Chapter 4: Further Developments in the One Piece World
Ultimately, after pondering for a short while, Erza still decided to consume a Devil Fruit.
Compared to the drawback of being unable to swim, she preferred having the absolute power required to protect her guild comrades.
Because of this, Yumesaki handed a comprehensive Devil Fruit manifest over to Erza. The list detailed the exact functions of each type of fruit so Erza could look through and choose for herself.
The More More Fruit might be a good fit for Erza, but it certainly wasn't the only option available.
This was also the first time Erza realized that there were so many different categories of Devil Fruits.
At this point, even Mirajane and Cana found themselves profoundly shocked.
"Paramecia, Zoan, Logia... this is honestly too absurd," Cana couldn't help but voice her thoughts. "On top of that, these Zoan fruits can actually let a user transform into a Qilin or an Azure Dragon? Isn't that a bit too ridiculous?"
Mirajane also couldn't help but nod along in agreement, which only fueled her growing curiosity regarding Yumesaki's background.
Given that Devil Fruits possessed such astronomical power, why had she never heard of their existence until now?
Could it be that Yumesaki wasn't actually from this continent, but from an entirely undiscovered one across the ocean?
Yumesaki had no idea that Mirajane had thought through so many possibilities in such a brief window of time. He spoke softly to Erza, "Don't overwhelm yourself. You can actually choose more than one fruit. Just pick a few that catch your eye and let me know."
"Huh? You can actually choose more than one?"
Cana's interest was piqued once again. If it was truly possible to select multiple fruits, then eating a few simultaneously would mean her power would skyrocket, wouldn't it? With that kind of boost, passing the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial would be practically guaranteed.
This was an incredible shortcut.
"Hey, Yumesaki, can I pick some too?"
Cana's gaze turned incredibly soft and watery as she looked at Yumesaki, her voice intentionally shifting into a sweet, coaxing tone.
"Sure you can, but are you absolutely sure you have enough money to afford them?" Yumesaki said playfully. "Keep in mind that these things aren't cheap by any means. A single fruit costs at least tens of millions of Jewels."
The currency in the One Piece world was Belly, but this world wasn't One Piece; it was Fairy Tail.
The currency utilized here was Jewels.
The purchasing power of Jewels was exceptionally high. For example, in the original timeline, Lucy rented an entire standalone apartment in the town where Fairy Tail was located, and the monthly rent hovered around tens of thousands of Jewels.
Given that Magnolia Town, where Fairy Tail resided, was a magical trading hub with a long, storied history, property values certainly weren't cheap.
From this, it was evident that the purchasing power of Jewels was immense, far eclipsing that of Belly.
Therefore, charging tens of millions of Jewels for a genuine Devil Fruit provided by Yumesaki was actually an incredibly fair bargain.
Upon hearing that staggering price tag, Cana's burning enthusiasm instantly withered away, and her gaze snapped right back to reality.
To put it into perspective, for a regular mission she completed, the reward money she pulled in only ranged around a hundred thousand Jewels, or at most a few hundred thousand. Requests carrying rewards in the millions were strictly S-Class tier assignments.
She didn't even possess the baseline qualifications to accept those jobs.
Consequently, tens of millions of Jewels was an astronomical figure way out of her league.
One year? No, forget one year—even in three years, she wouldn't necessarily be able to scrape together that much cash.
"Hey, hey, hey, that is way too expensive."
Hearing Cana's complaint, Yumesaki countered, "It is a bit pricey, but tell me honestly, does the power you gain not match the price tag?"
Cana fell silent, clamping her mouth shut. If a Devil Fruit truly granted the kind of absurd power Yumesaki had described, a price of tens of millions of Jewels wasn't expensive at all, and the number of wealthy people capable of buying them out would be as plentiful as the hairs on a cow.
It was just that those wealthy elites didn't include a broke mage like her.
"Hey, is there any way you could give a slight discount?" Cana asked, a bit unwilling to let it go.
"It's not entirely out of the question. Out of respect for a fellow guildmate, how about ten million Jewels flat per fruit?"
"Forget it, ten million Jewels is still way too much." Cana shook her head, ultimately giving up entirely since she truly was flat broke.
On the other hand, Erza's eyes shone brightly. She carefully put away the Devil Fruit list, intending to review every single entry in meticulous detail once she got back to her room.
As for Mirajane, she found herself drawn toward the Strong Strong Fruit and a fruit capable of instantaneous teleportation.
Those two fruits seemed like an immaculate match for her younger brother.
With these two powers in his possession, it wasn't impossible for her brother to rise to the level of an S-Class Mage as well.
It was just that twenty million Jewels was a sum that a normal person simply couldn't shoulder on a whim.
Perhaps it was time for her to start brainstorming new ways to rake in serious money.
By evening, under Erza's direct guidance, Yumesaki managed to secure a house located along a street with an exceptionally scenic view within the town, establishing it as his personal residential base.
Regarding the upfront payment, Erza had initially intended to cover the expenses for Yumesaki, knowing he had just arrived in this world and wouldn't possess any local currency.
However, Yumesaki politely declined her offer. While he lacked the specific currency of this world, he carried an asset that held universal value across practically any dimension.
Gold.
This material retained immense worth in almost any world where human civilization thrived.
Thus, with Erza's assistance, Yumesaki produced a portion of his gold reserves to exchange for local currency, purchasing the property with absolute ease.
Yes, he bought it outright rather than renting. Yumesaki had zero interest in renting a place; owning a home was deeply important to him.
After all, people from his homeland carried a deeply rooted cultural attachment to property ownership—no matter where they traveled, they always desired a home they could truly call their own.
This world was no exception to that rule.
However, when night fell, Yumesaki didn't remain in the Fairy Tail world.
Instead, he slipped back temporarily to the One Piece world to pay a visit to Vegapunk.
Vegapunk greeted him warmly, "It has been quite some time, Mr. Yumesaki. What brings you to see me today?"
Yumesaki replied, "I have a friend who is looking to acquire a Devil Fruit, so I came over to collect a few from your stores."
Vegapunk understood instantly, promptly leading Yumesaki toward the primary storage vault.
Inside the vault sat massive, neatly organized stacks of Artificial Devil Fruits manufactured by his own hands.
They were available in a vast array of varying types.
Every single fruit here was the proud product of Vegapunk's advanced research. Whenever he found himself running low on funding, Vegapunk would occasionally release a tiny fraction of them for public sale; after all, in the eyes of the global populace, these items were highly coveted treasures.
This brilliant business model ensured that Vegapunk never had to suffer from headaches regarding research funding for his ongoing experiments.
After all, the sheer number of wealthy elites in the One Piece world was astronomical.
Hearing that Yumesaki had come to gather Devil Fruits, Vegapunk graciously extended a hand, granting him complete freedom to take as many as he could physically carry away.
Yumesaki didn't waste time on empty pleasantries either, carefully selecting several specimens from every available category of Devil Fruits before preparing to make his departure.
Before leaving, Yumesaki also took a moment to ask Vegapunk about the current state of affairs across the One Piece world.
Vegapunk remarked, "Though the overall state of the world remains in a degree of chaotic transition, everything is steadily progressing toward a much brighter future."
He informed Yumesaki that even though the Celestial Dragons and Imu had been thoroughly overthrown, because Yumesaki had left the ultimate choices entirely to the inhabitants of the One Piece world rather than instating a regime through absolute force...
The current global climate of the One Piece world remained somewhat disorganized and chaotic.
However, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon, had successfully capitalized on this window of opportunity to strike a monumental accord with the Marine Fleet Admiral, Sengoku.
Throughout this delicate negotiation process, Nico Robin had also contributed an immense amount of vital legwork.
The two major factions had collaborated to establish an entirely new World Government, extending invitations to nations across the globe to join this updated collective. They also provided ironclad guarantees to completely abolish the extortionate Heavenly Tribute system and permanently strip away all historic privileges previously held by the Celestial Dragons.
No individual was permitted to claim the title of a Celestial Dragon, and the system itself was strictly forbidden from re-emerging under any alternative guise.
By now, a vast multitude of nations had already made the definitive choice to join this new World Government entity.
For instance, the Ryugu Kingdom stood out as one of the most proactive and enthusiastic parties leading the charge to integrate.
However, a select handful of nations preferred to adopt a cautious, wait-and-see approach, choosing to observe further developments before formally committing to the alliance.
Neither Dragon nor Sengoku chose to enforce compliance upon those hesitant nations; instead, the two leaders actively directed each country's focus toward preparing for the impending global calamities forecasted for the future.
Meanwhile, on the Marine front, a massive internal purge was underway to rectify the lingering structural sins inherited from past eras.
For example, back when the old World Government still held absolute sway, a considerable number of personnel within the Marine ranks had aligned themselves entirely with the corrupted regime, and no small amount of officers had engaged in heavy corruption, accepting bribes, colluding with notorious pirate syndicates, and the like.
Faced with these rampant infractions in the past, Sengoku had historically been forced to turn a blind eye, simply pretending not to notice.
This compromise existed because the Marines were utterly dependent on the massive financial backing provided by the old World Government.
But now that the ancient regime had completely crumbled into dust, the Marines could finally begin scrubbing away the deep-seated filth dwelling within their own internal ranks.
Several factions that had crossed the line far too egregiously in the past were now designated as the primary targets of this sweeping legal crackdown.
Monkey D. Garp had become the sharpest, most unyielding blade utilized to prune away these parasites down to the very roots.
As a direct consequence, the baseline purity and moral integrity within the Marine institution had experienced an unprecedented surge.
As for the former Admiral Zephyr, though he chose not to officially reintegrate into the formal Marine hierarchy, he still continued to pour his entire soul into eradicating the remaining pirate elements roaming the open seas.
Having successfully restored his physical health to his absolute prime, Zephyr traveled across the four seas to systematically crush piracy. Aside from the established territories of the remaining Yonko, practically every pirate crew carrying a notable bounty had been thoroughly dismantled by his hands.
Regarding the prominent Yonko factions—such as Kaido, Whitebeard, and Charlotte Linlin—because they maintained relatively close ties to Yumesaki, they were completely omitted from the Marines' high-priority purge lists.
In contrast, one of the reigning Yonko, Red-Haired Shanks, had actually found himself entangled in intense physical skirmishes with Zephyr on several distinct occasions, and he consistently failed to secure a decisive victory over the veteran.
Because Zephyr had consumed multiple Devil Fruits simultaneously, his raw combat output had skyrocketed to a tier that allowed him to exchange blows completely evenly with Shanks in high-octane battles.
This development naturally left Shanks feeling incredibly frustrated and helpless.
After absorbing Vegapunk's detailed breakdown, Yumesaki now possessed a solid grasp of the general trajectory of the One Piece world.
Even though the vast oceans remained in a state of flux, the overall situation was undeniably mending and improving with each passing day.
This sort of gradual transition was actually completely normal.
Even though Yumesaki had personally eliminated the Celestial Dragons and Imu, that feat alone couldn't magically instantly transform the global rule of law into a perfectly orderly, structured paradise overnight.
After all, every individual possessed their own unique ideologies, personal desires, and political demands.
Unifying all those disparate voices into a single, cohesive collective was an incredibly monumental task.
The structural transition from chaotic upheaval to stable order simply demanded a vast amount of time.
In this regard, Dragon and Sengoku were executing their roles remarkably well, gradually shifting the world's axis step by careful step.
Perhaps within the next year or two, the entire globe would settle into a state of profound, uninterrupted peace.
When that pivotal era finally arrived, the unified global population could pool their collective might to confront the apocalypse and save their world from destruction.
Reflecting on this, Yumesaki felt a deep sense of relief, concluding that the immense effort he had invested had truly been worth it.
Once his conversation with Vegapunk concluded, Yumesaki departed from the One Piece world with a satisfied heart, slipping right back into the world of Fairy Tail.
By the time he returned to the Fairy Tail universe, daylight had already broken, signaling the arrival of a brand-new day.
Yumesaki washed his face, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and leisurely stepped out of his house to scout out a decent breakfast stall in the neighborhood to sample the local culinary specialties of this world.
He settled on a cup of milk harvested from an unidentified animal species, paired with a massive, hearty meat pie.
The milk carried a uniquely tangy yet sweet flavor profile, which proved exceptionally effective at sharpening his appetite.
Initially, Yumesaki had assumed that some sort of additional processing ingredients had been stirred into the milk, but after chatting with the stall owner, he discovered that the beverage was an entirely natural, unadulterated raw product.
A naturally occurring yogurt?
That was an incredibly bizarre concept; for a moment, Yumesaki didn't even know how to properly formulate a comment regarding the matter.
Since when could the term yogurt be accurately described as an unadulterated, natural raw phenomenon straight from an animal?
But considering that this was a full-fledged magical world where all manner of exotic, mystical beasts existed, an animal producing milk that naturally mirrored the consistency of yogurt didn't seem entirely beyond the realm of possibility.
Yumesaki eventually rationalized the concept to himself.
After thoroughly enjoying his morning meal, Yumesaki turned his steps toward the Fairy Tail guild hall.
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