It was a quiet night, and the celebration at Mayor Boodle's house was still ongoing—though most of the guests had long since surrendered to sleep or drunken stupor. The living room, once filled with laughter and chatter, had now turned into a chaotic scene of snoring townsfolk scattered across the floor and furniture. Some lay sprawled out, others curled up in strange positions, a few half-dressed or clinging to bottles, and at least one man was softly crying in his sleep for reasons unknown.
Among them were Zino's crew, each in their own state.
Zoro sat cross-legged against a wooden pillar, his swords hugged protectively in one arm, while his other hand loosely gripped a nearly empty gourd of sake. He had passed out in that position, a peaceful, almost meditative snore coming from him.
Nami, ever the opportunist, moved stealthily among the unconscious villagers, her light fingers slipping into pockets and coin purses with practiced ease. The dim lighting and the general disorder of the scene made it far too easy for her.
Alvida, meanwhile, was fast asleep—her head resting squarely on Zino's lap. Earlier, when she had gotten drunk, she had become unusually clingy, insisting loudly that Zino let her nap on him. Embarrassed and unsure how to deal with her drunken state, Zino had reluctantly given in, hoping she'd calm down. Now, with her quietly snoring and dribbling a little, Zino sat stiffly, sipping warm tea that Mayor Boodle had served him out of kindness.
Unlike the others, Zino didn't enjoy alcohol. The smell, the taste—it all just didn't sit well with him. Tea was more his style. He sat there quietly, taking in the moment, when suddenly—a soft chime echoed in his mind.
*[System Notification]*
*Congratulations! Your element: Air has reached Level 20. You may now swallow and level up another element.*
Zino blinked, caught off guard. "Huh? My Air element… hit level 20 already?"
He immediately opened his system status to confirm the message. A translucent blue screen hovered before his eyes, visible only to him.
*[STATUS]*
*Name*: Monkey D. Zino
*Age*: 17
*Lineage*: Grandson of Monkey D. Kong
*Devil Fruit Ability*:
*Nomu Nomu no Mi* (Swallow Swallow Fruit)
- *Primary Power*: The ability to swallow and control elemental substances.
- *Current Limitation*: Can only control one element at a time.
- *Unawakened Power*: Grants partial transformation into the currently swallowed element.
*Swallowed Elements:*
1. *Air* – Level 20
Zino stared at the system screen hovering before him, still trying to process what he had just read.
*"Air Element has reached Level 20… and I can now add another element?"*
It caught him completely off guard. Until now, he hadn't been keeping close track of the element's progress. In truth, he hadn't even realized it was leveling up.
When he had first awakened the *Nomu Nomu no Mi*, the so-called *Swallow Swallow Fruit*, Zino was clueless on how to actually strengthen it. The ability sounded powerful on paper—swallowing and manipulating elemental substances—but in practice, it was vague and difficult to control.
That was when the *System* first stepped in to guide him.
*[Tip: To level up an element, repeatedly absorb it into your body and use its abilities regularly.]*
Zino remembered the suggestion clearly. It sounded almost too simple, but it actually worked. From then on, he made it a habit to inhale and absorb the air around him frequently, repeating the process until he noticed the element's progress bar slowly rising. Even breathing—a subconscious act—was helping to level up his *Air* element.
He didn't realize it at the time, but because air was everywhere, and he was constantly exposed to it, the leveling became almost effortless over time. He had been breathing, absorbing, and practicing air-based techniques every day without thinking much about it. Now, those little efforts had accumulated to reach a significant milestone—Level 20.
But even this discovery wasn't the most shocking revelation.
What truly caught Zino's attention was the system's latest message: *Now you can swallow and level up a second element.*
That was the real game changer.
"…So that's why I couldn't absorb anything else until now." Zino muttered, eyes narrowing in thought.
He recalled all his failed attempts at absorbing other substances. Fire, stone, water—nothing worked. He even went so far as to try swallowing a *Muggy Ball*, the powerful cannonball used by Buggy, in hopes of turning its explosive nature into a usable element.
But no matter how many times he tried, the system had rejected it.
Now he finally understood why.
"All this time, I was missing the condition," Zino said to himself. "I needed to master my first element before I could move on to the next."
As if to confirm his thoughts, the system responded again.
*[Correct. You may only acquire a new element after leveling the currently held one to Level 20. Each subsequent element must follow the same rule.]*
Zino nodded slowly.
So that meant this wasn't a one-time thing—every new element he wanted to control would first require mastering the previous one. It made sense. The system wasn't just giving him overwhelming power all at once. It was forcing him to grow gradually, to understand the nature of each element before progressing to the next.
And now that he had fulfilled the condition, a whole new world of possibilities had just opened up.
He leaned back against the wall, careful not to disturb Alvida, who was still asleep on his lap. As the party's background noise faded into a soft hum, Zino's eyes turned serious.
*"The question is… what element should I choose next?"*
Just as Zino was quietly sipping his tea and reflecting on what second element to choose, a new System notification abruptly appeared before his eyes, interrupting his thoughts.
*[Notice: Detected that you have swallowed multiple elemental substances. Due to the "One Element at a Time" limitation, you may only select one of the following newly ingested elements to be added to your list of saved elemental abilities.]*
*[List of Recently Swallowed Elements:]*
1. Medicine
2. Poison
3. Plant
*[Please select one.]*
Zino blinked. "Wait, when did I even swallow all that?"
He remembered tasting some herbs earlier, chewing on a strange berry, and maybe sniffing around in the forest while testing his abilities—but he hadn't thought much of it at the time. He was simply experimenting with his Devil Fruit power, trying to see what might work.
However, that was sometimes ago. Then, he glanced at the cup of tea on his hand. Did all those element came from this? he thought.
Zino then asked the system. "Do I have to choose right now? Can I… skip this?"
The system responded instantly.
*[Of course. It is entirely up to you. This is your ability, after all. The System exists to assist, not control. We merely offer suggestions to help you manage and optimize your power.]*
Zino nodded, slowly digesting the information—figuratively and literally.
"That's fair… but isn't this whole thing a bit of a hassle?" he muttered, glancing at the list again.
*[Efficient organization of elemental abilities is crucial. Without it, you may experience unintended side effects such as elemental overload or confusion. Continued indiscriminate swallowing can also lead to stomach discomfort. Additionally, improper absorption may trigger 'Elemental Confusion Syndrome.']*
Zino choked on his tea. "Wait—Elemental *what* syndrome!?"
A cold sweat ran down his back. Now that he thought about it, he had been swallowing all sorts of substances lately. Rocks, berries, rainwater, smoke from a fire… all in an effort to understand what counted as an element and what didn't. He had even once tried to swallow seawater before remembering he was a Devil Fruit user.
"Why didn't you warn me before?" he asked, clearly annoyed. "You let me go around swallowing random junk like some guinea pig."
The System responded with unnerving calmness.
*[System feedback is based on analyzed data. Until sufficient information was gathered from your actions, no accurate conclusion could be presented. The symptoms and side effects are now detectable thanks to the host's extensive—if reckless—testing.]*
"…So I really *was* the guinea pig."
*[Correct. Your actions produced the data that allowed the system to identify these risks.]*
Zino sighed deeply and slumped back against the wall, rubbing his temples.
"I can't believe I was out here risking indigestion in the name of science."
*[Not science. Ability optimization.]* the System corrected.
Rolling his eyes, Zino turned his attention back to the list of available elements.
*Medicine. Poison. Plant.*
Each of them had potential in their own right. Medicine could offer healing abilities, perhaps even regeneration. Poison would be deadly, useful in both offense and defense. And Plant... he wasn't sure yet, but it might allow manipulation of nature—vines, roots, and even terrain.
All three were tempting.
"Should I really pick one of these elements?" Zino muttered to himself, glancing again at the list. "Also… can medicine even be considered an element?"
It felt strange to him. Elements, in his mind, were things like fire, water, wind, or lightning—not something like *medicine*.
"System, do you have a recommendation?" he asked.
*[It is highly recommended that you select Medicine. The other two elements are not particularly beneficial to you at your current stage.]*
Zino raised an eyebrow. "Can you explain why?"
*[The Medicine element grants various supportive effects. It can be used to heal wounds, neutralize poisons, and cure certain illnesses. Furthermore, leveling it up is exceptionally easy. By simply eating food or drinking water—both of which contain trace medicinal properties—you will passively improve the element, similar to how you advanced the Air element by inhaling.]*
Zino nodded slowly. That made a lot of sense. "So just regular eating and drinking can raise the level of the element?"
*[Correct. Even without specialized medicines, the daily act of consuming nourishment provides subtle medicinal energy that feeds the element's progression.]*
He thought for a moment. The same principle likely applied to the Poison element as well, though perhaps not as efficiently. After all, the body often produces trace amounts of toxins during digestion, or absorbs mild impurities from food and drink.
"So food helps both medicine and poison, huh…" he muttered. "But I guess Medicine is more useful for now."
Zino made his decision. "Alright. I choose Medicine as my second element."
*[Confirmed. You have successfully saved your second elemental ability: Medicine.]*
With the selection complete, Zino returned his attention to his tea and the leftovers from the party. As he drank and nibbled on some fruit, a notification quietly appeared:
*[Element: Medicine – Progress +0.6%]*
Zino grinned. "That was fast."
He took another sip and watched the progress bar rise again. "This is going to be easy. If I keep eating and drinking like this, I'll level it up in no time."
A sudden idea sparked in his mind. "Wait… if normal food works this well, then wouldn't consuming actual medicine speed it up even more?"
His eyes lit up with curiosity, and for a moment, he considered digging into any leftover medical supplies from earlier. But as he looked around at the sleepy, drunken state of the room—with Alvida snoozing peacefully on his lap, Zoro passed out with a gourd in hand, and Nami still creeping around trying to lift coins from unconscious villagers—he sighed.
"Yeah… maybe not the best time," he muttered. "Let's save that for later."
Zino leaned back against the wall, gently shifting Alvida's head on his lap so she wouldn't wake. A yawn escaped him. "Man… it's already past midnight…"
The excitement of the day, the system updates, and the food-induced drowsiness all hit him at once. Before he knew it, his eyes slowly closed, and he drifted into a deep, well-earned sleep—his second element quietly growing stronger with every breath and heartbeat.