The Weight of Proof
Before the chapter begins, the deal already exists.
THE FIRST TERM — FREEDOM FOR SURVIVAL
THE SECOND TERM — EXCLUSIVITY
THE THIRD TERM — FUTURE SURVIVAL
THE REQUEST OF THE DEMON'S HEAD — Two Devil Fruit users for the League
Ra's al Ghul accepted all of it.
Now, he demands to see whether his grandson truly deserves it.
The inner chamber of the League's fortress was sealed.
Stone doors closed with a final, echoing thud, cutting off the outside world. Only the most trusted remained—Talia al Ghul, Lady Shiva, Cheshire, and a handful of silent elites who had killed kings and gods in Ra's name.
Damian stood at the center.
Calm. Unbowed.
Ra's al Ghul studied him from his throne, eyes sharp, calculating.
"You have been gone one month," Ra's said at last. "Yet you return with confidence… and secrets."
Damian met his gaze.
"A great deal can change in a month, Grandfather."
Ra's did not smile.
"So I have noticed. Speak."
Damian reached into his cloak and produced a small wooden box—unmarked, old, deliberately plain. He placed it on the stone table and opened it.
Inside rested a glossy, peach-pink fruit, its surface etched with strange spiral patterns. A green stem curled like a question mark.
The room went still.
Talia's eyes narrowed.
"…That is a Devil Fruit."
"Yes," Damian said simply.
A ripple of restrained reaction passed through the assassins. Not awe—calculation. Fear. Hunger.
Ra's al Ghul showed none of it.
He was no fool.
In the span of a heartbeat, his mind moved faster than any blade.
The Light searches blindly. Governments burn resources. Gods sense anomalies without direction.
And yet my grandson returns with a Devil Fruit after one month.
No maps. No rumors. No intermediaries.
He either knows where they appear… or he has something far more dangerous.
Ra's let none of this surface.
Instead, he leaned forward slightly.
"You found this quickly," he said. "Too quickly."
Damian did not respond.
Ra's continued, voice calm but edged with steel.
"You analyzed the world's heroes. You chose Superboy to safeguard a Devil Fruit—not merely to hide it, but to weaponize it responsibly."
A pause.
"That tells me something important," Ra's said.
"You understand compatibility."
Damian's eyes sharpened.
"Yes."
Ra's rose from his throne.
"Then do the same for us."
The room tensed.
"Analyze the League of Assassins," Ra's commanded.
"Not by loyalty. Not by blood. By function."
He gestured toward the box.
"Tell me who should receive this fruit