Kuma looked at Zaki in front of him, his eyes suddenly moist.
The thin and haggard Zaki was using all his strength to hold back the towering woman in front of him, urging Kuma to eat the Devil Fruit without hesitation.
Kuma swallowed the fruit in one gulp. The moment he did, his mind spun as if a violent earthquake had shaken his very soul.
Soft paw-like pads formed on his palms—the unmistakable sign of the Paw-Paw Fruit he had just consumed.
Zaki was already unconscious and could no longer see Kuma's change. Otherwise, he would have noticed that Kuma's entry ability had transformed:
Paw-Paw Fruit (Gold) [Unique]
The original "Potential to awaken Paw-Paw Fruit" had disappeared. He was now its true user.
Charlotte Linlin (Big Mom) watched the children eat the Devil Fruit and lost any intention of harming them.
Whenever she saw children under ten years old, it reminded her of her childhood companions and those fleeting days of happiness.
But then she looked down at Zaki.
The boy was emaciated, muttering weakly, "Meat… meat… meat…"
Linlin stared at Zaki's face, and something seemed to click. Her body trembled as a flash of realization struck her, though she couldn't fully understand why this child unsettled her so much.
Zaki, delirious with hunger, bit down on Linlin's leg. Yet, despite using all his strength, his teeth couldn't even scratch her iron-like skin.
As Linlin stood dazed, Kuma, Ginny, and Ivankov stepped in front of her.
Kuma gritted his teeth and yanked the crude bow and arrow from his back—his only weapon.
Ginny and Ivankov each grabbed stones from the ground.
The three of them stood, trembling but defiant, before Linlin, who was 880 cm tall. Even Kuma, the tallest of the three, was barely the height of her boots.
He shouted, his voice quivering but resolute, "Let go of our partner!"
Their desperate cries snapped Linlin out of her thoughts. She looked at the three tiny figures before her and at Zaki clinging to her calf, gnawing without success.
After a brief silence, Linlin sighed. She removed the pink waist bag from her belt and opened it, revealing a bento box full of meat.
Without a word, she pulled Zaki off her leg and tossed him into the bag.
The unconscious Zaki's eyes glowed red. The moment he smelled the meat, he dove into the pile of food, devouring bones and all.
Linlin watched him eat with a complicated expression. After a moment of hesitation, she straightened her massive frame and said firmly:
"The upcoming battle is too dangerous. I can't bring this child with me."
She turned to Kuma and the others. "I'm leaving. Tell him I'll come back for him."
Meanwhile, Rocks and Saint Figarland Garling were still locked in combat on the beach.
The Rocks Pirates had strength in numbers, with formidable cadres clashing against the Knights of God. Even so, Garling's presence alone was enough to stall them.
Massive chunks of rock floated through the air, smashing into the knights as they tried to defend themselves. Finally, one knight managed to block a boulder—only to see Shiki crouching on it. With a swift slash, Shiki cut the knight in half.
Nearby, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a golden mane—Edward Newgate —raised his naginata, Murakumogiri. A white halo of destructive energy formed around the blade. With a mighty swing, he unleashed a quake-powered shockwave.
The entire Valley of the Gods shook violently, and the ground split apart.
But amidst the chaos, none noticed that the senior officers aboard Rocks' ship were disappearing one by one.
Only the lower-ranking crew remained fighting the Knights of God.
These infamous pirates had joined Rocks not out of loyalty or a shared dream of conquest, but to pursue their own ambitions.
Now that Rocks had openly declared war on the World Government, none of the cadres intended to be dragged down with him.
The island's violent tremors jolted Zaki awake. He opened his eyes to see Ginny tending to him.
Zaki held his head, trying to recall what had just happened, but his memory was fuzzy. All he remembered was copying Linlin's talent—and feeling unbearably hungry afterward.
"Zaki, don't you remember? You just…" Ginny began.
"Really? Food cravings?" Zaki muttered, frowning. After listening to Ginny's explanation, he shrugged it off. Compared to raw power, something like an uncontrollable appetite was a tolerable side effect.
In truth, Linlin's Food Cravings (Dark Gold) entry meant not just a big appetite, but a relentless, almost monstrous hunger for energy. It was the ultimate version of gluttony, and its quality had already reached its limit—no further upgrades were possible.
Still, he could consider fusing "Food Cravings" with his "Big Eater" entry, maybe even finding another entry to cancel the side effects.
He recalled the point system:
White: 1 point
Blue: 10 points
Purple: 100 points
Gold: 1,000 points
Dark Gold: 10,000 points
Copying entries required no points—only available slots—but fusing them depended on compatibility and required extra points. For example, the compatibility between Food Cravings (Dark Gold) and Big Eater (Purple) was 87%, requiring 1,100 reputation points to merge.
Upgrading an entry required both points and completing a specific task. From Linlin's three entries, only Huge Body (Gold) could be upgraded—by reaching a height of 1,000 cm.
Solidifying an entry, however, required personal training and practice. Each entry had its own solidification progress. Currently, only "Big Eater" had shown noticeable advancement.
Linlin's three entries displayed no change in solidification yet.
"But you said Charlotte Linlin would come back to see me?" Zaki asked, surprised. Was this… sympathy because of the hunger trait they now shared?
Even though Linlin had fed him meat, Zaki remained wary of her.
Are you kidding? She had killed her own son in a fit of rage. Would she really treat him any better?
Looking at Kuma and Ivankov in the distance, who were busy helping other slaves, Zaki used the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit to send them to safety.
He stood up, clenching his fists, feeling power coursing through every vein.
Grabbing the arrow Kuma had left behind for Ginny, he stabbed it into his own arm. Ginny gasped, but the arrow barely left a mark—it was like pricking steel.
Zaki smiled confidently.
With a weapon in hand, the urge to fight flared within him.
When I was weak, I was hunted by the Celestial Dragons.
Now I have power, and I'm still being hunted. No more.
With the Paw-Paw Fruit in one hand and Charlotte Linlin still nearby, Zaki's grin widened.
Change of plan. Run? Forget that!
*Power points please :)*