"A figment of imagination?"
After hearing the explanation from the Shore Flower, everyone wore expressions of sudden realization.
No wonder Devil Fruits could regenerate after their users died.
If Devil Fruits were born from the collective imagination of all beings, then as long as desires existed in people's minds, such fruits would never disappear.
And Devil Fruits were like true demons, inherently alluring.
This was because deep within the subconscious, people yearned for such power, for such transformation.
This was why they were tempted by the Devil Fruits.
As for the awakening of the fruits, it should be the ultimate manifestation of beings' collective imagination!
The reason why Devil Fruits affected the personality of their eaters could also be easily explained: it was the desires of the masses, not the individual eater's desires.
How could one person's desires compare to the desires of countless others? Thus, they were subtly changed.
Kong Tai had also considered these questions, but he delved even deeper.
Why did the World Government suppress information about the Nika Fruit?
It was just a single fruit, and it was impossible to make it disappear.
Now, if the World Government knew that this thing was a product of imagination?
That would explain why they suppressed the news and renamed the Nika Fruit the Gum-Gum Fruit.
As long as the concept of Nika was erased from the collective consciousness, the Nika Fruit would never be able to appear again. WΑp.kanshu伍.net
However, in Kong Tai's opinion, this was simply putting in unnecessary effort.
If there was no Nika, wouldn't there be other "Ka"s?
As long as people were oppressed, they would harbor yearning, desires, and the craving for someone to save them.
This person might be Nika, but it could also be someone else.
That was why he said that since the World Government knew it was a product of imagination, their actions were futile.
Still, this was just his speculation; no one knew what the World Government was thinking.
Perhaps they didn't know at all, and simply didn't want the world to find the Nika Fruit.
Changing the name was also a way to hide the true name of the Nika Fruit, so that later generations, even if they ate the fruit, could never bring Nika back.
"Hmm!" Thinking of this, Kong Tai couldn't help but nod. "This explanation makes more sense."
If the World Government truly knew that Devil Fruits originated from imagination, then they would indeed have no reason to suppress information about the Nika Fruit.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of Vegapunk. That guy was truly incredible, to be able to replicate such a figment of imagination.
The Azure Dragon Fruit he replicated was virtually identical to the original, except for the color difference between Momo no Sukes dragon and Kaido's.
If one thought about it, with his profound research into Devil Fruits, he might have discovered their secret long ago, which allowed him to replicate them.
"Alright, we understand Devil Fruits now. Let's get back to my initial question: why did you guide us here?"
This was the ultimate question for Kong Tai and the others.
It had to be said, although the Shore Flower was a god and its tone was indifferent, it didn't possess the condescending, life-disregarding, robotic distance that he had imagined. This was quite different from the gods he had envisioned.
In his imagination, true deities would not interact with mortals; they were not even of the same species, much like humans wouldn't care about the feelings of ants on the ground.
When they occasionally looked down, it was merely to observe the ants' diligence, their unity, their insignificance.
But after interacting, he realized that gods also had desires; they experienced sorrow and joy, and were not so different from humans.
If there was any difference, it was merely in their plane of existence, and the vast disparity in strength.
Hearing Kong Tai's question, everyone snapped back to reality and looked towards the Shore Flower.
The Shore Flower swayed and slowly revealed the reason.
"After the ancient war, I was pursued by a demon and had to flee back here."
"Speaking of which, I must mention the demons."
Pausing slightly, the Shore Flower continued, "The power of demons, in a way, has some similarities to the Devil Fruits you presented."
"Similarities?"
Everyone looked puzzled.
"Yes!" the Shore Flower nodded. "You all know that we gods need the faith of mortals to accelerate our growth, but what about other powers besides faith?"
"You must understand that any sentient being possesses desires, emotions, and passions. These desires are something we cannot absorb."
"Thus, the demon race was born."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but have a sudden realization.
Since desires could now form Devil Fruits, what happened to the desires of mortals in ancient times when there were no Devil Fruits as vessels?
So, they all transformed into demons!
"At first, we didn't take it seriously, because a race formed from these desires, though somewhat peculiar in our eyes back then, was far too weak."
"Who would have thought..."
As if recalling something, the Shore Flower's tone suddenly turned somber.
"Who would have thought that disaster would strike so swiftly."
"That was... from now..."
"Hmm... let me calculate." At this point, the Shore Flower fell silent.
After thinking for a while, he finally spoke again, "That must have been tens of thousands of years ago, perhaps even longer. Because I was injured, I don't know exactly how long I slept, so I can only give a rough estimate."
After explaining, the Shore Flower continued his narrative.
"I will never forget that day. I was leisurely drinking tea at home, as usual, listening to the pleas of mortals and believers, when I suddenly discovered that a vast amount of evil energy was pouring into our world through a portal."
Upon hearing this, Kong Tai and Kuina exchanged glances, as if telepathically connected, seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes.
Kong Tai hadn't expected that the portal he discovered was so ancient.
"And beyond that portal, I could sense an aura that made even my heart pound, approaching rapidly."
"Then, as you know, the God War broke out."
"All the gods in this starfield left their homes and journeyed into space to battle the demons."
"Midway through the battle, I sustained severe injuries and had to return here. As for what happened afterward, whether the gods won or the demons won, I do not know."
At this point, he suddenly looked up at Kong Tai. "Originally, I didn't know who had won, but after seeing the fruit you presented, I think I can guess."
"The gods won, right?"
The Shore Flower thought about it, and Kong Tai also had the same realization.
"Yes!" the Shore Flower nodded. If the demons had won, then the vessel of desire would likely be the demons behind the portal, not these fruits as they are now.