Watching Zephyr, deep in sorrow, Chiga sighed slowly and said,
"Teacher Zephyr, I found a Devil Fruit in the past few days."
Zephyr's hand paused as it caressed the coffin. His voice trembled as he asked,
"What is the name of this fruit?"
"The Yomi Yomi no Mi."
The name immediately sent a shock through Zephyr. Although he didn't know the details of the Yomi Yomi no Mi, the word "Yomi," meaning underworld or Revive, combined with Chiga's recent actions, sparked a terrifying thought in his mind—something he had never dared to imagine.
He stiffly turned his head, dry lips moving as he asked,
"What are its abilities?"
Chiga didn't answer with words. Instead, he extended his hand, and an icy coldness, like the essence of the underworld itself, radiated from it.
The chilling aura drifted toward Zephyr, and even as a Zoan Mythical Beast user, he couldn't suppress a shiver.
Clenching his hand to dispel the cold, Chiga said in a deep voice,
"This fruit has granted me the power to connect with the underworld, making me… the Lord of the Underworld."
Due to its unique nature, the Yomi Yomi no Mi had appeared only a handful of times in history, and none before had awakened it.
(It's uncertain whether Brook was the first user.)
Now, this was the first awakening of the fruit in the world.
The eleven tomoe in Chiga's eyes suddenly enlarged and began spinning rapidly around their respective patterns, an overwhelming ocular power surging within.
Zephyr stared blankly.
It was the first time he had seen Chiga use his ocular power to awaken a Devil Fruit. The faintest trace of this power instilled a deep, primal dread.
A cold wave from the underworld erupted from Chiga, freezing everything nearby.
Even Zephyr felt overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the cold.
He pushed his Ushi Ushi no Mi power to its limit, transforming into a half-beast form.
But this wasn't enough. He cloaked himself in a layer of dense Armament Haki, barely managing to withstand the invading underworld cold.
Despite that, several sharp ice spikes hung from his two bull horns.
Steam puffed from Zephyr's nostrils as he stared incredulously at Chiga.
He knew Devil Fruits with ice abilities well—like Aokiji, his most esteemed student, who wielded the Logia-type Hie Hie no Mi.
He understood the Ice-Ice Fruit's power—it could rival Akainu's devastating Magu Magu no Mi.
There was also the Yuki Yuki no Mi (Snow-Snow Fruit), but its freezing ability paled compared to the Ice-Ice Fruit.
Yet the chilling power Chiga displayed was even stronger than Aokiji's cold.
Having sparred with Aokiji before, Zephyr knew firsthand that Chiga's underworld cold was beyond any known Devil Fruit's freezing power.
What Zephyr didn't realize was that the underworld cold was only a secondary ability of the Yomi Yomi no Mi—its true power remained unrevealed.
The tomoe in Chiga's Rinnegan suddenly stopped spinning, leaving only one faintly glowing tomoe in the left eye.
At that moment, the Yomi Yomi no Mi completed its awakening.
The scattered underworld cold flowed back into Chiga's left eye like rivers merging into the sea, vanishing instantly.
The previously frozen areas thawed as if nothing had happened.
Only Zephyr and Chiga knew this had not been an illusion.
Chiga parted his lips slightly, releasing a wisp of cold breath that crystallized in the air.
Zephyr returned to his normal form and stepped forward to examine Chiga's Rinnegan closely.
"No matter how many times I see those eyes, they feel utterly alien to this world," he said.
Chiga shook his head with a quiet chuckle.
The Rinnegan was certainly not a product of this Pirate world—Zephyr was right.
But that was Chiga's greatest secret, one he would never reveal.
Zephyr averted his gaze, sensing the chilling power within Chiga's newly awakened fruit was too much for him to bear.
Thinking back to the sudden cold eruption, he asked,
"Chiga, what exactly happened just now? It seemed like you couldn't control your power."
Chiga shook his head and explained,
"No, that was the awakening process of the Yomi Yomi no Mi. It's complete now."
"Wha—?"
Devil Fruit awakening, and already successful?
Zephyr's worldview was shaken again.
Everyone knew awakening a Devil Fruit was an arduous task. Only the most gifted, perfectly compatible users could achieve it.
Though Zephyr had a strong foundation and compatibility with the Ushi Ushi no Mi, awakening it was still beyond him.
This was despite having Sengoku as a living example.
But Chiga? He said he absorbed the Yomi Yomi no Mi only days ago and awakened it so quickly?
If word got out, it would drive Devil Fruit users insane with envy.
Even Zephyr felt a surge of jealousy deep inside.
"God, you're unbelievably lucky," he thought bitterly.
His face a mix of disbelief and admiration, Zephyr asked,
"So you already have eleven awakened Devil Fruits?"
"No, some I don't need yet, so they remain dormant."
"..."
'Some I don't need, so they remain dormant.'
If Zephyr were from Earth, he would call that outrageous.
Instead, he was speechless.
Zephyr bowed his head in silent disbelief.
Chiga glanced at him and reminded,
"Teacher Zephyr, don't forget—your wife's and our junior apprentice's coffins are still outside."
Hearing that, Zephyr quickly turned and ran to the coffins, inspecting them carefully. After confirming they were unharmed by the cold, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Chiga followed and bowed to the coffins before looking back at Zephyr softly,
"Teacher Zephyr, open the coffins. Let me help end this tragedy."
---
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