— — — — — — —
"Alright! See you later!"
Kaito nodded and immediately teleported away with Hancock.
First, they visited the training bases, including Skypiea and several others.
After showing Hancock around the different bases, he finally took her to the Shimotsuki Village base, where he introduced her to Mikoto, Kushina, Kuina, Nami, Perona, Koshiro, Ace, Tsunade, and the rest. They all got to know each other.
"Oh? So, you're the future Pirate World's most beautiful woman—Empress Hancock? You really are gorgeous! And honestly, you look way better than the Hancock from Luffy's original future!"
Tsunade, upon hearing Kaito's introduction, curiously sized Hancock up and teased her with a smile.
"Uh..."
Hancock felt a little flustered and blushed. "That future version of me is different. She was influenced by her past as a slave and took a completely different path!"
"Besides, Tsunade-nee, you're also very beautiful!"
"Mikoto and Kushina too!"
Tsunade, Mikoto, and Kushina all beamed at the compliment and modestly responded, "Oh, stop it! You're too kind!"
At that moment, Hancock noticed Kuina and the others pouting slightly, looking a little dissatisfied. She quickly added, "Oh! Kuina, you all are really cute too!"
Kuina and the others: "....."
Cute? Seriously? You might as well not have said anything...
But they knew Hancock meant well, so they didn't hold it against her. Instead, they quickly replied, "No way! Sister Hancock is the really beautiful one!"
After that, the girls dragged Hancock away to chat, completely leaving Kaito behind.
Even though Hancock wanted to stay with him, she didn't want to risk being isolated by Tsunade and the others. So, she gave Kaito an apologetic look before following along.
"Tsk, tsk! Kaito, you're something else! Another one, huh? Sometimes, I'm actually a little jealous. Too bad, I could never pull that off!"
Not far away, Minato walked over, glancing at Hancock and the others before playfully teasing Kaito.
Over the years, he had already found someone he liked— a girl from the Uzumaki clan. Of course, Kaito knew about it.
It seemed like Minato really had a thing for red-haired Uzumaki girls.
"You brat..."
Kaito gave him a sideways glance but didn't say much.
Later that day, Kaito took Hancock to the Konoha Village in the ninja world, where he introduced her to his mother and other close people.
"I can't believe little Hancock has grown so tall and turned into such a beauty! Welcome to Konoha! You should visit more often!"
Uchiha Naori warmly welcomed Hancock and reminded her to drop by anytime.
This girl really deserved her title as the future Pirate World's most beautiful woman. Even now, her charm was astonishing.
Naori thought she might even surpass Mikoto, Tsunade, and the others.
"Could it be the influence of the Love-Love Fruit?"
Naori secretly wondered.
After settling Hancock in the living room and chatting for a while, the topic of Devil Fruits came up. Naori couldn't help but ask Kaito, "Kaito, did you help Hancock remove the weaknesses and risks of her Devil Fruit?"
"And also... Is her Love-Love Fruit really a hidden Mythical Zoan Medusa Fruit?"
She was quite curious about this.
"Yeah."
Kaito nodded confidently. "I've already removed all the drawbacks and risks. Plus, after thorough investigation, I can confirm that it really is a Mythical Zoan Medusa Fruit."
"My previous guess was correct."
"Once Hancock fully awakens the power of the Love-Love Fruit, she'll be able to unlock the true potential of the Medusa abilities."
"When that happens, her strength will skyrocket!"
"Mhm!"
Naori nodded in understanding, then looked at Hancock. "Congratulations, Hancock! You've obtained a Devil Fruit that suits you perfectly."
"But don't forget to keep up with your training—life force technique, meditation techniques, and Primal Chakra refining. Those are the true keys to power!"
This girl was definitely not escaping her son's grasp. She was bound to become one of her daughters-in-law.
So, of course, Naori had to give her some guidance.
"Yes!"
Hancock blushed and nodded. "I'll remember, Lady Naori! I'll do my best."
"In the future, I'll also help Kaito overthrow the World Government, wipe out the Celestial Dragons, and take control of the entire Pirate World!"
"That's the spirit!"
Naori smiled approvingly and encouraged her, "I'll be looking forward to it."
"Oh, right! Kaito, about my Devil Fruit decision, I've made up my mind. I want the Paramecia-type Slow-Slow Fruit!"
"This fruit was apparently already eaten by Foxy the Silver Fox. Little Kuro spotted him when mapping out parts of the South Blue."
"I'm planning to capture him and have you extract his Devil Fruit ability for me!"
Naori had thought long and hard before making this choice.
She wasn't lacking powerful attack techniques—after all, her Susanoo itself already had immense offensive power.
She was also searching for divine weapons and artifacts to further enhance her Susanoo's attack and restraint abilities.
But in the end, she realized her real issue was that Susanoo was too slow and clunky, making it difficult to hit her targets.
The Slow-Slow Fruit would perfectly solve that problem.
Of course, if she could, she would prefer to get her hands on the Time-Time Fruit, the superior version of the Slow-Slow Fruit.
Unfortunately, according to Kaito's intel, that fruit had already been eaten by Kozuki Toki and disappeared after her death.
Either way, it wasn't something she could obtain in the short term.
So, Naori decided to go for the next best thing—the Slow-Slow Fruit. She would absorb and develop its abilities to strengthen herself.
At the same time, it would serve as preparation for when she eventually got her hands on the Time-Time Fruit.
What? A person can only eat one Devil Fruit?
That rule didn't apply here.
Kaito had already removed the negative side effects of Devil Fruits, so that limitation no longer existed.
With Kaito's optimizations, once a user fully mastered a Devil Fruit's abilities, they could absorb its power into their Soul, making it a part of themselves.
At that point, their "Devil Fruit slot" would reset, allowing them to consume another fruit.
Theoretically, as long as someone developed their powers quickly enough, they could keep eating new Devil Fruits indefinitely.
And even if they hadn't fully absorbed a fruit's power yet, Naori could always have Kaito extract the fruit from her body and replace it with a different one.
No matter how she looked at it, there was no downside.
"Huh? The Slow-Slow Fruit?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow, nodding slightly. "It's good, sure, but Mom, have you really thought this through? The Slow-Slow Fruit isn't exactly known for being that powerful."
"Plus, it has quite a few limitations—it requires setting up the right conditions to be effective."
Even ten years from now, Silver Fox Foxy was just a small-time pirate with a 25-million-berry bounty.
"That's just based on your memory."
Uchiha Naori remained unfazed. "You've eaten a Devil Fruit yourself, so you should understand—how an ability is used, developed, and refined depends entirely on the user's creativity and insight, along with the accumulated knowledge of previous fruit wielders."
"To me, this is actually a very powerful Devil Fruit—it's just that its past users have failed to develop its true potential."
"Anything that involves time manipulation is never as simple as it seems."
"If anything, the fact that it relates to time might be exactly why it's so difficult to develop properly!"
"I'm confident I can fully unlock the Slow-Slow Fruit's potential and turn it into one of my trump cards, greatly enhancing my strength!"
"Besides, with the defects and hidden dangers removed, I won't be restricted by the flawed techniques of its previous users. I'll be able to push its abilities far beyond what they ever imagined."
She wasn't wasting time. She needed to power up as quickly as possible—to help her son carry some of the burden.
Otherwise, they would always have to remain on guard for the sudden reappearance of the Sage of Six Paths. That constant vigilance was exhausting.
"Well, that does make sense."
Kaito nodded in understanding. "My Rumble-Rumble Fruit was the same. Once I removed its defects and the will of its previous user, it became much easier to master."
"The techniques and applications of my abilities became far more flexible, adapting naturally to my will. Compared to before, it's on a whole different level."
"Now, I'm actually looking forward to seeing you develop the Slow-Slow Fruit into something god-tier!"
"Go knock Foxy out and bring him back to the Dimensional Gate's core space."
"I'll extract the fruit when you're ready!"
"Oh, by the way, do you know what Devil Fruit Lady Mito has decided on?"
"Yeah."
Uchiha Naori nodded. "I'll take care of Foxy tomorrow. Today is Hancock's first visit—I can't just leave in the middle of it."
"As for Mito? She already made up her mind—she wants the Mythical Zoan Nine-Tails Fox Fruit."
"Huh?"
Kaito was stunned for a moment. "That Devil Fruit doesn't really suit her, does it?"
"If I remember correctly, the Nine-Tails Fox Fruit's abilities revolve around transformation and illusion—it's more suited for disguise and illusion-based combat."
"It would be a perfect fit for a Uchiha genjutsu specialist. Why would she choose it?"
"That doesn't really make sense…"
"Heh."
Uchiha Naori chuckled. "I told her the same thing. Then she said she was also considering the Tremor-Tremor Fruit or the Shockwave Fruit—both of which suit her combat style better."
Uzumaki Mito primarily relied on Adamantine Sealing Chains and monstrous physical strength in battle.
For the sealing chains, unless there was some kind of Sealing-Seal Fruit, there wasn't an obvious Devil Fruit that would enhance that ability.
But for her physical strength, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and Shockwave Fruit were perfect choices.
Either one would massively enhance the power behind her punches and kicks.
"That makes way more sense! But getting the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in the short term is out of the question—Whitebeard isn't someone you can just take down."
"The Shockwave Fruit, though… that's a possibility."
"I have a feeling, Edward Weevil ate that fruit."
"If we track him down, maybe we can get it."
"I'll figure something out."
Kaito nodded, deep in thought.
"Alright. You handle it. If any other powerful Devil Fruits show up, let us know—we're open to switching if something better comes along."
Uchiha Naori smiled and nodded.
She didn't linger on the conversation any longer. Instead, she arranged for a group to take Hancock on a tour of Konoha and nearby towns to familiarize her with the surroundings.
That evening, after having dinner with Hancock at home, Kaito personally escorted her back to Amazon Lily.
They also agreed to train together every day moving forward.
Only after seeing her off did Kaito return home to the ninja world.
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