The embryo began to writhe, visibly swelling and growing at a rapid pace.
Suddenly, the embryo "ξ," which had already developed to the stage of a young child, sprouted dense, diamond-shaped pale scales across its body. The scales tightly clung to its skin, clicking and crackling, appearing and disappearing intermittently.
Finally, the embryo stopped growing once it reached the size of a typical three-year-old human.
At this point, the embryo "ξ" lay cradled in Moses's arms, her body smooth and flawless, utterly pristine. Seeing this, Moses took off his own short-sleeved shirt and draped it over her.
Only then did he begin to examine her closely.
She had soft, silky dark-red hair that reached her waist, a rounded forehead, long eyelashes, and delicate, slightly chubby cheeks. Then, she opened her eyes—deep rose-red irises, pure and innocent, like a newborn's.
"Eeeh~"
"Tsk tsk, so it's a little girl after all. What a pretty face—she's definitely going to grow into a stunning beauty."
Kureha leaned in, her eyes filled with affection, and reached out to touch her. But "ξ" buried her face in Moses's chest, dodging Kureha's hand.
Kureha rolled her eyes and gave up on trying to touch her, laughing in exasperation.
"This little one seems really attached to you. Won't even let me near her. Moses, what name are you planning to give her?"
Moses grinned.
"Well, you were the one who made me inject it. If you'd done it, she might've been clinging to you instead.
Her name will be Portgas D. Eriyi."
Kureha scoffed. "Oh, please. Let me make this clear—this little one in your arms? You're raising her yourself. Don't even think about dumping her on me.
Eriyi, huh?
Not bad. I thought you'd go with something like 'Little Red' or 'Little White.'"
Moses's face darkened. "That would've been ridiculous, don't you think?"
"You named a panda 'Bear Cub,' a crow 'Crow Dabao' and 'Ya Xiao Niu.' How good do you think your naming sense is?"
"Bear Cub's real name is Winter, isn't it?"
Kureha waved a hand, shifting to business. "Bring Eriyi over. I need to give her a full physical. She likely has the dragon bloodline factor, so we'll need a comprehensive examination."
Moses nodded but added, "The exam can wait. Are you hungry? Want to grab something to eat first?"
Kureha shot him a look. "Eat now? It's almost noon. Let's finish this first—won't take long. We'll eat afterward."
A short while later,
Eriyi clung to Moses like a distressed little animal, her eyes brimming with tears. Moses sighed and pressed a cotton swab against the needle mark on her shoulder.
Having just been born, she couldn't speak yet—her only means of expression was crying. Surprisingly, though, she didn't wail loudly. Instead, she silently shed tears, looking utterly pitiful.
She was remarkably well-behaved.
Petite, soft, and warm.
Her height was 96 cm, and she weighed 14 kg.
Half an hour later, Kureha walked over with a grave expression, handing Moses the full-body analysis report.
"As expected, this girl has both human and dragon lineage factors in her body—and they're highly unstable. The dragon bloodline factor is continuously eroding the human one."
As she grows older, the erosion from the dragon blood will become increasingly severe.
"If the human lineage factor is completely eroded one day, this girl might die. You'd better prepare yourself mentally for that."
"Alright, I'm prepared. So Doctorine, do you have any treatment plans to suggest?"
Moses asked her calmly, "Can we produce medication to suppress the dragon lineage factor?"
"That would only address the symptoms, not the root cause. Besides, the drugs to inhibit dragon blood are missing some key ingredients—dragon serum."
"From a Millennium Dragon or a dinosaur?"
"Not sure. We'd need to test it to know. Also, the serum is best extracted from dragon eggs."
"How much time does Eriyi have left?"
Kureha replied coolly:
"If we have serum-based drugs to suppress the dragon blood, as long as the erosion rate doesn't exceed a certain threshold, she could theoretically live a full lifespan and die of old age."
"Are there any other options? Like a dragon-type Zoan Devil Fruit?"
Moses said, "Devil Fruits can alter a being's lineage factor, especially Zoan-types. A dragon-type Devil Fruit could grant her a dragon-like constitution—would that help stabilize the dragon lineage factor in her body completely?
"And what about Chopper's Human-Human Fruit? Could we extract the pure human lineage factor from Chopper's body to create a serum that strengthens Eriyi's human lineage factor?"
Kureha stroked her chin, looking at Moses in surprise. She was impressed by how quickly he had come up with these ideas. The dragon-type Devil Fruit aside, they already had Chopper at home, a Human-Human Fruit user.
If, as Moses suggested, they used the pure human lineage factor from the Human-Human Fruit to neutralize the dragon blood factor in Eriyi's body, it might actually work.
Right now, Eriyi's condition stems from her dragon blood being too strong and eroding her human blood. If they could counterbalance it with pure human lineage factor, it wasn't impossible.
Then, Moses added:
"What if I start teaching Eriyi Breathing Techniques now? If she gains control over her body like I have, combined with medication, could she learn to regulate the dragon blood within her?"
Kureha sighed in exasperation. "I'm just an ordinary little girl! Are you treating me like some kind of god? How should I know?
"But sure, you can teach her Breathing Techniques. Training her from a young age will temper her mental fortitude and improve her self-control."
Moses let out a relieved breath. These were the three best solutions he could think of right now—ideally, they'd implement all three simultaneously.
With that in mind, he'd have to make time to visit Little Garden and Warship Island. Dinosaur eggs and Millennium Dragon eggs were now a must.
He'd also need to start searching for a dragon-type Devil Fruit. Though he wasn't sure if Vegapunk had already created the Mythical Zoan Pink Dragon Fruit—probably not yet.
Just then, Moses noticed a gaze fixed on him. He looked down and met Eriyi's deep rose-red eyes, pure and clear.
Wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes with his thumb, he picked her up and turned to Kureha.
"Let's go eat. We haven't had anything all morning—I'm starving."
Nodding, Kureha grumbled helplessly:
"Yeah, I'm starving too. Feels like I owed you in a past life or something."
The two left the laboratory and walked down the corridor toward the top floor. As they moved through the hallway, Moses spoke up:
"By the way, my grandfather contacted me this morning. He's coming in a couple of days to take me out on a trip."
"This time, I plan to take Bear Cub with me. We'll also stop by Little Garden—I hear the ecosystem there still has dinosaurs. I'll grab some dragon eggs while I'm at it."
"I'll leave Eriyi in your care while I'm gone."
Moses said this somewhat awkwardly. Kureha immediately halted mid-step, fixing him with a deep, unreadable gaze. After a few seconds, she sighed in exasperation.
"Get lost. I swear, I'm done with this. I must've been born to serve you, Moses."
"If I'd known it'd turn out like this, I never would've taken pity on you back then."
With that, she stomped off angrily, her footsteps heavy. Moses followed, equally helpless but with nothing to say. Then he noticed Eriyi staring at him, her arms tightening around his neck.
She clung to him with absolute dependence.
Moses twitched his lips.
Kids these days were getting harder and harder to handle.
Soon, they reached the top floor. Standing by the window, they could see the surroundings of Skypiea outside. Through the glass, Perona and Robin could be seen climbing the enormous Braided Vines.
Moses set Eriyi down on a sofa and patted her head, unsure if she understood him. "I'm going to cook. Sit here and behave."
But Eriyi, still seated on the couch, clung tightly to his neck, refusing to let go. Seeing this, Moses turned to Kureha.
"What do I do now? You've raised kids before—how do I handle this?"
Kureha's face flushed red with irritation as she snapped, "You sit. I'll go cook for you."
With that, she marched off to the kitchen. Left with no choice, Moses sat on the sofa, settling Eriyi on his lap.
He stared into her deep, pure rose-red eyes with his own dark ones.
In that other world, hybrids were usually precocious and intelligent—especially those with high-level dragon blood.
Though she had only just been born, her body had already developed to the equivalent of a three-year-old's, and her brain was nearly fully formed.
Moses gazed into Eriyi's eyes and tried teaching her name. "Eriyi. Your name is Eriyi. E! Ri! Yi!"
She likely hadn't awakened the "Words of Power" unique to dragons in that world yet, nor had her bloodline been activated. She should still be capable of human speech.
Eriyi watched Moses' lips move, hearing the sounds he made, but she didn't understand their meaning. Still, she parted her lips slightly, mimicking him, her soft, sweet voice stumbling out:
"E! Ri! Yi!"
Moses enunciated clearly as he taught her:
"My name is Eriyi."
"I! Am! Eriyi!"
"My name is Portgas D. Eriyi."
"Por! To! Gas! D! Eriyi."
With a gentle smile, Moses patiently repeated the words for her. Sitting on his lap, Eriyi watched his face and haltingly repeated after him.
She was incredibly smart, learning at an astonishing speed—thanks to the advantages of her high-tier dragon blood, she instinctively absorbed knowledge from the outside world.
But no matter how clever she was, she was still a child—physically three years old, with a mind that had only just come into existence.
Before long, her eyelids began to droop heavily, her body swaying unsteadily before she curled up like a kitten in Moses's arms and fell asleep.
An hour later.
Kureha finished cooking—a medicinal porridge suitable for children—and walked out carrying a large bowl with a sour expression.
"During the previous checkup, I noticed the little girl's digestive system is well-developed and she can eat solid food. But since it's her first time, I made her some meat porridge," Kureha said flatly. "Feeding her is your responsibility now."
With that, she scooped herself a bowl, sat down, and began eating quietly.
At that moment, Eriyi opened her eyes and sat up, perhaps drawn by the aroma.
Her beautiful eyes watched Kureha's eating motions with curiosity.
Moses guided her to the table, filled a bowl for her, and taught her how to hold the spoon and blow on the porridge before eating.
Eriyi learned quickly. After Moses demonstrated a few times, she mastered it—eating small, careful bites like a little hamster, her eyes squinting in contentment.
Once Moses saw she had the hang of it, he began eating his own porridge.
The meal took a while. After finishing, the energetic Eriyi spent some time learning characters with Moses.
As time passed,
she grew tired again.
It was time to sleep.
Moses glanced at Kureha, who had been watching with amusement. The moment their eyes met, she rolled hers and snapped:
"Don't even think about asking me for help again. Figure it out yourself. If you're so capable, get those two girls to help raise her. I'm not getting involved."
Moses sighed in resignation.
Seeing Eriyi clinging tightly to him, he had no choice but to carry her back to the room.
After she fell asleep, Moses left and, with Crow Dabao's help, flew to Angel Island to buy clothes and daily necessities for her.
Not long after, he went to Upper Yard to pick up Perona and the others. When they returned and learned there was a new addition to the household,
they rushed to Moses's room, full of curiosity, to see the little girl.
Seizing the opportunity, Moses asked, "Would you two mind helping take care of her?"
After hearing his explanation of what that entailed, Perona and Robin looked horrified and hurriedly excused themselves,
claiming they were too young and not ready for motherhood.
However, they did agree to one thing—helping bathe Eriyi in the future.
Moses breathed a small sigh of relief at that.
...
Time passed quickly.
Five days later.
At nine in the morning,
Moses received a call from Garp and knew it was time to depart.
Over those five days, Eriyi had learned to walk. Holding her hand, Moses took Bear Cub with them to Kureha's room to see her.
Under Kureha's exasperated gaze, Eriyi's guardianship was officially transferred.
The confused little girl's tears fell in big drops. Seeing this, Moses could only pat her head before hardening his heart and leaping out of Kureha's window with Bear Cub.
Kureha stroked Eriyi's head and sighed. "That brat won't be around for a while. You'll sleep with me at night. Remember—if you need to pee, tell me. I'll take you.
No wetting the bed."
Eriyi looked up at Kureha timidly, trembling like a frightened fawn.
"Eriyi understands. Don't worry, Dorell sister."
Hearing this, Kureha's eyes flickered with surprise.
She had grown quite fond of this mysterious, well-behaved, and beautiful little girl who possessed enigmatic Dragon blood factors, had learned to speak within a week, and could recognize hundreds of characters.
Gently stroking her head, Kureha gradually noticed Eriyi's trembling subsiding as the child peeked at her with curious eyes.
Then—
A flicker of surprise flashed in Kureha's gaze when she realized Eriyi's breathing pattern was now that of the "Effortless Breathing Technique." Unable to hold back, she asked:
"Did Moses teach you this Breathing Technique? And you've already mastered it?"
Eriyi blinked in confusion before nodding:
"Big brother... held me. At night when we slept, he breathed with me. Then... somehow, I just learned it."
Kureha was equally astonished. She hadn't expected the method Moses had mentioned to her a year and a half ago to be so remarkably effective.
In her busyness, she had completely forgotten about it—only for Eriyi to be the first to experience its benefits in the end.
She couldn't help but laugh wryly at the irony.
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