Chapter 231 » A Man of “High” Precision!

"If you don't believe what I'm saying, there's nothing I can do about it. Even the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, would be considered my junior. As for my age... I can't remember clearly anymore. I only know I lived past seventy in my first life, though I've forgotten how long my second life lasted."

"Interesting claims about your first and second lives. I know of a country along the Grand Line where a young girl wields remarkable power - she transforms people into toys, erasing their memories and binding them to endless labor. Your story reminds me of this. Could you be one of those affected by her ability?"

Yusuke knew about Dressrosa, the island controlled by Doflamingo. One of his subordinates, Sugar, indeed possessed such an ability through the Hobi Hobi no Mi (Hobby-Hobby Fruit). While the country appeared prosperous and strong on the surface, darkness lurked beneath.

None of that seemed relevant to the current situation.

If Katchu was a victim of that Devil Fruit, they would need to find Sugar — only then could they restore the toy to human form.

"You misunderstand. My current state has nothing to do with that little girl. It was entirely my own mistake." Katchu told him.

"If you're not a victim of that Devil Fruit ability, then what caused you to become like this?"

"It's a long story. You see, I'm also a Devil Fruit user, though my ability is rather special." Its voice carried a hint of melancholy.

"If you're a Devil Fruit user, why did you let yourself become a Barbie doll?" Yusuke asked, confused.

"Because my Devil Fruit ability is very special. I ate the Toru Toru no Mi."

{T/N: The 'Toru' here is used as the translation of 'Take'. Close to 'Tori', which means 'Bird'.}

"The Take-Take Fruit? What kind of ability is that? What special powers do you have?" Yusuke had never heard of such a power.

What could it take? What exactly did this power do?

"My Take-Take Fruit ability allows me to take others' lives. When I do so, my body gets replaced with theirs — my soul takes over their body, possessing it completely."

"So you're saying that you target someone's body, take it over, and then live as them?" Yusuke quickly understood how this ability worked, "So you've taken several bodies already?"

He finally realized why it couldn't remember how old it were.

"You seem quite clever. But I'm not a bad person. I haven't done anything unforgivable. I just... when my life was about to end, I would take over a young person's body and continue living through them." Katchu continued.

"So you're saying you could take my body when I'm not paying attention? You could become me, use my abilities, and easily leave this place. Why haven't you done that?" Yusuke found this strange.

If the Devil Fruit ability was as powerful as claimed, wouldn't the doll have killed him already and taken over his body?

So was his current self actually the doll's soul?

"It's not as simple as you think. This Devil Fruit ability can only be used once in a lifetime — only when my life is about to end can I activate this power. If I'm still young and strong, there's no way to use it. Now that my soul has merged with this Barbie doll's body, I can't take your body anymore." Katchu revealed the weakness of the Devil Fruit ability.

It meant they could only take over once in a lifetime, using that body until its end before being able to activate the power again to take over another body.

"A Barbie doll's body seems like a peculiar choice. Was this truly your intention? And since toys don't have natural lifespans, aren't you essentially trapped in this form indefinitely?"

As soon as Yusuke asked this question, the doll began crying sorrowfully.

Although no tears came out, the crying sound was quite heartbreaking.

"Do you really think I chose this Barbie doll's body? How could that be possible? The reason I ended up like this was completely due to an operational error." Katchu's voice choked up.

"Tell me what happened." Yusuke pressed, intrigued by how someone wielding such formidable Devil Fruit powers could have ended up in a doll's form - clearly a significant setback.

After all, a doll had no abilities whatsoever. Even if the body could move, surviving in this pirate world without special abilities would be extremely difficult.

It was then that he understood why Katchu was hiding on this inconspicuous small island and in this cave.

If they appeared in public, someone would inevitably take them home as a toy. Only by hiding here could they avoid such a fate. Worse still, in the hands of mischievous children, they might even be torn apart.

So hiding here was the safest option.

"Indeed, some unexpected things happened. At that time, my life was coming to an end, and I was searching for my next vessel. Finally, I found a perfect candidate." Katchu continued reminiscing, "He was a handsome young man wearing a straw hat. He had incredible potential, strength, and vitality — everything I wanted. But just as I was about to take over his body, something went wrong. I didn't notice he was holding a doll in his hand.”

"I see what happened - your Devil Fruit ability targeted incorrectly. Instead of possessing the young man's body as intended, you merged with the doll he was holding," Yusuke stated matter-of-factly, having pieced together the situation, "That's quite an unfortunate turn of events."

Katchu didn't deny Yusuke's guess. It seemed that was indeed how things happened.

"So what can be done now? being trapped in a Barbie doll's immortal form means your Devil Fruit ability cannot activate again. Without a natural lifespan to end, there's no opportunity for your power to manifest and restore you to a human form."