As dawn broke, the entire Taya Kingdom erupted into chaos. The alarm spread like wildfire through the palace walls, soldiers clattering down corridors in full gear. The first guards to awaken from their slumber—or rather, those relieved from the night watch—stumbled across the unconscious sentries by the vault and immediately raised the alarm. Within minutes, the army mobilized, horns echoing through the courtyards.
Panic surged as the news reached the higher officers: the palace had been breached. Fear gnawed at the ranks, not because of punishment alone, but because of what this could mean for the Royal Family. Treason was not uncommon in kingdoms tied to the World Government, and an assault on the vault could just as easily be a prelude to an assassination.
Dozens of armored guards stormed through the royal wing, their urgency causing a thunderous commotion. They barged into the King's chamber, where the sudden intrusion jolted the King and Queen awake.
"What is the meaning of this?!" the King roared, leaping from his bed with surprising speed for his age. He shielded the Queen behind him, his arms spread wide. His voice thundered with fury, but his stance betrayed something else: devotion. Despite being a monarch who commanded thousands, he stood like a simple man determined to protect his wife with his own body.
"Your Majesty, forgive us!" cried the commander at their head, a grizzled veteran whom the King trusted above most men. He dropped to one knee, his voice firm yet shaken. "There has been an attack on the palace. We feared for your safety and came at once to protect you from any harm."
The King's fury faltered, giving way to sudden dread. "The children—what of my children?" His voice cracked with paternal fear, a rare glimpse of vulnerability in a ruler.
"They are safe, Majesty," the commander assured him quickly. "We have already checked their chambers. Another unit is guarding them as we speak. No harm has come to them."
The King's shoulders slumped with relief, but only for a moment. His brow furrowed as grim thoughts flooded in. If the vault was breached… what else have these intruders taken? How deep did they go?
The palace became a storm of frantic investigation. Guards tore through corridors, inspecting every wing, every door, every hidden passage. When the vault was finally opened, the scale of the disaster became clear.
The room was gutted. Chests were overturned, gold and berry notes scattered like the remains of a battlefield. Where once treasure had been stacked in proud towers, now only emptiness remained. The only remnants of the crime were two armored guards slumped against the wall, still unconscious. Their bodies bore visible indentations—massive handprints pressed into the steel of their breastplates.
A hush fell over the soldiers as they took in the sight. The sheer force required to dent armor like that was monstrous, and yet… the men were still alive. It was a miracle they were breathing at all.
The commander clenched his jaw, unease gnawing at his gut. "No ordinary thieves did this," he muttered under his breath, staring at the handprints as if they might explain the impossible. "Whoever they were… they were strong. Stronger than anything this kingdom has faced."
The King, standing at the vault's threshold with the Queen at his side, went pale. His gaze lingered not on the missing gold but on the broken guards. For the first time in years, the ruler of Taya felt something rare and unwelcome coil around his heart.
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The morning after the heist, while the palace buzzed with frantic investigations, far away in the mountains two of the culprits lived as though nothing had happened. One was just waking from a long sleep, stretching and yawning, while the other sat cross-legged in an uncomfortable-looking pose, completely still. Jack's eyes were closed, his breathing steady, his entire body wrapped in calm focus. He hadn't slept in over a year—meditation had replaced rest in his daily routine, and by now it was second nature.
Aramaki rubbed his eyes, then broke into a grin as yesterday's events flooded back into his mind. "Hahahahaha! It seems we actually pulled it off," he said, excitement bursting from his voice.
Jack opened his eyes slowly, his calm demeanor unmoved by Aramaki's laughter. "Yes. But we shouldn't get careless. The town will be on high alert, and the palace will be watching every shadow. We'll stay quiet for now—train, hunt, and wait until things calm down."
"Yeah, yeah," Aramaki said, rolling his shoulders as he prepared to join Jack for training after breakfast. But then a thought struck him. He remembered how, during the heist, Jack had gone straight to one section of the vault, ignoring piles of treasure to retrieve something very specific. Curiosity gnawed at him.
"Hey," Aramaki called, turning back before leaving the treehouse. "What exactly did you grab yesterday? I saw you put something in your bag. It wasn't gold."
Jack's lips curved into a faint smile. "Come with me."
He led Aramaki to their hidden stash, a cave carefully dug into the mountainside where they kept all their loot. From a corner chest, Jack pulled out two oddly patterned fruits. Their shapes twisted unnaturally, their skins marked with strange swirling patterns that radiated a mysterious aura. He handed them to Aramaki.
Aramaki blinked, tilting the fruits in his hands. "Weird-looking things… Are they even edible?" He brought one close to his mouth, ready to take a bite, but Jack raised his hand to stop him.
"Wait. Listen first," Jack said firmly. "These are Devil Fruits. Whoever eats one gains incredible abilities—but at a cost. The sea rejects you. Once you take a bite, you'll never swim again. You'll sink like a hammer in water."
Aramaki lowered the fruit slightly, his curiosity now mixed with caution.
Jack continued, "There are three types: Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia. The one in your hand is a Logia—the rarest and most powerful. It's called the Mori Mori no Mi, the Forest Forest Fruit. It will turn you into a forest human, giving you power over trees and plants themselves. A true force of nature."
Aramaki's eyes lit up with awe. "A Logia, huh?" Without hesitation, he sank his teeth into the fruit.
The moment the flesh touched his tongue, his expression twisted from eagerness to pure horror. "Ughhh! What the hell is this taste?!" He gagged, forcing himself to swallow, then shoved the rest down quickly despite the bitter, indescribably foul flavor.
Jack burst out laughing at the sight, clutching his stomach. "Hahahaha! Forgot to mention that part—the taste never matches the power. Every Devil Fruit is disgusting."
"You could've warned me, damn it!" Aramaki snapped, scowling.
Still chuckling, Jack handed him a thick, leather-bound book—the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia he had stolen. "Read this. It explains everything about your power in detail. Learn it before you start experimenting."
Aramaki shot him an annoyed glare but opened the book anyway, flipping to the page describing the Mori Mori no Mi. His eyes scanned the text, his frustration quickly giving way to excitement again as he read about the limitless potential of his new power.
Meanwhile, Jack stepped outside, the morning air cool against his skin as he resumed his training. A few minutes later, Aramaki joined him, eager to test his abilities. The moment he stepped out of the cave, he felt something strange—energy coursing through his veins, his fatigue vanishing as though he'd eaten a full meal. His lips curled into a smile.
"Not bad," he murmured to himself, closing the cave's concealed entrance behind him. For the first time in his life, he felt unstoppable.