After calming his fellow fishman, Nereus turned his attention back to Kuma—the tyrant who reserved all his gentleness for others.
Originally, Nereus had only come because he sensed Kuma using his ability. His plan had been to rely on that power to help send people away from the island.
But judging from Kuma's current condition, the physical toll on him was clearly significant.
"You just ate the Devil Fruit, so you're still not familiar with using its power. I have a way to help you recover some stamina—and also make your ability easier to control.
It'll hurt a little, though. Want to try it?" ⚡
At present, Kuma's ability was the safest way for ordinary people to leave the island. In the original timeline, Kuma had also used that power to save many lives.
"If it means saving more people, I can do it."
"Hey, Kuma, you're just going to trust him like that? What if he does something to you..."
Ivankov looked nervous. Living under constant pressure in a place like this made it hard to trust anyone, and he still regarded Nereus with suspicion.
"Ivankov! Lord Nereus would never deceive us. With his strength, if he really wanted to do something, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble!"
"It's fine, Little Ivan. He's someone saving people too, isn't he?" 🌊
Both Nereus's fellow fishman and Kuma had already answered for him, so Ivankov said nothing further and lowered his oversized head toward Nereus.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me. This island is simply too dangerous..."
"It's nothing. Being cautious is normal. There really aren't many trustworthy people on this island. And don't worry—I'm only taking something from him temporarily. I'll return it afterward.
How old are you this year?"
Nereus looked at Kuma and asked a question no one present understood.
"Nine."
"Nine, huh? In that case... ten years should do. Once you're ready, relax. It won't take long."
Kuma nodded, then shut his eyes. As long as he couldn't see it, he wouldn't be afraid—a very human instinct.
Nereus casually placed a hand on Kuma and activated his ability.
A strange sensation instantly spread through Kuma's body. His bones ached with soreness, but it was still far from unbearable.
Compared with the suffering the Celestial Dragons had inflicted on him over the years, this pain was nothing.
Rip...
The undershirt on Kuma's body tore apart, revealing the solid physique underneath. Even at nine years old, Kuma had already been huge—but now he was on an entirely different scale.
"I... got bigger?"
Feeling his perspective shift, Kuma looked at his hands and sensed the changes in his body.
"Hee-haw... Kuma, you're... huge now..." 😲
Ivankov now had to look up at Kuma. After gesturing for comparison, he realized he didn't even reach Kuma's waist.
"Not bigger—older. I took ten years of his lifespan. Don't worry, I'll return it later."
The Vampire Fruit's use of lifespan was not as simple as cutting off a portion from the far end while leaving the body unchanged.
Someone whose lifespan was forcefully drained would normally age drastically, experiencing the passage of time in an instant.
But by slowing that process, Nereus could make the body continue growing along its natural trajectory—just at a much faster rate, effectively accelerating maturity.
That was Kuma's current state. Nereus had pushed him forward to age nineteen, helping him finish his developmental stage ahead of time.
Of course, such a method was unconventional and far inferior to natural growth. It was only being used as an emergency measure under these circumstances.
"You can feel it, can't you? The strength inside your current body is far greater than when you were still a child. Using your Devil Fruit ability should also come much more naturally now."
No matter the race, childhood meant incomplete development, and an adult body was always better at drawing out Devil Fruit abilities.
After all, using a Devil Fruit consumed stamina, and adults naturally had the advantage there.
This was especially obvious with Zoan Fruits. If a child ate one, the transformed animal form would also remain juvenile, leaving many abilities inaccessible.
An adult, by contrast, could immediately draw out much more complete power—provided they weren't Momonosuke, who was a special case of uselessness. 😅
At nineteen, Kuma was in the prime of youthful vitality. In this state, naturally, he could do much more.
"I can feel it. Thank you for your help. This way... I can save even more people."
A moment ago, Kuma had only been sending people away group by group.
After Nereus transformed him into a young adult through this method, Kuma immediately began working with both hands, sending people off the island at a much faster pace.
The Buccaneer race already carried giant blood in its lineage, and their racial traits were extraordinary recovery and endurance. Upon reaching adulthood, those qualities became even more remarkable.
"Little Ivan, Ginny, come on. I'll send you two away as well."
Originally, Kuma had wanted to send them off first, but both had chosen to stay with him until the end.
"Kuma, be careful too. Hurry and send yourself away afterward."
"Yeah, Kumaboy, we'll wait for you over there!" 🌟
Boom! Boom!
Two muffled sounds rang out as compressed air bubbles enveloped Ginny and Ivankov, launching them toward a safe island.
"Mr. Nereus, let me send you away too. But I've never been to Fish-Man Island, so I can only send you toward the South Sea."
The destination point for the Paw-Paw Fruit's teleportation had to be somewhere the user had personally visited. If Kuma himself had never been there, he naturally couldn't send anyone there.
"No need. I came to this island because I have business here. Just send this kid away."
This young-adult Kuma matched the image Nereus remembered far better—except for the clothing. Right now, Kuma looked more like some kind of shorts-wearing superhero.
"Lord Nereus, I..."
"My ship is too far away right now, and I don't have time to take you there myself. Go to a safe island first. We'll come pick you up and take you home later." 🚢
At an ordinary fishman's swimming speed, reaching the area where Nereus had arranged for the others to hide would take quite some time. And right now, large numbers of Marines and pirates were still converging on God Valley.
Using Kuma's ability to send away those with little combat ability was simply far more efficient.
Although picking him up later would also take some time, that was hardly a problem. Nereus had spent years sailing the seas anyway, often taking detours to handle other matters along the way.
This, too, was one of the ways Nereus sought to change the mindset of Fish-Man Island's people:
No matter where you were, as long as you were still one of their kind, your people would never abandon you.