It was an indescribable experience.
Like passing through an inexplicable passage—warm, moist, slippery, and utterly dark.
"It's like entering a black box, pitch-black all around with no boundaries in sight."
Moses walked forward, his feet stepping on a sticky liquid. After just two steps, he felt something beneath him.
Crouching down to touch it, he realized after a few seconds, "A snow chicken?"
In the pitch-black space, Moses' eyes flickered as a faint sense of suffocation crept in.
"Is the air thin?"
"So this space really is the 'quasi-dimensional stomach pouch' that comes with the Munch-Munch Fruit."
No matter how he moved, he couldn't find any edges. The faint smell of something like gastric acid—a corrosive gas—lingered in the space.
Outside,
Bear Cub's eyes sparkled with curiosity. He had a strange feeling—inside his own "digestive factory," Moses seemed to be pacing in place.
Shaking off the thought, Bear Cub followed Moses' earlier instructions, activating his "quasi-fusion" ability to merge Moses into his body and manifest him.
His body began to change.
Inside the dark space.
Staring into the surrounding darkness, Moses grew puzzled and fell into thought. "Can this place be broken?"
He released his Observation Haki, but it seemed blocked by something, unable to extend very far.
Just then, a pulling force acted on Moses, followed by a dizzying sensation.
Then—light.
Moses saw the snowy forest outside. He released his Observation Haki, sensing the way he existed now.
It was an incredibly peculiar feeling.
His heart was beating, yet it wasn't his own. The only part he could move was his face.
Moses realized the truth.
Only his head had been manifested—right on Bear Cub's chest.
"Ying?"
Bear Cub looked down at Moses' head protruding from his chest, his bear mouth curling upward.
Then, he pressed his right paw's pad against Moses' forehead and rubbed it playfully.
A dark line formed on Moses' forehead, but at the same time, an idea struck him.
"Bear Cub, can you fully manifest my body onto yours? Put my head on yours, my hands, feet, and torso—everything—onto your body?"
Bear Cub tilted his head in confusion, then activated his ability. The next moment, his left and right bear arms transformed into Moses' human arms.
Simultaneously, Moses felt his own arms—complete with sensation.
He tried to flex his fingers, but it was incredibly difficult, as if something was blocking the movement.
Soon, Moses sensed all his limbs one after another.
Even his field of vision had changed in height.
It was like suddenly growing taller.
And it wasn't an illusion.
Moses could tell his current height matched Bear Cub's when standing upright.
Though he could perceive everything, he still couldn't control his own body.
Bear Cub, however, was ecstatic. Standing upright on two legs, his arms and legs now completely different from before, walking felt much more convenient.
An unprecedented sense of novelty filled Bear Cub's heart.
"Rawr... Ying... Ha... Mo... Moses... Pa... Hehe... I... Wo... Human... Ying ying ying..."
Bear Cub opened his mouth, his bear face faintly showing traces of Moses' features.
On his head now grew slightly curly black hair.
From his mouth came sounds—broken, human speech.
Instantly, Bear Cub became even more excited, frolicking and running wildly through the snow, the clothes that had appeared on his body stretched taut.
Compared to Bear Cub's current playful antics,
Moses had a different sensation—his body felt altered, both familiar and strange.
It was as if something foreign had been embedded within him.
No, that wasn't quite right. It was more accurate to say that he himself had been embedded into something else.
Breath.
Bear Cub's breathing was vastly different from his own in efficiency.
With each rise and fall of breath,
As this merged state continued, Moses' mind gradually calmed, and a luminous panel projected into his vision.
Moses examined the panel before him. The Bestowed Ability section showed no new abilities.
But this was hardly surprising.
After all, life's history and experiences must first be lived before they accumulate.
Meanwhile, the ever-changing scenes in his vision indicated Bear Cub was still frolicking about. Yet Moses noticed that the luminous panel projected onto his retina went completely unnoticed by Bear Cub.
Moses wasn't particularly surprised by this.
Not seeing it was normal.
If Bear Cub could see it,
"Then it would only mean the Devil Fruit's hierarchy is 'higher' than my 'orb.'"
But clearly, that wasn't the case now.
Setting aside further speculation,
Moses focused his mind and entered a state of Unity of Heaven and Man, relying on that sense of connection with all things in nature.
He perceived a peculiar frequency vibration, though it differed from the one he emitted himself.
It was as if two distinct "consciousnesses" now existed within one body—his own consciousness being the "secondary" while Bear Cub's was the "primary."
"But the current situation is unique."
"Our bodies could be said to have merged into one."
Moses began observing that frequency vibration. In the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, he gradually aligned his own frequency vibration with Bear Cub's.
Matching, merging—slowly, the frequency vibration Moses represented became identical to Bear Cub's.
Once identical, interaction began.
They started intertwining.
The next moment, as Bear Cub was happily running through the snowy woods, his left foot suddenly halted uncontrollably, causing his entire "body" to flip sideways.
Face-first into the snow.
But what he didn't notice was that not only had he lost control of his left foot, but his breathing had also changed.
Moses' eyes lit up—he had seized control of the merged body's respiratory function. With each rise and fall of breath, as he guided Qi Circulation Throughout the Body, control over the right leg, left hand, right hand—all bodily functions—returned to him.
Moses stood up and rubbed his face.
The next moment, Bear Cub began speaking through the mouth, "Yip yip, what happened to me?"
So complete dominance hadn't been achieved? That made sense, since he wasn't the primary consciousness.
Simultaneously, Moses also spoke through the mouth, laughing, "Nothing much. I just took control of the body. I've discovered this is one drawback of the Munch-Munch Fruit when merging with living creatures."
"Because inanimate objects have no consciousness and can't fight you for control after merging, but living beings can."
"Also, my situation is special. Normally, if another creature tries to compete with you for control of the body, you can simply spit them out or imprison them in that 'dark stomach space,' then digest them and reform them later."
"But now, because of the State of Oneness I attained through Breath, our merged bodies have entered a deeper level of fusion due to my further interference. And since I'm stronger than you, I took over control of this body."
"Ying, so... that's how it is, ying! What the heck!"
Bear Cub spoke human words through its mouth, utterly astonished. At the same time, Moses was equally surprised as he looked at his own hand.
Having suppressed Bear Cub's consciousness, he now dominated the fused body. A sense of instinct emerged.
Moses began to walk, reaching out to steady himself against a nearby pine tree. Suddenly, his mouth opened unnaturally wide, and he took a huge bite out of the tree.
Crunch!
With a twist of his head, he tore off a large chunk of the trunk, chewing vigorously before swallowing it a few seconds later. A completely different taste experience flooded his senses.
"Hmm, how should I put it? Such a refreshing texture, almost like eating pine nuts."
As he spoke, his left hand began to transform into a short sword. Gazing at the Swift Blade he had forged some time ago—which Bear Cub had eaten—now reappearing before his eyes, Moses chuckled.
The short sword reverted to his left hand.
"Moses, so... this is how it feels when you... breathe. So... amazing, so... comfortable."
Bear Cub's words came out haltingly as it experienced, from another "perspective" within the fused state, the subtle changes happening inside its body with each breath.
"Then you better focus and memorize it well. This is a rare opportunity—take full advantage of our merged state to truly understand our Breath."
"Ying, okay."
Bear Cub spoke through its mouth.
Moses found it incredibly amusing—one mouth producing two distinct voices—as he continued walking through the snowy forest in search of crows.
Feeling his stamina depleting rapidly, Moses raised an eyebrow. "Is merging with a living creature this exhausting?"
"Ying... Compared to transforming into a weapon... it's much more tiring."
Hearing Bear Cub's response, Moses understood. Then, his expression froze. "Bear Cub, why do I feel like you're speaking more fluently now?"
Bear Cub looked equally bewildered. "Ying, I don't know. After merging with you, I could suddenly speak human words. Now, somehow, it's becoming even more natural."
Moses didn't need to think hard.
As their bodies fused more deeply—and given that this was a human form—Bear Cub had spent its entire life with Moses and Kureha. The subconscious influence had taken hold, and with more practice, Bear Cub's speech naturally improved.
"Alright, spit me out now. Otherwise, you'll collapse from exhaustion, and I'll have to carry you back."
"Okay."
Moses cleared his mind and relinquished control of the body. The next moment, Bear Cub took over, and Moses felt his vision darken as the world spun around him. In an instant, he found himself in a pitch-black space.
But within seconds,
Once again, he felt something grab his body, followed by a sudden sense of weightlessness. Light flooded his vision as Moses' head emerged from Bear Cub's mouth, his body being pulled out by Bear Cub's right paw.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Moses checked himself inside and out—no sticky or damp sensations.
The experience had gone smoothly.
Watching Bear Cub revert to his usual bear-like appearance, Moses stepped forward and pinched his cheek. "How do you feel?"
Bear Cub blinked, opening his mouth: "Ah~ ying~ wu~ okay~ aow~"
Then he scratched his head, looking displeased, muttering "ying ying ying" under his breath, puffing out his cheeks before plopping down on the ground.
Amused, Moses ruffled Bear Cub's head. "The Munch-Munch Fruit should allow you to alter your skeletal structure through self-cannibalism. Why don't you give it a try?"
"You haven't forgotten the feeling of our earlier fusion, have you?"
"Try adjusting your throat structure on your own—see if you can speak human words. After all, your vocal cords are quite versatile."
Bear Cub suddenly lifted his head, eyes bright with excitement. Immediately, his lower jaw stretched upward as he began gnawing—first his nose, then his head, followed by his rear. A few more bites later, all that remained was a white, furry ball.
Listening to the chewing sounds coming from the ball, Moses watched with interest—he wasn't entirely sure if this would work.
Success would be ideal.
Failure wouldn't be the end of the world.
There would always be other solutions in the future.
For some reason, Bear Cub's self-cannibalizing process took an unusually long time, the sounds of chewing rising and falling intermittently.
What Moses didn't know was that inside the furry ball, Bear Cub was devouring himself while recalling the changes in his body during fusion—the humanoid form he and Moses had shared, the subtle adjustments Moses had made to their body through Breath after taking control, and the sensation of speaking with Moses.
Driven by longing, he used his ability to reshape his bones and internal structure.
Crack! Crack!
Hearing the grinding of bones from within the furry ball, Moses frowned. "No idea what's happening in there."
Still, he wasn't overly concerned.
Time ticked by, and with Bear Cub still not finished, Moses sighed in resignation.
He paced around the furry ball, surveying the surrounding trees.
The variety here was impressive.
His senses also picked up numerous living creatures nearby.
Moses scanned the environment, continuously sensing his surroundings as he walked through the woods.
After a full circle, he still found no trace of the crow.
Returning to Bear Cub, he noticed the chewing sounds had nearly ceased.
Then, the white fur ball began to unfurl.
The next moment, Moses' eyes widened in surprise at the sight before him—Bear Cub now stood upright on two legs.
He looked like a shrunken Panda-man, standing at about 1.7 meters tall with a plump figure.
Black nose, black eye patches, black ears, black arms and legs—the rest was pure white.
Mink Tribe.
The name of a race flashed through Moses' mind.
But there were differences—for instance, Bear Cub's hands retained the Panda's "pseudo" sixth digit.
Bear Cub bounced in place, scratching his ear with his right hand before rubbing his face.
Grinning widely, he examined his completely altered skeletal structure and spoke:
"Ying ying ying… human."
Moses raised an eyebrow, locking eyes with Bear Cub before enunciating clearly:
"Me… me. Me. Me."
Bear Cub blinked at Moses, staring at his mouth, then opened his own and cried out:
"Oooh. Oh. Wo. Me."
Moses: "Say it."
Bear Cub: "Woof!"
Shooting him an exasperated look, Moses said, "I'll teach you to speak as we walk. First, let's go find the crow."
Bear Cub nodded: "Ooo~"
Following beside Moses, he tried mimicking the words Moses spoke.
Every now and then, he'd bite his tongue.
Or strange, meaningless sounds would tumble from his mouth.
Or he'd get so frustrated he'd just open his mouth and let out a string of "Ying ying ying."
Moses didn't find it annoying at all. In fact, he found teaching Bear Cub quite amusing.
He treated it as a warm-up exercise.
The two of them ran all over the mountains and fields, searching for birds.
"Caw~~"
An hour later, they stopped beneath a tree when an extremely hoarse bird call rang out.
Moses looked up.
A bird's nest sat among the top branches.
A flash of black and white caught his eye.
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PS: Some effects of the Munch-Munch Fruit are based on the original principles but with some secondary creative liberties, which still hold reasonable grounds.
Regarding stomach space, the original work didn't elaborate beyond the term "Munch-Munch Factory," so it's reasonable to infer some spatial effects might be involved.