"Feeding on stars?"
Caesar's eyes widened in disbelief.
But Joy Boy's next words left him stunned once more.
Joy Boy said, "Your fruit was not brought by us. It seems to be a naturally occurring Rule Fruit on this planet."
Caesar was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"That means, a Kunpeng once lived on this planet or passed by it. The fragments of laws and will it emanated were absorbed by a fruit on this planet, thus giving birth to this precious rule fruit."
Everyone fell silent once more.
These things Joy Boy spoke of were completely unknown to them.
Each piece of information was enough to keep them digesting for half a day.
What second-level civilizations, third-level civilizations,
What cosmic powerhouses, supernatural abilities.
They exploded in their minds like bombs.
After a long while, Caesar spoke up: "Tell us about what happened between you and Imu."
Joy Boy nodded.
"Imu is a descendant of a high-ranking leader among the Celestial Race. Her aptitude is exceptional, and she cultivated the extremely difficult Chaos Law."
"The cultivation of this law requires absorbing other supernatural abilities to facilitate her growth."
"The reason we distributed the rule fruits, also known as Devil Fruits, allowing people on this planet to develop their abilities, was precisely to provide her with... nourishment."
Joy Boy's words immediately darkened the expressions of Caesar and the others.
"So, she's using Devil Fruits to farm us, waiting for us to grow before harvesting us like chives?"
Caesar frowned deeply, struggling to suppress the surging killing intent in his heart.
Roger, "But that doesn't make sense. I've sailed the seas for decades and never encountered Imu coming to harvest ability users?"
"Because her standards have risen."
Joy Boy sighed.
A flash of insight struck Caesar, and he blurted out unconsciously.
"The Power of Rules?"
"Exactly!"
Joy Boy nodded approvingly. "The supernatural abilities generated by these rule fruits alone are no longer sufficient to promote her growth. Over the past few centuries, she has absorbed all she can from them. She needs greater nourishment, such as various Powers of Rules."
"If she's so powerful and holds such high status, why doesn't she cultivate in your civilization instead of coming to our remote backwater?"
Doflamingo questioned.
"First, we came here to collect resources."
"As for Imu, she merely uses the intervals during resource collection to distribute rule fruits and cultivate some... chives."
"When we depart again, we would choose to reclaim the rule fruits or mark this planet for future harvesting."
"But eight hundred years ago, our starship went to other planets in this star system midway, but for some unknown reason, we lost contact."
"This resulted in the two of us being stranded here."
Joy Boy glanced at the horizon once more.
"Since you're also of Imu's race, how did you end up at odds?"
Caesar raised an eyebrow, looking at him puzzled.
The perpetual smile on Joy Boy's face vanished, replaced by a hint of awkwardness.
He took a deep breath and rubbed his nose.
"Because... the mermaid princess Poseidon is truly beautiful!"
Caesar: "..."
Everyone froze.
Doflamingo said in astonishment: "You fell for the mermaid princess? But wait, what does your liking Poseidon have to do with Imu? Oh..."
As he spoke, Doflamingo let out a long "oh" and showed an expression of sudden realization.
Caesar's mouth twitched: "No way? You're not going to tell me that the millennia-long conflicts on our planet were all caused by Imu's jealousy, are you?"
"Just over a woman? Seriously?" Roger found it hard to accept.
He had considered conspiracy theories, hegemony theories, even world destruction theories.
But he never imagined it would be over romantic jealousy.
He scrutinized Joy Boy carefully.
Luffy's face and physique, pale flame-like hair, circular-patterned eyes.
He wasn't even that handsome!
Rayleigh had more style than him!
Was Imu blind?
Noticing Roger's gaze, Joy Boy chuckled awkwardly: "Heh heh, actually, among the Celestial Tribe, I'm considered quite a handsome man. Plus, I'm a scholar from an esteemed family, and I have a silver tongue..."
Caesar couldn't take it anymore - he felt an urge to slap Joy Boy across the face.
He said angrily: "So you're telling me Imu is a woman who wants to destroy the world because she's jealous you fell for the mermaid princess Poseidon?"
This is fucking ridiculous!
Aren't women just too terrifying?
Unexpectedly, Joy Boy shook his head.
Caesar inexplicably felt relieved.
So did Roger.
"I knew it. If it were just over one woman, that would be too..."
Joy Boy's expression grew even more awkward.
"The Oni tribe princess was quite beautiful too, with a great figure and unique demon horns."
Yamato: "..."
"The Giant tribe princess was tall and voluptuous."
Loki: "???"
"The Lunaria tribe chief looked like a fallen angel from the cosmos, beautiful yet corrupted, utterly mesmerizing."
"The Three-Eyed tribe women could naturally read minds, creating this thrilling tension when interacting."
"The Long-Leg tribe maidens had slender, powerful legs."
"The Tontatta tribe..."
Crocodile's cigar fell to the ground with a clatter as he exclaimed: "Wait, you even went for the Tontatta tribe?"
Joy Boy chuckled awkwardly: "I'm rubber - I can stretch big or small."
BAM!
Caesar couldn't hold back anymore, punching him in the face and knocking him down.
Roger leaped high into the air, delivering a flying kick covered in Conqueror's Haki black lightning that landed squarely on Joy Boy's crotch.
BOOM!
Joy Boy's eyes bulged out, his mouth stretched to its limit, tonsils exposed to the air.
Kaido's face darkened as he raised his kanabo high and smashed it into Joy Boy's stomach, embedding him into the ground.
Loki's body expanded as he clenched his giant fist and flattened Joy Boy's head.
Yamato's expression turned grim as she swung her kanabo between Joy Boy's legs.
Even the most composed Shanks and Rayleigh couldn't take it anymore, rolling up their sleeves to join the fray.
For a moment, dozens of people surrounded Joy Boy, beating him mercilessly as he let out piercing screams.
The scene was utterly heartwarming.
Caesar spat viciously and retracted his Armament Haki-covered foot from Joy Boy's fingers.
"You damn womanizing scumbag! I think you're the real Sea King here! Why didn't Imu kill you? No wonder Clan D members have bloodlines from various races - it's all your doing, you bastard!"
Roger also withdrew his leg from Joy Boy's crotch, his expression extremely grim.
"And I actually looked up to you as an idol, what a joke! Damn bastard, those Celestial Beings are all scum—they've thrown our world into chaos. Caesar, let's join forces! Together, we'll take down that Imu!"
"Is that so?"
Suddenly, a cold, clear woman's voice drifted over from the horizon.