One Piece: Marine Luffy, Garp regrets it

Watching the tender interaction between Kalifa and Alpha, Yamato couldn't help but sigh enviously.

"That's so nice~ Having a sister... I want that too~"

Kujaku, who was dabbing her mouth with a napkin, rolled her eyes when she heard this.

"My elder sister isn't here, but I do have a younger sister," she remarked dryly. "Just say whether you want me or not. If not, I'll leave."

"Wait, don't go!" Yamato quickly reached out to stop her, wrapping her arms around Kujaku and affectionately rubbing her cheek against the other woman's. "I like you the most, Kujaku~"

Watching Yamato transfer all the food residue from her face to her own, Kujaku grimaced with disgust and attempted to push her away.

"Don't get so close right now! Wipe your mouth first!"

Their sisterly squabble brought another round of laughter from everyone at the table. After Kujaku angrily wiped both Yamato's face and her own, Alpha cleared her throat to recapture everyone's attention.

"Stop arguing and listen to me," she said with an air of mystery. "I have an amazing plan."

Everyone, including Yamato who had just been competing with her moments earlier, grew curious and quieted down to hear her idea. Even Luffy, alarmed by her unusually serious expression, fell silent and listened attentively.

Seeing that she had successfully captured everyone's attention, Alpha nodded with satisfaction. She ceremoniously straightened her clothes and cleared her throat once more, speaking up just as the others were about to lose patience.

"Think about it," she began, her eyes bright with excitement. "Since Sherry can freely use the powers of the Size-Size Fruit through the ring that transfers Devil Fruit powers, why can't we create more rings and necklaces for other fruits? We could each have multiple Devil Fruit abilities without the usual consequences. Wouldn't that be incredible?"

A collective gasp rippled through the dining room. Alpha's proposal was so bold and innovative that everyone was momentarily stunned into silence.

The idea wasn't entirely without merit. Mansherry herself was living proof—she possessed her original Heal-Heal Fruit abilities, yet through the ring, she could also access the Size-Size Fruit powers. She had effectively become the first dual Devil Fruit user before even Blackbeard achieved such a feat.

But as groundbreaking as the concept was, it also raised numerous concerns.

Kujaku, who had witnessed the entire process of creating the Size-Size ring, was the first to voice objections.

"What about the physical toll?" she asked. "Don't forget that using the ring also drains the user's stamina."

As she spoke, she realized that not everyone might understand the underlying principles. She proceeded to explain Vegapunk's theory regarding fruit consciousness and how Devil Fruits draw on their users' physical energy.

This revelation caused an immediate uproar around the table. With the exception of Alpha and Gion, everyone present was a Devil Fruit user. The notion that some unknown consciousness might reside within their bodies made them all distinctly uncomfortable.

But as Luffy had pointed out previously, many of them had possessed their abilities for over a decade without experiencing any adverse effects. And throughout the centuries of documented Devil Fruit usage, Vegapunk's theory, though unsettling, had never been disproven.

After the initial discomfort, everyone quickly came to terms with this perspective. Hancock, ever confident, even found a way to turn the information into a point of pride.

"So the reason I received the Love-Love Fruit is because we were compatible," she declared, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder. "Doesn't that mean even the fruit itself recognized me as the most beautiful woman in the world? Only I could fully unleash its powers!"

Hancock grew increasingly self-assured as she spoke, wholly embracing this interpretation and dismissing any possibility of contradiction.

The other women exchanged exasperated glances.

"Please stop being so narcissistic right now," Koala muttered under her breath.

"Ahem, let's return to the topic at hand," Kujaku interjected, clearing her throat loudly. "As I was saying, the ring drains the user's energy. This might be negligible during normal activities, but it becomes critically important in battle."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Why would I sacrifice my stamina using a secondary ability I'm not proficient with, instead of relying on my Whip-Whip Fruit powers that I've mastered over years? If we're talking about supportive abilities like Sherry's Size-Size powers, that's one thing. But a combat-oriented fruit? It would take far too much experience to use effectively."

Her logical argument earned nods of agreement from around the table.

Kalifa added her own perspective. "There's also the question of whether a fruit's powers, when transferred to an object, can be fully developed by the user."

She gestured to herself. "Consider my Smooth-Smooth Fruit. If you merely consume it without developing its potential, it only makes your skin slippery enough to deflect bullets and blades. But through years of training and experimentation, I can now even 'wash away' a person's physical strength, stamina, and fighting spirit."

She adjusted her glasses with a finger. "From this perspective, a developed fruit versus an undeveloped one might as well be two entirely different abilities. The gap in effectiveness is simply too vast."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more than 60 chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~