One Piece- I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

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Annie covered her face and cried, "I'm not... a good mother..."

She seemed at a loss for words at first, but soon became more fluent, her voice heavy with sadness as she got lost in her memories. "Ever since I accidentally ate that Devil Fruit in the forest, I've sometimes lost control... That child thought I was just playing around with her, unaware that every time I come back to myself, I'm terrified. I'm afraid that one day, I'll wake up and realize I've killed my own daughter. Because of this, I couldn't sleep for nights, always having to watch over her until dawn. I only dared to rest once I was sure she had gone out to play..."

Liam responded directly, "It's quite rare to lose control of a Devil Fruit power like that. Considering Zoan Fruits are special, I suspect there's something mentally off about you, making you more susceptible to the 'consciousness' of the Zoan itself..."

That raised an important question: do Zoan Devil Fruits have consciousness?

The answer is yes.

CP-9's Spandam wielded a sword that had eaten the Elephant-Elephant Fruit, and it acted like a living creature, moving on its own. This self-awareness didn't come from the sword, it definitely didn't come from that weapon itself!

Similarly, there are the Gifters, artificial Zoan Devil Fruits created by the Hundred Beasts Pirates under Kaido. Despite being inferior versions made by Caesar Clown, they still grant Devil Fruit powers. This is easy to confirm, as they can be restrained by Seastone once consumed.

Among these Gifters, some have lion heads growing from their waists, and these heads exhibit independent thought. They not only growl but also enjoy clawing at their user's private parts.

Then there are the Jailers Gifters from the quarry, one of them is entirely fused with a giant hippopotamus, Paulie. Compared to the mammoth, moving hippopotamus that occasionally swallows him whole, the Gifter seems to be in a subservient position.

Kaido's crew also includes a person whose hand has turned into a living chimpanzee, and another with a human head in place of a chicken's backside...

This clearly proves that Zoan Devil Fruits, at least, possess consciousness.

However, this consciousness is usually weak. Under normal circumstances, Zoan users are not influenced by it. But, clearly, there's a catch; there can be exceptions. As seen above, when an "object" without self-awareness eats the Devil Fruit, the animal consciousness of the Zoan fruit takes over. 

For example, the SMILE fruits created by Caesar. The animal's consciousness and the user's are not integrated, or sometimes, they're completely misaligned. That's why the half-human, half-beast Gifters in Kaido's crew are more like handicapped beings than actual Devil Fruit users.

Then there's the special case... Chopper.

When Chopper eats the third Rumble Ball, he enters a raging state. Liam suspects that Chopper's wild transformation is due to his own consciousness being weakened by the drug, allowing the animal consciousness within the Devil Fruit to dominate.

This raises a serious question: Chopper's Zoan Human-Human Fruit. Why does it turn him into a giant form when the animal consciousness takes control? The Human-Human Fruit isn't a Giant-Giant Fruit, or a Godzilla Fruit, right?

Human... Giant... Liam's mind began to wander, and he couldn't help but recall the term "Giant Kingdom." Scholars from Ohara speculated that it was the name of a nation erased by the World Government during the Void Century, based on their research of the Poneglyphs. Could it truly mean "Giant Kingdom"? A land of colossal giants? Is the enormous straw hat hidden by Im from there?

While his thoughts drifted, Liam didn't lose focus on Annie.

She was a woman down on her luck, plagued by misfortune. She had some kind of mental issue, and then by chance, she ate a Zoan Devil Fruit, losing control and entering a rage like Chopper after consuming the third Rumble Ball. But her red-haired gorilla form seemed to be permanent, unable to recover or awaken. It was almost too extreme.

This made Liam suspect that her Zoan ability, the red-haired gorilla fruit, had already awakened, making her situation even more perilous.

Without B.I.B. around, though, Liam couldn't verify the chip of the Human-Human Fruit in her red-haired gorilla form, so he could only wait for now.

Annie didn't have many thoughts running through her mind; she had escaped that nightmarish ordeal, and now all she wanted was to return to her hometown and see her daughter, Amoline, as soon as possible.

As she silently shed tears, she suddenly heard a familiar voice:

"Mom."

The haunting voice sent a shiver down Annie's spine. Trembling, she looked up, her eyes wide with disbelief, to see a small figure slowly walking down the hallway from the living room.

It was her daughter, Amoline!

Liam, noticing Robin leaning against the wall in the corridor, smiled and turned to Annie, saying, "This is an illusion of your daughter. If you have anything to say, you can tell her. Perhaps she can truly hear you."

Annie, tears streaming down her face, rushed forward and enveloped her daughter, Amoline, in a tight embrace.

"Amoline, it's Mom's fault... Wuwu..."

Annie sobbed uncontrollably while Amoline, calm as ever, didn't shed a single tear. She only gently hugged her back and patted her mother's shoulder.

"Mom..."

Meanwhile, on a small island near the edge of the Calm Belt, Amoline, who had been sitting by the sea where they had built their ship a month ago, suddenly sprang to her feet with a startled cry. She seemed to see her mother standing before her and could even sense her mother's emotions. She heard her voice calling, "Mom! Mom! I'm here!"

The little girl ran along the beach, crying out, listening to her mother's voice as if it were right beside her: "You need to be good; I'll be home soon... Amoline, be a good girl and wait for Mom at home..."

But then, the warmth of her mother disappeared from her embrace. The voice began to fade. Her mother's figure vanished.

All that remained was the undulating sea and the tide rising and falling on the shore, barely reaching her ankles...

"Wow\~\~\~ Ah\~\~\~"

Amoline cried out, tears streaming down her face, her wails mixing with laughter, unable to distinguish whether she was sad or happy.

...

Annie's pent-up emotions exploded, and she cried so hard that she nearly fainted. Liam then called in the emotional expert, little Mariann. Mariann drew a symbol of calm, a simple blue doodle on the back of Annie's hand, and immediately, Annie's intense emotions began to subside. A wave of fatigue washed over her as she leaned back on the sofa to rest.

Annie's sobs gradually stopped, but then Liam and Robin heard faint sobbing.

Turning around, they saw Koala, tears flowing down her cheeks.

She was finally crying.

Robin and Liam exchanged glances.

Koala's mouth moved, but no words came out. Only tears kept falling. Mariann tilted her head thoughtfully for a moment before drawing a doodle on Koala's clothes that triggered sadness. 

Immediately, Koala's throat erupted with loud wails, as if all the sorrow, fear, and longing for her hometown and parents that had accumulated over the years finally burst forth.

The heart-wrenching cry startled B.I.B., who flew in from outside, thinking something was wrong with Koala.

"She's so sad," Mariann said, looking up at the uncontrollable Koala, "Did I draw the wrong pattern?"

When they reached the restaurant to prepare for lunch, they found Prince Cavendish already waiting there. And in his hand, he held an Eternal Pose…

(End of Chapter)