When the fruit Luffy held up appeared on the screen, the entire world gasped.
"(Present) Kizaru: Eh? A Devil Fruit? And he's just giving it away? No wonder Luffy became an Admiral—his horizons were opened early!"
"(Original) Five Elders: What?! Does he even know what that fruit represents? And he's actually planning to give it away?"
"(Original) Shanks: So in that world, I really did leave this fruit behind… Now the Marines have the upper hand. I just hope that this Marine named Robert doesn't realize how special that fruit is. As long as he doesn't know, things might not get too bad… Only a handful of people know its true nature."
Shanks in the original world had only learned the true identity of the fruit due to his special status.
"(Present) Sengoku: Do you really think you're the only one who knows? Commissar Robert already told Luffy."
"(Original) Kaido: Huh? What's so special about this Devil Fruit? Isn't it just a Paramecia-type? If it's not a Mythical Zoan, then why even bother talking about it?"
"(Original) Luffy: Eh? It's just a Rubber Fruit! I already ate it—it's nothing special!"
"(Present) Luffy: So they never told you what fruit you actually ate. The Shanks you admired kept the truth from you. That's the limitation of pirates—they hide things and aren't honest."
"(Original) Luffy: Don't insult Shanks! Shanks would never lie to me! He already told me—this is the Rubber Fruit!"
"(Present) Luffy: You idiot. If it was just a Rubber Fruit, why would Shanks steal it from a Celestial Dragon's transport ship?"
"(Original) Luffy: WHERE ARE YOU?! I'M GONNA BEAT YOU UP!"
Luffy from the original world was furious.
His other self had insulted Shanks.
"(Present) Luffy: You wouldn't stand a chance. You don't even know what your fruit is—how can you possibly defeat me?"
The two Luffys started arguing.
But it was clear—Admiral Luffy was much more mature.
Pirate Luffy was still like a child.
Vote +1 for Admiral Luffy.
+1.
+1.
More and more people, seeing the clear contrast between the two, started voting for Admiral Luffy.
Soon, the votes were tied.
In the original world, Garp frowned.
"Wait… what exactly is different about this fruit?"
Sengoku shook his head.
"I don't know."
Shanks had made things even more suspicious by his reaction.
Now, everyone was curious—what was so special about this fruit?
"OH?"
Robert stopped walking.
"You know what this is?"
Little Luffy grinned widely, showing his baby teeth.
"No idea!"
"This is called a Devil Fruit! If you eat it, you'll become more powerful."
"Now that I've told you, do you still want to give it to me?"
Robert asked with a smile.
"Yes!" Luffy answered without hesitation.
"Then let me tell you again—this is the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika. It is an extremely rare and extremely powerful Devil Fruit."
"If you eat it, you'll become super powerful in the future."
"Do you still want to give it to me?"
"YES!" Little Luffy nodded again, without a moment's doubt.
Robert laughed.
"Interesting. Remember the name of this fruit. Now I'm giving it back to you. Eat it."
"(Original) Shanks: WHAT?! He actually knows the real name of this fruit?! If he knew, why didn't he take it?! That's the power of the Sun God!"
"(Present) Shanks: Because he didn't care about that power."
"(Original) Garp: Shanks… so you already knew what the fruit was? Why didn't you tell Luffy?"
"(Present) Garp: Haha! That's the difference—Commissar Robert is transparent and honest. This is what separates a Marine from a pirate!"
"(Original) Five Elders: DAMN IT! That man actually publicly revealed the real name of the so-called 'Rubber Fruit'! We spent centuries hiding the truth!"
"(Present) Five Elders: Robert never took us seriously. He knew this was a forbidden Devil Fruit under the World Government's watch, and he still refused to hand it over!"
"(Original) Luffy: WHAT?! I've been yelling 'Gomu Gomu no Mi!' for years, and now you tell me it's actually the Nika Fruit?!"
"(Present) Luffy: Do you believe me now? Shanks never told you the truth."
"(Current) Hina: Luffy Admiral was so silly and cute when he was little!"
"(Current) Smoker: Luffy Admiral, you were way too naive. If you hadn't met Commissar Robert, someone would have stolen your Devil Fruit a long time ago!"
"(Present) Luffy: …"
So.
The Sun God's Devil Fruit was outright rejected by Robert.
Seeing that Robert didn't want it, Little Luffy reluctantly ate it himself.
"BLEH! THIS TASTES TERRIBLE!"
For the first time in his life, Luffy, the bottomless eater, found something disgusting.
He nearly spat it out.
Robert frowned.
"Don't waste food."
Luffy's face scrunched up.
"Huh?"
But Robert's words carried weight, and so, with great difficulty, he forced himself to swallow the entire fruit.
"(Original) Luffy: He's a madman! He ate the whole thing even though it tasted awful!"
"(Original) Sengoku: He actually ate the entire Devil Fruit?"
All the Devil Fruit users in the original world shuddered.
They had experienced it themselves.
They knew just how horrible Devil Fruits tasted.
"(Present) Sengoku: What's so strange about that? Commissar Robert strictly prohibits wasting food. Here, all Devil Fruits must be completely consumed."
"It seems like your ideological discipline is lacking."
"Do you even understand what it means that every grain of rice is hard-earned? No wonder you can't compare to our Marines. You guys really need a Commissar."
"(Original) Garp: No wonder my grandson became an Admiral in that world. The standards set by Commissar Robert are insanely high."
Seeing that Luffy had finished eating, Robert nodded in satisfaction.
Then, he patted Little Luffy on the shoulder.
"Are you interested in becoming an excellent Marine?"
End of the Chapter.