The Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans were all descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, and thus not truly pure-blooded Earth humans.
That said, aside from Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, perhaps only Naruto and Sasuke had managed to reach that level. As for the others… it was hard to say.
Come Be My Son (Whitebeard): Image.jpg
Come Be My Son: Does anyone want the Dark-Dark Fruit?
Come Be My Son: After what happened, Saatchi and the others have no desire for it. They've left it to me to handle.
The Dark-Dark Fruit was indeed powerful, but because of what Teach had done, Saatchi entrusted it to Whitebeard. No matter what, he would never eat this Devil Fruit.
Perhaps, in his heart, if not for the appearance of this fruit, Teach might still have been family to them.
Some things are not so easily cut away.
Ordinary Group Leader (Roxie Vale): I don't want it.
Most Evil Spirit (Kurumi): Better to give it to someone who needs it.
Boil Daigu into Soup (Daigu): The Dark-Dark Fruit isn't suitable for me.
Uchiha Dance King (Madara): Keep it yourself.
Child of Nature (Brandon White): Recycle it.
Richest Man (Tony Stark): We didn't do anything to earn it. Taking it would be wrong.
Just Like That, Meow (Meowth): That's right, meow.
Himouto: I really want it, but… it feels wrong to take something so precious without giving anything in return.
Golden Flash (Gilgamesh): Indeed.
Some gifts they could accept—tokens of gratitude, small items that could be remembered. But a Devil Fruit of such rarity could not be accepted lightly.
Come Be My Son: …
Come Be My Son: No need to be so rigid. To you it may seem precious, but for the Whitebeard Pirates, there's no one who could eat it with peace of mind.
Come Be My Son: Recycling it would only bring a few points anyway. I already have more than enough points.
Child of Nature: In that case, keep it for now. If someone wants it later, they can trade with you for it, Dad.
Child of Nature: Small things we can accept freely, but the Dark-Dark Fruit is no ordinary item.
Ordinary Group Leader: Exactly, exactly. Better to hold on to it for future trade, Dad.
Whitebeard chuckled when he read their replies. Though his heart still felt heavy because of Teach, it eased a little.
Since the Dark-Dark Fruit was not to be given away, Whitebeard simply sent out a few point-red packets in the chat instead.
That sparked far more excitement than the Devil Fruit ever could.
With the Whitebeard matter concluded, Brandon White's life returned to its usual rhythm.
The nation's "God-Creation Project" had been fairly successful. Firewing, Skyler Quinn, and the others had displayed tremendous strength, surprising many with just how powerful the country's cultivated talents had become.
Naturally, Brandon too had drawn attention. But compared to Firewing and the others, his influence was smaller.
From the outside, the spectacle of their powers far outshone the subtlety of his own.
But Brandon didn't mind.
In fact, if Firewing hadn't mentioned it to him, he wouldn't have noticed at all.
Later, the state organized follow-up missions—beast-clearing operations, training exercises, and the like—but none of it concerned him.
His last outing had been on a whim. He had plenty to occupy him now.
Aside from his daily training, he had even returned to reading again after a long absence.
It struck him that ever since the spiritual energy revival and his own awakening, he had hardly picked up a book. The last thing he remembered reading was the Star-Absorbing Technique.
This time, he wasn't drawn to the deep, technical works of mathematics or physics. Instead, he gravitated toward books on civilization, culture, and the natural world.
They gave him much to ponder, and much to gain.
Many of the texts claimed that the universe was cold and cruel—that between civilizations, cooperation was rare, peace nonexistent. When intelligent species encountered one another, their first thought was rarely harmony.
Yet other works argued that true development should be steady and peaceful, nurtured in calm, stable environments over the passage of time. War might accelerate progress, yes, but it was never essential.
Some even held that war had no rightful place in the evolution of civilization at all.
Which of these views was right, which was wrong? Brandon could not say. He only read, absorbed, and contemplated.
In the span of days, he read quite a bit. He didn't feel he had changed much—but something deep inside felt… different. Or perhaps it was only an illusion.
As time passed, his strength advanced rapidly. Yet his mindset remained where it had been, still grounded in that of an ordinary man.
That was not a good sign.
The evolution of life was not meant to be limited to the growth of strength and physique. The mind, too, must grow.
Without thoughts and a state of mind to match one's strength, one could never truly be called strong.
For over a month afterward, Brandon spent his days training, reading, and interacting in the chat group.
Worldly affairs, he scarcely paid attention to.
But even if he didn't notice it, his mindset was growing, quietly changing under the weight of this period of reflection.
Knowledge is a wondrous thing. Time is as well.
With reflection came a new perspective—on both nature and civilization.
And in that span, his Authority of Nature deepened rapidly. He could feel himself growing more attuned to the natural world than ever before.
"Pikachu?"
"Pika, Pikachu!"
"Pika, pika~"
The sudden voices drew his eyes. Two Pikachu had appeared atop his desk, peering at him curiously.
"You two go play for now. When I finish reading, I'll come find you."
Brandon chuckled softly, stroking both of their heads. The little Pokémon squinted their eyes in delight at his touch, then leapt from the desk to frolic in the villa's courtyard.
These Pikachu he had purchased from Meowth.
The Ralts egg was rarer, requiring more time, but Pikachu? Those were easy enough to obtain.
For Meowth and his companions, rarity wasn't in any Pikachu—it was in Ash's Pikachu.
Anything else? Even legendary Pokémon didn't particularly impress them.
Ralts might indeed be precious and adorable, but the first Pokémon that had ever stirred his heart was Pikachu.
That simple, innocent goodness—who could resist it?
Just being with them lightened his mood.
And thanks to their presence, Brandon realized that his Authority of Nature ought to grant him the ability to hear the voice of all things—to communicate with every living being.
And indeed, once the thought occurred, the ability awakened.
He could now converse with the Pikachu as well.
It turned out they, too, had a fondness for ketchup. Laughing, Brandon had people bring him seeds for tomatoes and other fruits, along with quality ketchup.
Planting was no obstacle. With him around, there was no worry of seeds failing to sprout.
Once sown, he hastened their growth himself—even skipping the bees' pollination stage, bringing them to fruit immediately.
Perhaps influenced by his spiritual energy, the produce turned out of unimaginable quality.
At the very least, his Pikachu were delighted.
(End of Chapter)