"…Three heads and six arms, huh? That actually sounds pretty cool."
Carina repeated the name to herself, then happily accepted El's naming for her new form based on how she and Nami had just fused.
Looking at El, she tilted one of her heads slightly and asked:
"Nii-san, do you have anything else you want to test?"
"No need for now. Spit Nami out," El replied with a smile, shaking his head.
"Okay…"
Bang!
Unlike synthesis, which required eating herself, spitting Nami back out was much simpler.
With just a thought, the Nami head and extra pair of arms on Carina's body turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.
Then Carina opened her mouth again and spat Nami out from the Baku Baku Space, perfectly clean and without a drop of saliva on her.
"Finally out… I really don't want to go back into that space again."
Nami stretched her arms and legs, then grumbled:
"Fusing with Carina, I could move, but only with her permission. Even though I'm clearly stronger than Carina right now, she ended up being the one in control of the body."
She shuddered at the memory.
"That feeling is seriously gross."
"…"
El didn't deny it; instead, he nodded and spoke in a calm, serious tone.
"'Three Heads and Six Arms'—you'll need to practice this a lot from now on. The three of you must build up perfect coordination in that state, because this move will be your final trump card."
He looked at each of the girls in turn as he continued.
"Like I said earlier, the 'transformation' and 'synthesis' of the Baku Baku no Mi break the rules of this sea. They let you share each other's abilities and create a combined form that effectively has multiple Devil Fruit powers at once."
"If it were just a simple power-share, I wouldn't be this strict about it."
"But Carina's Baku Baku no Mi doesn't just have 'transformation' and 'synthesis'—it also has a crucial ability: digestion."
"El…"
Carina blinked, listening quietly.
"Carina's physique has gone through a complete overhaul," El continued. "From now on, she'll never eat less than me—and will probably surpass my appetite in the future."
"And no matter how much she eats, Carina can digest it just as quickly as I can using Life Return, and convert it into her own strength."
"If, before this, Carina had the weakest physique among the four of us… then from now on, she'll grow at an absurd pace, and eventually leave all of you far behind."
He paused, then added, his expression turning more solemn:
"Physique determines how much stamina a Devil Fruit user has to burn."
"Even with the nutritional supplement helping you develop earlier, giving you several years' worth of gains in a single year, it still can't break the innate physical limits of a normal girl's body."
"But once Carina ate the Baku Baku no Mi, her limits broke. The cap on her physical potential is now completely unknown."
"That means Carina will eventually have several times, dozens of times, maybe even hundreds of times your stamina to spend."
"So, as long as you fuse with Carina and use 'Three Heads and Six Arms', you'll be able to tap into Carina's ridiculous stamina pool and use your Devil Fruit powers without worrying about burning out."
He raised a finger.
"On top of that, you'll have six hands, three perspectives, and three different combat instincts operating together. Once you build real synergy in that form, you'll become the enemy's worst nightmare."
"I get it now…"
The three girls finally understood just how broken "Three Heads and Six Arms" really was.
"I understand, Nii-san. I'll train hard with Nami," Carina said seriously.
"I'll work with Carina too!" Nami added, nodding firmly.
"Me as well."
Kuina, who had been a bit resistant to the idea of "Three Heads and Six Arms" at first, now spoke up without hesitation.
After listening to El's explanation, Kuina realized this wasn't just some weird party trick—they had to master it.
Right now, both she and Carina still had normal human defense. If a sharp weapon hit them, they would be injured or killed like any ordinary person.
If El and Nami ran into a strong enemy and couldn't protect them, Kuina and Carina would be nothing but burdens—like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
But if they mastered "Three Heads and Six Arms", that would change.
She and Nami could let Carina eat them. Then, all three would merge into a single fighter who could use:
The elemental flame body and firepower of the Mera Mera no Mi,
The all-devouring, transforming, and synthesizing power of the Baku Baku no Mi,
And even carry a sword and use swordsmanship properly.
Once Carina's stamina shot past theirs, the combination of the three wouldn't just be 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. It would be a true super-addition, far greater than three.
Compared to that, the disgust of being eaten… was nothing.
"I'm really happy you're thinking this way."
El smiled in satisfaction and pulled Carina and Nami into his arms, patting their heads.
"Hehe…"
Feeling the warmth of his palm, Carina and Nami both closed their eyes and smiled in bliss.
Watching from the side, Kuina couldn't help but show a faintly envious expression.
"…By the way, Nii-san."
Just then, Carina seemed to remember something. Her sapphire eyes widened slightly as she looked up at El.
"About 'Three Heads and Six Arms'—three abilities, six arms, and three combat minds sharing one body… that's all still just your hypothesis, right?"
Clearly, she hadn't forgotten what El had said at the very beginning.
"No. It's not just a guess."
El didn't explain further; he simply smiled and said, meaningfully:
"You'll understand soon enough."
"If it all works out the way I think… then in the future, we'll be unmatched."
…
After they obtained the method for making the nutritional supplement and secured the Devil Fruit, the Drum Island trip could only be described as a complete success.
The next morning.
After eating the breakfast Kuina had carefully prepared, El immediately went down to the lab room in the lowest deck of the ship.
There, he started his first proper batch of nutritional supplements for himself and the three girls.
More than an hour later, El came back up carrying four bottles filled with a faintly green liquid. The group gathered around the table and downed them.
"Carina, don't use your Devil Fruit to secretly digest it faster," El reminded her.
"From now on, I'll keep my Observation Haki focused on the sea. You'll be training alongside us."
"Got it!"
Carina nodded without complaint.
After last night's talk, she understood her role perfectly.
Her job was to keep pushing her physique higher and higher, so that when the three of them fused, they could tap into a monster-level stamina pool.
No more slacking allowed.
Then…
After drinking the nutritional supplement, the cells in their bodies exploded with vitality. Their body temperatures began to rise as they headed together to the training room and launched into high-intensity physical training.
Carina and Nami focused on pure physical conditioning, while El and Kuina added actual combat into the mix—training with bamboo swords first, then switching to real blades.
Under El's constant, merciless pressure, Kuina was soon drenched in sweat, even more than usual. Her white training clothes were slashed with cuts large and small. The torn fabric clung precariously to her body, accidentally giving El more "benefits" than he deserved.
With clear goals ahead of them, the four were overflowing with motivation.
Time passed quickly as they trained together.
…
December 22, 1510 – Sea Circle Calendar.
Instead of continuing deeper into the Grand Line, the group of four returned to the first island of their route—the town protected by the black market.
El had come back for one reason: to add a new trump card to his arsenal.
Now that he was famous across the seas, many powerful forces had their eyes on him. He was sure that, along the islands ahead on this route, people were already searching for traces of their ship.
If not for the Eternal Pose detour to Drum Island, El was certain they would already have run into envoys, captains, or even cadres sent by various powers—either to recruit them or eliminate them.
Once they stopped using Eternal Poses and sailed normally along a fixed route, he was 100% sure that on some island, sooner or later, someone would show up to recruit him.
And if the recruitment failed…
A battle would almost certainly break out.
To handle that inevitable crisis, El needed to master a technique that could serve as a true comeback card.
Otherwise…
Pure flying slashes and raw physical ability, while enough to stand out among newcomers, still weren't enough to defend against veteran powerhouses proficient in Armament Haki.
Of course, the trump card he wanted wasn't on this island.
He'd returned to this first stop to buy medicines that couldn't be obtained in normal markets—or at least couldn't be bought in bulk anywhere but the black market.
In addition, El bought more than a hundred crates of wine.
After pouring out all the liquor from the various bottles, he had Carina eat all the empty glass bottles into her Baku Baku Space and synthesize them into a single, enormous bottle inside her body.
Once the giant internal bottle was formed, El had her "return" it, then filled it again—this time with the original wine mixed together.
Then, he poured all the medicines he'd bought on the black market into that massive bottle, creating a terrifying blend.
Finally, he wove a huge net of thick ropes, wrapped the bottle securely, lowered it into the sea, and had the ship drag it along behind them as they set off for their next destination.
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