gathering any information I could find about the Huge Huge Fruit.
I would travel swiftly as a rabbit to avoid detection, then shift into my human form in back alleys to conduct my inquiries. That became my daily routine.
"U-Um... excuse me, do you know anything about... the Huge Huge Fruit?"
"Never heard of it, kid. Beat it."
"I'm looking for a Devil Fruit called the Huge Huge Fruit! Have you seen it?"
"Sorry, don't know anything about that."
"I'm looking for the Huge Huge Fruit, if you know anything..."
"Ohoho~ ♪ I can see two Huge Huge Fruits right there on your chest, sweetie. Wanna come back to my ship and— Gweh!? You didn't have to kick me so hard!"
The results were pretty dismal.
Of course they were. Big brother had been actively searching for the Huge Huge Fruit on this island for eight years. There was no way an amateur like me would find it just by asking around the shady taverns for a few weeks.
Even so, I kept searching. I refused to give up. For big brother, for his happiness...! Big brother! The big brother I love so much...!
I searched and searched and searched, exhausting every lead, until finally—
"Little missy, you're looking for the Huge Huge Fruit, aren't you? Fefefe... Shall I find it for you with my fortune-telling?"
An old woman with greasy gray hair and a heavy, beaded shawl, running a dingy fortune-telling stall in Grove 49, called out to me from the shadows.
"F-Fortune-telling...?" I stopped, my heart skipping a beat.
"That's right. I ate the Fortune-Fortune Fruit and became a Fortune-Telling Human. I can pinpoint the exact location of absolutely anything you're looking for, no matter how rare... Fefefe...!"
"Really...!?"
I did it! I thought, overwhelmed with a sudden surge of hope.
Because of me, big brother had become a wanted criminal and couldn't openly ask around for information without risking a Marine swarm. I felt like all my hard work, all the danger I had put myself in to gather information in his place, had finally paid off.
"The fortune-telling fee is 500,000 Berries," she said, holding out a gnarled hand.
"F-Five hundred thousand Berries... I-I'll pay it...!"
It was a staggering amount. The allowance I had received from Shakky, the money I had been meticulously saving up for years—I was going to use it all right here.
If it was for big brother's dream, it was a small price to pay. I quickly pulled the heavy pouch of Berries from my bag and handed it over.
"Fefefe, thank you for your patronage. Now then, let's look into your fortune... Ura ura ura~... KAH!!"
The old woman waved her hands over a cloudy crystal ball, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she chanted.
"..." I watched with bated breath.
"It's here. The spirits speak. It says the item you are searching for will be found tomorrow morning inside a warehouse southeast of Grove 2."
"Tomorrow morning... the warehouse southeast of Grove 2..." I repeated, committing the location to memory.
"If you go to that location alone, keeping it an absolute secret from everyone, you will find what you seek. Fefefe..."
"T-Thank you! Thank you so much, ma'am! Thank you!" I bowed repeatedly, tears of joy prickling the corners of my eyes.
"Don't mention it. I merely used my powers to tell your fortune. Fefefe..."
I was going to find the Huge Huge Fruit! Big brother's dream would finally come true! He could finally be free! Hooray! At the time, blinded by hope and my love for him, I had been carefree enough to think like that.
...
The next day, just as the old woman had instructed, I slipped away from the bar before dawn and went to the warehouse southeast of Grove 2 alone.
The warehouse was dark, dusty, and smelled of rotting wood and saltwater. I stepped inside cautiously.
But when I arrived, there was no Devil Fruit waiting for me.
"Muffuffu~ ♪ I finally found you..."
"Eh...?"
My blood ran cold. Standing right there in the dim light was the man I hated more than anyone else in the entire world.
The Celestial Dragon who had murdered my parents six years ago...! Saint Bomiol!
"W-Why... why are you here...? But, I was told the Huge Huge Fruit would be here..." I stammered, backing away toward the door.
"Fefefe...! As if a legendary fruit like that would actually be in a dump like this! That was just a lie I told you, you naive little brat!"
"The Fortune-Teller Old Woman!"
Standing right next to the Celestial Dragon, counting my pouch of Berries with a wicked grin, was the old fortune-teller from yesterday.
"I was never a fortune-teller to begin with," she sneered.
"!!"
"I heard rumors recently about a little missy running around the Lawless Zone asking about the Huge Huge Fruit. I looked into it on a whim, and wouldn't you know, your face looked exactly like the Celestial Dragon's wife who was kidnapped by the 'Invisible Phantom Thief' six years ago! You grew up, but those eyes are exactly the same! So I contacted him through the underworld brokers, and I hit the jackpot! I couldn't help but laugh out loud! Fefefe!"
"...I am not a Celestial Dragon's wife..." I growled, clenching my fists.
"Like that matters! The Celestial Dragon promised to pay me a massive sum if I could lure you out, so I just played the part of a mystic to trap you! A Fortune-Telling Human who ate the Fortune-Fortune Fruit? As if such a convenient thing actually exists! Fefefe!"
"..."
I slumped to my knees in despair. I had been so stupid. So desperate to help big brother that I walked right into a trap. No, this was no time to give up. I had been trained by Shakky. I wasn't a helpless eleven-year-old anymore.
I immediately transformed into my Human-Beast Form. My ears elongated, and my legs packed with explosive muscle. It was the form that granted me the highest physical capabilities.
"!!? A Devil Fruit!? Hey! Don't let her escape! Slave No. 31!" Bomiol panicked, pointing at me.
I sprang backward with a massive, powerful leap, vaulting toward the open warehouse doors. I was going to make it. But in that exact moment...
Thick, wet, tentacle-like appendages shot out from the shadows and wrapped tightly around my body, pinning my arms and legs.
"I'm so sorry~... But if I don't do exactly as my Master says, he does terrible things to me..." a deep, mournful voice said from behind.
"!!"
I struggled fiercely, but the grip was like iron. The one who caught me was an old, heavily scarred squid mermaid... no, an okama.
There was a heavy metal collar fastened around the okama's neck, blinking with a faint red light. If I remembered correctly, it was an Exploding Collar that Celestial Dragons put on their slaves.
If the wearer tried to forcefully remove it or escape, it would detonate, blowing their head clean off... It was the absolute worst kind of collar...
"Muffuffu ♪ I finally caught you ♪"
Seeing me completely immobilized, the Celestial Dragon threw his hands in the air and did a sickening little dance of victory.
"Now then, my Wife No. 41! It's a shame you've completely grown up over these past six years, losing that childish charm, but your pretty face is still as captivating as ever. Once we return to Mary Geoise, we're going to have a lot of fun together in my chambers."
The Celestial Dragon approached me with a lecherous smirk. Spit flew from his mouth with every word. It was absolutely disgusting.
"Fefefe... Now then, Saint Bomiol... about my promised payment for delivering the girl..." the old woman interrupted, rubbing her hands together greedily.
"Ah, right. Here, take it."
BANG!!
The Celestial Dragon casually raised his pistol and shot the Fortune-Teller Old Woman dead. She collapsed to the floor in a pool of blood, the pouch of Berries scattering across the floorboards.
I stared in horror. Nothing... nothing had changed at all. Six years had passed, but this monster was exactly the same. This person... he was the absolute worst...
"Muffuffu~ ♪ Now then, my Wife No. 41..." He turned back to me, ignoring the corpse.
"...I am not your wife," I spat, glaring at him with pure hatred. "I will never go with you."
"Hmm? Oh? Are you sure you want to be saying that?" Bomiol tilted his head, a malicious glint in his eye. "Marine Admiral Aokiji is currently visiting Mary Geoise, you see."
My breath hitched. Marine... Admiral?
The Admiral that big brother fought against in the past—the towering man made of ice who had frozen the ocean, kicked him repeatedly, and left him severely injured...
A monster like that was going to come again?
"I could easily call Mary Geoise right now and order him to launch a Buster Call on the Sabaody Archipelago, you know?" Bomiol threatened, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
"Eh..."
"A Buster Call. Do you know what that is, you ignorant commoner? I hear it uses a fleet of ten heavy warships to fire a devastating, simultaneous barrage that completely wipes an entire island and everyone on it off the map! It leaves nothing but ash!"
My heart plummeted into my stomach. That was on a completely different level than an Admiral showing up to arrest me...
If a Buster Call was summoned... Shakky, Ray-san, big brother...
All the innocent people living on the Sabaody Archipelago, everyone I had grown to love, would be massacred. The bar, the flower beds big brother worked so hard on, everything would burn. All because of me.
"If you swear to serve me with all your heart and soul, and promise to make me feel reaaally good every single night, I might just be willing to make a special exception and overlook this little rebellion of yours~?"
Sporting a repulsive, victorious grin, the Celestial Dragon seemed to be thoroughly enjoying my despair.
This... wasn't even a choice. I couldn't let big brother die because of my mistake.
Tears streamed down my face as I stopped struggling against the tentacles. I hung my head, my spirit breaking.
"I will serve you... with all my heart and soul... and make you... feel good... ugh...!!" I choked out the words, feeling physically sick to my stomach.
"Muffuffu~ ♪ That's a good girl! See, was that so hard?" He patted my cheek condescendingly. "Now then, let's hurry back to Mary Geoise! Slave No. 31! What are you dawdling for!? Put me on your back and head for the Red Port! You piece of trash! Slowpoke! I'm going to punish you with the whip as soon as we get back!"
"!! ...!!"
Rozuo flinched. The Celestial Dragon straddled the okama mermaid's back and began kicking him violently in the head, treating him like a stubborn beast of burden.
Reluctantly, carrying me wrapped in his tentacles, the okama mermaid began to slither forward toward my doom.
—————
Located a short distance away from the Sabaody Archipelago was a massive, heavily guarded harbor known as the Red Port.
In order to reach the Holy Land of Mary Geoise at the very summit of the Red Line, the only route was to take a massive bubble-lift system called a Bondola from this port and travel vertically upwards along the sheer cliff face.
The Celestial Dragon, the okama mermaid, and I were currently riding inside a Bondola, heading straight there. The mechanical grinding of the gears echoed in the silence of the cabin as we ascended higher and higher above the clouds.
"Muffuffu ♡ I wonder how many women I can get pregnant this time ♡ I can't wait to test out your stamina~ ♡"
"..." I stared blankly at the metal floor, feeling completely hollow.
The Celestial Dragon twirled a heavy bundle of keys on his finger, laughing merrily at his own vile thoughts.
The okama mermaid, burdened by the Celestial Dragon's weight, glared at those Collar Keys with a desperate, longing, and hopeless look in his eyes.
"Um... Okama Mermaid-san," I whispered, making sure Bomiol couldn't hear over the sound of the wind.
"...My name is Rozuo..." he whispered back, his voice thick with sorrow.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm Esune."
"I see. You've got it tough too, Esune-chan. Becoming a Celestial Dragon's wife... Well, I suppose it might be slightly better than being turned into a disposable slave like us..."
"...Rozuo-san. There's a shop in Grove 13 on the Sabaody Archipelago called Shakky's Rip-off Bar."
"Huh? Why are you telling me this?"
"If... if it's possible... if you ever get out of here... could you please pass a message to a person named Line there?" I asked, my voice trembling as the resolve crystallized in my chest. "Tell him... 'Thank you for taking care of me. Please don't look for me. I love you'..."
"?? What... what are you talking about, child...?"
Before Rozuo could question me further, I acted.
I transformed fully into a rabbit and sprang upwards with explosive leg strength. In a fluid flash of motion, I snatched the bundle of Collar Keys right out of the Celestial Dragon's twirling finger.
I was still inexperienced, and I couldn't fight an Admiral, but it was the Tontatta-Style Snatching Technique I had meticulously learned from big brother. My speed was absolute.
"Wah!? What are you doing!?" Bomiol shrieked, stumbling backward as his hand suddenly grabbed empty air.
I landed gracefully on Rozuo's broad shoulder. Without missing a beat, I thrust the correct key into the tiny keyhole on Rozuo's collar and twisted it hard.
With a heavy clack, the Exploding Collar unlatched and fell away, clattering harmlessly to the floor of the Bondola.
"Go!" I shouted, pushing off his shoulder.
"Eh..." Rozuo stared at me, dumbfounded.
"Go! Rozuo-san! Run away! Hurry before he calls the guards!"
"!!"
Tears welled up in Rozuo's eyes. Without another word of hesitation, Rozuo leaped out of the open window of the ascending Bondola. We were high up, but for a sturdy Fish-Man, he should still survive the fall into the sea.
A few tense seconds later, I heard a distant splash over the howling wind, meaning Rozuo had safely landed in the ocean below. He was free.
I stood alone in the cabin and glanced over at the Celestial Dragon. He was gripping the railing, staring down at the water in sheer, red-faced disbelief.
"Y-Y-Y-You... What the hell did you just do!?" he screamed, his voice cracking with rage. "One of my precious... a piece of my precious mermaid collection is gone...!"
"...Serves you right," I said coldly, looking him dead in the eye.
"!!?"
My chest felt just a tiny bit lighter. I had done something right.
He drew his golden pistol from his coat and aimed it directly at my chest with a sharp click. His hand was shaking with fury. But I had no regrets...
No. That was a lie. I had so many regrets. I wanted to see the flower beds bloom again. I wanted to eat Shakky's cooking. I wanted to see big brother achieve his dream.
But it couldn't be helped.
Rather than becoming a helpless plaything for scum like him, living a life of endless torture, I figured saving someone's life, freeing a slave, and being killed right here, right now, was a much, much better alternative.
Line... big brother...
The pistol was pointed straight at my heart.
The Celestial Dragon's finger tightened on the trigger.
I closed my eyes, picturing his goofy, tiny smile one last time.
"...Thank you for everything. I love you...!"
BANG!!
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