"Wait, brat."
With a wave of her large hand, an invisible force instantly restricted Ivankov's movements, easily snatching the indigo-blue fruit that was calling out to her from his hand.
"azure dragon fruit..." Linlin sized up the legendary Mythical Zoan Type fruit in her hand, realization dawning in her heart.
"Is it you calling me? No wonder the call suddenly became urgent; were you afraid of being eaten by this brat?"
(What? The thing calling me was actually a Devil Fruit! But why would a Devil Fruit actively call out to me?)
(I already have three fruits in my body; can I eat another? Even if I can, this azure dragon form seems to overlap with my Dragon-Dragon Fruit; it's not the best choice... If I had known I'd get this, maybe I should have told Kuri not to eat the Vampire Fruit first...)
These thoughts flashed through her mind, and as the idea of "giving up on eating it" surfaced, she didn't notice that the call from the azure dragon fruit at the bottom of her heart receded as quickly as a tide.
"Hmm? You two are..."
Only then did Charlotte Linlin turn her gaze toward the terrified Ivankov and Kuma.
These two vaguely familiar physiques left her in brief contemplation, as if she were recalling something.
Under Charlotte Linlin's gaze, Ivankov shuddered and immediately shouted anxiously at Kuma, who was still holding a fruit:
"Eat it! Kuma! Don't hesitate! Now, eat that fruit!!"
Woken by Ivankov's shout, the simple-minded Kuma didn't hesitate. He grabbed the fruit, which required both hands to hold, stuffed it into his mouth in one go, and forced himself to swallow!
A peculiar power began to transform his body.
Seeing this, Ivankov breathed a long sigh of relief, a smile mixing relief and victory appearing on his face:
"That's a huge help, Kuma! Even if only one person gets power, it's fine! This is our first step toward freedom! Hee-haw!!"
While Charlotte Linlin was lost in thought, the clever Ivankov noticed her distraction. He signaled Kuma, and they both held their breath, tiptoeing away like two little mice, quietly making their exit.
At that moment, a tall figure appeared behind her.
A hint of greed and determination flashed in the newcomer's eyes. The massive kanabo in his hand was wrapped in pitch-black Armament Haki, and with a wind that tore through the air, it smashed down toward Linlin's cheek!
Despite having awakened Observation Haki, Charlotte Linlin seemed completely oblivious at this moment!
Bang—!!!
A deafening metallic explosion rang out!
At the critical moment, Charlotte Linlin raised her delicate, jade-like left hand, blocking the heavy sneak attack!
A violent shockwave erupted from the center of the two, knocking over the remaining treasure chests in the warehouse. Even Ivankov and Kuma, who had just escaped outside, were stumbled by the sudden blast of air, nearly falling. They scrambled to accelerate their escape from this dangerous place.
Charlotte Linlin slowly turned her head, fury igniting in her eyes. She stared sideways at the attacker behind her and said in a low voice:
"Kaido... you reckless brat, what do you think you're doing?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Kaido squeezed out an awkward and somewhat forced smile, slowly retracting his hachisai-kai.
"Big Sis Linlin, don't misunderstand! I saw you standing still with a blank look, and I thought you were being controlled by some weird Devil Fruit ability."
"So, you were trying to use your kanabo to 'wake up' This lady?"
Charlotte Linlin turned around completely, the dangerous undertone in her voice growing stronger.
However, besides her anger, Charlotte Linlin herself noticed something was wrong just now.
Even if she had consumed a lot of stamina dealing with Samaz earlier, with her level of Observation Haki and combat instincts, she should never have allowed someone to get so close without noticing.
Her peripheral vision fell once more on the azure dragon fruit in her left hand. Recalling that unusually urgent 'call' that could even interfere with her perception to some extent, a theory gradually became clear.
Is it this Devil Fruit? Is it affecting me?
If that's the case, then the self-awareness of this fruit is terrifying.
Something like this must never be left for someone important to me.
Her attention returned to Kaido. Recalling that in the future, this guy's fruit never awakened, she guessed that Kaido must have sensed something, which was why the fruit didn't awaken.
At this moment, Kaido very tactfully hid the hachisai-kai completely behind his back. He forced a complex expression—somewhere between bashful, shy, and fawning—onto his face. With his hands behind his back, looking like a junior waiting for a scolding after doing something wrong, he said in a muffled voice:
"Um... Sis Lin, if... if I really did something wrong, I'm willing to be punished."
After saying that, he even closed his eyes, looking like he was offering his neck for the slaughter.
Kaido, who knew Charlotte Linlin's temper and strength well, only hoped that this big sister would show some restraint and not actually hammer him into a meat patty on the spot.
He had just felt the call coming from that fruit, which was why he couldn't hold back his move.
He had a strong intuition that the fruit was the key that suited him best and would allow him to reach the peak!
As for what kind of Devil Fruit it was, he didn't care; he only knew that power was right before his eyes.
As a prize in this Celestial Dragons' competition, the azure dragon fruit was inherently powerful. The World Government wouldn't have shared information about it with the outside world; only the Celestial Dragons participating in this assembly knew the specifics of these Devil Fruits.
Unless someone eavesdropped on the internal information of the Celestial Dragons, it would be impossible for anyone to know what the Devil Fruit prizes of their competition were.
"You... want this Devil Fruit, don't you?" Charlotte Linlin tossed the azure dragon fruit in her hand, her tone unreadable.
The expected heavy blow didn't come; instead, he heard a question. Kaido snapped his eyes open, an uncontrollable light of excitement bursting from them:
"Yes! Big Sis Linlin! Are... are you willing to give this precious Mythical Zoan Type fruit to me?!"
"Ma~" Charlotte Linlin let out an ambiguous laugh, tilting her head. Her beautiful yet highly oppressive eyes narrowed as she looked down slightly at Kaido, who was only a bit shorter than her.
"For the sake of a certain old fellow, giving it to you... isn't out of the question."
Kaido's heart leapt into his throat.
"However," Linlin's tone shifted as she extended a massive finger,
"Afterward, you must return a Mythical Zoan Type Devil Fruit of the same rank to me. This condition... is there a problem?"
That's it?! Kaido thought it would be some harsh condition like swearing fealty, but it was just an "equivalent exchange"? To him, this was practically a giveaway!
"No problem! Absolutely no problem! From now on, Sis Lin, you're my real sister! Whatever you say goes! I, Kaido, keep my word; I'll definitely find a stronger Mythical Zoan Type for you!"
Kaido thumped his chest loudly, his tone so firm it was as if he were taking a solemn oath.
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