"It's scorching hot in this damn place."
A shirtless pirate gulped down some alcohol before spitting on the ground in irritation.
"The young master definitely won't be satisfied with this as a base. Let's head back—we can still get a good night's sleep if we leave now."
"You wanna go back early and get yourself killed?"
Another pirate warned,
"Stay a couple more days. At the very least, it'll show we put in the effort to scout the island. Otherwise, the young master might think we slacked off."
"Fair point. Tomorrow, let's see if there's anything fun on the island to pass the time."
...
"You picked up another girl?!"
Hina, who was lying half-asleep on the bed with a face mask on, couldn't help but complain,
"How many kids is this now?"
She was 17, Dier 15, Robin 13, Law 9, Perona 8, and Lami 7.
This didn't even resemble a pirate crew anymore—might as well rename it the Underage Alliance.
A connected Den Den Mushi sat on the small table by the bed, and Dier's indifferent voice came through the receiver,
"What's wrong with picking up kids? Strictly speaking, you were also someone I picked up from the Red Passenger Ship."
He didn't want to use Hypnosis on those close to him, so he had to be especially careful about the companions he chose.
Children raised from a young age were far more trustworthy.
Besides, this wasn't just any child—it was a kid who had eaten the Arms Fruit.
If he didn't have his cheat abilities and came across the Arms Fruit, he would've eaten it without hesitation.
What kind of nonsense transformations were those in the original? Swords, axes, pistols—the most impressive move was turning into a missile.
Weapons are far from such mundane things!
Flamethrowers, freeze guns, laser cannons, plasma cannons…
Nami's Weatheria Staff, Queen's Ice Demon Bullet, Germa's Raid Suits, Kid's laser cannon…
All of these could be considered weapons.
Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus were even classified as Ancient Weapons.
After awakening, forget Poseidon—a biological weapon—transforming into a Pluton Battleship shouldn't be a problem.
"Go dig through Perona's—no, Lami's—wardrobe and find a smaller set of clothes. We'll be back soon."
Baby-5 was the same age as Lami, but due to long-term malnutrition, she was unusually small and thin.
"Got it, Hina understands."
Click.
The call ended, and Hina stretched before casually peeling off her face mask.
She had seen her mother use these before and tried them out of curiosity, but she didn't find them particularly useful.
Crumpling the mask into a ball, she tossed it into the trash bin. These waste materials would eventually be sent to the Energy Chamber Furnace to serve as fuel.
Over a year had passed, and thanks to the Energy Chamber's self-upgrading capabilities and the Storm Petrel's overall improvements, the furnace's combustion speed and energy conversion efficiency had seen some progress.
The most noticeable change was the significant reduction in waste residue after burning.
All materials leave some residue after combustion—like charcoal ash from burned wood.
But the Energy Chamber was gradually advancing toward a state where even waste residue could be fully utilized as fuel.
Slipping on her sandals, Hina left the bedroom and headed toward the room shared by Lami's family.
The interior space of the Storm Petrel wasn't particularly large. Aside from Dier, everyone else shared rooms.
She lived with Robin and Perona.
Lami stayed with her parents and Law.
Though it was late, it wasn't yet time for bed.
When Hina knocked and entered, Perona and Lami were doing their daily homework.
Leia opened the wardrobe and found an old dress Lami had worn half a year ago—a simple white sundress.
Hina took the clothes and waited on the deck.
Before long, she saw Dier shimmering in the distance.
Literally shimmering, with a little girl cradled in his arms.
A body long starved couldn't recover from just one meal.
While the mountain path was nothing for the four of them, it was a grueling journey for Baby-5.
So Dier simply transformed into his Beast Form and carried her back.
"Alright, go take a bath with Robin first," Dier said as he handed Baby-5 over to Robin on the Storm Petrel's deck.
"You'll share a room with Perona for now. We'll get you your own bed soon."
Baby-5 nodded obediently, biting her lip nervously as she asked,
"Is there anything you need me to do? Anything at all—I'll do my best."
Tonight's events felt like a dream to her.
Delicious food, the Flame Devourer who needed her, the kindness of Robin and the others.
Afraid of being abandoned again, she desperately tried to prove her worth.
"Hmm... yes. After your bath, clean the bathroom until Robin is satisfied," Dier mused before giving Robin a meaningful glance.
Robin nodded in understanding. From their brief interaction, she had already grasped Baby-5's personality—
An extreme people-pleaser.
So extreme that she wouldn't feel at ease unless given a task.
Cleaning wasn't difficult, and whether it was satisfactory or not depended entirely on Robin's word.
She could just let Baby-5 sweep a couple of times before declaring it good enough.
"Come on, after your bath, I'll introduce you to Perona."
"O-okay!"
Taking the clothes from Hina, Robin led Baby-5 into the first-floor bathroom.
There were two bathrooms on this floor, neither small, equipped with both showers and bathtubs.
But since both were Ability Users, the bathtub was out of the question for now.
Baby-5 stood at the doorway, eyeing the bathroom with unease.
It's so pretty here... What if I dirty it? Will the Flame Devourer scold me?
She clutched the hem of her dress, her heart filled with anxiety.
Life on the island had been harsh—her former home didn't even have decent furniture.
Later, she lost even that, sleeping outdoors and begging for food.
Faced with such a bright, clean bathroom, she felt nothing but dread.
Splash—
Warm water sprayed from the showerhead, steam rising and blurring the room slightly.
"Alright, come in."
Robin smiled and beckoned to Baby-5, who tiptoed in cautiously.
"I-I'm sorry..."
Seeing the footprints she left behind, Baby-5 whispered an apology.
"It's fine, just rinse them away with water."
Robin sighed and firmly pulled the insecure girl under the shower.
We'll have to work on this—a personality like this will only bring her suffering.
She removed Baby-5's sundress and activated her ability—arms sprouted from the floor, holding various bathing tools to give Baby-5 a thorough cleaning.
In the other bathroom...
Dier reclined in the bathtub, hands behind his head, looking thoroughly relaxed.
After soaking in wooden barrels on the deck for over half a year, he'd finally managed to level up his passive ability of "seawater immunity."
The full name of this ability should be "immunity to the curse brought by Devil Fruits."
So it wasn't just seawater—even the True Water used for bathing couldn't affect him anymore.
Though not yet completely immune, he could already use most of his strength.
Taking a bath was no challenge at all.
Every night he would soak for a while, firstly to clean himself, and secondly to continue improving this "immunity" ability.
Thirdly, he used this time to enhance various capabilities of the Storm Petrel.
Having obtained the complete "Impartation" ability, he no longer needed to deal with numerous restrictions.
As long as his body was
in contact with the Storm Petrel, he could activate the Impartation ability.
After completing his routine impartations, Dier returned to his room to sleep.
Though he was quite curious about the Arms Fruit, even he needed proper rest.