After having recovered completely, Leo showed the Devil Fruit he had obtained from the forest to his mother. She looked at it for a moment before speaking.
"If you ever decide to eat a Devil Fruit, make sure you think it throughly." He nodded, then raised his hand, letting a faint silvery coating form over it.
"I also awakened something during the fight," he said. "Is this Armament Haki?" Grace observed it closely.
"It sure is." she replied after a pause, "This is what you'd call Imperfect Armament Haki. It hasn't fully manifested yet." A proud smile formed on her face.
"How can you be so sure it's incomplete?" Leo frowned slightly. "What if mine is just different from others..." He stopped mid-sentence.
Grace's hand darkened.
Not just dark, but coated in a deep metallic sheen far denser and refined than anything he had seen. It didn't just look solid… It felt overwhelmingly heavy.
Leo's entire perception of his mother shifted.
He had known she came from the New World, far beyond the Grand Line, but he had always assumed she was just an ordinary woman, someone who learned through newspapers, or perhaps a scholar at best.
Now… that assumption shattered entirely.
"Mom…" Leo stared at her. "You were a pirate, weren't you?" Grace turned away slightly.
"I won't discuss my past," she said calmly. "But your achievement are worth celebrating."
She stood and retrieved a bottle of wine from her stash, pouring a cup for him as well.
Leo accepted it, watching her carefully.
"I'll find out eventually," he said. "Once I head out to sea." For a brief moment, her expression faltered, quickly returning to normal.
"Would you really leave your mother alone?" she asked, her tone soft, almost sad.
Leo raised an eyebrow teasing.
"Why not join my crew instead. We're going to be the most unique pirate crew in the world."
Grace let out a quiet laugh.
"Oh, enough with that. My days of adventure are long gone. And don't underestimate the sea," she added, her tone sharpening slightly. "That bear you fought was nothing more than the bottom of the barrel and you still couldn't defeat it without using tricks."
Leo leaned back. "Oh? You mean this?" he said, handing the jade dagger back to her.
"I didn't even use it. All that oil and trench work only made it angrier. For your information, I fought it at its strongest." Grace looked at him for a second, then smiled.
They both laughed, the resemblance between them unmistakable as they clinked their glasses, finishing nearly half the bottle while talking late into the night.
After a while, Leo's tone grew quieter.
"You're clearly upset about me going to sea," he said. "But you never tried to stop me. Why?"
Grace remained silent for a moment before answering.
"When I was your age… We ran away to chase my dream," she said. "I left with my sister. So I wouldn't exactly be setting a good example if I tried to stop you now."
She looked at him, her expression softer.
"But that doesn't mean I won't feel it. I will be lonely if you leave. So if you ever decide to stay… you can." Grace lifted her cup again.
"And besides," she continued, "We who carry the name 'D' may have forgotten our origins, but our ancestors left us with one message: to live freely, to do as we wish, and let fate take its course." She took a final sip.
"This life is yours, Leo. Do whatever you want with it."
That night, they both fell asleep peacefully.
Not just the village, but even the forest rested quietly, freed from the terror that had haunted it for so long.
***
Leo woke early the next morning. The moment he stepped outside, he noticed the change. The villagers' eyes followed him, no longer just familiar, but filled with respect… and a fear even they didn't understand. Leo could feel it clearly through his observation haki.
After buying a few supplies and finishing a quick meal, he headed straight for the forest. He searched the bear's territory first, but the claw marks spread across the island told a different story—the beast had never stayed in one place. It roamed constantly, avoiding only the other side of the island.
For three days, Leo searched relentlessly and found nothing.
By the end of the third night, he returned home empty-handed, frustration weighing on him. But the moment he saw the food his mother had prepared, the tension eased. He sat beside her and ate heartily.
"Hey, Mom," he said after a while. "I've decided. I'm leaving next week. I'm going out to sea…" Grace didn't look surprised.
"I knew this day would come," she said softly, watching him. Memories flickered in her eyes of a child who had once clung to her side, now grown enough to walk away.
He reached for an apple from the table but soon the color drained from his face.
The green apple in his hand turned gray. A spiraling pattern spread across its surface, unnatural and unmistakable, eerily similar to the one he had seen on the outfit of the Grand Minister.
The Devil Fruit I have been looking for.
For a moment, neither of them spoke until Leo broke the silence in his mind.
'What the hell…? So I didn't have to kill that bear…? Just decide to leave the island and the devil fruit would have appeared?'
Leo silently cursed whatever force governed this world but the frustration faded quickly, replaced by relief.
At last he could eat this devil fruit and activate his ability.
Grace's gaze sharpened.
"Are you going to eat it?" she asked. "You know the risks, it can't be reversed. An unknown fruit isn't something you just eat. Who knows what troublesome ability you might receive?"
Leo stared at it for a moment.
"I know," he said. "But… it feels familiar." He picked it up and bit.
The taste hit him instantly.
Like chewing on rotten flesh soaked in seawater, mixed with burnt ash and something metallic that scraped against his tongue. It felt as if the fruit itself rejected being eaten, its texture rubbery yet crumbling.
Leo forced it down.
Every bite tasted worse than the last.
Then he turned and threw up everything, the fruit and the dinner.
"You don't have to eat it whole, one bite would have done it." Grace commented, making fun of him.
"Why didn't you say it sooner?" Leo groaned, wiping his mouth, his face twisted in pure disgust.
Grace couldn't hold it in anymore she laughed heartily.
"It's always entertaining to watch someone eat a Devil Fruit," she said, clearly amused. "So? How was it?" Leo glared at her but explained.
"It tasted like the worst thing in existence decided to die in my mouth."
"Pretty disgusting," his mother said casually. "Mine didn't taste nearly as bad as yours." Leo froze.
"You… have a Devil Fruit power?" he asked, the shock clear in his voice.
Grace simply looked at him.
"Show me your ability first," she said, a hint of curiosity in her tone
"Alright… here goes." He placed his palm on the wooden table, for a moment, nothing happened.
Then—the wood shifted.
It warped and reshaped itself, compressing and bending until it formed a small wooden boat, barely large enough for one person to stand in.
Grace raised an eyebrow.
"Is that all?"
Leo didn't answer, Instead, he glanced at the claw mark on his hand.
He placed his palm over it and the scar vanished completely.
"As they say," Leo said calmly, "there are no weak Devil Fruits… only weak users." He thought back to what he had been capable of in the oasis, this was only the beginning.
"Show-off," Grace muttered, though there was a faint smile behind it, she extended her hand, now coated in Armament Haki.
Understanding her intent, Leo touched it and nothing happened.
His ability failed.
"A strong enough Haki… can block its effect completely."
"Rest up tonight. I'll train you myself starting tomorrow of course I will show you my devil fruit power as well." With that, she excused herself.
Leo spent the rest of the night testing his abilities, pushing them in small ways, trying to understand their limits.
The next day, he continued analyzing his Devil Fruit and reached several conclusions.
His effective range was roughly 50 meters but the farther something was, the weaker his control became. At close range, however, his influence was precise and strong.
That limit didn't feel fixed but something that would grow with training.
Another restriction was more frustrating, he needed physical contact. Without touching an object with his palm, he couldn't manipulate it.
He could reshape, repair, and control Non Living things freely but living beings were different. To affect their bodies, he needed direct contact, and even then, it was far more difficult if the person wielded Haki.
He also discovered he couldn't alter the fundamental nature of materials. Wood remained wood. He could reshape it into anything but he couldn't turn it into gold or anything else.
And last but not least his power didn't affect energy-based attacks.
Leo exhaled slowly, looking at his hand.
"These are just the basics…"
A faint smile appeared on his face thinking of the endless possibilities.
"If this is what I can do now… then what happens when I awaken my fruit?"
Leo kept his abilities hidden from the villagers while training with his mother in the forest behind their home for the entire week.
Even when going all out, he couldn't land a single hit on her. Her Haki and the Paramecia Devil Fruit ability she finally revealed were far beyond anything he could handle at his current state.
That was also when Leo learned the truth.
The bear had never crossed into this side of the island for a reason.
Eight years ago, it had wandered close to the village and received the beating of its life at his mother's hands; she had spared it out of pity or something else.
Leo finally understood why the creature had frozen upon seeing Armament Haki that day. It wasn't fear of Leo but his mother.
For the rest of the week, Leo trained relentlessly or rather got beat up one sided.
Every session left him battered. In just a few days, his control over both Haki and his Devil Fruit power improved drastically.
And somewhere along the way he began to understand exactly how that bear must have felt during their fight.
Soon, the day of his departure arrived.
Leo stood at the edge of the shore, a small wooden boat waiting for him, stocked with basic supplies food, water, and a few essentials.
He turned back.
The villagers had gathered to bid him goodbye.
Friends. Neighbors. Family.
People who had watched him grow.
"Thank you for everything," Leo called out, raising his hand. "I love you all… I'll be back someday."
The boat drifted forward, carried by the gentle waves.
The village's biggest troublemaker was finally setting out on his own journey.
Gradually, his figure disappeared into the horizon.
One by one, the villagers returned to their daily lives but Grace didn't leave.
She sat by the shore from morning until evening, her eyes fixed on the distant sea. Only when the sun had completely set did she finally rose and head back home.
Inside her room, she paused for a moment.
Then walked to the wall.
Without hesitation, she began tearing away a concealed section, revealing something hidden beneath.
An old wanted poster, worn and faded beside a wooden figurine of Leo mocking her standing proudly.
'Leo, you fool… I hope you don't use that name out there.'
The name was half erased and the bounty had been torn away but the image remained intact.
A man, Tall and Broad. His features were strikingly similar to Leo's… but older, his eyes a calm shade of grey.
Grace held the poster carefully, her fingers tightening slightly.
"I've fulfilled my promise," she murmured softly. "Our son has grown… and he's left the island." Her gaze softened.
"Now it's time I fulfill the promise I made to myself." She folded the poster slowly, keeping it away.
"I'm coming to find you…" A faint smile touched her lips.
"…Davy D. ——"