Chapter 6: I've Seen Your Doujinshi...
"It's like some kind of strange new sense has appeared inside me. As if I was born with this ability — like my subconscious already knows how to use it. All I have to do is want it, and it activates."
Ryū muttered this under his breath, then turned his gaze to a pencil sitting on the table beside his bed.
Testing the waters, he lightly pressed his fingertip against the pencil.
A faint, hazy white glow flickered around his fingertip.
Using this ability was as natural as opening and closing his eyes. He just had to "think" it.
The white light enveloped the small pencil. About one second later, the glow faded — and where there had been a single pencil, there now lay two separate objects on the table: a hollow wooden shaft, and a thin, dark graphite core.
The lead had been cleanly separated from the wood casing.
If he used this on a human body...
Could it rip flesh from bone?
The possibility wasn't zero.
"I've still got a long way to go before I can decompose matter down to the atomic level. Right now, the best I can do is split one object into two. A table, for example — I could probably separate the wooden planks from the nails."
Since he lived alone, Ryū spent the next stretch of time experimenting on everything he could get his hands on: an old stool, a useless glove, a rusted kitchen knife. He even caught a live cockroach to see if the ability worked on living creatures.
The results were conclusive. The Decompose-Decompose Fruit absolutely worked on living things.
He'd watched with his own eyes as the cockroach's exoskeleton cleanly separated from the disgusting innards beneath, both halves lying motionless on the floor.
Even a cockroach — famously the most resilient creature on the planet — wasn't surviving that.
If it worked on a cockroach, then logically, it should work on a human too. One was an arthropod, the other a mammal, but at the end of the day — biology was biology.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Ryū frowned. He'd noticed something critically important: his stamina. His body simply could not sustain continuous use of the fruit's power.
In the shinobi world, ninjutsu consumed chakra.
But in the world of pirates, Devil Fruit abilities, Haki, and physical combat all ran on raw stamina.
And Ryū had been nothing but an ordinary civilian his entire life. Not a shinobi. Not a samurai. He hadn't even attended the Ninja Academy.
Where was the stamina supposed to come from?
Forcing it would only backfire.
Edward Newgate:
"Admin-dono, did you eat that fruit? It should be the Paramecia-type Decompose-Decompose Fruit — unless something went wrong."
RawrSoFierce:
"Can confirm it's the Decompose-Decompose Fruit. The ability is pretty interesting."
RawrSoFierce:
"The taste, though. Let's just say it left something to be desired."
Kaguya-sama:
"Hm? 'Left something to be desired'? Is a Devil Fruit really that bad?"
RawrSoFierce:
"Hmm… actually, the flavor was pretty decent. You'd have to try it yourself to know~"
Kaguya-sama:
"…"
It happened to be the weekend, so Kaguya Shinomiya was resting at her family's estate. Reading Ryū's messages, she fell into thought.
She couldn't quite explain why, but she had the distinct feeling she'd just been played.
Was the Devil Fruit's taste really "pretty decent"?
Surely the Admin wouldn't lie to her... right?
Kaguya shook her head, pushing the stray thoughts aside. Lying back on her absurdly expensive, impossibly soft bed, she buried her face deep into a pillow and mumbled, "The Dimensional Chat Group... what an unbelievable thing."
For someone living in an everyday, modern world, the chat group really was beyond belief. Her world was strikingly similar to Ryū's previous life on Earth — the same technology, the same culture, the same general framework of civilization.
The only difference was that things like One Piece, Naruto, and The Wandering Earth didn't exist as anime, novels, or films in her world.
A thought suddenly struck her, and Kaguya snapped back to attention, firing off a message.
Kaguya-sama:
"Oh! I just thought of something. How many Points does it cost to do a Dimensional Transfer to another member's world?"
The Little Wandering Planet:
"The group announcement didn't specify an exact cost, did it?"
The Little Wandering Planet:
"Also, why are you so interested in the transfer feature?"
Kaguya-sama:
"Being curious about other worlds is perfectly normal, isn't it?"
The Little Wandering Planet:
"Fair point! Honestly, I'd love to visit another world too — scope out nearby star systems for somewhere I could settle down. Too bad I barely have any Points."
RawrSoFierce:
"Good question, actually. Let me look into it — I missed that detail earlier."
Ryū realized the oversight. He'd mentioned that Dimensional Transfer required Points but never specified how many. A bit of a blunder on his part.
He had to hand it to Kaguya Shinomiya, though. The girl lived up to her reputation as a genius-level honor student from an elite family. Her attention to detail was razor-sharp.
After checking the exact Point cost for Dimensional Transfer, Ryū updated the group announcement and reposted it.
RawrSoFierce:
"Good catch, Shinomiya Kaguya. The announcement's been updated — a Dimensional Transfer to any group member's world costs 1,000 Points. Not outrageous, but it still requires Admin approval."
Kaguya-sama:
"1,000 Points? That's so expensive… I only have 50."
Kaguya-sama:
"Wait. Hold on. Ch-chotto matte! How does the Admin know my family name is 'Shinomiya'? I never mentioned it! (((;゚Д゚)))"
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden:
"Oh my~ Little Kaguya-chan, you've stumbled onto quite the blind spot there."
Kaguya-sama:
"Huh?! I thought you went to hibernate?"
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden:
"I did! Hibernation is over now. A full thirty minutes of rest — I feel completely refreshed~"
Kaguya-sama:
"???"
Ryū was duly impressed by Kaguya Shinomiya's powers of observation. The girl didn't miss a thing.
But it wasn't exactly a secret. They'd all find out sooner or later anyway.
So he just told them. Straight up, no sugarcoating — blunt and to the point.
RawrSoFierce:
"Because in my previous life, I watched an anime about you. The infinite dimensions contain countless worlds — some exist as novels, some as films, some as anime. For all I know, I might be from a novel world myself."
RawrSoFierce:
"So I know your family name because I've watched the anime set in your world. And you happen to be the main heroine."
RawrSoFierce:
"Same goes for Whitebeard and the Little Planet — I know the storylines of their worlds too. The only one I don't know much about is the purple grann— I mean, Yukari-san. I've only heard bits and pieces."
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden:
"'Granny'?! Admin-dono, that is extraordinarily rude, you know!!"
Ignoring the mildly unhinged reaction from a certain age-sensitive yōkai, Ryū let the group process the bombshell in silence.
Of course, there was one thing Ryū would absolutely never, ever mention.
He'd also seen Kaguya Shinomiya's... doujinshi.
It had happened back in his previous life, during his part-time gig as a volunteer content moderator — one of those thankless jobs where you spent your nights flagging illegal websites, pirated apps, and illicit videos for takedown.
He'd stumbled across it completely by accident.
Completely.
By accident.