Sali and Wyper gathered the sixty-seven new recruits and divided them efficiently, both wearing satisfied expressions. With their addition, the combat strength of the White Sage Beast ship and the Thunder Dragon Gaya rose significantly, something that required no further explanation.
After distributing the batch of Star Lord Devil Fruits, only the selections for the Village Elders, the Village Chief, and Fidel remained. Fidel, in particular, stood nearby, barely containing his anticipation.
The Village Chief spoke on behalf of the elders. When Enel attacked Skypiea, they had witnessed the battle from afar. The overwhelming display of lightning left a deep impression on them, and all of them favored abilities related to thunder.
Ash couldn't help but think, My control over the elements is already overwhelming, and now these elders want to reinforce my lightning attribute even further.
It wasn't a difficult request. This time, Ash didn't hesitate. He immediately began designing a Mythical Zoan, the Human-Human Fruit, Model Thunder Deity, intended for the Village Chief and the elders. Alongside it, he created twenty-four Thunder Division Heavenly Lord Devil Fruits.
The Thunder Deity model was inspired by a legendary figure known for commanding thunder, a being associated with divine judgment and overwhelming lightning power. Although such figures were not as dominant as the ancient Demon-level entities Ash had introduced before, they still held immense prestige and strength.
There were limited slots available, so those who received Devil Fruits earlier naturally took priority. Even so, regardless of rank, these divine models still carried immense authority and power. To the elders, this distinction didn't matter. As long as they received a Devil Fruit, they were more than satisfied.
While designing the fruits, Ash made sure to maintain a consistent lineage. Since Sali and Tsuki both possessed the Voice of All Things, it was only fitting that the Village Chief shared that ability. As the backbone of the village, especially with his grandsons likely to spend long periods away, it was crucial for him to have the ability to sense intent and distinguish truth from deception.
In the end, the Thunder Deity Devil Fruit granted control over lightning, the Voice of All Things, and the standard two-stage transformation of Mythical Zoans. Its overall strength stood on par with the Star Lord Devil Fruits.
The twenty-four Thunder Division Heavenly Lords were designed with a broader range of abilities. They were not limited to lightning alone, but also governed wind and weather. Their powers revolved around controlling wind currents and thunder, granting them dominance over the skies.
Since water-based abilities were already abundant on Ash's side, he deliberately avoided adding more. Instead, he split the abilities evenly between wind and lightning.
There were only nine elders, including the Village Chief, so each of them received a thunder-based ability. The remaining Thunder Division Devil Fruits would be distributed at the Village Chief's discretion. There were still many respected elders whose status didn't formally place them among the main council, so the allocation could be handled internally.
Ash didn't bother assigning individual identities to each Heavenly Lord. Instead, he followed a simple structure when creating the fruits. Each one was a Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit with a "Heavenly Lord" model designation. Their abilities varied between wind and lightning, and all possessed flight and transformation abilities.
With that, twenty-five Devil Fruits were completed.
Now, only Fidel remained.
At this moment, Fidel stared at Ash in complete disbelief.
What he had just witnessed defied everything he thought he knew.
One Devil Fruit after another had appeared in Ash's hands as if they were nothing more than ordinary objects. In less than half a day, Ash had produced nearly four hundred Devil Fruits.
Fidel had never personally seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, but he had heard enough stories during his travels. There was no way it contained this many entries.
More importantly, none of the fruits Ash created matched anything known. Every single one was a Mythical Zoan, the rarest category in existence.
From the moment Ash began producing them endlessly, Fidel finally believed every outrageous story his childhood friend had told him.
Ash glanced at him and gave a faint smile. "I already know what Devil Fruit suits you. You'll just need to wait a bit longer."
He wasn't teasing Fidel. As a core member of the Dawn ship, Fidel deserved something exceptional. The delay came from a different reason entirely.
While working on the elders' Devil Fruits, Ash had an idea.
Since he had already begun creating divine-themed Mythical Zoans, he might as well expand the collection now rather than wait until his reserves ran out. Designing them in bulk would save him trouble later.
Once the decision was made, he acted immediately.
He began outlining additional divine roles, each representing a unique domain. Some governed mountains and land, others commanded fire, war, or natural disasters. There were also positions associated with wealth, command, and disease.
For the mountain-based entities, Ash assigned earth-related abilities. However, their original titles carried excessive grandeur, some even rivaling the authority of his highest-tier creations. To maintain balance, he simplified them into Mountain God models instead.
One after another, new Devil Fruits took shape.
Then came the broader divisions. These included domains like thunder, fire, battle, plague, water, command, pestilence, and wealth.
Each category provided a foundation for new abilities, allowing Ash to expand his growing arsenal of Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits even further.
As he continued, the number of completed fruits steadily increased, and Fidel could only watch in stunned silence.