章 112: The Way Of Talisman And Paper Fruit

In the original storyline, when Monet and Sugar first joined Doflamingo, they were given Devil Fruits—the Snow-Snow Fruit and the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. This means that at this moment, both of these fruits are in Doflamingo's possession. Arías realized that he could potentially find a way to acquire them.

Although the fruits he had now weren't the originals, they were still powerful. Since Arías wanted them to eat the fruits, the two girls obediently complied.

"The fruit tastes terrible," the puppet warned. "Don't spit it out. Just swallow it."

The girls each took a bite, and their faces immediately contorted with disgust. They would never forget the uniquely awful taste of a Devil Fruit, much like how Arías still vividly remembered the taste of the Op-Op Fruit.

After consuming the fruits, they carefully observed the changes in their bodies.

Monet was the first to activate her new powers. Her snow-white skin sprouted two pairs of large, transparent butterfly wings with a bluish hue, each with a wingspan of two meters. A pair of slender antennae appeared on her forehead, her eyes transformed into compound eyes, and an extra set of arms grew from her waist—this was the human-beast form of the Butterfly Fruit.

"How does it feel?" Arías inquired, unsure of the specific abilities of the Butterfly Fruit but at least aware that it granted the ability to fly.

Monet spread her wings and took to the sky. After flying for a while, she transformed fully into a butterfly before returning to the ship. She shared her experience with Arías:

"In addition to flying, the antennae on my head can detect the smallest odor molecules in the air and enhance my hearing."

"My compound eyes significantly improve my vision. Not only do they provide a wider field of view, but they also detect the polarization direction of light, filter out excess light, and reduce glare, allowing me to quickly adapt to various lighting conditions."

"The extra pair of arms will be very useful in combat and other tasks."

Arías nodded in approval. While the fruit greatly enhanced Monet's senses, it didn't provide much of a boost to her physical strength or defense. However, the enhanced senses would likely improve her proficiency in observation and Haki.

With Monet's experiment complete, it was Sugar's turn to explore her new abilities. She extended her hand, which transformed into pieces of white paper that scattered around her. Then, the paper reassembled on her broken arm, forming a complete limb once again.

The puppet tested her by slicing through her arm with a knife. The severed part turned into paper scraps, and as the blade cut, the body reconstructed itself, turning the paper back into flesh.

It resembled the abilities of a Logia user, but without direct combat effectiveness—at least, not at first glance.

Arías had a special purpose in mind for Sugar's Paramecia Paper Fruit.

"Can you only transform into white paper?" he asked.

Sugar thought for a moment before replying, "I can create any kind of paper."

As she spoke, various types of paper began to emerge from her body: white paper, cardboard, papyrus, yellow paper, toilet paper, and even parchment.

"Wait, what? Parchment?" Arías was puzzled. "Is that considered paper?"

Sugar blinked her innocent eyes and replied, "Parchment is also paper. As long as it's paper, I can create it!"

Arías was astonished. The versatility of the Paper Fruit was incredible. She could create all sorts of paper materials, and with Armament Haki, the possibilities were endless.

"Try creating yellow paper and draw talismans on it," Arías suggested.

Sugar set up an altar and used Qi, cinnabar, and a brush to begin drawing talismans. Arías didn't teach her the advanced techniques of talisman crafting, just the basics, but Sugar proved to be a natural talent.

After three hours, she successfully created a Qingxin Talisman, though the effort left her exhausted. Arías tested it with the puppet and confirmed that it worked perfectly.

"Can you absorb the talisman into your body?" Arías asked.

Sugar extended her hand, and the talisman fused into her body. From the outside, nothing appeared different.

"Master Ye, I can feel that once it's inside my body, the power in the talisman won't dissipate," Sugar explained.

Arías was thrilled. This was exactly what he had hoped for. Normally, talismans were difficult to draw, and even if prepared in advance, their power would diminish over time, eventually turning into ordinary paper. But with Sugar's Paper Fruit, she could draw numerous talismans beforehand and unleash them in battle, faster than any traditional method.

Six hundred billion explosive talismans to obliterate an enemy? Sugar could do even more than that!

This Paper Fruit was far more versatile than the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, with a wider range of applications. These two sisters would become powerful assets under his command.

As Arías sensed Doflamingo's location, they set sail for East Blue. Along the way, Monet and Sugar trained harder after gaining their Devil Fruit abilities. Just as Arías had predicted, Monet's observational skills greatly improved, and Sugar's speed in drawing talismans increased rapidly.

As they emerged from the deep sea, Sugar completed her first lethal talisman, the [Heavenly Sword Demon Subduing Talisman]. When activated, a pale golden sword materialized in the sky.

"Go!" Sugar commanded, and the sword shot downward, slicing a sea beast that had approached the ship in half.

"Heehee!" Sugar giggled happily. "Master Ye, am I amazing?"

Arías couldn't help but smile at the little girl's eagerness for praise, though the puppet maintained a stern expression. "The power is still too small. Keep working on it," the puppet said calmly.

Sugar's smile faded as she pouted, but Arías knew she would continue to improve. He had even bought a large box of her favorite food, grapes, on a nearby island, enough to last her a week.

The ship continued toward Doflamingo's location. After five days, they finally spotted a pirate ship flying the Donquixote Family flag near the shore of a deserted island.

Arías knew Doflamingo wouldn't waste time on unnecessary tasks. He retrieved a monocular from his capsule and peered through it. A small, focused field of vision revealed countless strands of pink fluff—the hair on Doflamingo's coat, where Arías had hidden a monitoring device.

Through the fluff, Arías could see the outside world. It was dark, and he could hear Doflamingo's voice.

"Lagging, lagging, lagging! I didn't expect the infamous Night Ghost Solomon to be hiding in the underground palace on this deserted island in East Blue! No wonder no one has ever found him!" Doflamingo laughed.

Torebol, standing beside him, sneered, "No matter how well he hides, he'll still surrender to the young master in the end!"

Diamante added, "Once the young master becomes the king of the underworld, we can start planning to take Dressrosa. With the String-String Fruit and the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, our plan is foolproof!"