Far away, inside the fish's belly, Karin had no idea that during her time away, she had gained another potential rival in love.
And this one was formidable!
Well... perhaps she was the one intruding.
Of course, even if she knew, she might not have the mind to deal with it for now.
Because at this moment, she discovered she couldn't change back.
Earlier, Karin, along with the two-hundred-year-old loli Olga and former treasure hunter Naomi, entered the body of the giant lantern fish.
Here, they met Olga's father, the scientist Acier, who had created [Pure Gold].
With Karin's intervention, Acier finally explained his past hardships to his daughter, and the father-daughter pair resolved their issues.
To repay Karin, Acier took them to the lantern fish's third stomach pouch… also the location of the laboratory storing the Pure Gold.
But what everyone didn't expect was that the moment Karin came into contact with the large piece of Pure Gold, it liquefied and merged into her body.
Immediately after, Karin uncontrollably transformed into her beast form.
"This is..."
Looking at the ethereal flame clouds around her and the halo that had suddenly appeared behind her head, Karin was a bit dazed.
This time, she hadn't done anything.
She hadn't 'borrowed' Momoshiki's power, nor overdrawn her lifespan.
She had naturally entered the [Awakened] state of her Devil Fruit.
No… it was even more than that.
With a thought, Karin's body began to rapidly shrink, but she remained in bird form.
Her size seemed to be able to change at will according to her thoughts!
When Karin shrank to her limit, her size was even smaller than a normal person's finger.
'What was this?'
'A special ability granted by Pure Gold?'
'Or perhaps—'
With another thought, she returned to her original sky-covering size. Karin could feel this wasn't her limit.
But this scale was the limit [Lord Lantern] could accept.
Any larger might rupture the stomach of this island-devouring monster fish.
And unlike the previous times when she forcibly entered the Awakened state, at this moment, Karin didn't feel that sensation of her power draining away every second.
It seemed as long as she wished, she could maintain this state indefinitely.
Thinking this, Karin instinctively tried to return to human form.
Then came the situation from the beginning.
She couldn't change back.
'What to do?'
'What to do?'
'Will I have to stay like this forever?'
'How will I meet Naruto-sama then?'
Due to her emotional turmoil, the golden light emanating from her began to flicker in intensity.
After all, Karin was just a teenage girl… encountering something like this inevitably left her at a loss.
"Captain Karin! Don't get so big! You'll agitate Lord Lantern!!"
Suddenly, Acier's voice came from below.
Hearing this, Karin immediately shrank her size, stopping only when she was about the size of a regular news bird.
She landed and flew eagerly to Acier, grabbing his collar with her claws and shaking him.
"That's right, Acier! You created Pure Gold, so you must have a way..."
"Karin-nee, if you don't let go, Dad is going to faint."
At this point, Olga spoke up for her father.
Hearing this, Karin reined in her emotions a bit, setting down Acier, who had been shaken until dizzy and almost vomiting.
"Sorry... Acier."
"Mmm... It's fine, it's fine, Captain Karin. What you were saying just now—"
Acier, supported by his daughter, slowly stood up, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and tried to clarify the reason for Karin's panic.
"I... I can't seem to change back..."
Karin landed on the ground, covering her face with her wings.
No helping it… she couldn't even transform into her hybrid form, so now she didn't even have hands to hold things with.
Nearby, Olga, seeing her father was okay, trotted over to Karin's side, trying to reach out and touch the halo behind her head.
Naturally, her hand passed right through. The halo seemed purely a visual effect without any substance.
Regarding Olga's playful behavior, no one present paid much mind.
Karin began recounting her situation in detail to Acier, the [creator of Pure Gold].
...
"I see. So you previously had experiences of entering that… 'Awakened' state by overdrafting your lifespan, right?"
"Mhm."
The bird head nodded up and down. Olga was now sprawled on Karin's wings.
'Mmm... When Karin-nee is like this... she smells so nice.'
'Like sunshine.'
"To my shame, I have some knowledge of alchemy and chemistry, but I know very little about Devil Fruits."
As Acier said this, he also felt somewhat guilty.
After all, his creation had caused their benefactor to become unable to change back.
"Undoubtedly, this must be Pure Gold's influence."
"The special property of Pure Gold is its ability to continuously emit a 'delaying' radiation to surrounding life, even granting a certain degree of immortality."
"I believe it's this radiation stimulating the cells... or other substances within you that combine with the Devil Fruit's power, keeping them in a state of continuous activation."
Hearing this, Karin let out a soft sigh.
"Sigh... I understand all that. So is there a way to release me from this state?"
To be honest, in this form, Karin's combat power hadn't decreased… it had increased, even surpassing the state when Momoshiki took over.
But she wasn't some newspaper mogul, so she didn't want to remain a bird for a long time.
Not to mention... this duration could very well be 'forever'.
"Since the situation is caused by Pure Gold, the first plan would definitely be to find a way to 'separate' the Pure Gold from you."
Before Karin could look hopeful, Acier interjected.
"But unfortunately, I haven't studied the relationship between Pure Gold and biological fusion, nor do I have a method to extract Pure Gold from a living being yet."
"But don't worry. My research data is still here. Given some time, I can definitely devise a method to extract Pure Gold."
Acier confidently assured.
However, Karin refused Acier.
By now, she had regained her composure from the panic.
"No—"
"?"
Not only Acier, but even the onlookers Naomi and Olga showed puzzled expressions.
"You and Olga encountered misfortune precisely because of researching Pure Gold. Since Olga's condition can be resolved, you shouldn't continue involving yourselves with Pure Gold."
"After all, quite a few people are still after Pure Gold. You haven't forgotten, right? There's a group outside the lantern fish waiting."
"But you becoming like this is our fault. Besides, it's not necessarily dangerous. If you stay with us for a while, presumably no one would dare cause us trouble."
Acier said this not to use Karin as a bodyguard… he genuinely wanted to research a solution for her.
"You've given up immortality. Every moment of life from now on should be lived meaningfully."
Karin suddenly floated up, causing Olga, who was lying on her back, to tumble off.
"Acier, from now on, spend your time well accompanying your daughter. Once we leave here, I'll take you to a safe island before I leave. After that, don't discuss anything about Pure Gold again."
"But you—"
"As for the extraction method, I already have an idea."
"I happen to know someone with the ability to fuse and separate matter."
"Even though I boasted about seeing him in two years... there's no harm in visiting now, I suppose."
Hearing this, Acier and Olga exchanged glances.
"Is... is that so?"
"As for you… Naomi."
Naomi, hearing her name, reflexively stood straight.
"Ye... yes! Boss!"
"I said call me Captain... Forget it, never mind."
"Until I change back to human, you'll be in charge of steering and purchasing supplies!"
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
"Yes!"
Karin had no intention of giving up her sea adventures.
At most, she was just 'temporarily' going to see Naruto!
Until she built a force rivaling that woman's huge organization, she would never give up!