Shiori had a problem. A rather frustrating one.
He sat at the edge of his freshly tended garden, white robes brushing the soft soil, brows furrowed in deep thought as he stared at the tilled land with an oddly serious expression for a five-year-old.
"I have the technique," he muttered to himself, picking up a small pebble and tossing it aside. "Grow a Garden. It literally says I can plant Devil Fruits. But... where are the seeds? How do I begin without seeds?"
The garden itself was immaculate. Even the clan elders had commented on it. The soil was carefully enriched, the layout deliberate, with thin wooden markers poking out to divide sections for cultivation. A bamboo fence ran around the perimeter, handcrafted by Shiori himself with the help of a patient servant. The garden was alive and ready—yet still empty.
Shiori sighed, running his small fingers through the dirt.
"Now that I think about it," he mumbled, eyes narrowing with realization, "Devil Fruits in One Piece... they appear randomly on existing fruits. Like the soul of a Devil Fruit attaches itself after someone dies or when the power is reborn. It's almost like there's a system of reincarnation, or maybe... a percentile chance based on proximity and environmental factors."
He paused. "But this isn't One Piece. This is Jujutsu Kaisen."
He glanced at the garden again, then at the stone-carved pathway leading to the small forge nearby.
"Since this is a system-generated technique... it must function with different rules. My domain, my garden, it's not bound by the same randomness. Maybe the Grow a Garden skill localizes the chance of fruit manifestation to this specific space. A fixed point of power."
Unable to contain his curiosity anymore, Shiori called out in his mind.
"System. Do I need to find Devil Fruit seeds, or can I plant normal fruit seeds and wait for something to grow?"
A mechanical chime echoed inside his consciousness, smooth and oddly cheerful.
[QUERY ACCEPTED.]
[HOST HAS BEEN GRANTED: 5x SEED (Permanent Type - Exceptionally High Probability of Bearing Devil Fruits)]
[NOTE: These seeds are a Starter Gift courtesy of the "Grow a Garden" technique.]
[ADDENDUM: Any other planted fruit or seed has a minor percentage-based chance to evolve into a Devil Fruit within the bounds of the Host's Garden.]
Shiori's eyes sparkled.
"Five guaranteed Devil Fruit seeds?! This system really loves me!"
As if on cue, a rustling sound echoed behind him, followed by a familiar, overly excited voice.
"Shishiiiii! I have seeds too!"
Shiori turned his head to see Satoru running toward him, his pale blue yukata flapping as he dashed across the courtyard. His white hair, slightly shorter and messier than Shiori's, bounced with every step. In his hands was a small cloth pouch—bulging with all sorts of seeds.
"Look what I got! I told the old man—I mean, Father—to give me seeds, and he gave me a whole bag!"
Trailing behind him were two maids and an elder, all slightly flustered. The elder shook his head, clearly exasperated.
"That boy changes his entire personality around young Shiori," he muttered under his breath.
"Right? Normally he's all smug and bratty," one maid whispered. "But around Shiori, he's like a puppy."
"More like a bro-con," the second maid added.
Shiori smiled, brushing his long white hair behind one ear. His soft features glowed under the sunlight, and with his long lashes and glowing crystal-like blue eyes, he looked more like a painting than a real child. If not for his clearly male name and identity, many would easily mistake him for a girl.
Satoru plopped down next to him and opened the pouch.
"These look kinda normal," Shiori said as he peeked inside.
'Yeah, but the system said even normal fruits have a chance to become Devil Fruits if grown in my garden. So maybe planting all types will increase the odds.'
"It is, compared to what you have," Satoru nodded seriously—for all of two seconds. Then he squished Shiori's cheeks with both hands.
"You're soooo cute, Shishiii! Look at you!" Satoru gushed, stretching his brother's face.
"Sato...ru," Shiori deadpanned, trying to swat his brother's hands away.
"Nii-san! Say nii-san, not Satoru! I'm your big brother, come onnnn!"
"Let's just plant the seeds," Shiori sighed, ignoring the protest.
The two brothers stood and walked to the heart of the garden. Shiori carefully removed the five special seeds from his inventory—they glowed faintly, pulsing with an unseen energy. Each seed was different in shape and hue: one looked like a swirling black pearl, another like a fiery ember, the third bore ridges like a walnut but hummed with cursed energy, and the last two had an aura too complex to describe with words.
"They look weird... but cute!" Satoru said, mimicking his earlier comment. He tilted his head, poking one of the glowing seeds. "This one's warm. It's kinda alive."
Shiori nodded. "They're not normal. Each one probably holds a unique Devil Fruit power."
With reverent care, they began planting.
Shiori chose five spots within a pentagram-shaped formation—the corners perfectly aligned with the energy nodes he'd identified in the garden. He pressed each seed into the soil, murmuring softly under his breath, not a spell, but words of thanks.
Satoru, despite his usual chaos, was quiet during the process. He understood, instinctively, that something important was happening.
When the last seed was buried, a strange wind stirred through the garden. The air shifted.
It wasn't just wind—it was presence.
The seeds pulsed once. Then the soil settled.
A quiet hum resonated in the air—like a secret being whispered by the earth.
"Is that... supposed to happen?" Satoru asked, eyes wide.
"It means it's working," Shiori whispered.
The garden had accepted the seeds.
Their journey had begun.
And somewhere, deep in the core of each sprouting stem, a power unlike any other began to take root.
In the land of Jujutsu Kaisen, where cursed energy ruled supreme, something foreign, something wild, something other was growing.
And it all started with two brothers, planting strange seeds under the sun.