Chapter 121 121: Devil Fruits & Bronze Key

— — — — — — "So, Dad... does this mean you've now got a second main base over in Chika's world?" At Eientei, Houraisan Kaguya tilted her head slightly, a teasing smile on her face as she listened to Veyron explain how the newly fused world had officially been recognized by the chat group as his second "main world." "Well... technically, that would make it my third main base." Veyron thought about it for a moment, then corrected her. After all, his second base—sandwiched between the first and this new third one—was still the Treeborn world that he'd basically turned into his personal backyard. Kaguya's eyes sparkled mischievously, her voice dragging playfully at the end of her sentence. "You're being cheeky." Veyron lightly knocked her on the head. "Keep that up and I'll show you what it means to get crushed by a superior being with time power." "Time power?" Kaguya tilted her head even further, acting like she didn't get it. "Scared now? Time—" Veyron whipped out his time-stopping pocket watch. Kaguya gave him a sideways glance, not even pretending to be impressed. "Father dearest, I hope you're not seriously thinking that some gadget can compete with my natural ability?" She leaned back slightly, looking at him with all the arrogance of someone who knew she was born special. Veyron: "......" He considered two possibilities: Option A: Kaguya genuinely believed that her "Eternity and the Moment" was more powerful than a pocket watch that could literally freeze the entire world back in its native dimension. Option B: She did recognize the pocket watch as being superior in terms of cosmic rank... and was just pulling a smug little gremlin move to taunt him after being apart for two months. .. After spending a few hours experimenting with the pocket watch— "Yeah. Definitely not Option A." "Man, this pocket watch is incredible. Freezing time and compressing all the sensory feedback into a single moment when it resumes? That's insanely useful. No wonder it's the only artifact from the World." And as for Kaguya... soft, fragrant, completely at his mercy. She was absolutely worth the watch's use. Humming a happy little tune, he held her in his arms. Even though her whole body was trembling, she was still glaring up at him with that "Not done yet—bring it on" look in her eyes. Smiling, Veyron slid his hand down from the back of her neck, making Kaguya shiver instantly. "Don't push yourself," he said gently. "No rush. Once you've gotten used to this pace... we'll go for a real round." "Hmph." The princess huffed softly, then shut her eyes and accepted his offer to rest. With the beauty in his arms falling asleep in just a second, Veyron didn't just pull a hit-it-and-quit-it. Nah, he stayed right there, cuddling her close as they drifted off into dreamland together. — — — The next morning After quietly saying goodbye to Kaguya—whose eyes were still closed but was definitely awake enough to hear him—Veyron left that blissful haven and made his way to the dimension next door. The moment he stepped into the lab, a cool voice greeted him. "You're back?" "Yeah. I'm back." Veyron nodded. Sure, he knew Yagokoro Eirin had probably sensed him returning yesterday the moment he reentered Eientei—he hadn't exactly been hiding his presence—but hey, since she asked, it only felt right to follow through with the ritual. "These are the things you asked for." Eirin turned around and raised a hand. With a wave, she used telekinesis to float over a bunch of oddly shaped fruits and a single, ancient-looking bronze key, setting them down in front of him. The dozen or so fruits were all high-grade Devil Fruits—Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit), Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit), Noro Noro no Mi (Slow-Slow Fruit), and others. Even more OP fruits were collected—for his chat group friends, and even their friends or family. More importantly, Eirin had already removed the side effects that would normally make them vulnerable to seastone elements. As for the bronze key? That was something special. It had "consumed" the Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit), giving it the ability to open doors on literally anything—air, fire, even human bodies. "So fast?" Veyron couldn't help but be impressed. Two months. Starting from zero. In that time, not only had she completely cracked the problem of Devil Fruit side effects, but she also figured out how to get objects to "eat" Devil Fruits. Not just Zoan but also for Paramecia and Logia. That kind of research speed? Honestly, it puts that so-called 'genius scientist who's supposed to be 500 years ahead of his time' to shame. "It's not that fast," Eirin replied casually. "I just used the Completion Serum." "...Eirin, you know I shouldn't have to be the one saying this, but..." Veyron gave the silver-haired beauty a long, meaningful look. Last time, when she was mass-producing Byakugan clones for Fujiwara Chika, she'd also used the Completion Serum to fast-track the whole miracle-level process. "Don't worry." Eirin smiled. "I'm just not that interested in Devil Fruits. So I took a shortcut, sure. But if it's something I am interested in, I'll take my time with it." She raised a test tube filled with golden liquid and swirled it casually. "As long as you're aware." Veyron nodded and picked up the bronze key imbued with the Door-Door Fruit. He channeled his ki into it. A strange feeling swept through him—like there was nowhere he couldn't reach. Veyron raised his hand in front of him and made a "door opening" gesture. And right there, in the middle of empty air, a door actually appeared. On the other side, a vivid view of a blue planet filled his sight. Earth. Holding back the suction from the vacuum on the far side, he admired the view of Earth from orbit. Then, satisfied that as long as his ki held out, he could open a portal to literally anywhere, Veyron nodded in approval. "So... got any lore behind this key?" He rolled the antique-looking key in his fingers, curious. "Nope." "You sure? This feels like the kind of thing should have a backstory." "I'm really not kidding," Eirin said with a light shake of her head. "I just melted down some old junk I found in my medical kit and forged it into that." "...That counts as a backstory, honestly." Veyron put away the bronze key and the stack of now side-effect-free Devil Fruits, then asked, "So if the side effects are gone now, does that mean people who already ate a Devil Fruit can be fixed too...?" "Same principle," Eirin nodded. "But you already know what the main ingredient for that cure is. Whether you want to distribute it in that world or not... that's up to you." "Yeah, probably gonna not do that..." Veyron smacked his lips, clearly not thrilled at the thought. 『Ordinary Human』: @SnakeEmpress, got a minute? 『Snake Empress』: Of course, Mr. Veyron. Is there something you need from me? Even though she'd spent over two months in World-0, Hancock replied almost instantly. Thanks to the space-time gap feature she'd activated before leaving, she didn't return to a mountain of political work. 『Ordinary Human』:If you're free, swing by. Eirin cooked up something that's perfect for you. . . .