One Piece: The Devil Fruit Collector-Chapter 251: The Miracle You Prayed For

Inside the Jade Greenhouse.

Bonney was currently hiding behind Kuma, looking with some curiosity at the figure surrounded by starlight in front of them.

"It's Star Lord!"

But compared to Bonney, Linlin was happily waving her hands to greet Star Lord—she hadn't seen him for a long time either.

"Is that Lord Star Lord?"

"It's my first time seeing him."

"Idiot, it's not the first time—we saw him back when we were still inside Linlin's body."

"Eh? Did we? I think I was asleep then."

The bobbleheads were chattering away.

Compared to them, the adults present were visibly tense.

Baby 5 and Collei were very respectful, only occasionally raising their heads to sneak glances at Star Lord.

Although they had respectively seen Star Lord in Dressrosa and Egghead Island, it was only from afar.

Such a close encounter was a first.

However, they also noticed that the starlight swirling around Star Lord's Starry Mask seemed particularly dense this time, even completely obscuring his eyes from view.

This made his aura seem even more mysterious.

"As expected of the leader served by The Zodiac..."

Baby 5 marveled inwardly.

And right now, Kuma, standing at the very front, could hardly conceal his excitement; his whole body was trembling slightly.

"Boss."

He looked at the figure in front of him, trying hard to calm his emotions as he said: "What Lord Hitsuji (Sheep) meant just now... could it be..."

"It means exactly what you think."

At this moment, Star Lord stood with his hands behind his back.

Beneath the mask, Roy's face still bore the 'traces' of his recent sparring with Garp—well, he had a black eye.

By the way, because he had gradually mastered the advanced technique of infusing Conqueror's Haki onto non-physical energy recently, one of Old Man Garp's eyes was also black.

But anyway, Star Lord's demeanor still appeared effortless.

"I came here today to deal with the 'Sapphire Scales' on Bonney, and also to ask you to do something."

He stated his purpose directly.

"Of course, no problem!"

Kuma didn't hesitate in the slightest.

Let alone doing one thing—even if he were asked to go to Wano Country right now and fetch Kaido's head, he wouldn't even blink.

Not to mention...

"Boss—I am already a member of The Zodiac. If the organization has a mission for me to complete, there is no need to say 'please'."

He said.

Hearing this, Star Lord gave a slight nod.

Then, he didn't say anything more and simply stated directly: "In that case, let's begin."

"Is it going to be an operation? What do you need me to do?"

Upon hearing this, Kuma immediately asked nervously.

He wasn't usually someone who asked a lot of questions, but this clearly wasn't 'usually'.

"Nothing is needed."

But exactly as he finished speaking.

Hitsuji smiled and took an object from his coat.

It was a piece of tree root.

He turned his head and looked at the crowd in front of him, who were either curious or expectant.

"Everyone, I believe you all know about the illness Bonney is suffering from."

"Sapphire Scales—an incurable disease that brings weakness and pain at all times."

He said with a smile.

"But—this is Neverland."

He gently raised his hand, and the tree root obtained from Doflamingo slowly crumbled into dust in his hand.

And from within that dust, strands of invisible energy were slowly dissipating outwards.

That was the 'Source Energy of Lineage Factor'.

Yes.

Previously, Doflamingo attempted to use this tree root to activate the 'Abyssal Magic Circle'—although he ultimately failed, it still consumed most of the Source Energy of Lineage Factor within this tree root.

And right now, what appeared here after the tree root shattered was exactly the small portion that remained.

"Neverland has never lacked miracles."

Smiling like this, Hitsuji bowed elegantly.

"Then, I ask everyone here—do you all wish for Bonney to recover?"

The words fell.

The scene fell silent.

Do they wish for Bonney to recover?

The children from the Sheep's House, as well as Baby 5 and Collei, exchanged uncertain glances.

Then...

"Of course!"

Linlin's voice was loud and sincere.

And her words clearly represented the thoughts of all the children.

Through their long time together, even the ignorant children had come to understand what kind of thing the Sapphire Scales disease on Bonney was.

They knew about Bonney's encounters in the past years—although the children might not be able to comprehend the profound suffering within.

But undoubtedly... they didn't like their friend being sick!

So...

"Of course Bonney has to get better!" (xN)

They said in unison.

A soft chuckle seemed to come from beneath Hitsuji's mask.

"Then..."

He bowed elegantly, stepped aside, and allowed Star Lord to be the center of everyone's attention.

And Star Lord's starlight-surrounded gaze swept over the people below.

"Make a wish to me."

He said calmly.

"After you make your wish, it will be fulfilled."

Make a wish?

Hearing this, Baby 5 and Collei almost doubted their own ears.

They weren't entirely clear on the agreement between Star Lord and Kuma, but they could understand it well enough—Star Lord seemed to be about to cure Bonney's illness.

They originally thought Star Lord might have developed some new medicine or treatment method, and even considered some entirely new Devil Fruit ability.

But... what the heck is making a wish?

However, before they could recover their wits.

The next moment, they saw—the children present had all closed their eyes.

"..." (x2)

Thus, Collei and Baby 5 exchanged a glance.

Then, they also slowly closed their eyes and began to pray as well.

And at the same time...

"..."

Clear surprise also appeared in Kuma's expression.

But after a brief moment of surprise.

Thump!

He knelt on both knees without hesitation and clasped his hands in front of his chest.

That was the posture of prayer.

So, in this instant...

VMMM!

Star Lord sensed the 'Wishes' that clearly emerged around him.

They did not possess physical forms and could not be perceived normally.

But they definitely existed—at least in the eyes of the 'Star Lord', they were clearly visible.

"Although Linlin has never been sick except for 'Eating Disorder', I heard that being sick is a very painful thing... Bonney must get better."

"Yeah, although I think those crystals on Bonney look pretty nice... but if that thing makes Bonney uncomfortable, of course it has to be taken off!"

"If Bonney recovers, next time when we team up for tug-of-war, we won't lose!"

"Idiot, with Linlin around, we'd lose no matter what!"

Star Lord even seemed to be able to hear the thoughts contained within those 'wishes'.

He even seemed to be able to feel the power contained within those wishes.

More or less, it existed in every single wish.

That was...

"It's the wish power of 'making Bonney healthy'."

Roy understood inwardly—this was exactly what was necessary to utilize the 'Source Energy of Lineage Factor'.

Subsequently, Roy observed the differences in the wish power provided by everyone.

"The quality of the children's wish power is very high."

Roy quickly reached a conclusion in his mind.

In his perception, almost every child present had intense wish power surging within them.

But aside from the children...

"Comparatively, their wish power is somewhat weaker."

Roy looked at Collei and Baby 5—their wish power was much less compared to the children.

"But Collei's concern for Bonney is unquestionable, and Baby 5 has a very good relationship with Bonney recently too... so the crux of the matter isn't just 'whether one strongly desires this to happen', but more about the degree of belief in the realization of this matter?"

Roy formed a rough guess.

Children's thoughts are simple.

For instance, right now—Star Lord said 'as long as you make a wish, Bonney can be cured', and they would believe it unconditionally.

Therefore, they could provide a massive amount of wish power.

But comparatively.

Collei and Baby 5 might also hope for Bonney's recovery.

But as adults, their cognition determined that it was hard for them to imagine how this could be achieved.

Because they couldn't imagine it, they couldn't believe it, and therefore they provided less wish power.

So...

"The essence of wish power is very complex—it's not just the intensity of desire, but more about people's 'cognition' and 'imagination' towards a certain matter or object."

Recognizing the possibility of a certain matter's existence, imagining it, and believing it will happen — that is a 'Wish'.

"If this is the case, then the existence of Devil Fruits is..."

In this moment, Roy definitively recognized the true nature of Devil Fruits.

"Just like lions and tigers, everyone can recognize that they truly exist—and ordinary people will more or less desire the strength and physique of lions and tigers, and it's not hard to imagine this power, so their emergence is perfectly logical."

"The same goes for most ordinary Paramecia fruits; their existence and the powers they possess are recognized by the vast majority of individuals, and can be easily imagined at the same time."

"But Logia fruits are different... People can recognize the existence of natural phenomena, but the vast majority of people wouldn't believe that a human 'can control the power of nature', so the difficulty of their emergence is very high, which is why their numbers are so scarce."

"This is even more true for Mythical Zoans. Not many people in the world even believe they exist, let alone being able to imagine their power. So their emergence is even more difficult than Logia fruits. It probably takes many years to accumulate enough 'wish power' to produce just one."

Roy quickly summarized the things he needed most.

"So, to create the Devil Fruits I need in a short amount of time, I require three conditions."

"First, collect a sufficient amount of money—they can be exchanged for 'Source Energy of Lineage Factor'."

"Second, let more people hear about and recognize the existence of that Devil Fruit."

"Third, let the people who heard about it witness the power of that Devil Fruit, allowing them to imagine and believe in its existence."

Thinking up to this point.

Roy's mind also formed a clearer idea regarding his subsequent plans.

And exactly while Roy was deep in thought.

"Hm?"

At this moment, he felt the emergence of yet another burst of wish power.

That wish power came from Bartholomew Kuma in front of him.

And what's worth mentioning is...

VMMM!

In this instant, the wish power that manifested before Roy... was pure and massive to an extent that none of the previous ones could compare to.

"..."

At this moment.

Even Roy couldn't help being stunned.

This is really...

He looked at Kuma, who was kneeling on the ground and praying devoutly, unable to suppress his surprise.

That surprise wasn't just because of the overwhelmingly intense wish he felt from Kuma at this moment—in fact, given Kuma's love for Bonney, Roy wouldn't find it strange no matter how strong his wish was.

The part that truly surprised Roy was...

"Even after experiencing so much, you are actually still willing to believe in this kind of 'miracle'?"

He looked at the tall figure in front of him, feeling somewhat shaken.

And the truth was exactly so.

"..."

Right now, Kuma was praying.

In the past years, he had also prayed countless times.

He prayed for world peace, prayed for his wife's safety, prayed for the freedom of slaves, and prayed for his daughter's health.

But unfortunately... God had never answered him.

But Kuma did not lose heart.

Because every time he prayed, the words his father taught him in his childhood would echo in his ears.

"Do not give up hope, Kuma."

"Pray—the sun will always rise, the world will always answer your wishes."

"As long as your heart is not bound, the Buccaneer race will not be bound."

"No matter when, no matter how many setbacks and torments you suffer... you must remember—always believe in 'miracles'."

This time was no different.

Kuma prayed sincerely, believing and expecting a miracle to happen.

But the difference from every time before was...

This time, 'God' answered him.

VMMM!

At a certain moment, Kuma felt as if a wave of fragrance and light approached him.

He instinctively opened his eyes.

Then, he saw Star Lord.

He stood in front of Kuma, starlight still flowing all over his body.

Beneath that mask, in the seemingly pitch-black eyes that were faintly visible, a certain hue seemed to flicker at this moment.

Perhaps that was admiration?

For a moment, Kuma felt his thought was somewhat absurd—how could Star Lord possibly admire a nobody like him?

But soon, Kuma's attention was drawn to the object in Star Lord's hand.

He saw that right now, in Star Lord's hand.

The energy that dissipated after the tree root shattered was continuously gathering in his hand.

Specks of light flickered, and that 'miracle' catalyzed by wishes was being born.

Just a moment later.

In Star Lord's hand, a semi-transparent fruit appeared.

On that fruit, shining patterns swirled, as if a star was twinkling upon it.

"Boss, that is..."

Up until this moment, even Kuma's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

And upon hearing his words, Star Lord remained silent for a moment.

Then, he spoke softly.

"This is the miracle... that you prayed for."

[Lineage Factor Creation · One-Time Use Devil Fruit · Bonney Fruit]

[After consumption, the fruit's ability is automatically used, and can only be used once.]

[Fruit Effect — Restores Jewelry Bonney to health.]

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