3,960 Words
Our Tontatta childhood trio—Leo, Mansherry, and I—had gathered in a hollowed-out tree root, huddled around the massive, leather-bound Devil Fruit Encyclopedia that Leo had accidentally swiped from a human in town the day before. To us dwarves, the thick book was the size of a dining table, its yellowed pages filled with intricate sketches of bizarre, swirly-patterned fruits.
We had opened the heavy cover out of sheer, unadulterated curiosity.
"A Devil Fruit Encyclopedia~?" I asked, tracing a finger over a detailed drawing of a melon covered in flames. "When you say Devil Fruit... you mean those weird, mythical fruits that grant mysterious powers, right? Like the ones you two ate when we were kids?"
"That's right, resu," Leo nodded earnestly, adjusting his goggles. "My mystic art, the power of the Stitch-Stitch Fruit, is something I gained right after eating one, resu. I thought it was just a weird-looking apple..."
"My Heal-Heal power too," Mansherry added, her face suddenly scrunching up as if remembering a deep trauma. "But that thing... it tasted really not tasty, resu..."
Mansherry stuck her tongue out with a dramatic bleh.
What do you mean 'really not tasty'? Just say it tasted like actual garbage. Who are you trying to be polite for? Flipping the massive pages with our combined strength, we scoured the index and eventually found the specific entries on the very Devil Fruits these two had presumably eaten.
『 Stitch-Stitch Fruit: A Paramecia-class Devil Fruit. Grants the user the ability to stitch absolutely anything together, regardless of whether it is a living organism, an inorganic object, or even the ground itself. The threads are incredibly durable. 』
『 Heal-Heal Fruit: A Paramecia-class Devil Fruit. Grants the user the ability to instantly heal any wound or injury on a living creature through the secretion of a special liquid. At its absolute highest level of mastery, the power can even restore inorganic matter to its original state. 』
"Oh~, they're really in here. And they sound super overpowered when you write them out like that," I muttered, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the page. "...Still, it's pretty strange, isn't it? Just by eating a weird fruit with such a stupid name, you gain world-altering, mysterious powers."
"There is the terrible risk of losing the ability to swim forever, resu. The sea will always reject you," Leo pointed out, his tone turning serious.
"...Yeah, there is that massive drawback~." I sighed, leaning back on my hands. "If it weren't for that fatal flaw, I might have just tracked down some random Devil Fruit and eaten it half-jokingly myself~."
"What are you saying, Line, resu? Devil Fruits are the treasures of the sea! They aren't exactly something you come across every day, resu. Some people spend their whole lives looking for one!" Leo scolded.
"Really~?"
I looked at Leo. Then I looked at Mansherry. They were both ability users. I'm pretty sure Kabu-san, the stout commander of our flying squad, and Bian were also ability users with powers from the... Bug-Bug Fruit, was it?
Then there was Viola over in the palace, who was also a user. The Glare-Glare Fruit.
...Yeah. What do you mean 'not something you come across every day'!? I'm practically surrounded by ability users! You guys are treating them like a neighborhood fruit stand!
Shaking my head, I stood up and continued reading the encyclopedia, walking across the pages to scan the dense text.
"...The Sticky-Sticky Fruit, the Flap-Flap Fruit, the Stone-Stone Fruit, the String-String Fruit, the Snow-Snow Fruit... There really is a massive, ridiculous variety. But well, if you asked me if I wanted to become an ability user at the steep cost of sinking like a stone for the rest of my life... I'd probably have to say no~."
In this second life of mine, I was incredibly good at swimming.
The Tontatta Tribe is physically unique; we have large, fluffy tails growing from our behinds. Utilizing this, I created an original, high-speed swimming technique called the "Tail Screw," where I spin my tail underwater at high speeds like a motorized boat propeller.
It lets me cut through the ocean at a speed comparable to a modern jet ski. The wind in my hair, the refreshing spray of the salt water... I have absolutely no desire to become an ability user if it means permanently throwing away that exhilarating feeling of freedom.
After briefly skimming through the rest of the encyclopedia, I reached for the thick cover, just about to close the book and call it a day.
That was when the name of a certain, completely unassuming Devil Fruit caught my eye. The bolded text pierced my heart.
"...The Huge Huge Fruit?"
I felt my heart give a massive, violent thump against my ribs. Time seemed to stop. Slowly, with trembling eyes, I lowered my gaze to the detailed description of the fruit.
『 Huge Huge Fruit: A Paramecia-class Devil Fruit. Allows the user to exponentially enlarge their own body up to nearly ten times its original size at will, becoming a Giant Human. 』
"..."
Enlarge... Enlarge? Enlarge! Enlarge!?
My tiny brain did the frantic math. My current height is just under twenty centimeters... If I ate this fruit and multiplied my height by ten, I'd be about two hundred centimeters! The absolute dream height!
In other words... I could become tall!? Not just normal human height, but an actually tall, broad-shouldered, towering man!? Seriously!!?
"Gugegoggaha!? Ohahaha!!!"
"!? L-Line!?" Leo jumped back in shock.
"What's wrong, resu!? You suddenly let out a creepy voice like a ghost, resu!" Mansherry gasped, hiding behind Leo.
"Who's a ghost! No, it's just... well, I-I found it!" I stammered, pointing a shaking finger at the page.
"You found it... Found what?" Leo asked, creeping closer.
"The H-Huge... Huge Huge...! Huge... HUUUUGE!! Fwehhehehe! Uwohohoho!! Iyahahaha!!"
"Has Line completely lost his mind, resu!!?" Leo shrieked.
"Are you okay, resu!? Should I use Heal-Dandelion on his brain, resu!?" Mansherry panicked, her hands glowing with a soft, restorative light.
Ignoring the two who were deeply, genuinely concerned for my sanity, I hoisted the impossibly heavy Devil Fruit Encyclopedia high above my head with a burst of hysterical Tontatta strength and danced a manic solo jig around the hollowed root.
Hey! Hey! Hey!
I finally found it. The holy grail. A Devil Fruit that I would actually willingly, gleefully give up my ability to swim for...!
From the absolute bottom of my heart, I truly believed I was reincarnated into this bizarre, dangerous world for the sole, divine purpose of obtaining this fruit.
—————
"You're leaving the Tontatta Kingdom!? A-Are you serious, Line~~!?" a massive crowd of dwarves shouted in unison, their voices echoing through the underground plaza.
The very next day, I stood before my fellow Tontatta comrades, a packed drawstring pouch slung over my shoulder, and proudly announced that I was leaving the country to set off on a grand adventure across the vast, unforgiving ocean.
My singular goal, of course, was to get my hands on the Huge Huge Fruit at any cost.
"...Ever since you looked at that Devil Fruit Encyclopedia yesterday and started foaming at the mouth, I had a feeling this might happen, resu... but to think you actually planned on leaving us, resu..." Leo sniffled, rubbing his eyes.
"There's no time like the present. Once you make a firm decision, every day after is a bad day to start. Toriko said that too, right, Leo?" I grinned confidently.
"Who is Toriko, resu!?"
"Well anyway, I'm setting off on a journey to find the Huge Huge Fruit! It's out there somewhere, calling my name!"
My comrades swarmed around my ankles, clinging to my legs and crying, "Waaah, we'll be so lonely~, please don't leave us, Line~," but my resolve was forged in iron. I had thought about this long and hard all night, staring up at the glowing moss on my ceiling.
Since I was born a man, I've decided to live for my dreams! I'm going to eat the Huge Huge Fruit, break the physical limits of this puny body, and become the Harem King!!
"...Line, I really think I should come with you on your journey, resu. It's too dangerous alone..." Leo said, gripping my hand tightly.
"No way, Leo. I can't drag you into my purely selfish dream. You're going to become a Tonta Corps Commander in the future, right? If so, you need to stay here and protect the peace of this kingdom! Make sure it stays peaceful for when I eventually come back as a giant, okay?"
"...Yes, resu! I promise!" Leo saluted, tears welling in his eyes.
Leo offered to accompany me into the unknown, but I firmly turned him down. This is my problem, my selfish, hormone-driven desire. I can't drag my earnest best friend along on a perilous journey when I have no idea how many years it might take to find a single fruit in a massive ocean.
Besides, if I took Leo out of the country, Mansherry would probably send the entire royal guard after me and hold a grudge for the rest of my life...
"Line..."
Just as I was thinking about her wrath, Princess Mansherry stepped right up to me, her expression unusually somber.
What is it? Don't worry, I'm not taking Leo with me. Or what, are you going to say, 'As a fellow dwarf, I won't forgive you for abandoning our country, resu~'? However, my resolve is incredibly firm... I won't be stopped.
"I want you to take this with you, resu," she said softly.
"Eh..."
Mansherry reached out with something small, delicately placing a woven cord around my neck... a pendant.
Wait, isn't this the pretty pebble she stole—I mean, received from Leo yesterday during our heist? Mansherry seemed to really treasure this little token, and she's... eh? Giving it to me?
"I've known for a long time that once you set your stubborn mind to something, no one can stop you, Line, resu," she said, looking at me with gentle, wise eyes that completely betrayed her usual spoiled persona. "So at the very least, please take this with you, resu. I'd be happy if looking at it reminds you that, even when you're far apart and all alone, we Tontatta are always your comrades, resu."
"...A-Ah, thanks..." I mumbled, my throat suddenly feeling incredibly tight.
That actually got me a little choked up. I'd been so used to seeing her act like a bratty tsundere toward Leo that I completely forgot... she doesn't hold the title of the nation's Princess just for show. She really cared about all of us.
Well, it can't be helped. As a final parting gift to such a sweet princess, I'll tease her one last time to lighten the mood. I leaned my face in close to Mansherry's ear.
"!? W-What is it, resu...?" she whispered, blushing slightly.
"Thanks, Mansherry. Listen, when I leave on my journey, Leo is definitely going to feel incredibly lonely and vulnerable, so that's your chance."
"Huh..."
"You have to be the one to forcibly fill the void in Leo's heart! Then just push him down! Strip off his clothes! Once the deed is done and you've crossed that line, he'll be yours forever—"
"Wha!? Wha!? Whaaaat!? What are you saying, resu!! You massive idiot Line!!" Mansherry's face turned the color of a ripe tomato as she started flailing her arms, throwing rapid-fire punches at my chest.
"Hehehehe! Well then, see ya, my Tontatta comrades~! I'm gonna come back as a much bigger man than I am now~! Adios~!"
With that, laughing mischievously to hide the genuine tears pricking my eyes, I dashed out of the Tontatta Kingdom, leaving the only real home I had ever known behind.
—————
Now then, I had dashed out of the Tontatta Kingdom in high spirits, feeling like the protagonist of my own epic story. But reality quickly set in: how exactly was a twenty-centimeter dwarf supposed to set off on a grand adventure across the treacherous sea...?
The answer: illegal stowing away.
As it happened, a massive, multi-masted human cargo ship was departing from the main port of Dressrosa to another island that day. I was going to sneak onto it and see where the winds of fate would take me.
"Stowing away... isn't that a bad thing to do, resu...?" Leo asked nervously as we crouched behind a stack of wooden shipping crates on the bustling docks. The smell of salt, tar, and fresh fish hung heavily in the air.
"It's totally fine! I already got explicit permission from the captain!" A complete, unapologetic lie.
"Then it's fine, resu!" Leo beamed, his conscience instantly cleared.
I had parted ways with the rest of my Tontatta comrades back on Green Bit, but Leo, stubborn as ever, followed me right up until the very, very end, acting as my lookout.
Honestly, it's because you're so blindly trusting and loyal like this that I could never stop being your best friend. What a good guy!
I had painstakingly prepared my luggage the night before. A portable mini Fluffy Mushroom bed, a tiny canteen of fresh drinking water, and a few weeks' worth of baked apple cookies. I packed them all into my custom drawstring pouch and brought them with me.
Also... right, I prepared some crucial letters too.
"Leo, sorry to ask, but hold onto these two letters for me. Once I'm officially gone and the ship sets sail, I need you to hand this letter to Scarlet and Rebecca in the Flower Field... and this one to Viola and Monet in the Royal Palace."
"Two letters, resu?" Leo asked, carefully tucking the sealed envelopes into his vest.
"Yep. I'm leaving without telling them face-to-face, after all. They might get super mad if I just disappear without a word, so I wrote them letters explaining everything just in case."
"Y-You're planning on leaving without even saying a proper goodbye to Lady Scarlet and Lady Viola, resu!? That's no good, resu! You should hand these letters to them yourself like a real man, resu!"
"If I see them, my resolve might waver!" I hissed, grabbing his shoulders.
If they pleaded with me with tears in their eyes, saying, 'Please! Don't go! You can do whatever you want with my body~♡ Ufu~n♡,' I definitely wouldn't be able to leave. My teenage hormones would chain me to this island forever. On the other hand, if they just casually brushed it off with an, 'Oh, you're leaving. See ya,' that would completely, irreparably shatter my fragile heart.
That's exactly why I'm taking the coward's way out and leaving without seeing them.
"But..."
"You're my best friend, Leo, and you're the only one I can trust with this. Please deliver these letters for me."
"...You really are going to come back safely someday, right, resu?" Leo looked at me, his lip quivering slightly.
"Yeah, I'll be back! I lie all the time to mess with you, but this is absolutely no lie!"
"...Understood! I believe you, resu! I'll take full responsibility and deliver these letters, resu!" Leo nodded firmly, wiping his nose.
"Thanks!"
"We're setting sail~! Pull up the anchors!" a gruff voice shouted from aboard the massive cargo ship. The heavy wooden gangway began to retract.
Shouldering my drawstring pouch, I took a running start and leaped high over the water, landing silently on the ship's wooden railing.
"See ya later, Leo!" I called back.
"...! See ya later, Line, resu!"
With the heavy churning of the anchors breaching the surface, the ship's massive sails caught the wind, and it began to slowly move forward out of the port. Leo stood at the very edge of the stone shore, waving his hand frantically at me. For a Devil Fruit ability user, getting that close to the open sea is incredibly dangerous, you know...
I waved back with all my might, a massive grin on my face.
Leo's tiny figure disappeared from view in the blink of an eye as the ship picked up speed, but I kept waving my hand anyway, staring at the shrinking island of Dressrosa...
"C-Captain! We have a massive problem!"
"What is it, sailor!?"
"A Fighting Fish! A rogue Fighting Fish has appeared off the starboard bow!!"
"What!? Are you blind!? I thought there weren't any Fighting Fish near this safe-zone coast!?"
"Could it be a stray that got separated from its school? It's heading right for us! Brace for impact! Uwaaah!!"
...While I was busy getting emotional and waving at an empty horizon, I heard deeply panicked voices coming from the bow of the ship.
"A Fighting Fish~?" I muttered, scrambling up the rigging to get a better view.
Here, in the treacherous waters near Dressrosa, swim giant, fiercely territorial, horned goldfish known as Fighting Fish.
They are ferocious, aquatic monsters capable of easily snapping a solid iron bridge in half with a single headbutt. A beast of that caliber could probably sink the wooden cargo ship I'm currently stowing away on like it was a mere bath toy.
"Gyaaaa!! We're doomed!! It's too fast!!" the crew shouted in unison, abandoning their posts.
Looking over the railing, I saw a massive Fighting Fish—a true alpha, about twenty to thirty percent larger than a normal one—breaching the water, its sharp horns gleaming in the sunlight as it charged straight at the ship, aiming for a catastrophic, full-body ram.
...Good grief. This is supposed to be the glorious start of my grand adventure, yet the omens are already looking incredibly grim. I can't let my ride sink five minutes into the journey!
"Tontatta Combat..." I whispered, my muscles coiling tight.
Masking my presence completely, I launched myself off the ship's mast stealthily, yet at a blinding, bullet-like speed directly toward the incoming monster...
"Tail Hammer!!!"
Using the momentum of my fall, I spun my body and slammed my superhumanly strong, fluffy tail directly between the giant fish's eyes.
KRA-KOOM!!!
A shockwave rippled across the water's surface.
"Ehhh!? What just happened!? The Fighting Fish just went flying backward on its own!!!" the crew shouted in absolute shock as the massive beast was violently repelled, its eyes rolling back into its head.
Without being spotted by a single member of the panicked crew, I magnificently knocked the giant Fighting Fish out cold, kicking off its snout to land softly back on the deck as the unconscious beast floated to the surface.
Consider this physical labor as payment for my free ride. Hehehehe! Next stop, the rest of the world!
—————
Leo's POV
I have two childhood friends, resu.
One is the obnoxious, selfish, mean, capricious, and constantly quick-tempered princess of the Tontatta Kingdom, Princess Mansherry.
And the other is a chronic liar, a hopeless pervert, a lazy slacker, a reckless idiot, and the absolute biggest troublemaker in all of Tontatta, Line.
Both of them are selfish and a massive handful, resu, but to me, they are my most precious childhood friends.
And now, one of those childhood friends has left the safety of our country and set off on a highly dangerous journey across the sea.
Setting off on a ship for a grand adventure across the ocean... When he first announced it, I thought it sounded so incredibly cool, just like Mont Blanc Noland, the legendary explorer and hero passed down in the history of the Tontatta Kingdom...
But honestly, actually standing on the docks and watching his ship sail away into the endless blue horizon is a little... no, it's incredibly lonely, resu. The island already feels quieter without him here to cause trouble.
"But Line has a big dream... so it can't be helped, resu," I whispered to the crashing waves.
Ever since we were little kids playing in the sunflower fields, Line always talked about how he desperately wanted to grow big, just like the Big Humans.
He always talked about how he wanted to grow big, be strong, and fall in love with a beautiful Big Human woman. He was obsessed with it.
Everyone in the kingdom told him it was physically impossible. Honestly, I'm sure Line himself secretly thought it was impossible too, resu...
But then, he stumbled upon that dusty Devil Fruit Encyclopedia I brought back, and the 'Huge Huge Fruit' written inside its pages.
If he eats that magical fruit, his impossible dream might actually come true...
Once he was given that kind of tangible hope, I knew Line wouldn't be able to sit still on Green Bit anymore. I knew he would immediately run off to chase it, resu...
"...Honestly! He's really so selfish, resu! He always pushes the most unpleasant jobs onto me!" I sighed, pulling the letters from my vest.
I stared at the two letters I received from Line. He said he wrote them because he was leaving in a hurry... his final farewell letters.
I have to go deliver these to Lady Scarlet, Lady Rebecca, Lady Viola, and Miss Monet now.
How are they going to react when they receive these sudden letters from me...?
Will they cry? Will they get angry at me for letting him go? Will they feel incredibly sad? My heart feels so heavy just thinking about it, resu...
"Wait, huh? Letters... there are three of them..." I muttered, shuffling the thick envelopes in my small hands.
Line explicitly said there were only two letters when he handed them to me, so why are there three?
Looking closely at the neat handwriting on the envelopes, one says, 'To Scarlet & Rebecca,' and the other says, 'To Viola & Monet.' That makes two.
Then what about the third one tucked in the back?
"Ah..."
Checking the name written on the front of the final envelope, it read, 『 To Leo & Mansherry. 』
My breath hitched. I carefully opened the sealed envelope and pulled out the folded letter inside.
『 To Leo & Mansherry.
Sorry for rushing out of the country so suddenly. I'm sure I've already told you in person, but I'm heading out to sea to find the Huge Huge Fruit for the sake of my dream. Well, don't worry about me. I plan on taking my time and traveling at my own pace without pushing myself too hard.
...I'm usually too embarrassed to say this to your faces, but thank you for being my friends, for being my absolute best friends in this life. I am truly, from the bottom of my heart, grateful for everything. I love you guys!
Next time we meet, I'll probably be a normal-sized human thanks to the Huge Huge Fruit, but don't leave me out just because I'm big. Let's do stupid things and play together again. See ya later! 』
"...What is this, resu... He said there were only two letters... but he secretly wrote one for us too, resu... He really is a liar right up until the very end... Line..."
Hot tears fell from my eyes, splashing onto the parchment of the letter.
I have to show this to Princess Mansherry later, so I shouldn't ruin the ink, but I can't stop the tears from falling.
"Being best friends with you was the most fun for me too, Line, resu...! I'm the one... who's grateful for you, resu...!" I sobbed, clutching the letter to my chest.
I roughly wiped my streaming tears away with my arm. I sniffled loudly, trying to compose myself.
If I keep crying over something like this... I know Line will just make fun of me when he eventually comes back. I have to be strong. I have to become a commander he can be proud of!
"Sniff, even if Line eats the Huge Huge Fruit and becomes a towering giant like a Big Human, or even if he can't eat it and stays a tiny Tontatta dwarf forever... we'll always be... best friends, resu...!"