Pirates: I Rely Only on Myself

The first of the winery's senior members to arrive was Shelly, head of the West Blue branch. An unassuming young woman with long sea-blue hair, she was a native of the Kingdom of Rum and only eighteen years old.

Next was Tequila, who oversaw the South Blue branch. A tall, rough-skinned man with a reddish complexion, he had grown up as an orphan in the Kingdom of Oylac and was now nineteen.

Juniper, leader of the Paradise Branch, was a black-haired young man with a stoic face, carrying a longsword on his back. He hailed from a port in Rum Kingdom and was a twenty-year-old orphan.

The East Blue branch was led by Rum, a round-faced young man who wore a gentle smile. Originally the son of a merchant family in the capital of the Rum Kingdom, he had been taken in by Noah's training camp after his family went bankrupt. He, too, was nineteen.

Vodka, head of the North Blue branch, was a red-haired youth with a noticeable scar across his face. A twenty-year-old orphan, he came from Logue Town.

Finally, the New World branch was led by Champagne, an eighteen-year-old girl with golden curls and wire-rimmed glasses, abandoned as a child in Tangerine Town.

"Lord Noah." The six members greeted Noah respectfully.

Noah gestured for them to sit. "It's been nearly two years since you graduated from the training camp, and today I've called you here to reward your hard work."

Hearing this, they exchanged looks of excitement, though out of respect, they remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Noah retrieved several boxes from his card space. "These fourteen Devil Fruits haven't yet been assigned. Each of you may choose one that best suits your abilities."

The six of them turned their gaze to the row of small boxes before them, their expressions filled with eager anticipation.

They quickly made their selections.

Shelly chose the Glue-Glue Fruit.Tequila picked the Rattlesnake-Rattlesnake Fruit.Rum selected the Ripple-Ripple Fruit.Juniper chose the Mantis-Mantis Fruit.Vodka picked the Red Spider-Spider Fruit.Champagne selected the Nine-Tailed Fox-Fox Fruit.

"Now that you've made your choices, eat them," Noah instructed.

"Yes, thank you for your generosity, Lord Noah," they replied in unison.

Without hesitation, each took a bite of their chosen fruit. Despite the repulsive taste, none of them left a single scrap behind—a reflection of both family rules and their own commitment.

Noah was pleased with their choices; each fruit would be valuable to their intelligence network. The Glue-Glue Fruit, with its versatility, the Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit's ability to mimic and transform, the Rattlesnake Fruit's infrared sensing, and the Red Spider Fruit's environmental adaptation were all ideal for espionage. The Mantis Fruit's camouflage and flight, as well as the Ripple-Ripple Fruit's storage and compression capabilities, added additional layers to their intelligence capabilities.

Once they'd finished consuming the fruits, Noah gave each of them a few pointers on how to start developing their abilities.

Although only the Glue-Glue Fruit and Ripple-Ripple Fruit were Paramecia types, he explained that Zoan Fruits could still be developed creatively.

For instance, the Rattlesnake Fruit could tap into natural snake traits, such as infrared sensing, hibernation, molting, and venom production. The molting trait, in particular, could be enhanced with a specialized family serum to accelerate their physical growth.

Similarly, the Red Spider Fruit granted traits such as speed, concealment, social behavior, and the ability to produce webs, in addition to significant physical strength.

Each species had its unique qualities, and ordinary Zoan Fruits could be remarkably powerful if their traits were harnessed correctly.

As for fruit awakening, Noah reminded them that awakening a Zoan-type Devil Fruit was both easier and riskier. Because Zoan awakening often occurred with less mental preparation, users risked being overtaken by the fruit's essence if their willpower wasn't strong enough, becoming mindless beasts in the process.

Noah gave them a solemn warning to strengthen their resolve and mental fortitude, cautioning that a failed awakening could lead to them losing control to the fruit's essence entirely.

For the Paramecia Fruits, Glue-Glue and Ripple-Ripple, Noah had already prepared extensive research notes in The Book of Demons. Shelly and Rum were given permission to access it and could follow the guidelines for further development.

Since Noah was personally overseeing them, Shelly and Rum were even allowed to view the original copy of The Book of Demons.

Rum flipped directly to the chapter on the Ripple-Ripple Fruit.

Noah had conducted multiple experiments using the Ripple-Ripple Fruit's abilities on himself, so the development notes on this fruit were detailed and expansive. Rum quickly absorbed the information on its various applications and, combined with his mastery of two Haki techniques, found his power growing to rival that of a Marine Vice Admiral.

As for Shelly's Glue-Glue Fruit, Noah's insights offered several creative ideas for its development.

Some suggestions included pseudo-elementalization with Observation Haki, non-Newtonian fluid defense, gel molding, and gel fusion.

The fusion potential of the Glue-Glue Fruit was especially significant. Although the fruit couldn't produce additional glue on its own, Shelly's body itself was effectively glue-like, enabling her to shapeshift, meld, and merge with other objects.

In the training yard, Shelly demonstrated this ability by transforming into a puddle of glue the instant a prisoner struck her. The glue adhered to him like a powerful adhesive, spreading over his body and sealing his airways until he suffocated.

But she wasn't finished. Even after his death, she was able to control his corpse, manipulating it to move at her command.

Watching this, Noah offered a suggestion. "A normal human body, even after fusion, won't enhance your strength significantly. But if you collaborate with Law, he could provide you with modified materials for more powerful results."

"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Noah," Shelly replied.

While the Glue-Glue Fruit lacked in raw attack power, Noah's resources enabled her to incorporate modified elements into her transformations. With Law's Surgery Fruit, human modifications could be performed effortlessly.

"Just remember not to control too many at once," Noah advised. "Glue-Glue isn't a Puppet Fruit; handling more than two or three bodies will be your limit."

"Yes, I'll be careful." Shelly knew her limits well. Unless she achieved fruit awakening, controlling more than two or three bodies would be unmanageable.

With the Noah family's technological resources, they could create modified Marines from powerful pirate captives, equipping them with specialized medicines for accelerated growth and upgrades. While these enhanced "puppets" had limited lifespans, they could reach the strength of a Rear Admiral—or even a Vice Admiral if the original host was powerful enough.

However, without a frontal lobe, these modified bodies became empty shells, unable to follow complex commands and dependent on external control, either through the Glue-Glue Fruit or the Graphene Conductor ability from the Graphite-Graphite Fruit.

Following the Devil Fruit allocation, the winery's elite trained intensively on York Island for a month, after which they returned to their posts across the Four Seas and the Grand Line.

Then, news arrived from the Gambino family, prompting Noah to set sail once again.