"This… is for me, Captain?" Ashie asked again, needing to be sure.
He used to disdain Devil Fruits.
But after spending time on this ship and seeing what Devil Fruits could do, he wasn't as resistant anymore.
To be honest, people of his generation were especially repelled by Devil Fruits—thinking it meant "the sea would reject you."
"Obviously," White Ghost said. "Do you think I brought it out just to show off?"
He tossed the fruit to Ashie.
"Then I won't be polite!" Ashie said simply.
He didn't hesitate.
He'd been on this ship for a while now. Even if he didn't move around much, he could feel it:
People here treated "their own" extremely well. No scheming, no exclusion.
If someone had a problem, everyone helped.
Sure, if you embarrassed yourself, people would laugh—but it was friendly laughter, not malice.
Ashie took the Devil Fruit and swallowed it in one bite.
Another ruthless one, White Ghost thought approvingly.
Ashie closed his eyes for a moment after eating it, then immediately walked to the table.
He picked up two metal materials and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing like he meant it.
A short while later, he spat out a brand-new piece of metal.
Franky's eyes glittered.
"SUUUUPER! Uncle—my laser beam has hope now!"
"Incredible…" Ashie stared at the new metal on the table, then felt the power inside his body and couldn't help sighing.
White Ghost nodded with satisfaction.
This was the Munch-Munch Fruit.
With this, Franky's future creations would have real potential.
White Ghost then pulled out more notes from his bracelet—Vegapunk's other research—and handed them to Ashie.
"These are experimental records from the greatest scientist of this era. Take a look."
"The greatest scientist…?" Ashie flipped through.
"Tsk tsk tsk… worthy of the title. These experiments—many of them were impossible for me before."
"But now that I have this Devil Fruit power… I'm confident I can catch up!"
"Uh—Uncle," Franky interrupted anxiously. "Shouldn't we test the new metal first? Hope's right in front of us!"
"Right, right, right!" Ashie slapped his own forehead and snapped back to focus.
Now that they had the conditions, they had to use the best materials.
"OH YEAH!" Franky struck his signature pose.
White Ghost's eyes hurt just looking at it.
Soon, under Ashie's power, one new metal after another appeared.
White Ghost watched them bustle around and didn't interrupt.
Scientists got so absorbed they could miss meals.
So he quietly closed the door and let them continue.
—
When he stepped out, he saw Wanda leading Olga upstairs to rest.
The infirmary light was still on—so the squirrel doctor and Naqin were probably still busy.
White Ghost decided not to disturb them.
He lit a cigarette and sat on the dragon figurehead at the ship's bow, staring out at the sea.
How long had it been since he'd felt this calm?
He thought back to when he first arrived in this world—half-dead, like he was about to meet his ancestors—
Then he saw Dragon.
Then the pressure of Roger made it hard to breathe.
Especially that smile Roger wore before death.
He had smiled as he walked toward the end.
Back then, White Ghost felt Roger probably had no regrets.
He did succeed in opening the era of piracy… though no one knew how many people died because of it.
But this world was always like this.
Big fish eat small fish. The winner is king.
There was no such thing as "real justice"—only hypocrisy.
No absolute good or evil either.
Because the dirtiest thing in the world was the human heart.
After understanding that, White Ghost chased power nonstop… until now.
Even now, all he truly had was a ticket that let him survive.
He still hadn't "passed the gate."
White Ghost smoked quietly, staring at the sea.
After some unknown time, he sensed someone coming from behind.
He didn't turn around.
The little squirrel mink had been watching him from afar for a long while.
She'd meant to go rest—tomorrow would be busy again.
But somehow… she still walked over.
"If you're here," White Ghost said, "come sit with me."
He took out a bottle and drank alone.
"Okay, White-bro," the squirrel mink answered softly, hopping up onto the figurehead.
"You're done with work?" White Ghost asked, glancing at her.
She wasn't even close yet and already looked shy.
"Mm." She nodded, face burning hot.
This was the first time she'd spent time alone with him like this.
"Sit."
White Ghost patted the spot beside him.
"Talk with me."
"O-Okay…" Her mind felt blank. She didn't even know how she sat down.
"You've been out with me for a while now. Do you miss home?"
She forced herself to calm down and answered while staring at the sea.
"A little."
"Only a little?" White Ghost asked with a smile.
Feeling his gaze, she didn't dare look back. She kept staring at the sea.
"Mm… just a little. I miss my sisters on Zou."
"Heh. And how is life with us?"
"It's good!" She tilted her head.
"It's good here. I can do what I like. No one forces me into anything."
"Stella and the others are kind to me. Uta too. Everyone's kind."
"And the sea is really incredible… you can run into anything."
"Enel told me the sea around Skypiea looks white… I really want to see it."
"We will," White Ghost said, drinking. "First we circle the four blues."
"Mm. Got it." She answered obediently.
White Ghost pulled out another Devil Fruit.
"You want this?"
"A Paramecia: Spore-Spore Fruit. It can create poisonous gas… and other things, like cultivating fungi."
The squirrel mink looked at it and shook her head.
"No. I don't like fighting. I think medicine suits me better."
"White-bro, give it to someone who needs it. I'll just heal everyone when they need it."
White Ghost looked at her for a moment.
She was gentle, earnest, and incredibly pure.
The squirrel mink's face turned so red it looked like steam might rise from her head. She hurriedly lowered it, afraid she'd faint.
White Ghost coughed, snapped out of it, and looked back out to sea, taking a drink to steady himself.
Why does she look cuter the more I look…? he thought, annoyed with himself.
They fell quiet, both watching the sea.
After a while, she spoke softly.
"White-bro… thank you."
"Hm?" White Ghost turned his head.
She still stared at the sea, not daring to meet his eyes.
"Thank you for taking us out to see this magical ocean."
"And thank you for helping us understand… that Boss Nekomamushi and Duke Inuarashi aren't as 'great' as we once believed."
"The three of us have already talked it over. When we go back to Zou, we'll take the tribe members who share our beliefs."
"We don't want to be anyone's 'servants' anymore."
"Sister Wanda and Big Brother Pedro both said it—following you is the Mink Tribe's future."
"So we plan to build a new 'Mokomo' homeland on the territory you'll have in the future."
White Ghost chuckled.
"It's no big deal. When the time comes, I'll take territory—and you can bring your people over."
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