After the little beast consumed the Devil Fruit, there was no noticeable change for a long time.
It remained the same, showing no signs of transformation or ability activation.
Seeing this, the members of the Caesar Pirates began to suspect that the Devil Fruit the creature had eaten was a fake.
"Well… tell me, could it be that this little thing needs some kind of stimulus to activate its ability?"
As everyone exchanged uncertain glances, Brook suddenly spoke up, reminding them of something crucial.
"That's right! It must be! This little creature ate a Devil Fruit for the first time, but it doesn't know how to use its ability yet. We need to stimulate it and see!"
Brad, realizing this possibility, suddenly grabbed a stick and gently tapped the little beast.
However, the creature showed no reaction at all. It simply remained seated, just like an ordinary animal.
Even when Brad struck it harder, the little beast remained motionless, showing no signs of transformation or ability use.
After repeatedly striking the creature without any results, Brad sighed in frustration and gave up, complaining,
"This little thing must've eaten some kind of useless fruit! No matter how much I hit it, it doesn't react at all!"
The rest of the crew also began discussing the strange situation.
Meanwhile, Caesar, who had been silently observing from the sidelines, narrowed his eyes as if something had just occurred to him. Using his mental powers, he formed an invisible blade and sent it slashing lightly toward the little beast.
However, as the invisible blade passed over the creature, it remained completely unharmed. Its body didn't turn into an element like a Logia-type user would.
This unexpected result surprised everyone, making them even more curious about the Devil Fruit's abilities.
Intrigued, Caesar picked up several small stones using his telekinesis and threw them at the little beast.
Normally, when an object strikes another, there's some degree of rebound. However, the stones Caesar threw didn't bounce off the creature at all; they simply fell to the ground.
He continued throwing more stones, but they all landed the same way—until suddenly, the last stone was repelled with great force, shooting off into the distance!
Seeing this, Caesar's eyes lit up.
At first, the attacks on the little beast seemed to lose their kinetic energy upon contact. But then, that last stone was launched away with incredible speed, as if the stored kinetic energy had been released all at once.
"This ability… it absorbs the kinetic energy of attacks and then releases it later!"
It was remarkably similar to the powers of the Marvel X-Men's Sebastian Shaw or Gambit.
After conducting several more tests, Caesar grew more convinced of his hypothesis. A feeling of excitement swelled in his chest.
Though he hadn't decided on a name for this Devil Fruit yet, he knew one thing for certain—it was powerful.
Even if there were still limitations on what kind of attacks it could absorb, the ability itself had immense potential. With the right user, this fruit could be a devastating force.
---
Testing More Devil Fruits
After securing the little beast to ensure it wouldn't escape, Caesar turned his attention to the remaining Devil Fruits, eager to see what other powers they might hold.
The third fruit was fed to another small creature, and under everyone's watchful gaze, it transformed into a spherical shape, bouncing uncontrollably.
"That's the Ball-Ball Fruit," someone muttered.
Brad burst into laughter, clapping Hades on the shoulder. "Hades! Didn't you just say there couldn't be a fruit ability worse than that toad fruit? Well, here it is! Hahaha!"
Hearing Brad's joke, the crew couldn't help but laugh as well.
Just as he said, the Ball-Ball Fruit was practically useless.
Turning into a ball? Apart from being kicked around for fun, what good was that in battle? You couldn't just roll into enemies and hope they'd die from laughter.
Dismissing the fruit, Caesar moved on to the next.
The fourth fruit was given to another small animal. At first, nothing seemed to happen, leading everyone to assume it was another dud.
But then, someone noticed something odd.
"Wait… its body… it feels different."
Upon closer inspection, they realized the creature's body had become soft and pliable, like fabric.
It had consumed the Cloth-Cloth Fruit, a Paramecia-type ability that allowed the user to transform their body into fabric of various shapes—flat or three-dimensional.
However, for Caesar and his crew, it was another worthless ability.
---
The Fifth Devil Fruit – The Gnat-Gnat Fruit
The next fruit resulted in a far more unsettling transformation.
The creature's body elongated, and countless thin, insect-like legs sprouted from its sides.
The grotesque appearance made Lily and Vina shriek, covering their eyes in horror. Even the more composed members of the crew found themselves unsettled.
Caesar identified it instantly—the Gnat-Gnat Fruit, an insect-type Zoan.
But gnats were small, relatively weak, and only slightly venomous. They weren't particularly fast or strong, especially compared to centipedes or scorpions.
For the Caesar Pirates, this was yet another useless fruit.
Even worse, the unsettling transformation made it highly unlikely anyone would want to eat it.
---
The Final Devil Fruit – A Hidden Power?
Now, only one fruit remained—the most visually stunning of them all.
It was a flawless, round fruit, deep blue like the night sky, with mesmerizing ripple patterns, resembling the surface of water disturbed by a drop.
Caesar held it in his hands, feeling a strange anticipation.
"This fruit… I hope its power is as impressive as its appearance."
Under the watchful eyes of the crew, he cut it into pieces and fed it to the last small creature.
Everyone waited in suspense.
At first, nothing seemed to happen—just like with the kinetic energy fruit.
Excited by the possibility of discovering another hidden ability, Caesar used his telekinesis to form an invisible blade and slashed at the little beast.
A deep wound instantly appeared on its back, blood trickling down as the creature shrieked in pain.
That alone confirmed it wasn't a Logia-type.
But then—something changed.
The creature's fur stood on end.
The ground around it trembled.
Small rocks and sand particles lifted into the air as if gravity had reversed.
At that moment, everyone felt a strange sensation in their bodies—a weightless, floating feeling.
And the closer they were to the little beast, the stronger the effect.
"This… what is this power?"
Brad, who was now floating off the ground, looked around in shock.
"It seems… this is some kind of gravity-related ability," Gnaly murmured, observing calmly.
The creature had instinctively activated its newfound power in response to its wound.
Caesar's mind raced.
The effect was similar to the Gravity-Gravity Fruit seen in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia—but not quite the same.
Then, without warning, the sensation shifted.
A sudden heavy force pressed down on everyone.
The floating debris dropped instantly, and the tree branches that had been bending upwards now sagged under an invisible weight.
Everyone quickly adjusted, regaining their footing.
"This isn't just gravity… it's some kind of dual ability," Caesar realized.
And then—the creature changed again.
Tiny electric sparks crackled around its body.
At the same time, both Griffin and Kyle—members of the Mink Tribe—felt their own fur bristle with static electricity.
Everyone nearby felt small shocks, as if charged with static energy.
Caesar narrowed his eyes.
"This little thing… it's shown at least three different abilities so far."
The realization sent a wave of shock through the crew.
A Devil Fruit with multiple powers?
What exactly had they just discovered?
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