— — — — — —
The Next Day
Katakuri stepped into the study room and said, "Big Bro! These are all the Devil Fruits we've managed to collect this time."
Copy-Copy Fruit.
Steel-Steel Fruit.
Barbecue-Barbecue Fruit.
Smelt-Smelt Fruit.
One by one, he laid the four Devil Fruits out on the table.
"Big Bro!" "Big Bro!"
Suddenly, the door burst open with a burst of energy, and in ran three little girls with long legs and bubbly voices.
Charlotte Smoothie. Charlotte Citron. Charlotte Cinnamon.
The 14th, 15th, and 16th daughters of the Charlotte Family—triplet sisters.
Normally, as Linlin got stronger over time, her kids were born with better and better potential. But even then, most of them only started out with Silver-rank talent.
Joey had to use a bunch of Talent Pills just to bump them up to Gold-rank.
But Smoothie?
[Charlotte Smoothie]
→ Status: 14th Daughter of the Charlotte Family
→Strength: Bronze Rank 3
→Potential: Gold Rank 5
→Summary: Another absurdly talented member of the family! She's got top-tier potential and is definitely worth investing in.
---
Smoothie was born with Gold Rank 5 talent.
But Citron and Cinnamon? They were only Silver Rank 5.
That's the difference of Talent.
Joey smiled gently and asked, "Smoothie, Citron, Cinnamon… you three want to help the family in the future?"
Smoothie jumped up happily. "Of course! Of course! Of course!"Then she shouted excitedly, "I want to be just like Katakuri! I want to be a pillar of the family! Hehehe~"
Hearing that, both Katakuri and Joey smiled.
Citron and Cinnamon nodded thoughtfully. "Big Bro, we want to be like Sister Amande too! We want to be ministers!"
Joey looked at the three of them with a warm smile.
Honestly, Talent? Potential?
They're not everything.
Why? Because Joey can make up for that with the family system. What really matters is having the will to grow.
Without that drive, nothing else matters.
Looking gently at the girls, Joey said, "Smoothie, this Devil Fruit is for you."
Joey picked up one of the fruits from the table and placed it in front of her.
At the same time, Joey used the system to increase her potential.
Smoothie's potential instantly shot up to Gold Rank 9.
"Huh?" Katakuri blinked for a second, then nodded knowingly.
It was obvious—Big Bro truly had high hopes for Smoothie.
In the past four years, Joey had just five divine pills that could elevate one's potential to Gold 9. He gave one each to Perospero, Compote, Daifuku, and Oven.
And now, the final one went to Smoothie.
With Smoothie's situation handled, Joey turned to the other two. "Citron, Cinnamon—you know, the path of a Minister isn't easy. It's actually pretty exhausting. Are you ready for that challenge?"
"Mm!" "Yes!"
They both nodded seriously.
Seeing their determination, Joey smiled and pulled out two more Devil Fruits.
Juice-Juice Fruit and Oil-Oil Fruit.
Both are Paramecia-type Devil Fruits in the food category.
Not quite as strong as the Mochi-Mochi Fruit or the Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit, but still solid mid-tier Devil Fruits.
Joey handed the Juice-Juice Fruit to Citron. "Girl, this is the Paramecia-type Juice-Juice Fruit ! From today on, you're the Juice Minister of Bloodspring Town, land of the High Elves!"
Then Joey gave the Oil-Oil Fruit to Cinnamon. "This one's the Oil-Oil Fruit! From now on, you're the Oil Minister of Shadowspring Town, home of the Dark Elves!"
The three little girls eagerly chomped down on the Devil Fruits.
Crunch!
That infamous disgusting Devil Fruit taste made their faces twist up instantly.
Even with all their resolve—There's no escaping that awful flavor.
"Pfft…" Katakuri and Joey both chuckled.
Still, seeing their three little sisters choosing to grow and contribute to the family? It made them genuinely happy.
Joey then turned back to Smoothie with a warm smile.
"Smoothie—you better work hard and grow strong, okay? There are three Sweet Commanders. Right now we only have Katakuri and Cracker. That third spot… it's yours."
"Eh?!"
Smoothie's eyes widened in shock, totally caught off guard.
Big Bro was actually giving her the final Sweet Commander title?!
Clutching her flat chest like a proud little kid, she shouted, "Big Bro! I won't let you down! I'll prove it!"
Joey nodded, smiling. "I believe in you. And I believe in all three of you."
Then, Joey pulled out three long swords and handed one to each of them.
"These blades are called Battle, Guard, and Heal—Each one perfectly suited to you girls."
— — —
Just after the three little girls left, the door to the room was pushed open again.
In came three boys: Nusstorte, Basskarte, and Dosmarche.
Nusstorte called out, "Big bro! You wanted to see us?"
Joey nodded. "I've got a question for you guys. Your growth from now on is going to be really tough. "
"Are you planning to eat Devil Fruits? If not, I can help you find ways to improve through your forging techniques instead."
"Nope!"
Basskarte was the first to speak. "Big bro! I don't need any forging techniques. It's not about whether it's easier or harder—I just believe that if we work hard enough, we can make it on our own!"
"But we will take the devil fruits!"
"Pfft—hehehehe…"
Joey chuckled gently, "Aren't you greedy little devils."
Dosmarche scratched his head, grinning. "Big bro! Isn't that how it should be?"
Nusstorte crossed his arms confidently. "Big bro! We're family. Being greedy for strength is natural!"
"Hahaha!"
Joey and Katakuri couldn't help but laugh.
These little brats…Seriously making greed sound like the most natural thing in the world.
But hey—This isn't bad greed. This is the desire to grow. What's wrong with that?
With a warm smile, Joey nodded. "Of course. Here's the Devil Fruits— You guys take your time and figure out which ones suit you best."
"Alright!"
"You got it, big bro!"
The three brothers huddled together and began studying the fruits.
Steel-Steel Fruit. Barbecue-Barbecue Fruit. Smelt-Smelt Fruit.
All three are Devil Fruits with solid power and usefulness—definitely above average.
But whether it's for combat or forging—These are perfect matches.
Katakuri suddenly asked, "Big bro, are you planning to assign all the ministers before Totto Land is founded?"
Joey shook my head. "No rush. We can't just assign minister roles randomly. Plus, even though our siblings are old enough, they need to be clear on what they really want—like whether they're even willing to take on that responsibility."
Katakuri nodded.
Whether someone wants to grow...Or just wants to lie down and chill...
That makes a huge difference.
It's not something talent alone can fix.
"Um…"
Just then, a small figure came running in. A tiny, adorable little girl.
She looked like a forest spirit—Charlotte Melise.
The 17th daughter of the Charlotte family. A sweet child just born this year.
But—Being from the elf race, even as a newborn, Melise could already run around with ease.
Melise tugged at Joey's coat with sparkling eyes. "Big bro! Big bro! All the other brothers and sisters got Devil Fruits—I want one too! I wanna help too!"
"Come here," Joey said with a gentle smile, picking her up.
Joey softly stroked her silky hair, patting her on the head.
"And why do you want to eat a Devil Fruit, little one?" Joey asked kindly.
Melise pouted adorably."Big bro! I'm part of the family too, so I wanna help. But... I don't think I'm really ready to be a minister...?"
"Ughh—" She puffed her cheeks in frustration.
She was clearly troubled by what to do.
Joey nodded thoughtfully. "Well, if you're unsure, how about becoming a warrior?"
"Okay!"
The moment she heard that, she beamed and nodded excitedly.
Clearly, the little elf girl was totally on board with being a warrior.
Joey reached into the family crest and pulled out another Devil Fruit—A Paramecia-type: the Pocket-Pocket Fruit.
The four brats each ate their fruit.
---
17th Daughter: Charlotte Melise—Ate the Paramecia-type Pocket-Pocket Fruit.
13th Son: Charlotte Nusstorte—Ate the Paramecia-type Smelt-Smelt Fruit.
14th Son: Charlotte Basskarte—Ate the Paramecia-type Barbecue-Barbecue Fruit.
15th Son: Charlotte Dosmarche—Ate the Paramecia-type Steel-Steel Fruit.
Only, Basskarte, a dwarf, was appointed as the Minister of Barbecue of Iron Furnace Island and Iron Tower Town.
The others who had eaten Devil Fruits would serve as warriors in the Charlotte family's combat corps.
"Big bro!"
"We're heading out now!"
"Mm!"
Once again, only Joey and Katakuri remained in the study.
Katakuri sat down and chuckled."Big bro... seeing everything change with my own eyes like this—it's honestly really touching. Watching the family grow, seeing our siblings get stronger… that joy, that sense of pride—it's overwhelming."
Joey responded with a gentle smile.
...
After a while, Katakuri also left, leaving Joey alone once again.
"Hmm..." Joey sat in thought, going over the deals he'd made with certain people.
He was still waiting for two individuals to contact him:
Tony Stark & Uchiha Madara.
.
.
.