"This depth... should be about right."
Oro manipulated the gold filaments to push aside the loose soil and rubble above him, then peered upwards. The walls of the crude shaft were beginning to crumble, and the dwindling light from the entrance far above now looked like faint, shimmering stars.
In his past life, the official lore stated a Devil Fruit would regenerate randomly somewhere in the world after its user died. But there was a reason fans called the series the king of retcons. Plot points evolved, power scales shifted, and backstories expanded. If even the original creator might contradict himself, how could Oro, now living in this world, resist testing its boundaries?
He remembered clearly the incident on Punk Hazard, where a Devil Fruit had regenerated in a piece of fruit right next to the dying user.
Oro had encased himself and Streusen within the gold he'd gathered during their descent. His current maximum range of precise control was a sphere fifty meters in diameter.
A fifty-meter sphere of layered, high-density gold, acting as a cage, plus a basket of ordinary fruit as bait. Could it intercept a regenerating Devil Fruit power?
There was only one way to know.
Oro gestured, releasing the gold's hold on Streusen's throat and jaw. Using nano-filaments to interface directly with neural pathways was exhausting; his earlier display had been mostly for dramatic effect, to sate a long-suppressed urge to reveal his power. Streusen's terror had been… satisfactory.
"Since I hold no personal hatred for you, do you have any final words?"
"No personal hatred?! Then who are you?!" Streusen snarled, his voice hoarse.
Oro shrugged. "As a pirate, were all the people you murdered on the high seas your personal enemies?"
"Agh! So this is it, brat! How long do you think this luck of yours—relying on a tricky Devil Fruit—will last?!"
"Not your concern."
Without further ceremony, Oro raised a thin gold plate as a shield, silently mouthed the words Eat the fruit, and unleashed a storm of golden spikes.
A wet, final sound echoed in the chamber, followed by the iron scent of blood. Oro isolated the area with a wall of gold. He looked at the ordinary apple in his hand, unchanged. He wasn't discouraged.
He took a deliberate bite of the apple, mentally reciting the name of the Devil Fruit as he chewed. He finished it slowly, then moved to the large basket and began carefully examining its contents.
"Indeed. Practical experimentation is the only real test."
His hand closed around a citrus fruit. Its skin was covered in distinct, swirling patterns that seemed to form a wide, grinning mouth.
---
Flashback
"Oh! It's Oro! Oro-nii!"
Oro, who had been explaining the principles of solid-borne sound transmission to Linlin, turned at the familiar voice. Gerd was running toward them across the Elbaf grass, her energy boundless as ever for a giant girl.
"Gerd. What brings you here? Are you alone?" Oro asked, surprised.
"I came with Uncle Leif! You haven't been back to Elbaf in almost half a month! Everyone was worried!" Gerd skidded to a halt beside them, twirling a strand of pale hair around her finger.
"Hey, Gerd~ Did you bring snacks?" Charlotte Linlin's cheerful, booming voice interrupted.
"Hmph~ Call me 'big sister' and I'll tell you~"
"Oh~Big Sister Gerd~ Tell Linlin now! Strawberry cake or blueberry mousse?"
"...It's banana Black Forest cake!I made it myself. It's huge! It's on Uncle Leif's boat. We can get it later."
"Yay!Gerd's cakes are even better than the ones Sister Carmel buys! Hehehe…"
Linlin's wide grin was now accompanied by a thin line of drool. Her world had successfully been reduced to the singular concept of cake.
"Hey, Oro-nii, what are you doing?" Gerd asked, having deftly redirected Linlin's focus. She had a talent for managing her peers in Elbaf. Her strategy with Linlin was simple: deploy cake. If one person in a group of three was utterly absorbed in dessert, wasn't it almost like being alone with Oro?
"You mean this?" Oro held up the hollow wooden tube. "I was explaining how sound is produced and how it can travel through solid objects."
Gerd blinked. "Sound through… solids? What does that mean?"
Oro smiled. He gently took her hand and placed her fingertips against his throat. "Say something, Gerd"
Gerd's face flushed. "L-like what?"
"Anything.Can you feel it? The vibration when you speak."
"Huh?Oh! It really is vibrating!"
Oro released her hand. "Vibration creates sound. And sound travels faster and farther through solid materials than through air." He noticed the faint disappointment in her eyes as he let go.
"Imagine if two people are far apart and need to talk," he continued. "Shouting is rude and causes trouble. But if sound travels better through a solid object…" He gestured with the tube. "You connect them with something like a string or a pipe, and they can speak quietly without anyone else hearing."
"Oh! I get it! Oro-nii is so smart!" Gerd understood the basic idea, if not the full implication. Her admiration was unwavering.
Oro tossed the tube lightly. "Mother Carmel is going out on a supply run tomorrow. Linlin and I were going to test this sound transmission idea. Would you like to come, Gerd?"
"Yes! Let's all go together!"
Oro smiled as she cheered.
Linlin's birthday is in two weeks. That means Carmel's final transaction—the sale of the "merchandise"—is in two weeks.
A "shopping trip" at this time? It's clearly to present the product and close the deal.
The giants had their own methods of investigation, but they were blunt and slow. They had made little progress over the years.
It's not enough. I'll have to handle this myself.
---