Rami had been by his side for quite some time now.
In the beginning, the Little girl's condition was extremely severe; even the gastric juices she vomited up would shimmer.
Even after coming to Blake's side and showing some improvement, she always looked sickly.
Blake still remembered those first few years; whenever Mandy or Koala were training, or Perona was running around causing trouble, Rami would look on with an envious expression.
Later, thanks to the continuous research of her parents, the Trafalgar couple, they found a way to suppress the lead rot disease. Only then did the Little girl's health gradually improve, and her personality became increasingly cheerful.
Up to now, in daily life, if the illness didn't flare up, one couldn't tell from her appearance that Rami was actually suffering from a serious disease.
This was the reason why Blake only just now thought of the Ope-Ope no Mi.
The Perpetual Youth Surgery of the Ope-Ope no Mi had no practical use for Blake.
Possessing both the Vampire Fruit and pure gold as means of immortality, he had no interest in that immortality which required trading a life for a life.
The reason he chose to swap the Ope-Ope no Mi back then was, on one hand, because the opportunity just happened to arise, and he felt it would be a loss not to do something.
On the other hand, it was also because Blake's 'hoarding' tendencies kicked in; he always wanted to bring good things home.
Finally, he was optimistic about the future potential of the Ope-Ope no Mi.
Judging from Law's performance in the original work, even without performing the Perpetual Youth Surgery, the Ope-Ope no Mi was an extremely rare space-type ability that played a huge role in combat, making it a powerful Devil Fruit.
Based on the principle of 'it's free, so why not take it', Blake ultimately took it back.
But because he didn't take the Ope-Ope no Mi too seriously, he forgot about it after bringing it back.
Seeing Rami today, he finally remembered that the Little girl's illness hadn't been completely cured yet, and using the Ope-Ope no Mi to treat her directly was the simplest way.
He could also treat the Victor couple and Law while he was at it.
As for the user of the Ope-Ope no Mi...
This was truly a question worth considering.
In the original work, the user of the Ope-Ope no Mi was Law, and judging from the later plot, he developed it quite well, and his strength was also quite formidable.
Although Teach was often arrogant and started acting cocky at the slightest advantage, he was still a bona fide Four Emperors.
Moreover, with two Devil Fruit abilities in hand, Teach was not inferior even when facing the old Four Emperors.
No matter what, Law had indeed made Teach cough up blood, which showed that his talent and compatibility with the fruit were quite good.
However, during the years Law lived in Mary Geoise, Blake hadn't paid much attention to him.
At first, he did intend to cultivate him, but later, as more and more people gathered around him, and more potential talents were sent to Aramaki, Law didn't seem as prominent.
A few years ago, Law also entered Aramaki's youth training camp for development.
Although Blake had prepared a backup plan, with so many people around, there was no need to force Law into the role.
So logically speaking, if the Ope-Ope no Mi wasn't going to Law, shouldn't it be given directly to Rami?
Blake was actually somewhat hesitant about this.
Rami's fighting will and combat talent were both quite limited.
At first, her health was poor, and she liked to follow Stella around, acting as a gentle and kind little maid.
Later, as her health gradually improved, she started to develop in the direction of the mischievous Perona and Olga, which felt a bit like things reaching an extreme and then reversing.
However, regardless of the situation, Rami didn't show much interest in improving her strength.
Blake hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"Rami, have you ever thought about becoming a powerhouse like Mandy or Koala?"
Rami was taken aback by Blake's sudden question. She propped her chin in her hand and thought carefully for a while:
"If His Highness needs me to, I can also train hard!"
Looking at the determined expression on Rami's little face and her eager demeanor, Blake couldn't help but chuckle slightly and reached out to ruffle her little head:
"It's alright, I was just asking. You don't have to force yourself."
Rami, however, shook her head earnestly:
"Your Highness, everything I have now—the peaceful room, the warm food, the companions I can entrust my back to..."
"These are all things I never dared to dream of before."
"I am very happy here. Everyone treats me like family, and I can also contribute to this family."
"As long as it is something beneficial to Your Highness and this family, I am willing to try."
Blake watched her quietly. From her firm and earnest expression, he saw the answer—
Rami did not have a subjective desire to become stronger; she was simply willing to contribute to Blake and the others around her out of gratitude and acceptance.
Since that was the case, there was no need to force her to do things outside of her interests.
Blake rested his hand on her shoulder and looked down at the Little girl earnestly:
"You don't need to train for my sake, nor do you need to force yourself to do so."
"The reason you can call this place a home is because no one has to bear any extra burdens for it."
"Everyone can do what they like, rather than what they need to do. Do you understand?"
Rami revealed a big smile and nodded vigorously:
"I understand, Your Highness."
"Hmm, go play."
Blake patted her on the shoulder and sent Rami off to play.
He felt he was being somewhat shameless, discussing the topic of family with the little maids as if these people hadn't been snatched back by him.
He had completely hoodwinked this group of little maids.
However, since Rami had no desire to become stronger, the Ope-Ope no Mi naturally couldn't be given to her.
Besides that, there was actually another reason why Blake didn't want Rami to become an Ope-Ope no Mi user.
When using the Ope-Ope no Mi to treat lead rot disease, one needs to remain conscious throughout the entire process, using the ability to drive an illusory scalpel to scrape the lead off the liver bit by bit.
This process is extremely painful; in the original work, Law passed out from the pain while treating himself.
How painful must that be?!
The strong in the world of One Piece are very good at enduring pain. Except for Teach, who rolls on the ground every time he gets hit due to double pain, others don't even glance at their injuries when fighting.
If the Ope-Ope no Mi were given to someone else to use, Rami could be put under general anesthesia when cleaning out the lead, since she wouldn't need to be conscious to operate it herself.
As it happens, Blake has a combatant by his side who hasn't eaten a Devil Fruit yet, and she even has some medical talent, clearly making her very compatible with the Ope-Ope no Mi.
That's right, it's Kalifa's sister, Alpha.
Previously, when Blake was distributing Devil Fruits, he still had a Rumble-Rumble Fruit left that hadn't been distributed.
On one hand, he felt the Rumble-Rumble Fruit didn't quite suit Alpha, and on the other, he doubted whether she could truly control this powerful Devil Fruit.
Now, there's no need to consider that.
I choose you! Alpha!
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