As dawn was just beginning to break, while the Harrot Tribe were still wrapped tightly in their clothes and sleeping on the shore, the Sky Pirates were already awake. Under Yemu's lead, they had come to the crater at the very center of the island.
Everyone stood there looking expectantly at the two items in Erza and Ayala's hands.
In Erza's hand was a section of branch from Sunlight Tree Eve. Yemu had collected it back on Fish-Man Island when he smashed through Sunlight Tree Eve.
The other item was a Devil Fruit. Its surface was covered in all kinds of colorful spiral patterns, making it look exceptionally vibrant. This was the Iro Iro no Mi, the one Yemu and the others had obtained long ago but never eaten because they had disliked it from the start.
To everyone in the Sky Pirates, the scene felt a little familiar.
The last time Yemu had used the power of the Baku Baku no Mi to fuse the Atsu Atsu no Mi with Tengoku, it had looked somewhat similar.
But this time, it might be even more miraculous.
Yemu also looked at Ron and Gaos with some anticipation.
"Are you two ready?"
"Mm."
As the older brother, Ron nodded hard.
"We're ready. Leave it to us, Captain!"
Seeing that, Yemu reassured them,
"Just do your best. Whether it succeeds or not, it's fine."
Even though Yemu said that, Ron could still feel everyone's expectations. He turned to his younger brother Gaos and said,
"Get ready, Gaos. We can't let the captain down!"
"I'm ready, big brother!"
Lillilu, standing on Yemu's shoulder, saw that and spoke directly.
"The key to whether this succeeds lies in whether the two of you can fuse the energy in the Devil Fruit and the energy in Yemu's gem with this branch of Sunlight Tree Eve, and make it successfully take root and sprout. As long as that works, everything afterward will fall into place naturally. Since you're ready, begin."
As soon as she finished speaking, the two little girls, Erza and Ayala, nervously stepped forward, while Ron and Gaos flew over as well.
A shallow pit had already been dug in the ground. Ayala placed the Iro Iro no Mi inside it and held it with her hand.
Seeing that, Erza gently inserted the already trimmed branch of Sunlight Tree Eve into the Devil Fruit.
"Your turn!"
"Got it!"
As he spoke, Yemu took out the red gem that had accompanied him for ten years, stepped between the two girls, and placed it on the branch of Sunlight Tree Eve.
"Get ready!"
At Lillilu's words, Ron and Gaos both assumed serious expressions and flew to either side, extending their hands.
In an instant, a green energy surrounded the red gem, the branch of Sunlight Tree Eve, and the Iro Iro no Mi, forming a green protective barrier. At the same time, Yemu's body also began to change.
Two separate energies, one flame and one heat, began spiraling around his body and pouring into the red gem.
Visible to the naked eye, the gem began to melt like liquid. Drop by drop, it fell onto the branch of Sunlight Tree Eve, flowed downward, and seeped into the Devil Fruit.
And just then, under everyone's gaze, it seemed as if something was trying to fly out from inside the green barrier, only to be blocked. All they could see was a ripple spreading across the green barrier.
"Can you feel it? The energy of this Devil Fruit!"
Lillilu asked, sounding tense.
Ron and Gaos were tense as well, but in that instant, they really did feel it.
"Yes, Lillilu-sama, we can feel it. A very strange energy. It seems like it's trying to leave this place..."
Lillilu's pupils widened sharply.
"So it really worked? Don't let it escape no matter what. Next, follow the plan and guide it into the branch of Sunlight Tree Eve."
"Mm!"
At that moment, the two brothers focused all their attention and slowly shrank the green light sphere in their hands, gradually guiding that invisible energy into the branch of Sunlight Tree Eve.
And as that energy was drawn into the branch,
the withered branch of Sunlight Tree Eve suddenly seemed to come alive, beginning to shine. But the light was completely different from the Eve tree on Fish-Man Island. It was not bright sunlight, but a riot of colors, like a rainbow tree.
And as soon as that rainbow-like glow appeared, the red energy flowing across the branch of Sunlight Tree Eve was slowly absorbed by it, almost like breathing.
At the same time, from the spot where the branch of Sunlight Tree Eve had been inserted into the Devil Fruit, small roots began to grow. They spread across the entire fruit, then slowly burrowed down into the earth.
Seeing that scene, Yemu remembered what Lillilu had said half a month ago.
"Growing a plant capable of nurturing the energy needed for a Devil Fruit from this world isn't difficult. But the conditions are extremely harsh. First, you need a good plant base. Only a plant grown from an excellent base can possess that kind of ability. I heard from those four robots that you got some branches of Sunlight Tree Eve on Fish-Man Island. Sunlight Tree Eve has astonishing vitality. If you can reactivate it, it would be the most suitable base plant possible."
"Then how do I reactivate it?"
"Very simple. With the power of a Devil Fruit. The power contained in a Devil Fruit has two parts. One you can think of as Devil Energy, and the other is the Lineage Factor. The Lineage Factor has the ability to grant life to lifeless things, just like when you fused the Atsu Atsu no Mi with a sword. Devil Energy, meanwhile, can serve as nourishment."
"Then how do I fuse that Lineage Factor with the branch of Sunlight Tree Eve? With the power of the Baku Baku no Mi? That doesn't seem possible right now. Kuromu's Baku Baku no Mi ability is still on cooldown."
"You won't need that. You have those two Tontatta crew members. They're known as green fairies. They can sense and guide this kind of energy. All you need to do is bring that energy out from inside the Devil Fruit."
"How do I bring it out?"
"There is one restriction in the Lineage Factor of a Devil Fruit. A single Devil Fruit cannot contain two abilities. So all you have to do is use another fruit to force the original fruit's power out."
"But under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be possible, because once a Devil Fruit has been eaten, its power can no longer return to the state of a fruit. But you're different. The Devil Fruits inside your body have awakened self-awareness and can be controlled by you. On top of that, your original heart already contains part of the energy of a Devil Fruit, because it was turned into a blank Devil Fruit by Master. Fusing the two together makes it the perfect disguise."
"I see. Then after that, how am I supposed to use the energy in this newly born Eve tree?"
"By using this newly born Eve tree to nurture those two Devil Fruits again, you can break the original Lineage Factor's dependence on Uranus's energy. Once the fruit matures and bears fruit, you just need to eat them again."
"!!! Then doesn't that mean I'll be without Devil Fruit powers for a while?"
"That's right. And not only that. Once your Devil Fruit powers disappear, your body will also become extremely weak. But for you, that's actually a good thing. During that time, you can properly develop the potential in your body that comes from Linlin's Lineage Factor..."