Chapter 64: Extraction

"Oh?" Gin raised an eyebrow, a glint in his eye. "That's a great idea. We should test it. But not now—only after we've fully understood the fruit's power. Experimenting on myself would be reckless. A mistake could be fatal."

"It's easy!" Hikari smirked. "The hard part is finding a Devil Fruit user. But lucky for us… I spotted one back on Jaya Island. Want me to bring them in for testing?"

"If she's willing to cooperate, it's even better," Gin nodded. "Someone seeking the strength of a purified fruit would be perfect."

"Then what are we waiting for?" he grinned. "Let's head to Jaya."

"Alright!" Hikari raised a finger. "But you all wait outside the city. I'll handle the capture. It's safer that way. The pirate city is crawling with bounties above 50 million. Even strong as you are… you're not invincible yet."

Gin and the others exchanged glances, then nodded. "We trust you."

Hikari teleported them to the outskirts of Mock Town on Jaya and activated her Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), spreading it across the island like a net.

"Got him," she whispered, locking onto a lone presence pulsing with Devil Fruit energy.

In a flash, she was gone.

Inside a smoky bar in Mock Town, pirates lounged about, drinking and gambling. Then—a ripple.

Flash!

Hikari appeared in the center of the tavern.

"Teleportation?" someone gasped. "A Devil Fruit user?!"

The bar fell silent. Eyes shifted between fear, greed, and confusion.

Hikari ignored them, her Mangekyō Sharingan flaring open.

"Genjutsu: Illusory Bind."

She locked eyes with a tall, bear-like man—Captain Bong, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. His pupils shrank—and he collapsed instantly, caught in an illusion so deep he couldn't move.

Without a word, Hikari grabbed his collar and vanished.

"What the hell?!" one pirate shouted, stumbling to his feet.

"She just—kidnapped him?!"

"That was Captain Bong!" someone yelled. "He's worth 60 million bellis!"

"Then we've got a problem…"

Panic broke loose—especially among Bong's bewildered crew.

"W-We have to get him back!"

"How?! We don't even know where she went!"

Suddenly, other pirate crews grinned wickedly.

"Boss, this might be our chance. Bong's gone. His treasure's unguarded."

"Yeah… why not loot 'em?"

"You in?"

"I'm in!"

The bar erupted into chaos. Pirates turned on Bong's abandoned crew, blades flashing, treasure spilling across the floor.

Meanwhile, far from the bloodshed, Hikari reappeared in Gin's spatial sanctuary.

"I've got him," she said calmly. "Captain Bong. He's a Zoan-type user—White Bear model, according to my Haki. Now let's see what we can learn."

"Perfect," Gin said, eyes narrowing in focus.

He laid Bong's unconscious body at the center of the gate's altar, channeling his space-time authority. His soul slipped into a deeper state, analyzing the structure of the Devil Fruit energy inside the man.

"Removing the will... and spiritual pollution..."

The dark taint inside Bong writhed and resisted—but Gin pulled it out effortlessly, separating it into a shimmering sphere of corrupted intent. He cast it into the void, where it vanished.

"Done," he said calmly. "Let's test sea rejection."

He summoned a pocket of seawater and gently immersed Bong into it, monitoring every reaction using his mental perception and chakra.

No reaction.

No paralysis. No rejection. No drowning symptoms.

To confirm, Gin opened a divine perspective within the gate's dimension, watching every particle of interaction.

He smiled.

"It worked. The sea no longer rejects him. The weakness is gone."

"Seriously?" Minato asked, eyes wide.

Gin nodded. "The Devil Fruit's curse is tied to the will embedded in it. Once that will is removed—cleaned—there's no more rejection. The fruit becomes… natural."

"I even managed to cleanse the already assimilated pollution in his body. That was supposed to be impossible. But with this level of control... the Gate Authority might truly be omnipotent. I was barely scratching the surface before."

He clenched his fist.

"This could work on bloodline limits too. Even curses..."

He filed the thought away for later.

Everyone was beaming now—this was more than they'd hoped.

"Alright!" Hikari said. "So, purified fruits are safe. What's next? Extraction?"

Gin nodded and placed his hand on Bong's chest.

The altar glowed.

In a clean pull, he extracted the Zoan essence, its power condensing into a clear crystal orb. Bong stirred slightly, but was unharmed.

"He's alive. Fully stable. Even the spiritual imprint came out clean."

Gin held up the orb. "We can now extract abilities—without killing. We don't even have to wait for a Devil Fruit to 'respawn.' We can choose who should wield what… and when."

He smiled at the group.

"This changes everything."