Inside the cave, Issho held a fragrant piece of roasted meat.
"Delicious... No need; this old man is already full."
He devoured the meat in two or three bites, politely declining another piece offered by Cori. His keen senses told him that this meat was not only free of toxins, but that nearly all harmful impurities had been purged.
"This is definitely a special ability."
His 'gaze' drifted slightly towards the Sheep-Headed Masked figure standing nearby. Issho harbored no ill will towards Hitsuji; his current contemplation and observation stemmed purely from the instinctive curiosity of a powerful being.
Hitsuji's ability struck him as unique.
He was certain that when the beast carcasses had been piled up outside the cave, the terrain of the island had undeniably shifted.
Moreover, the fire roasting the meat had been conjured by Hitsuji, a flame that burned without fuel, defying the laws of reality.
Most crucially...
"It's actually working..." Issho murmured to himself, watching Hitsuji's actions.
He was moving among the survivors, droplets of a crystal-clear liquid falling from his hand and vaporising into mist that followed his every step. A survivor whose body had turned deep purple-black and who had lost the ability to move was enveloped in the mist.
As the mist seeped into his body, an astonishing transformation began.
The survivor, his face etched with tension and hope, watched as the purple-black discoloration rapidly faded from his skin. His groans of pain gradually subsided, replaced by the long-lost sound of smooth, effortless breathing.
"I... I..." He stammered, instinctively touching his body. "The poison... Ugh! It's gone! I'm healed!"
His cry of triumph ignited a chorus of cheers from the other survivors in the cave, many of whom had already been healed.
"Surt's poison is gone too!"
"Lord Hitsuji... He's incredible!"
"Hooray! We can get out of here alive!"
"Waaaaah..."
They watched as Hitsuji walked through the cave, treating him as if he were a deity among mortals. But at that moment, Issho could sense that something was amiss.
"Is that terrifyingly potent antidote actually a deadly poison in disguise?"
The newly formed dark purple liquid in Hitsuji's hands was, in fact, an extremely lethal poison. It was so potent that its potency shocked even Issho.
After all, the poisons on Plague Island had been collected by the Celestial Dragons from all over the world; they were already incredibly potent and virtually incurable.
Yet in Issho's 'sight,' the poison in Hitsuji's hands far surpassed the island's Poison Mist. However, the moment the poison left Hitsuji's body, it underwent an immediate transformation.
In an instant, the toxins within seemed to flip to the opposite extreme, forming the miraculous antidote.
"What an extraordinary ability," Issho murmured in awe.
He couldn't fathom what kind of Devil Fruit Hitsuji possessed, but he knew this power was truly remarkable.
And indeed it was:
[Roy Amos (Slice Clone – Hitsuji)]
[Venom-Venom Fruit (Level 5): Produces terrifyingly potent venom. Its toxins encompass the effects of nearly every known poison, including neurotoxins, corrosive poisons, cytotoxins, and myotoxins. It is the strongest of all venoms, granting the user near-complete immunity to all toxins.]
[Reversal Devil Fruit (Level 4): A highly developed Devil Fruit ability that can reverse the properties and attributes of inanimate objects, altering the taste of food and the medicinal properties of drugs.]
Two of the Devil Fruits that Hitsuji possessed were the source of this phenomenon.
The Venom-Venom Fruit produces the world's most potent poison, encompassing nearly every characteristic of extreme toxicity. Even individuals with immense vitality, such as Teach, would find it challenging.
During the Three-Forces Military Exercise, Hitsuji obtained the Inversion Devil Fruit from 'Foul-Tongued' Soras. This fruit has the ability to invert the properties of non-living objects, and once Hitsuji had reached Level 4, it could even invert the effects of medications.
The combination of these two Devil Fruits formed the potion that Hitsuji was currently using.
The Inversion Devil Fruit completely reversed the original destructive effects of the Venom-Venom Fruit's venom on nerves, cells, blood, and muscles, transforming them into restorative properties.
This made the potion virtually a panacea.
On Plague Island, where toxins permeated every corner, he was akin to a god.
And that wasn't all.
Having had the toxins purged from her body by Hitsuji, Cori naturally felt joy at the sight of the surrounding celebrations. The fact that those who had saved her could now be saved themselves brought her genuine happiness.
However, upon closer inspection, a subtle truth emerged.
Although the survivors' bodies had been cleansed of toxins and their cellular and muscular damage repaired, restoring them to apparent health, neither their auras nor their complexions could be described as 'normal.'
Nearly all of them bore twisted deformities or disfigurements, and almost all of them radiated a faint, flickering life force.
These were the inevitable scars left by their ordeal on Plague Island: severed or mutated limbs under the toxin's agonizing influence and a life force eroded to near-death levels by the poison's relentless assault.
These were the indelible marks of survival etched onto their very being.
'..."
After the initial surge of relief, a shadow flickered across Cori's eyes.
Cori herself was no exception; in fact, due to Saint Ambokam's influence, her physical impairments were among the most severe of all the survivors.
But clearly, Cori understood.
This was unavoidable.
"The fact that everyone can be freed from toxins and reunited with their families is a wonderful outcome in itself."
Is anything more perfect possible?
Cori was no longer the child she once was. She knew that the world wasn't a fairy tale.
But then...
"Let's prepare for the next stage of treatment," Hitsuji announced softly and amusedly in the next moment.
Even in the real world, fairy tales could exist.
At that moment, Hitsuji extended his hand once more. This time, however, the liquid dripping from his palm was not the usual black-purple fluid.
The single drop was pure and as dark as death itself.
'!'
At the same instant, Issho, who had remained silent due to the appearance of the survivors, suddenly tightened his grip on his cane sword; it was a subconscious reaction to impending danger.
His tightly closed blind eyes 'stared' directly in Hitsuji's direction, and the muscles in his face twitched slightly in extreme shock.
"Lord... what is that?"
In that instant, his Observation Haki sensed more than just 'poison.'
The substance that had materialized from Hitsuji's hand felt like death itself! In Fujitora's 'vision,' that single drop of liquid appeared as a black hole, devouring all light and life.
And indeed, that was precisely what it was:
[Venom-Venom Fruit Awakening: Can create a minuscule amount of pitch-black 'Death Poison'. This venom does not act through neurotoxins, cytotoxins or other traditional toxic mechanisms. Instead, it directly attacks the target's life force, continuously draining it until death occurs.]
Gazing at the terrifying poison in his hand, Hitsuji remained utterly calm.
"Reverse."
The whisper in his heart faded. And from the heart of death, new light was born. The pitch-black Death Poison instantly transformed into a crystal-clear liquid, just as before.
But this time, it was so transparent that it was almost imperceptible at a glance, almost ethereal.
Death Poison directly targeted life force.
Logically, reversing it would have the opposite effect: it could directly boost the life force of anyone who consumed it.
But this was not all.
At that moment, Hitsuji gently raised his hand.
Then...
'!!!'
Cori, Issho, and everyone present witnessed it:
His hand had transformed into a strange, bestial claw. It was slender and elegant, covered in shimmering scales that shifted between gold and blue, radiating vitality. Blue and white, flame-like clouds swirled around his arm, making him appear even more divine.
And now, from the tip of that claw, strands of blue light began to slowly flow forth.
Cori immediately recognized the light as being almost identical to the 'blue glow' that had appeared in the forest just before Hitsuji materialized. The next moment, Hitsuji gently merged the blue glow in his hand with the liquid he was holding.
Then...
Buzz!
The liquid erupted with a dazzling, multicolored radiance.
"My friends," Hitsuji proclaimed with a hearty laugh, "let us partake of this 'Water of Life'!" The liquid transformed into a multicolored mist that cascaded throughout the cavern.
The miracle of life descended upon them.
Wherever the multicolored mist touched, the survivors' deformities instantly began to heal. Their bodies, weakened by lingering toxins, rapidly regained vitality.
Most remarkably of all, their missing limbs began to itch incessantly as new flesh sprouted.
"My... my hand!"
"My leg... my leg has grown back?!"
"Am I dreaming?"
Their newly regrown limbs made them feel as though they were dreaming.
Cori felt this even more intensely.
Her leg, which had been left with a severed Achilles tendon, suddenly seemed to surge with renewed strength. Her fractured bones, shattered shoulder blades, and every scar on her body seemed to heal in a warm, flowing current.
Finally, she realized that the eye she had thought was lost forever had regained its clarity.
"..."
She instinctively reached up to touch her face and eyes. But Hitsuji, as if prepared for this, immediately handed her a mirror.
Cori gazed at her reflection.
Seeing her restored beauty nearly brought her to tears again.
She didn't know why she wanted to cry. It wasn't for vanity; after everything she had endured, appearances no longer mattered to her.
Yet it was clear that Issho understood her feelings.
"Ah."
The swordsman, haunted by guilt and unease over the Plague Island tragedy, had once gouged out his own eyes. Now, he opened them once more.
What he saw etched itself into his memory forever: The formerly suffering people were now cheering and rejoicing.
The elven-like young woman, the robust man with his severed arm, and the formerly despairing old man were all gathered around the figure in a white robe with a ram's head.
"..."
Issho turned his head.
He saw that, both inside and outside the cave, which had once been barren and filled with toxins, green vegetation and beautiful flowers had now blossomed.
Life always finds a way.
Even in the most fetid environments, where survival seemed impossible, life would bloom anew the moment hope flickered.
"These old eyes can still see beauty," Issho murmured, a gentle smile spreading across his face.
"How wonderful."
(End Of This Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 15 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395