A Devil Fruit's true potential often depends entirely on its wielder's skill and imagination.
The old saying goes, there are no worthless fruits, only worthless users who cannot unlock their power.
This philosophy has merit, but consider another possibility. When an exceptional person obtains an exceptional fruit, don't they transcend ordinary limits?
Devil Fruits frequently offset human weaknesses while amplifying natural strengths. This principle extends well beyond Zoan-type abilities alone.
The Mini-Mini Fruit might not be considered a particularly powerful fruit by most standards, but it is one of the most suitable fruits for giants, as it can effectively compensate for the obvious flaws caused by their massive bodies.
Although the Mini-Mini Fruit shrinks the user's body dramatically, it retains their original strength while doing so.
Just imagine the devastating possibilities: when a giant's tremendous strength is compressed into an arm as small as a needle, no defense in this world could withstand the destruction brought by such concentrated power.
And while the body shrunk to tiny proportions, the total amount of Haki trained as a giant remained completely unchanged.
This meant Ripley's Haki reserves were dozens or even hundreds of times greater than those of an ordinary person. Even if the quality was slightly inferior due to her relative inexperience, the sheer quantity alone would be enough to make most opponents despair.
So Silas was not worried about the upcoming operation at all.
What concerned him was another crew member on his ship who needed guidance.
"Rocks, do you know why I am sending Ripley on this mission instead of you?"
"Because this is Elbaf's internal affair," Rocks replied with obvious frustration.
"Wrong. Because your strength is too weak. I am afraid you might accidentally get killed by those agents," Silas stated bluntly.
His words made Rocks's face flush red with embarrassment. He wanted to refute the harsh assessment but could not find grounds to do so. Because he truly was not as strong as Ripley right now.
"Do you know why I gave the Mini-Mini Fruit to Ripley instead of you?"
"Because she is stronger..." Rocks began reluctantly.
"Wrong again!" Silas shook his head, looking at Rocks with what appeared to be disappointment. "Because her potential is not enough!"
Rocks's eyes widened in shock. This was the first time he had heard Silas give such a sharp critique of Ripley.
"Rocks, let me ask you something important. Have you mastered the Six Powers?"
"Pretty much all of them," Rocks answered with growing confidence.
"What about Haki?"
"Not yet... but soon!" As if trying to prove something to himself, Rocks said loudly, "Just give me two more months, and I will definitely master Haki!"
"Fine, two months. I will even give you half a year. Rocks, do you think learning Haki will take you more than a year?"
Rocks shook his head firmly.
"Then what if I told you that Ripley has been practicing how to use Haki since she first met me ten years ago?"
"Uh..." Rocks was stunned into silence.
"Ripley spent ten years to barely grasp the basics of using Haki, while you will only need at most one year. Now do you understand the fundamental difference between you and Ripley?"
Rocks nodded silently, a new understanding dawning in his eyes.
Having always been surrounded by veteran pirates like Silas or giants like Ripley, Rocks had consistently felt anxious about his own strength. The more he improved, the more he could sense the gap between himself and his more experienced companions.
But after Silas's explanation, Rocks had a sudden realization. It was not that he was inadequate. It was that Silas and Ripley had been training far longer than he had.
"Rocks, what do you think has the greatest impact on determining strength?"
"Swordsmanship? Combat techniques? Or Devil Fruit abilities?"
"None of them!" Silas's eyes blazed with fervent light. "In this world, what has the greatest impact on strength is Haki! Only Haki reigns supreme over everything!"
Once, Silas had also believed that powerful fruit abilities would not lose to powerful natural talent and that being lucky enough to find a powerful fruit was also a form of strength.
Until one day, he learned that sufficiently powerful Haki could even nullify a Devil Fruit user's abilities completely.
Then he understood the truth. In this world, fruit abilities and swordsmanship were secondary concerns. Haki was the strongest force!
So after learning he did not have Conqueror's Haki, Silas had felt incredibly bitter and helpless, because the most top-tier Haki applications came from Conqueror's Haki users.
"With Haki, you can nullify any Paramecia, Zoan, or Logia fruit abilities!"
"With Haki, even if you do not know any swordsmanship, you can wield Supreme Grade swords that only master swordsmen can normally handle!"
"With Haki, no matter how powerful the enemy, they will kneel at your feet!"
Silas firmly patted Rocks's shoulder with conviction.
"Rocks, you know I have always had high hopes for you. From the first moment I saw you, I knew you had the potential to reach the absolute pinnacle!"
"Fruits do not matter at all. They are things only the weak rely upon. Even for me, if not for my insufficient natural talent, I would not eat this Mythical Zoan fruit even if it were given to me."
"Rocks, do you want to become the overlord of the seas only to have people say you achieved it through powerful fruit abilities?"
"No!" Rocks quickly shook his head with determination.
"Exactly. When we set sail in the future, we might encounter many fruits, but remember this always: only the weak eat fruits. The strong rely only on themselves!"
Seeing Rocks's solemn expression, finally emerging from his dejection and no longer dwelling on the fact that the fruit was given to Ripley, Silas finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The saying goes, "It is not poverty but inequality that troubles people." With Rocks's talent, he did not need to eat a fruit at all, but there was no stopping Rocks from overthinking the situation!
So while Rocks was still inexperienced, it was best to address this concern immediately. Even if he acquired fruits in the future, Silas would not need to explain too much.
Explanations were just cover-ups anyway.
Heaven knows, Silas had no intention of suppressing Rocks whatsoever. But having Rocks eat a fruit now would only scatter his focus without providing any meaningful benefits.
After all, most fruit abilities required day-after-day training to be truly effective. Like Ripley, who had just eaten the Mini-Mini Fruit, she could currently only make herself bigger and smaller. She was still far from mastering the fruit's full range of abilities.
Meanwhile, on the sea, after sailing nearly a hundred kilometers from Elbaf, the CP0 agents on the sailboat finally could not help but breathe a collective sigh of relief.
"This mission was really too dangerous," one muttered.
"Who would have thought White Wolf Silas was in Elbaf," another complained.
"Good thing Admiral Crimson Snake was there to distract him," the third added.
The three escapees from Elbaf were not worried about whether Rona could escape unscathed after her battle with Silas. That was not even a serious question in their minds.
Come on, if Silas could defeat a Marine Admiral, he would have long since become an overlord among pirates. Why would he be running around being chased by the Marines?
After relaxing their guard, the three did not notice the giant eagle that had been following them from a distance under cover of night. Nor did they see Ripley, only five millimeters tall, who had struggled to adjust her direction in the air and successfully landed on their ship using Elbaf's specialty techniques.
Finally waiting for all three CP0 agents to stand together in one location, Ripley unhesitatingly returned to her original size, bringing her massive fist down on the three unsuspecting agents.
One strike to decide victory!
[Chapter Complete]
***
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