— — — — — — —
Time...Always flies the fastest.
Four years? Gone in a blink.
Over those four years...The world changed.
And yet... it also didn't.
Clack!
Footsteps echoed as someone walked out of the lavish castle.
The Crystal Palace.
Meh...
Joey just chuckled at the name.
It was a birthday gift from his bratty little brothers and sisters.
According to them: 'Big bro's gonna be a king someday, right? He needs a palace!'
So...They built him the Crystal Palace.
Joey just laughed, shaking his head.
"Man... it's already been two years since this place was finished, but every time I see that name, it still feels weird," he said with a smile.
Gion walked up beside him. "Still not used to it?"
Four years...
Gion had long accepted her fate.
It is what it is.
She had come to terms with it.
Joey smiled warmly. "Yeah, still not totally used to it. Makes me sound like some perv who's obsessed with women."
Gion just chuckled silently.
Truth was...In all these years, Joey hadn't really added anyone new to the Crystal Palace.
Gion, Amaterasu, Garona— that was it.
---
Joey strolled to the pool in the courtyard.
He sat down on a lounge chair, casually picking up a book.
Four years had passed in peace.
He'd gotten used to it.
[Ding!]
Suddenly, an urgent video call request rang out over and over.
But...
Joey just smirked, a calm smile tugging at his lips. He acted like he didn't hear it at all.
Devil Fruits.
They weren't the same as they used to be.
The price? Ten times higher now.
After all...
Once the leaders of the multiverse races had stabilized... Devil Fruits had become more valuable than ever.
[Angel Clan Leader: "Charlotte Clan Leader! Answer the video call!"]
[Angel Clan Leader: "Charlotte Clan Leader! Pick up already!"]
"Aiya..." Joey sighed, reluctantly answering the call.
[Ding!]
A stunning woman with long golden hair appeared on screen, clearly frustrated.
Still, she smiled politely. "Charlotte Clan Leader, I accept your deal. I hope you will honor it."
Joey answered warmly, "Seventy Devil Fruits. Ten thousand Angel Clan members. And... one Divine Bone."
Back in the day?
That kind of price would've been insane.
But now? That was the market price.
After he spent 30 Devil Fruits to acquire the Dark Elves four years ago, Joey had raised the value of Devil Fruits sky high.
Why? Because he was the only one with access to them, the pieces of LAWS.
Simple. Easy.
A fast-track to power.
You want one? Pay my price.
Four years ago, he spent 30 Devil Fruits on the Dark Elves.
Three and a half years ago: 10 for the Trolls.
Three years ago: 5 for the Minotaurs.
Two years ago: 5 for the High Elves.
A year ago: 3 for the Werewolves.
Six months ago: 3 for the Lamia Tribe.
In total, over four years... He used 56 Devil Fruits to buy six entire races!
Now, he was offering the Angel Clan Leader a deal: 70 Devil Fruits for 10,000 young angels and one Divine Bone.
"Charlotte Clan Leader! That's impossible!" she snapped. "10,000 angels alone would cost 70 fruits! And you want a Divine Bone on top of that?!"
"No. No. No," Joey wagged a finger calmly. "You need to understand something. In all the multiverse, you are not the only Angel Clan Leader. But I am the only source of Devil Fruits. You know exactly what that means."
Nowadays...Top-tier races like Angels, Dragons, and Titans?
Market price: 70 Devil Fruits.
Mid-tier races like Behemoths, Mountain Giants? 5 Devil Fruits.
Low-tier races like Werewolves and Lamias? 3 Devil Fruits.
Fun fact: Joey even renamed Totto Land's angel-like clan to "Winged People."
Because honestly, they didn't deserve to be called Angels not even Sky People.
The Angel Clan Leader stayed quiet.
Even for her... Giving up a Divine Bone wasn't easy.
In terms of power scaling:
Silver Grade = Island-level destruction
Gold Grade = Planet-buster
Platinum Grade = Universe-level threat
Diamond Grade = Control over parallel universes
Crystal Grade = Travel freely through multiverses
So yeah, a divine bone that could boost someone to Diamond Grade level 9? Ridiculously rare.
"..."
"Fine!" She finally gave in, exhaling deeply. "Charlotte Clan Leader, I accept the deal."
"Pleasure doing business," Joey said with a smile.
And just like that, the call ended.
Not gonna lie, tricking that prideful woman felt pretty damn good.
Joey looked at the card in his hand—filled with baby-faced, two-winged angels. Cute, sure. But their average strength was only around Bronze Grade 3. Not impressive.
What Joey really cared about was the other thing: A bone glowing with divine light.
"Finally... a divine bone. Four years, and this is the first. Damn, this thing's really rare."
Joey didn't waste time. Skipped the pleasantries. Went straight to reading intel.
In the past four years, the family had powered up like crazy.
Bronze Grade 9 had become the new normal.
Daifuku, Oven, Opera, Mondee...
Basically anyone over 15 had hit Bronze 9 and was stuck there.
---
[Charlotte Cracker]
Status: One of Totto Land's Three Sweet Commanders
Strength: Silver Grade 2
Potential: Gold Grade 9
Abilities: Biscuit Fruit, Stand Guardian Knight
Notes: Hitting a wall due to age.
---
[Charlotte Katakuri]
Status: First of the Three Sweet Commanders
Strength: Silver Grade 3
Potential: Platinum Grade 9
Abilities: Mochi Fruit, Stand—Invincible Death
Notes: Near perfect. Knows too much, which ironically holds him back. Needs time to refine and breakthrough from all angles.
---
These were their stat sheets after four years.
Interestingly, Perospero and Compote had already broken through to Silver Grade 1.
But Cracker and Katakuri? Stalled due to age. They'd grown too strong too young. Now they needed time to stabilize.
As Joey read through everyone's data, he muttered: "Perospero, Compote—already Silver 1. Daifuku, Oven, Mondee, Amande, Hachée, Effilée, Opera, Counter, Cadenza, Cabaletta, Gala—all stuck at Bronze 9..."
I sighed, rubbing my temples.
"Katakuri, that punk. Too damn perfect. Stuck at Silver 3, but that's fine. Better to build a solid foundation for now.
Then Joey pulled up Mom's file.
---
[Charlotte Linlin]
Status: Family Mascot?!
Strength: Silver Grade 5
Potential: Platinum Grade 9
Ability: Soul-Soul Fruit
Notes: Comes off silly, but is a terrifying natural talent. She represents top-tier power. She's a true monster.
---
Joey smacked his lips. "Gotta admit... Mom's the real beast here. She barely trains, mostly just eats and naps. And yet, Silver Grade 5. That's the same level as Whitebeard, Shiki, and Roger—guys who fight daily. And she did it chilling at home? Insane."
Joey stared at the divine bone, thinking.
It was between Katakuri and Linlin.
Give it to Katakuri? No way. He still needed time to mature.
Eventually, he made the call.
"It's gotta be Mom. She's the best fit."
And with that, the bone vanished—fused right into her.
"Hm...?" Linlin murmured in her sleep.
Joey let out a deep breath. "With Mom's talent, she's gonna level up hard after this. But I can't let her slack anymore. I've gotta ride her ass every day from now on. Minimum goal? Silver Grade 7 within 10 years."
A lazy, snack-obsessed, couch-potato of a mother? Not on my watch.
10 years to Silver 7.
20 years to Silver 9.
30 years to Gold 1.
By then, we'd still have 50 years before the Dimensional Gate opened.
With her Diamond 9 potential, she could definitely hit Platinum 1.
"Mom!"
"Keep grinding for me!"
.
.
.