"I'm feeling... strange," Esdeath said quietly, pausing mid-chop at the kitchen counter. "Something's changed in my body. I don't know what happened."
Kalifa, cutting vegetables beside her, blinked. "What do you mean?"
Esdeath glanced down at her left hand. "I think I've become... elemental. Like you."
Earlier, Esdeath had accidentally cut her finger with the kitchen knife—but instead of bleeding, her skin instantly turned to ice. It happened reflexively, and to her surprise, she felt no pain at all. Her hand simply froze and reformed, like the wound never happened.
Kalifa's brows furrowed. "Elementalization? Are you sure? You don't have a Devil Fruit."
As far as Kalifa knew, Esdeath wasn't a Devil Fruit user. Her ability to create and control ice came from another world—some kind of weapon called a "Teigu." But turning into an element? That was exclusive to Logia-type Devil Fruits.
"Watch," Esdeath said simply.
Without hesitation, she scratched the back of her left hand with the kitchen knife. As before, the skin turned into ice the moment the blade touched it—then reverted back to normal once the knife pulled away. There wasn't a scratch left behind. Her hand was smooth and unblemished, like nothing had happened.
"My Ice Teigu doesn't do this," she added. "I'd know if it did."
Kalifa stared, stunned. "So... you really are elemental now?"
"Seems like it."
Kalifa rubbed her chin. "Maybe being in this world for so long changed you. That could've awakened something new."
Esdeath nodded. "Sounds reasonable."
At least it gave her an excuse when Vane eventually found out. She could just blame the One Piece world's influence.
Kalifa gave her a sly grin. "This is good news, though. Elementalization means regular attacks can't hurt you. It's one of the strongest defensive powers there is. And for someone like you, who's already a beast in combat, this just makes you more unstoppable."
Esdeath's smile faded slightly. "Wait. Doesn't this also mean I'm now vulnerable to Sea-Prism Stone and Armament Haki? I don't want that."
Kalifa nodded. "That... might be a problem."
She clenched her right fist and coated it in Armament Haki. "Let's test it."
Esdeath didn't flinch. "Go ahead."
Kalifa lightly tapped Esdeath's left side with her Haki-infused fist—and was met with something unexpected. Her hand passed straight through. Esdeath's waist shimmered into ice where the punch landed.
Kalifa blinked. "That's... impossible. Even Haki can't hit you?"
Esdeath chuckled. "Seems like it."
Kalifa looked at her fist, still coated in black Haki. "Congratulations, outsider. You've somehow bypassed one of the only counters to Logia-type powers."
"Hit me harder," Esdeath said, adjusting her stance and gesturing toward her stomach.
Kalifa hesitated. "If something happens, don't blame me."
"Oh, stop whining. Dinner won't cook itself," Esdeath said flatly.
Kalifa rolled her eyes but obeyed, this time putting real force behind her punch. It was powerful enough to send a Sea King flying.
Her fist went straight through again. Esdeath's midsection instantly froze around it, then solidified back to normal as Kalifa pulled her hand away.
"That's not normal elementalization..." Kalifa murmured. "It's stronger than a standard Logia."
She stepped back, deep in thought. "It's almost like your Ice Teigu evolved—got upgraded somehow. If even Haki can't affect you, then Sea-Prism Stone probably won't work either."
What Kalifa didn't know was that Vane had invested in Esdeath through the [Investment System], granting her a pseudo-Logia transformation. It didn't change her weapon into a Devil Fruit, but rather added a new passive ability—true elemental defense.
Esdeath was unknowingly stronger than most Logia users now.
"Maybe it's a power boost," she muttered. "Whatever it is, I like it."
Her body had never truly adapted to the physics of this world. She'd seen firsthand how monstrous physiques like Big Mom's could turn skin into steel walls. Esdeath, for all her power, had the physical body of a regular human.
Now, with this strange evolution—let's just call it elementalization—she had finally leveled the playing field.
"I'll take it," she said quietly.
Kalifa, meanwhile, seemed deep in thought. "Actually, now that I think about it... I've changed too."
Esdeath tilted her head. "What kind of change?"
Kalifa hesitated, then flexed her fingers. "My strength. It's jumped a lot. I feel like I could vaporize you with a single lightning bolt."
Esdeath raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You can try."
"I'm joking!" Kalifa said quickly, but then added more seriously, "Still, I have gotten stronger. I can feel it."
What she didn't realize was that her Thunder Fruit abilities—granted to her by Vane—had been passively upgraded. Her control had reached 200 million volts, comparable to the level Enel had achieved with years of mastery.
She hadn't noticed it before, but after seeing Esdeath's transformation, she'd finally sensed the leap in her own power.
Esdeath grinned. "Then maybe you'll stop being such dead weight. You couldn't even handle the pressure of Conqueror's Haki last week."
"I'm not dead weight!" Kalifa snapped, puffing up indignantly.
Esdeath shrugged. "Fine, fine. But your boss is waiting for dinner, so if you're done showing off, get back to chopping."
Kalifa huffed. "I'm not a waste... I'll explain it to you later."
She turned back to the cutting board, quietly resuming her task.
It was just another day in their strange new life. They didn't know where these sudden upgrades were coming from. Only Vane did—and he had no intention of telling them.
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I be seeing other fanfics with over 400 Powerstones, and we be getting less than 50 lol. Makes me a little sad, honestly 🙂.