"This is the Garb-Garb Fruit. Its original ability allows the user to place materials on their own head or a teammate's head, then use their imagination to transform those materials into clothing. This makes it possible to quickly change someone's appearance."
"However, I've already modified it extensively, greatly reducing the Devil Fruit's side effects. Now, the user can transform materials they've previously come into contact with into weapons and equipment they understand."
"They can then freely use the bonuses provided by those weapons and equipment, just like the sword you're holding right now."
"Not only that, but once you've developed the fruit's abilities sufficiently, you can even enter its awakened state and create mythical weapons and equipment beyond your understanding without needing any materials. Of course, doing so will consume considerably more stamina."
"In its current form, you can call it the Costume-Costume Fruit."
[Ding, Making Fake Become Real triggered...]
[Yuuki Asuna's Fate Value: 60. Trust Level: 50%. Manifestation Points: 30.]
[You have modified the Garb-Garb Fruit by 30%, reducing its side effects by 30%. In addition to its original abilities, imagined equipment can now inherit up to 30% of the original weapon's attributes.]
[The created equipment can also be used by teammates, but doing so will increase stamina consumption.]
Asuna accepted the Devil Fruit from Makoto with both hands.
The Garb-Garb Fruit had originally been gray, with a single blade of grass decorating its surface. Now, however, various irregular patterns had appeared across its skin, overlapping like countless layers of different fabrics.
Sensing the changes within the fruit, Asuna's face lit up with delight.
"Captain, could it be that your Talent allows you to modify all kinds of items?"
Makoto froze for a moment.
He hadn't expected Asuna to come to such a conclusion on her own.
However, he quickly recovered and gave her a confident smile.
"That's right. One of my Talents is the SS-rank Modification Master. Not only can I modify all kinds of weapons, equipment, and items, but I can even modify our Talents and abilities."
The moment those words left his mouth, Makoto realized he might have gone a little too far.
Although he had already used an SS-rank Talent as an explanation, the ability to modify other people's Talents still sounded absurdly powerful.
He immediately added a restriction to make his claim more believable.
"Of course, my modifications aren't free. For example, to modify this Garb-Garb Fruit, remove its side effects, and strengthen its abilities, I had to consume two additional Devil Fruits."
"It's like one of those three-in-one merging games. Do you understand?"
A look of realization appeared on Asuna's face.
At the same time, Makoto successfully triggered another rather risky manifestation.
[Ding, Making Fake Become Real triggered...]
[Yuuki Asuna's Fate Value: 60. Trust Level: 50%. Manifestation Points: 30.]
[You have successfully manifested the S-rank Talent, Fusion Evolution: By consuming two additional weapons, pieces of equipment, items, Talents, or abilities of the same rank as the target, you can evolve the target in a direction of your choosing.]
Seeing the new Talent suddenly appear in his Talent panel, Makoto couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement.
One of his biggest headaches had always been figuring out how to disguise his Making Fake Become Real Talent.
Unexpectedly, Asuna's casual suggestion had helped him solve that problem!
Of course, anyone who knew Makoto extremely well would eventually realize that this Talent alone couldn't explain his astonishing growth rate.
However, unlike Making Fake Become Real, Fusion Evolution was something he could openly reveal to others.
He could even use it to make deals with other Players in the Main God Space.
By doing so, even if someone became suspicious of him, they would never guess what kind of Talent was actually hidden behind this seemingly impressive S-rank ability.
More importantly, with Asuna around, Makoto could now directly manifest S-rank Talents.
Did that mean he could take advantage of this opportunity to manifest another couple of S-rank Talents for himself and Sakiko?
Of course, the same problem remained.
He couldn't simply announce out of nowhere that he possessed a huge collection of Talents.
If Asuna couldn't understand what he was talking about, her confusion would prevent her trust from reaching a sufficiently high level, even if she believed him.
If that resulted in Makoto only manifesting a C-rank or B-rank Talent, it wouldn't provide much of an improvement at his current level.
While Makoto rapidly considered his next move, Asuna's expression also began changing.
She understood that Makoto had given her an extraordinary amount of help. Previously, however, she hadn't truly understood how valuable those benefits were.
Now, she finally had a clearer picture.
As far as Asuna understood, Makoto had already given her the equivalent of at least three Devil Fruits, three powerful legendary weapons, and a complete set of all three types of Haki, swordsmanship, the Six Powers, and more.
She had no doubt that ordinary Players might not obtain such an impressive collection of abilities and equipment even after clearing several worlds.
Yet Makoto had given everything to her.
Asuna felt incredibly fortunate, but beneath that gratitude was a growing sense of unease.
'Do I really deserve all these things?'
'Why is Kitano-kun giving me so much? Could he have some unusual intentions?'
But she had practically nothing to her name right now.
What could she possibly possess that Makoto would value so highly?
Asuna secretly raised her head and glanced at him.
Coincidentally, Makoto was staring at her with burning enthusiasm.
After all, he was currently considering how to squeeze as much benefit as possible out of Asuna during this mission.
Unfortunately, Asuna completely misunderstood the meaning behind his gaze.
She hurriedly lowered her head, suddenly feeling as though the Devil Fruit in her hands had become uncomfortably warm.
"What's wrong? Having second thoughts?"
Makoto asked casually.
Asuna immediately shook her head and hugged the Devil Fruit tightly against herself.
There was absolutely no way she was giving it back!
She understood that once she ate this fruit, her relationship with Makoto would become even harder to separate.
However, compared to being thrown alone into another life-or-death trial, she would much rather have someone dependable like Makoto to rely on.
Still...
If Makoto really intended to use these gifts to strengthen the bond between them, wouldn't agreeing too readily make her seem a little too easily swayed?
"Then hurry up and eat it. Oh, right, Devil Fruits taste absolutely terrible. I didn't modify that part."
Although Makoto possessed Devil Fruit abilities himself, he had never actually eaten one.
According to the setting, these things probably tasted something like human waste.
He even considered stepping away for a moment so Asuna wouldn't have to embarrass herself in front of him.
Unexpectedly, Asuna followed his advice without hesitation and immediately took a bite.
Her expression changed dramatically.
The Garb-Garb Fruit slipped from her fingers, and her entire body suddenly went stiff, as though she had been frozen solid.
Makoto was startled.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Had modifying the Garb-Garb Fruit through Making Fake Become Real somehow changed its flavor as well?
Could it have become so disgusting that it was practically impossible to swallow?
When Asuna didn't answer, Makoto reached out to touch her forehead.
However, she recoiled as though she had been electrocuted.
"Wait! Don't touch me..."
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
In an instant, the clothes on Asuna's body vanished, leaving only the pure and beautiful form of a young girl. Every beautiful and secret detail was laid bare for Makoto to see, and he even memorized a mole on her chest that looked like a tiny star.
Wait a minute.
Could his extraordinary memory actually be another effect of the Memory Fruit?
After all, he could already manipulate memories with astonishing precision. Having a photographic memory, or functioning like a human recording device, should be a fairly basic application of that ability.
Makoto suppressed the excitement in his heart, quickly withdrew his hand, and took a spare set of clothes from his Storage Space to hand to Asuna.
But Asuna didn't take it. Instead, she covered her chest with one hand and shielded her lower body with the other. As her face slowly turned apple-red, she still resolutely tried to do something.
Before Makoto could figure out what was happening, Asuna's casual clothes suddenly reappeared.
Even her underwear had returned during the process.
Only then did Makoto finally begin to understand what had happened.
For some reason, Asuna kept staring at Makoto while restoring her clothing.
Apart from embarrassment and irritation, there seemed to be something else in her gaze, as though she were trying to figure something out.
Once she was certain her clothes had completely returned, Makoto cleared his throat and asked as casually as possible.
"What exactly happened just now?"
Asuna let out a long breath before replying in a voice that sounded polite but was clearly keeping him at a distance.
"The moment I ate the Devil Fruit, I felt its ability activate. It seems this fruit is extremely compatible with me."
"I activated its power instinctively, but then I realized there wasn't anything on my forehead. And just then, you touched me..."
Asuna's voice trembled slightly.
She really didn't want to remember the embarrassing incident.
After all, she had only just realized that activating her ability didn't actually require placing anything on her forehead.
As long as she possessed a material, she could directly use it to transform something.
Then what materials did she always have available on her own body?
That was a question best left unexplored.
Whether it involved making her clothes disappear or transforming the material of her clothing into something resembling skin or hair, neither option sounded particularly pleasant.
In the end, Asuna had instinctively chosen to make her clothes vanish.
At least that would only embarrass her, rather than leave her having nightmares every night.
Of course, the underlying reason for the accident was simply that she had only just eaten the Devil Fruit and still couldn't properly control its abilities.
Once she became familiar with how the fruit worked, similar accidents should be easy to avoid.
Makoto finally understood the situation as well.
Because he had modified the Devil Fruit, Asuna had gone from having no Devil Fruit powers at all to immediately possessing a basic level of mastery over them.
That sudden acquisition of power had caused her ability to go out of control.
Realizing this, Makoto opened his mouth, intending to apologize.
After all, Asuna's feelings mattered. He didn't want an incident like this to create resentment between them.
However, Asuna immediately noticed his intentions and hurriedly spoke first.
"Captain, I'm not angry. I'm just a little upset, that's all."
"You've already helped me so much, and I'm incredibly grateful. As for what just happened, let's just treat it as a small accident."
After speaking, Asuna bent down to retrieve the Devil Fruit, intending to continue eating it.
Makoto hurriedly stopped her.
"One bite is enough. The moment you take the first bite, the Devil Fruit's power enters your body. The fruit itself is just a vessel."
Hearing this, Asuna visibly relaxed.
Clearly, even if the taste hadn't been overwhelmingly disgusting, eating the Devil Fruit had been far from a pleasant experience.
Although Asuna had told Makoto he didn't need to apologize, he still wanted to demonstrate his sincerity.
He withdrew his hand and nodded.
"How about this? I'll simply extract my memories of what happened just now. That's an extremely easy thing for me to do."
However, before his hand could reach his forehead, Asuna hurriedly grabbed his wrist with both hands.
"Don't!"
Their eyes met once again.
Asuna's face immediately turned red, and she guiltily looked away.
Nevertheless, she continued speaking.
"I-I mean, there's no need to do that."
"It was only a small mistake. How could I possibly ask you to erase your own memories over something like that?"
"Captain, please, let's just leave this matter here. I'm begging you!"
Hearing the determination in Asuna's voice, Makoto slowly lowered his hand.
He could roughly understand her feelings now.
Rather than allowing this embarrassing incident to create awkwardness between herself and the person she currently depended on, Asuna would rather endure her own private embarrassment.
In other words, she was carefully trying to avoid giving Makoto any reason to think negatively of her.
That attitude could be considered a product of aristocratic etiquette or the delicate rules of Japanese interpersonal relationships.
Once Makoto understood this, he decided not to insist.
Besides, the scene just now had been truly beautiful. It would be a shame to erase the memory.
"All right, then let's leave it at that. For now, focus on getting familiar with your abilities."
With that, Makoto took out a pile of weapons and equipment and handed them toward Asuna.
The collection included standard military gear such as bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets, along with shinobi flak jackets, kunai, shuriken, and other equipment from the shinobi world.
Asuna curiously reached out to accept them.
However, just as she was about to take the equipment, an idea suddenly occurred to Makoto.
"These are all pieces of equipment I've strengthened as well. They contain the power of shinobi."
"The power of shinobi? What's that?"
Asuna immediately asked with curiosity.
That was exactly the question Makoto had been waiting for.
He extended his hand and gestured toward Asuna's forehead.
She immediately understood what he intended to do.
Asuna gently bit her lower lip. Although she still felt embarrassed, she willingly stepped closer and prepared to accept another round of memory manipulation.
However, this time, what flowed into her body was a warm, unfamiliar energy.
Naturally, that energy was Chakra.
At the same time, Makoto created a Shadow Clone and instructed it to demonstrate various ninjutsu.
While the clone displayed its abilities, Makoto personally explained to Asuna what Chakra actually was.
With his guidance, Asuna quickly gained a basic understanding of the Naruto world.
Makoto naturally wasted no time activating Making Fake Become Real.
"All of this equipment from the shinobi world has been strengthened by me. For every piece of shinobi equipment you wear, you'll gain an amount of Chakra equivalent to that of an ordinary chunin."
Although Makoto verbally claimed the equipment provided chunin-level Chakra reserves, he deliberately had his Shadow Clone demonstrate a burst of Chakra at the jonin level.
…