Charlotte Linlin reached into her own body and pulled out a glowing orb of light. With a casual flick, she tossed it toward the lava, the white orb transforming into a shockwave that struck the molten pool.
A second later—
A pair of anthropomorphic eyes and a mouth appeared atop the lava, trailing a fiery tail through the air as it zipped around.
"Mama! Mama!" The lava Homie grinned wide. "Thank you for giving me life! You're the greatest of all!"
"Heehee~" Linlin poked at the lava Homie with a chubby finger, wearing a childlike expression of contemplation. "Neh, what should I name you?"
"Red Dog."
Klein stifled a chuckle. "Feels like a cute little red puppy, doesn't it?"
"I actually think it fits pretty well."
Honestly? It was just for the fun of it. They obviously couldn't call it 'Sakazuki' out loud, right?
What if that guy joined the Marines one day and heard about this? He'd be pissed beyond belief.
Might even end up with some kind of trauma—and once he became an Admiral, maybe he wouldn't even want to use the codename "Akainu."
Klein rubbed his chin thoughtfully. If this works, does that mean the Glint-Glint Fruit and Ice-Ice Fruit can also be turned into Homies...?
Now that would be wild.
If that happened, Linlin would basically wield control over the four great natural elements—she might as well be called the Elemental Sovereign.
In the original timeline, Linlin had created Homies out of seawater and lightning too.
Thinking about it now, even earth would be no problem for her.
"Then let's go with Onii-chan's choice! From now on, you'll be Red Dog!" Linlin gleefully grabbed the lava Homie and squeezed it into a hug.
"Heehee~ Another new family member for Charlotte!"
Just like a rubbery plush toy.
Creating a Homie didn't harm the Devil Fruit user at all.
Linlin called out, "Zeus! You two need to get along, okay~?"
"Whatever Mama says!" Zeus zipped over to her side and looked at the Homie in her arms. "Red Dog, from now on we'll be working together! We'll help Mama defeat her enemies!"
"Charlotte, let's test out Red Dog's power!" Klein interrupted them.
Linlin beamed, her eyes squinting into crescents. "Heehee, if Onii-chan made this Homie for Charlotte, it's gotta be strong!"
She clutched Red Dog tightly. Lava engulfed her arm, forming a blazing magma orb that glowed red with a searing, dreadful heat.
"Fist of Magma!"
Her punch erupted forward, magma blasting like a beam of crimson light. Everything in its path—flowers, grass, trees—melted into nothing.
Shshshsh—
The sound of searing destruction echoed nonstop. A hill over a hundred meters tall, hundreds of meters away, shattered under the impact.
A massive scorched scar of lava remained in its wake.
Thick black smoke rose into the sky.
"So powerful!" Os turned green with envy. "The difference between Devil Fruit powers is just night and day. The Soul-Soul Fruit is seriously insane!"
He'd already seen flame and lightning, and now there was magma—so terrifying and domineering.
He couldn't help but sigh. "When will I finally get a Devil Fruit that suits me... one that's mine?"
Klein could tell—he wanted to get stronger. Who didn't?
In these perilous seas, everyone hoped to become strong enough to survive.
Just like back in Klein's previous life—who didn't want to be rich? Same principle.
Klein gave his shoulder a pat. "Keep at it, kid. You'll get a power someday."
"I think the Paramecia-type Magnet-Magnet Fruit suits you. Let's hope you've got the luck to find it."
With enough strength and enough money, getting a decent Devil Fruit wasn't that hard.
How much power you could draw out of it? Now that depended on skill.
"Onii-chan, was I amazing?" Linlin grinned like a kid fishing for compliments, her expression practically shouting praise me~.
"Amazing. Our Charlotte is the best~" Klein didn't care who was watching as he showered her with affection.
Of course, since Linlin was currently in her male form, he refrained from anything more intimate.
Otherwise…
Wouldn't people start getting the wrong idea?
I'm not into that!
Gloriosa's pretty eyes flashed with a trace of envy. Her aura seemed to carry the faint, sour tang of jealousy as she pouted. "Devil Fruit users aren't perfect either. They're still weak to seawater and Seastone."
She sounded like someone whining about sour grapes.
"The top-tier Devil Fruits really do give you a massive edge..." Shakky's eyes sparkled. "Most talentless people could work their whole lives and still fall short of a single Fruit."
"But..."
"Even the cheapest Devil Fruits go for over 100 million Berries."
She shook her head. For now, it was just wishful thinking.
Over 100 million...? Os couldn't help glancing at Klein out of the corner of his eye, mind buzzing with suspicion. Didn't Klein-san make close to a billion Berries just from selling pirates a while back?
And he'd handed out tens of millions to each of them from that bounty haul, not to mention the pirates they cleared out of "Devil Town." Klein hadn't taken a single Berry of that reward for himself.
Everyone had managed to save up a decent amount.
"Onii-chan, are you going to make more Homies? Charlotte will listen to anything Onii-chan says!" Linlin said happily, still playing with Red Dog.
Getting a new "toy" always meant a little honeymoon period. Meanwhile, Zeus looked on with a flicker of jealousy in his big, cartoony eyes.
Klein gave her a doting look. "Of course. Next, I'll use a scroll to release a slash attack. You'll use your soul to try and create a new Homie from it."
Train her well—make her his future wife and also the strongest "Valkyrie" in the pirate world.
And to himself, he couldn't help but think:
Once I get the Soul-Soul Fruit myself and combine it with other powers… I can create Homies too.
Add in soul-infused scrolls…
No matter how many enemies there are, I'll have enough firepower to wipe them all out!
If scrolls were one-time-use items, then Homies were reusable weapons.
Of course, there were downsides…
A Devil Fruit user had to give vocal commands to control a Homie. If the Homie couldn't hear the user's voice, it wouldn't follow orders.
And Homies, once given a soul, could think independently. There was a tiny chance they might betray their master.
In the original, Zeus had betrayed Linlin, got swiped by Nami, and eventually fused with her Climatact.
That ended up boosting Nami's strength tremendously.
So even though Linlin was only eight years old, creating magma and slash-type Homies for her was a huge risk—but Klein did it anyway.
Her affection meter for him was skyrocketing.
"Onii-chan, Charlotte's ready! Let's begin!" Linlin was practically bouncing, golden stars twinkling in her eyes.
"Here we go!"
Klein pulled out S-rank Ninjutsu: Basic Slash, and tossed it skyward. As the blue slash flew through the air, still mid-arc—
Linlin hurled her soul orb with perfect timing, striking the airborne slash precisely.
"Mama——"
A blue soul ball shot forward with an exuberant face. Its voice rang out, full of spirit—and surprisingly, it was a female voice.
A female slash Homie!?
"Onii-chan, you name this one too!" Linlin giggled as she caught the blue orb in her hands.
And gave it a very thorough squish.