Even though the Modo Modo no Mi (Return-Return Fruit) has some limitations, its power is still quite formidable. After all, the ability to reverse aging is essentially a weaker version of immortality.
Moreover, this ability falls under the category of rule-based powers. When someone is "regressed," their state returns to what it was 12 years ago.
For example, if this ability were used on Golden Lion Shiki, it could potentially reverse his condition to the time before he lost his legs.
Even without its supplementary effects, the Modo Modo no Mi's power alone is incredibly destructive.
As mentioned earlier, the limit of the Modo Modo no Mi's ability is not just 12 years, but it's restricted by Ain's current level of mastery.
If Ain were to develop this regression ability to reverse more than 50 years, anyone under the age of 50 who doesn't use Haki for defense would likely die with just a single touch from her!
This would be an instant kill! There's no chance for regeneration or recovery. If a target doesn't exist beyond the 50-year threshold, their existence is essentially "nullified."
This is a rule-based ability, similar to Sugar's Hobby-Hobby Fruit and Uta's Uta Uta no Mi (Sing-Sing Fruit).
Against such powers, the only way to escape is to defeat the user directly, making them almost impossible to counter otherwise.
For this reason, Wood considers Ain's Modo Modo no Mi one of the strongest Devil Fruits in the world.
Since Ain has the power to reverse aging, Wood asked Gion to keep the fact that Ain consumed a Devil Fruit a secret. If the world knew about this, there would be no shortage of people coveting Ain's power.
"Damn it! I'll take this mission. I can only guarantee that I'll obtain the intel from Stussy, but I can't promise I'll be able to sow discord between Big Mom and the Beasts Pirates."
Wood couldn't rest easy sending Ain to such a dangerous place as Totto Land, so despite his reluctance, he had no choice but to accept the mission.
The limitations of the Navy Headquarters are still too great. Even though Gion had been taking good care of Ain, there's always a chance that Ain's Devil Fruit powers might be exposed in future battles.
He also wondered when Z would leave the Navy. If the timeline follows the original, it should be around the time Whitebeard dies, and Edward Weevil, the so-called son of Whitebeard, is appointed as a Warlord of the Sea.
By then, he could ask Z to take Ain under his wing as his second-in-command in the Neo Navy. Surely that's better than staying as a mere captain in the Navy Headquarters?
Moreover, Wood trusted Z's character and didn't think he would covet Ain's Devil Fruit powers.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Wood sighed helplessly. Standing beside him, Robin asked thoughtfully, "Are we heading back to Dark Abyss Island or to Totto Land?"
Big Mom's tea party isn't something just anyone can attend, but Wood had been invited several times.
As the world's largest arms dealer, Wood's weaponry was sold all over the world, making him one of the emperors of the underworld.
To maintain relationships with the underworld's leaders, Big Mom would always send out invitations to her tea parties.
Normally, even the emperors of the underworld wouldn't dare to disrespect Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors.
But Wood was different. His strength and influence, while slightly weaker than the Four Emperors, were not far off. He didn't need to bow to Big Mom like the others.
Currently, Big Mom and the Beasts Pirates were locked in a fierce struggle for territory, and both sides were trying to pull Wood, who remained neutral, to their side.
So even though Wood often declined her invitations, Big Mom still sent an invitation to his company every year.
"Robin, how about you return to Dark Abyss Island first? I just accepted a rather tricky mission. While it might not necessarily be dangerous in Totto Land, if a fight does break out..."
"If a fight does break out, I can help. I've already seen the Sweet Commanders, and aside from Katakuri, the others are nothing special.
In the Big Mom Pirates, only Big Mom herself poses a real threat to me. Besides, the invitation is with me. Without it, Captain, you wouldn't even be able to enter Totto Land."
Clearly unhappy with Wood's plan to leave her behind, Robin refused to let him go alone.
"Fine... but once we reach Big Mom's territory, you'll have to follow my arrangements. If things go smoothly, we might not even need to fight.
And remember, the people at the tea party are on a completely different level than Crocodile. Make sure you don't slip up in front of them."
Seeing that he couldn't leave Robin behind, Wood sighed and eventually agreed to let her accompany him to Totto Land.
Wood trusted Robin's strength and intelligence. If it had been Russ instead, he would have insisted on sending him back.
Over the past decade, under Wood's intense training, Russ and the other original crew members had improved significantly, their strength soaring.
Several of them, including Russ, had even found suitable Devil Fruits, becoming Devil Fruit users.
Russ's Devil Fruit was the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Mosasaurus, an Ancient Zoan.
Mosasaurus was the ruler of the oceans during the Mesozoic era, even preying on powerful dinosaurs.
Just like the Uo Uo no Mi, Fish-Fish Fruit, Devil Fruit users like Russ can breathe underwater but still can't swim.
However, considering Kaido's Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Azure Dragon, it suggests that some Devil Fruit users might still be able to function in water.
Otherwise, Kaido wouldn't be known as the "Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air."
Since "sea" is part of the title, it implies that Kaido is not fully restrained by seawater or that the water's effect on him is weaker than for other Devil Fruit users.
Similarly, Russ, as a Mosasaurus user, can breathe and move underwater, though his powers are still restricted by the sea.
On land, Russ's Mosasaurus form can reach a length of over 20 meters, but in the ocean, it can only reach about 10 meters.
Even so, it's still incredibly powerful. Few Devil Fruit users can avoid the curse of becoming a weak swimmer.
As a sea creature, the Mosasaurus would be strongest in the ocean, but now it's actually weaker there than on land. Even so, Russ is still one of the few Devil Fruit users who doesn't fear water. And with the tough, durable skin of an Ancient Zoan, Russ's strength is further enhanced.
In terms of combat ability, Wood thinks that when Russ gets serious, he should be a little stronger than Robin.
But despite Russ's immense strength, his intellect hasn't improved as much. So if Wood had to pick a second-in-command, he would choose Robin without hesitation.
After all, Robin can analyze situations, while Russ only has muscle. Besides, wouldn't it be better to have a beautiful secretary by his side than some big guy?
The Four Emperors have held sway over the seas for years, each with their own territory. The Totto Land sea, located in the New World, is under the control of Big Mom's pirate crew.
Big Mom rules this sea and has established the Totto Land Kingdom, also known as the Land of Dreams.
Big Mom's dream is to create a utopia where various races coexist peacefully in Totto Land.
The Totto Land Kingdom is centered around Whole Cake Island, with 34 surrounding islands governed by 34 ministers, while Big Mom is the undisputed queen of the kingdom.
Totally Land aims to be a home for all races and tribes to live in harmony, but after years of effort, there are still three races missing from Totto Land.
These races are the Giants, the Lunarians, represented by "Wildfire" King, and one other unknown race.
Big Mom has a long-standing grudge with the Giants, which most fans are well aware of. As for the other two races, they are either very rare or have left no trace.
Due to her childhood experiences, Big Mom is most fond of the Giants, but unfortunately, they see her as an enemy for destroying Elbaf.
Since she couldn't win the Giants' approval and fulfill her dream, Big Mom turned to Joker from the underworld and Caesar, who was abandoned by the Navy's scientific team, in hopes of creating her own Giants.
The largest island in Totto Land, Whole Cake Island, is the center of the kingdom, where Big Mom hosts her tea parties.
Although there's still some time before the tea party starts, some emperors of the underworld and influential figures from the New World have already begun arriving.
After all, they are dealing with Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors, and she takes her tea parties very seriously. Even the underworld emperors have no right to act superior in front of her.
The attendees of this tea party are all prominent figures, and the most notable among them are the six emperors of the underworld:
- The Loan Shark King, "Fu Shen" Lu Field, a dark financial giant of the underworld.
- The Queen of the Pleasure District, Stussy, who controls all the red-light districts of the underworld.
- The Great Undertaker, responsible for handling the affairs of those who die in the pirate world.
- The King of the News, Morgans, who monopolizes the news industry across the seas
. The news birds delivering papers all over the world are his employees.
- The King of Storage, "Concealer" Giberson, essentially the underworld's version of a modern-day banking system.
- The Shipping King, "Deep Ocean Current" Umit, who controls a large portion of the sea's shipping services and is one of Wood's closest partners.
Aside from these six emperors, another familiar face at the tea party is Donquixote Doflamingo, now one of the Warlords of the Sea.
Doflamingo controls the underworld's slave trade and acts as a broker, placing him above the six emperors in the underworld hierarchy. He is symbolized as the "Joker" in a deck of cards.
However, Doflamingo doesn't particularly like the "Joker" nickname.
In the past, he enjoyed his role as the "wild card" in the underworld.
But with Wood's meteoric rise in the underworld—being rich, powerful, and even stronger than Doflamingo—Wood had usurped the "wild card" position.
Now, people in the underworld say that Doflamingo is merely the "little Joker," while Wood, the navy traitor who monopolizes the world's arms trade, is the "big Joker."
The Donquixote family is structured around playing cards, with the highest-ranking and strongest figure symbolized by the "Joker." The fact that the "big Joker" was now referring to someone outside the family was unbearable for Doflamingo.
Over the years, Doflamingo had repeatedly tried to eliminate Wood, but times had changed. There was a slim chance of doing so in the past, but now it was utterly impossible.
Today, Wood is in partnership with Gild Tesoro, the Golden Emperor, and has the backing of the Celestial Dragons. His influence and network have spread across the entire ocean.
Crucially, Wood's personal strength is unmatched, and Doflamingo has suffered defeat after defeat at his hands, to the point where he now has a psychological shadow when it comes to Wood.
If you ask Doflamingo what his biggest regrets are, the first would be giving up his Celestial Dragon status with his foolish father, and the second would be angering Wood over a decade ago.
With everyone having arrived and Big Mom eagerly anticipating the prepared feast, she decided to start the tea party early.
None of her children or the invited guests found this surprising, as it wasn't the first time.
Big Mom's greatest passion is eating, and with her seemingly bottomless appetite, asking her to wait before indulging in a feast is practically impossible.
Moreover, since Big Mom is the host, she can start the tea party whenever she pleases, and no one would dare object.
However, this time, someone did voice an objection to starting early.
To the surprise of Doflamingo and the other emperors of the underworld, the person who spoke up was none other than Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District.
People who frequent the underworld know that Stussy is not to be underestimated. She is extremely intelligent and cunning, which is how she became the only female emperor in the underworld.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 400+ at p@treon.com/Betek (@->a)