Dimon watched quietly.
Nothing happened.
He and Kin'emon stared at each other for a long, awkward few seconds.
Then—
"Disgusting! Absolutely vile!"
Kin'emon's tongue lolled out as he gagged toward the floor.
Dimon chuckled. Everyone who'd ever eaten a Devil Fruit said the same—it tasted like concentrated sin.
At least that part of the legend held up.
"No explosion, huh?" Dimon tilted his head. "So? Feel any new sorcery awakening inside you?"
"Why would I tell you anything? Kill me if you must!" Kin'emon glared up, defiant even in chains.
Dimon smiled faintly. "Loyalty—rare these days. Honestly, I don't dislike you."
Among the Nine Red Scabbards, Kin'emon's devotion to Kozuki Oden was unquestionable. Even after Oden's death, he'd protected Momonosuke and fought to restore the Kozuki name.
Different sides, same spirit. Dimon could respect that.
"But…" Dimon's smile sharpened. "That's not a free pass to test my patience. You've got comrades in the cells, right?"
Kin'emon's expression cracked. "Don't you dare touch them! Come for me instead!"
"Then answer honestly."
Kin'emon lifted both shackled wrists—seastone cuffs glittered in the light, sapping his strength.
"Abel, unlock him."
"The key's not on me, Lord Dimon. It's at the Magistrate's Office."
"Then fetch it."
While Abel was gone, Dimon idly sat cross-legged, chatting as if with an old friend.
"Your lord's been dead five years. If you want freedom, swear loyalty to me. How about it?"
"Who'd swear to a pirate, you bastard!"
Dimon laughed quietly. "And what if I said I could resurrect Oden?"
"—What?!"
Kin'emon's heart nearly stopped. Anyone else, he'd call insane. But this man… the devil himself… maybe—just maybe—
"R-really?" He hesitated, shame burning behind his eyes. If it was true, he'd serve even a villain. For Oden's sake.
"Lied," Dimon said cheerfully. "You're loyal, I'll give you that. But damn, you're easy to toy with."
"You—!" Kin'emon's face turned beet red. "You foul sea-demon!"
"Relax. The drink I gave you earlier really was special." Dimon's grin softened. "It made you immortal."
Immortal.
The word hit him like thunder.
Dimon raised a brow. "You actually believed that one?"
Kin'emon trembled with fury. "Tch…!"
"This time," Dimon said with chilling calm, "I'm serious. You'll live forever—in that cell. You'll never die, never escape. Just you, the dark, and eternity."
Kin'emon's blood ran cold. Immortality behind bars—worse than death.
Abel returned soon after, keys jingling. He unlocked the cuffs.
Kin'emon's first instinct was to bolt—but if he fled, the others would pay. So he stood, fists clenched.
"Now," Dimon said. "Show me what 'sorcery' you've got."
Kin'emon sighed, resigned. "I'll need… a leaf, or a stone."
"Your ability's a pain in the ass," Abel muttered, but stepped outside and brought back a stone.
Kin'emon placed it atop his head, pressed his palms together, and shouted,
"Transform—!"
Nothing.
He blinked. Tried again.
"Transform! Transform—! Huh? My fashion magic isn't working?!"
The Garb-Garb Fruit, a Paramecia allowing him to disguise others—completely inert.
Dimon frowned thoughtfully. "So the second Fruit overrode the first?"
That couldn't be it—when wearing seastone cuffs, Kin'emon had still shown weakness, proof he was a Devil Fruit user. Just… the power was gone.
"Try the new one," Dimon said. "The one I gave you—the Human-Human Fruit."
Then he paused.
Right. What was the Human-Human Fruit supposed to do for a human?
The "commoner" model of the Hito Hito no Mi gave beasts human intelligence, speech, and motor skills. But Kin'emon was already a man. Eating it changed… nothing.
"I don't even understand your nonsense," Kin'emon muttered, still waving his hands futilely.
"Forget it. I'll check myself."
Dimon sighed and laid a hand on the samurai's head. "Devour."
Terror froze Kin'emon in place. "What—what are you doing—?"
"The power I give, I can take away. Farewell, Kin'emon. Once you're in the afterlife, say hi to your precious Oden."
A whisper—gentle, almost kind.
Then Kin'emon's body disintegrated into fine dust, drawn into Dimon's palm until nothing remained. Not even ash.
Dimon closed his eyes and rifled through the memories he'd absorbed—the man's last sensations, his confusion, the feel of the Fruit inside him.
"…I see."
After a moment, he exhaled, realization dawning.
An immortal who eats a second Devil Fruit doesn't explode… nor gain two powers.
The second Fruit overwrites the first.
Kin'emon's Garb-Garb ability had vanished, replaced by the Human-Human Fruit.
But since that particular model barely affected humans, it looked like nothing had changed.
"So the 'two-fruit explosion' is a myth?" Dimon mused. "Hmm… not necessarily. Ordinary humans might still die. But immortals—different story."
The immortality granted by the Eternal Life Wine came from demonic essence. That power itself was Devil-born.
A mortal could never handle that.
He shrugged. "Whatever. All I need to know is: if I don't like a Fruit, I can just eat another."
His lips curled slowly upward.
A free respec—a world-changing discovery.
Dimon's gaze fell to the nearby Fragrance-Fragrance Fruit.
He picked it up, turned it once between his fingers… then grimaced.
"Eh. Scent-based combat?"
He pictured a certain long-faced schemer with Aizen's voice and shuddered.
"…Yeah, no. Hard pass."
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