— — — — — — —
"Exactly!"
Kaito nodded firmly. "So, to solve this issue, we either return the Human-Human Fruit to him, or we find another devil fruit like Human-Human Fruit for him."
"The problem is, it wouldn't be the same. Even if we gave him another Human-Human Fruit, it wouldn't grant him the exact same form or abilities he was supposed to have in the future."
There was no perfect solution.
Unless they were willing to give up the effects of the Human-Human Fruit.
But that was obviously out of the question.
Even though Mikoto and Kushina felt sympathy for Chopper, they couldn't make that choice.
Because the effects of this fruit were too important to them.
Unless, one day, they no longer needed its power—then maybe. But that day was still far off.
Especially since the fruit's abilities would continue to evolve as they used and developed them further.
"This…"
Mikoto hesitated, deep in thought. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head, and she turned to Kaito. "Kaito, I remember that in the future of the Pirate world, Vegapunk successfully replicated Zoan-type Devil Fruits, right?"
"Is there a chance that the Human-Human Fruit could be replicated as well?"
"If not, what about using the same synchronization technology as the artificial Seraphim to share the abilities?"
She was still hoping for a perfect solution.
"Well…"
Kaito pondered. "Vegapunk does have the technology to create artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits."
"But whether he can replicate a special Zoan-type like the Human-Human Fruit… I'm not sure."
"But we can try to contact him and ask."
"Conveniently, I'm meeting with Monkey D. Dragon in a few days. Through him, I should be able to arrange a meeting with Vegapunk."
"As for the Seraphim's synchronization technology? It's definitely not perfected yet. If replicating the Human-Human Fruit doesn't work, then we'll just have to wait and see if that method becomes viable."
That said, Kaito believed that with Vegapunk's abilities, creating an artificial Human-Human Fruit shouldn't be too difficult.
After all, the guy had already managed to replicate Kaido's Mythical Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit.
Zoan-types were fundamentally different from Paramecia and Logia types—replicating them seemed to be a lot easier, even for Mythical Zoans.
"I see. Then let's ask him! Hopefully, it'll work out!"
Mikoto's eyes lit up with anticipation.
"Yeah!"
Kaito nodded and, after thinking for a moment, waved his hand, sending Chopper back into the time-sealed space. He turned to Mikoto and the others and said, "For now, I'll keep Chopper in the time-sealed space, keeping him in a dormant state."
"We'll decide what to do after we've spoken with Vegapunk."
"Good idea!"
Everyone agreed without hesitation.
With that settled, they left the Space Gate and returned to Kaito's house to finish their dinner.
"By the way, shouldn't we inform Kureha about Chopper?"
Out of nowhere, Tsunade remembered something and turned to Kaito.
After all, in the future, Kureha had practically raised Chopper like her own son. She had a right to know what was going on.
"Yeah, we should. Let's finish dinner first, then we'll tell her."
Kaito had no objections.
He had no intention of hiding it from Kureha anyway.
— — —
Half an hour later, after dinner, they contacted Kureha immediately.
"You actually found Chopper?! Where is he?"
The next second, Kureha teleported in, looking anxious.
"Right here!"
Kaito waved his hand, and Chopper appeared, landing gently in front of Kureha.
She immediately caught him, holding him close. After examining his sleeping form, she channeled chakra into his body to check his condition. However, she frowned and looked up. "What's going on? And why can't I sense any trace of Devil Fruit abilities in him? Did he… not eat the fruit yet?"
"That's right."
Kaito nodded. "I actually found him alone and injured in the eastern forest of Drum Island."
"But he hadn't eaten the Devil Fruit yet."
"However, I did find the Devil Fruit elsewhere in the same forest. The thing is…"
"The thing is what?"
Kureha's brows furrowed. She had a feeling something wasn't simple about this.
If everything was normal, Kaito should have already fed Chopper the fruit.
"Well, here's the situation."
Kaito proceeded to explain everything he had discovered about the Human-Human Fruit and the experiments he had conducted.
He even temporarily extracted the fruit's ability from Kushina and transferred it into Kureha, allowing her to experience its effects firsthand before retrieving it back into Kushina's body.
"I never expected this supposedly ordinary and unimpressive Human-Human Fruit to have such terrifying potential!"
"No wonder Chopper became so intelligent and capable in the future!"
"Everyone completely underestimated the power and potential of this Devil Fruit!"
After testing it herself, Kureha was stunned. At the same time, she couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle and shake her head. "Now I understand why you're so conflicted about whether to give this fruit to Chopper."
"This is really a tough decision to make."
Having experienced its effects firsthand, she knew exactly how valuable this fruit was.
If Chopper had already eaten it, that would be one thing. But the key issue was that he hadn't yet, and now, Kaito had found the fruit first.
Even Chopper himself had been saved by Kaito. At this point, she didn't know what to say.
She was well aware that, while Kaito and the others seemed to be living peacefully in the Ninja World, there was still a major hidden threat looming over them.
Furthermore, in the distant future, there would be even more powerful enemies waiting for them.
They desperately needed the effects of this Devil Fruit to accelerate their growth in strength.
So she couldn't bring herself to ask them to give it to Chopper.
But without this fruit, Chopper's future would be completely different.
Gaining intelligence wasn't the issue—chakra could accomplish that.
But Kureha still hoped to see the lively, adorable, and slightly shy Chopper from the original timeline.
"Is there really no other solution? Is there any chance Vegapunk could replicate this fruit?"
Kureha turned to Kaito and the others and asked.
"Heh! You're thinking the same thing as us!"
Kaito chuckled and said, "We actually had the same idea."
"Luckily, I'll be meeting with Dragon in a few days. At that time, I'll ask him to introduce us to Vegapunk so we can see if he can replicate it."
"If he can, that would be perfect. If not, we'll have to find another way!"
"For now, I think it's best if we keep Chopper in the time-locked space for now, letting him remain in suspended animation. What do you think?"
Hearing this, Kureha looked down at Chopper with a bit of reluctance before nodding. "That's the only choice we have for now."
She stepped forward, handed Chopper back to Kaito, and watched as he once again sent him into the time-locked space. Only then did she speak again, "Speaking of Vegapunk, I actually met him in the past."
"It's just that I eventually stopped traveling, and we lost contact."
"Later on, I heard that the World Government took an interest in him and forcibly took him away!"
"When you go meet him, be careful. It's best if you don't let the World Government or the Marines find out, or you'll be in big trouble."
"The World Government has always kept a tight grip on Vegapunk."
They would never let him go as long as he was useful to them.
And once they had drained him of all his value, they definitely wouldn't let him live either.
When that time came, they would eliminate him to remove any potential future threats.
"Of course!"
Kaito smiled and nodded. "With the teleportation ability of the Dimensional Gate and my newly developed space ability, it shouldn't be too difficult to avoid the World Government and the Marines while contacting Vegapunk."
"I can even hide or seal my chakra and all my aura making it hard for Haki to discover me."
His abilities were so overpowered that things impossible for others were mere child's play to him.
"Alright! As long as you're confident, I'll wait for your good news!"
Kureha nodded knowingly, then chatted with Kaito and the others for a while longer, mainly discussing control over Drum Island. Afterward, she teleported away.
Tsunade and the others also left one after another.
"Kaito, has Dalton's favorability towards you reached the required level?"
At this moment, Uchiha Naori turned to Kaito and asked.
"Let me check."
Kaito paused for a moment, then used his ability to check and replied, "Yes, it has!"
"Good!"
Naori nodded and said, "Didn't you mention that you also obtained the Ox-Ox Fruit, Bison Form, on this trip?"
"How about giving it to Dalton and forming a contract with him?"
"Then, let's appoint him as the Minister of Defense for Drum Island. He can help train the island's military, maintain order, and deal with any pirates or troublemakers."
"He's a talented person—we should make good use of him. It will save us a lot of trouble."
People from the Ninja World weren't suited for this kind of role.
It was a matter of function and education, not something that could be changed overnight.
"Sounds good! I was thinking the same thing! Let's do it—I'll handle it right away!"
With that, Kaito bid farewell to the group and teleported to Drum Island to find Dalton.
After a conversation, he successfully convinced Dalton to sign a contract and officially brought him under his command.
"From now on, you're the Minister of Defense for the Kingdom."
"Train hard with the techniques I've taught you, strengthen yourself, train the army here, and protect this country. Ensure its peace and stability."
"Also, take this Ox-Ox Fruit. It was originally meant for you in the future, so it's only fitting that you have it."
As he spoke, Kaito took out the Ox-Ox Fruit and handed it to Dalton.
Dalton, having formed the contract, had already received a lot of information about the past and future of the Pirate world.
Naturally, he was aware of his own fate and the future of Drum Island.
"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Kaito!"
"I will never betray your trust! I swear to protect this country and never let pirates, outsiders, or Wapol and his men ruin it again!"
Dalton solemnly accepted the Devil Fruit and swore his allegiance to Kaito.
.
.
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