For a moment, a heavy silence fell over the Donquixote Family.
Pica's words, a surprising declaration of contentment with his own unique power, seemed to resonate with the other top executives.
They were already monsters in their own right, their fighting styles honed over decades.
A new, unfamiliar power was a gamble, and they were not gamblers by nature.
Bellamy, however, listened with a growing, frantic excitement.
His heartbeat quickened, thundering in his ears like a war drum, and his mind raced with a singular, electrifying thought.
'If none of them want it… if these powerful, established fighters are too set in their ways… doesn't that mean this is it? A heaven-sent opportunity, tailor-made just for me?'
Gradually, his gaze grew increasingly fervent, as if a blazing fire had been lit within his very soul.
When he looked at Doflamingo, his eyes were brimming with a desperate, silent plea, an anticipation so raw it was almost painful.
Sure enough, after a long, drawn-out moment, Doflamingo's sharp gaze swept over his indifferent top officers and finally, inevitably, settled on Bellamy.
Bellamy's heart surged with a wild, uncontrollable joy, but he knew he couldn't appear too eager.
He quickly lowered his head, adopting a mask of quiet, respectful deference.
"Bellamy," Doflamingo's voice purred, low and dangerous.
"You've been quiet. You desire this power, don't you? Step forward."
"Huh?!" Bellamy froze for a second, the sound a choked gasp of surprise.
Then, his face lit up with a flattered, almost painful-looking grin.
He struggled to steady his trembling legs, forcibly suppressing the overwhelming excitement in his heart as he took a step forward and knelt.
"Yes, Young Master! Of course! It would be my greatest honor to assist you in this endeavor!"
Doflamingo's expression remained as unreadable as ever, showing no trace of emotion as he casually tossed the glowing, pale pink fruit to Bellamy.
Bellamy reacted with lightning speed, extending both hands to catch the fruit as if it were the most precious, fragile treasure in the world.
He cradled it carefully, his hands shaking.
"Young Master, then..." Bellamy's voice trembled slightly as he fixed his gaze on the Enchanted Float-Float Fruit.
"I'll eat it now."
Only after seeing Doflamingo give a slight, dismissive nod did Bellamy slowly raise his hands.
His lips quivered as he took a deep, shuddering breath, then abruptly bit into the fruit.
In that instant, a burst of indescribably revolting juice filled his mouth.
The others all turned to watch, their eyes filled with a mixture of anticipation and cold curiosity.
They, too, wanted to see if this attempt would succeed.
Diamante wore a faint, mocking smirk, clearly hoping for failure.
Trebol was whispering excitedly to Pica.
It's easy to share hardships with your brothers, but it's much harder to watch one of them suddenly strike it rich.
"Yuck!!!"
Bellamy's face instantly twisted in a grimace of pure disgust.
This thing was just as vile as his first Devil Fruit.
He couldn't help but frown, a powerful, gagging reflex making him want to spit it all out.
But the thought that this, right here, was his one chance to change his fate, to become a man worthy of standing by Doflamingo's side, made him endure it.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he forced himself to swallow.
The crowd's collective heart rose to their throats.
They all stared intently at Bellamy, waiting for any reaction, any sign of the miracle.
Time passed second by agonizing second, each moment feeling like an eternity.
Bellamy kept his eyes tightly shut, his entire being focused inward, straining to sense every possible change in his body.
Come on… come on… he pleaded internally.
He imagined his body becoming lighter, the pull of gravity vanishing.
He eagerly anticipated the sensation of uncontrollably floating into the air.
The thought of soaring freely through the sky, a king of the air like the Golden Lion, filled him with a desperate, burning longing.
But after waiting for what felt like a lifetime, his body showed no change at all.
He was still just as heavy, just as bound to the earth as he had been a moment ago.
A cold knot of anxiety began to form in his stomach.
'Did I do something wrong? Was I too naive? Maybe this thing was just a fake?'
No! That couldn't be right! The old man had succeeded just moments ago!
Another, more terrible thought surfaced in his mind.
'Did I fail? Is my luck really this bad? Even worse than that crazy old man's?'
He felt a crushing sense of inadequacy.
Unwilling to give up, Bellamy kept his eyes closed, meticulously searching every corner of his being for any sign of change, any flicker of the promised power.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't feel that lightness he'd been hoping for.
Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead as his anxiety grew into a full-blown panic.
Finally, with a shuddering sigh, he gave up.
Bellamy slowly raised his head, his eyes revealing an unconcealed, crushing dejection and disappointment as he stared straight at Doflamingo.
His lips parted, his voice drained of all energy as he weakly said, "Sorry… Young Master. I really gave it my all, but… I failed."
Hearing this, Doflamingo merely nodded slightly, his expression betraying no particular emotion, as if this outcome had been expected all along.
He didn't say a word to Bellamy.
Instead, he slowly turned his gaze toward Ron, his voice laced with a cool disappointment.
"Vice-Captain Ron. It seems my Family really doesn't have that kind of luck."
A gentle, almost pitying smile tugged at Ron's lips.
"Joker, don't take it too hard," he said, his tone like that of a casino owner consoling a high-roller after a bad spin of the wheel.
"This outcome is actually quite normal. Creating an Enchanted Devil Fruit is an extremely complex and uncertain process. If it succeeded every single time, wouldn't that make things far too easy?"
As if on cue, the other Whitebeard Pirates chimed in, their laughter laced with the casual arrogance of those who were in on the game's true rules.
"Yeah, don't sweat it, Flamingo-man," Ace said with a grin. "You should've seen Jozu's Enchantment. That was a real nail-biter. He had to eat three of the damn things before it finally worked. We thought he was gonna pop after the second one failed."
"That's nothing," Marco added, his tone casual, which only made his next words more shocking.
"I still remember when we did this for Pops, to get him his third ability. The price he paid was even greater. He had to eat six fruits before it finally took, yoi. Six. Every single attempt was filled with unknowns and risks, but Pops, with his unyielding will, ultimately succeeded."
"Exactly," another commander teased, looking at the stunned Donquixote Family.
"Look at these inexperienced folks, acting like the sky is falling just because they failed once. Hahaha, it's always like that the first time. You'll get used to it after failing a few more times."
Unintentional words can carry the most weight.
Doflamingo stood there, his mind reeling.
He hadn't expected this.
The subsequent Enchantment process… the true cost of creating a dual-fruit user… it was so much more arduous, so much more expensive than he had ever imagined.
Six fruits for Whitebeard… the sheer resources, the astronomical cost, the iron will to endure five failures…
He looked at the Whitebeard Pirates, no longer just as rivals, but with a new, chilling understanding of the level they operated on.
This wasn't just a game of power; it was a game of wealth and will that they were playing on a scale he had yet to even comprehend.
He had just been taught a very, very expensive lesson.
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Please read my new FT fic : Fairy tail : I am Akhnseram