After calming his fellow clansman, Nereus turned his gaze toward Kuma—the so-called “tyrant” who was know for his gentleness towards others.
Originally, Nereus had noticed Kuma using his ability and come here specifically intending to use it to help evacuate people from the island.
However, Kuma’s condition now suggested that his stamina had been heavily drained.
“You’ve only just eaten the Devil Fruit, so you’re still not used to using its power.
I have a method that can help restore your stamina and make your ability flow more smoothly.”
“It will hurt a bit though.
Do you want to try it?”
Kuma’s ability was currently the safest way to send ordinary people off this island.
In the original timeline, Kuma himself had used it to save many lives.
“If it means I can save more people, I’m willing.”
“Hey, Kuma, are you really going to trust him just like that?
What if he does something to you…?”
Ivankov sounded uneasy.
In this kind of environment, constant pressure made suspicion natural, and they still regarded the suddenly appearing Nereus with doubt.
“Ivankov!
Lord Nereus wouldn’t lie to us.
If he really wanted to do something, he wouldn’t need to go to such lengths!”
“It’s fine, Ivankov.
He’s someone who’s here to save people, isn’t he?”
Both Nereus’s fellow clansman and Kuma gave their answers.
Ivankov said nothing further, but instead lowered his large head toward Nereus.
“I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
This island is just too dangerous…”
“It’s nothing.
Being cautious is normal.
There really aren’t many people you can trust here.
Don’t worry—I’m just going to take something from him for now.
I’ll return it later.”
“How old are you this year?”
Nereus looked at Kuma and asked a question that no one present quite understood.
“Nine.”
“Nine, huh?
In that case… about ten years should be enough.
Get ready, relax if you can.
It won’t take long.”
Kuma nodded and closed his eyes.
If he couldn’t see it, he wouldn’t be afraid—that was a basic human instinct.
Nereus casually placed his hand on Kuma’s body and activated his ability.
A strange sensation instantly spread through Kuma’s entire body.
A dull pain also surged through his bones, but it was still within tolerable limits.
Compared to the suffering the Celestial Dragons had inflicted on him over the years, this level of pain was nothing at all.
Rip…
The vest on Kuma’s body tore apart, revealing a solid, well-built frame underneath.
At nine years old, Kuma had already been large for his age—but he was nothing compared to what he had become now.
“…I’ve… gotten bigger?”
Feeling the shift in perspective, Kuma looked down at his own hands and immediately noticed the change in his body.
“Wahaha… Kuma, you’ve become… really big now…”
Ivankov could only look up at him from below.
After measuring with his hands, he realized he didn’t even reach Kuma’s waist anymore.
“It’s not ‘bigger’—it’s ‘grown.’ I took ten years of his lifespan.
Don’t worry, I’ll give it back later.”
The Vampire Fruit didn’t simply “remove a portion of lifespan at the end” without consequence to the body.
When someone’s lifespan was forcibly extracted, they would normally age all at once, experiencing the passage of time in an instant.
By slowing that process, Nereus could instead let the body follow its natural developmental trajectory while accelerating it—effectively “fast-forwarding” growth.
Kuma was in exactly that state: Nereus had advanced him to the physical stage of a nineteen-year-old, forcibly completing his growth period early.
But this method was ultimately abnormal.
It was far inferior to natural development and only used as an emergency measure.
“You can feel it, right?
This body now contains far more strength than when you were a child.
Using your Devil Fruit ability will also feel much smoother.”
Regardless of race, childhood is an incomplete stage of development.
An adult body can naturally express Devil Fruit abilities more efficiently.
After all, activating those powers consumes stamina—and adults simply have an advantage in that regard.
This is especially obvious with Zoan-type Devil Fruits: if the user is a child, even their transformations remain juvenile, limiting their potential.
Adults, however, can access their more complete forms.
At nineteen, in the prime of youth and vitality, Kuma’s capabilities naturally expanded.
“I can feel it.
Thank you for your help.
Like this… I can save even more people.”
Just moments ago, Kuma had only been sending people off in small groups.
Now, after Nereus had rapidly advanced his body to a young adult state, he began working with both hands, sending people away at a far faster rate.
The Buccaneer Tribe inherently carried Giant blood, a lineage known for exceptional stamina and recovery.
In adulthood, those traits became even more pronounced.
“Ivankov, Ginny, come on.
I’ll send you two out as well.”
Originally, Kuma had planned to send them away first, but both of them chose to stay with him until the end.
“Kuma, be careful too.
Hurry up and send yourself away.”
“Yeah, Kuma.
We’ll be waiting for you!”
Thump!
Thump!
With two dull impacts, compressed bubble-like spaces wrapped around Ginny and Ivankov’s bodies, sending them away to a safe island.
“Lord Nereus, let me send you and the others out as well.
But I’ve never been to Fish-Man Island, so I can only send you to the South Blue.”
The coordinates for the Paw-Paw Fruit’s teleportation required a place the user had personally visited.
If the user had never been there, they naturally couldn’t send anyone to that location.
“No need.
I came to this island for my own purposes.
Just send this kid away.”
The “grown-up” Kuma now matched Nereus’s impression of him more closely—though his outfit was still quite different.
At the moment, Kuma looked more like a “shorts-wearing superhero.”
“Lord Nereus, I…”
“My ship is a bit far from here.
I don’t have time to take you myself.
Go to a safe island first.
We’ll come pick you up and bring you home later.”
At the fish-man’s current speed, it would take quite a while to swim to the area where Nereus had arranged shelter for the others.
And right now, large numbers of Marines and pirates were already converging on God Valley.
Using Kuma’s ability to send non-combatants away was far more efficient.
Although it would still take some time to bring him back later, that was not a problem.
Nereus had spent years at sea and was often traveling anyway, frequently handling other matters along the way.
This was also part of how Nereus was changing the mindset of the Fish-Man Island residents—by conveying the idea that no matter where you are, as long as you belong to this tribe, you will not be abandoned.