"Was that… teleportation?" Batman asked, his tone steady, but his eyes sharp.
Shin barely glanced at him, his Observation Haki picking up on Batman's pulse and heartbeat. No surprise.
Batman was just trying to extract information—a force of habit.
So Shin ignored him.
"The most important thing now is healing Wonder Woman," Shin said, brushing past the topic. "We can talk about the rest later."
With that, he walked over to Diana, who still lay weak on the bed, and took out a Devil Fruit.
"Eat this, and your wounds will fully heal."
Diana took the strange, swirled fruit into her mutilated arms and examined it closely.
"This is called a Devil Fruit… are there any side effects?"
Shin nodded.
"In my world, the Devil Fruits are known as the 'Secret Treasures of the Sea.' But they also carry a curse. Anyone who eats one will be rejected by the ocean. If you come into contact with a seastone, your strength will be drained, and you'll be unable to use your powers."
Diana raised an eyebrow. "That sounds… concerning."
"But," Shin continued, "there's no seastone here. Besides, this fruit is only temporary—I'll take it back when the time comes. So there are basically no drawbacks."
Standing nearby, Batman quietly activated one of his gadgets, secretly recording every word.
Seastone… another weakness to investigate.
As Diana lifted the fruit to her lips, Shin suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right. One more thing…"
But—Crunch.
Diana had already taken a bite.
Her expression twisted instantly.
A wave of nausea hit her like a truck.
Her normally composed face contorted as she nearly gagged.
"Ugh! You should have warned me earlier!"
Shin shrugged.
"Yeah, Devil Fruits taste awful."
Suddenly, Blue-green flames erupted around Diana's body.
The temperature spiked, forcing everyone several steps back.
Then, a pillar of fire shot into the sky.
And from within the roaring flames, a majestic, glowing phoenix emerged.
The mythical bird let out a clear cry, its radiant wings spreading wide as it soared across the palace.
As it descended, the flames dispersed, revealing Diana standing tall—Now fully healed.
Her golden skin glowed with renewed vitality.
Her once-missing hands were completely restored.
She held up her palm, where blue-green flames flickered in her grasp.
"Is this… the power of the Devil Fruit?"
A slow, confident smile spread across her lips.
Shin nodded.
"To be precise, this is the Mythical Zoan-Type Bird-Bird Fruit: Phoenix Model."
"Unlike ordinary Devil Fruits, this one grants the powers of a Phoenix."
"You now have:
Regenerative Flames—which can heal both yourself and others.
Enhanced Strength & Durability—your body is even tougher now.
Full Flight Capability—and near-limitless endurance in the sky."
The Flash had stars in his eyes.
"That's so cool!" he practically bounced in excitement. "I want a Devil Fruit too!"
Shin smirked.
"Well, I do have more Devil Fruits. If you let me study the Speed Force, I'll give you one."
"Ah?! What kind of Devil Fruit?!" Flash's excitement tripled.
"Something cool like a Dragon? A Pegasus? A Unicorn?!"
Shin's smile turned mischievous.
"A Zoan-Type Human-Human Fruit, Civilian Model."
"…Huh?"
Flash's enthusiasm vanished.
"Wait. What's that even do?"
Shin shrugged.
"It improves your physical abilities. At the very least, you'd be able to beat Batman in a fistfight.
…Without armor, of course."
Flash turned to Batman, eyes full of skepticism.
"Bruce? Good at fighting? I thought he just relied on gadgets?"
Shin snorted.
"If you fought without the Speed Force, Bruce could probably beat you twenty times in a row."
"WHAT?!" Flash gasped.
He folded his arms. "I have trained, you know!"
Diana, standing nearby, studied both men carefully.
As an Amazon warrior trained for over a century, she could assess a fighter's strength at a glance.
She turned to Flash and said plainly:
"If we're not considering mentality, Bruce can easily defeat you ten times."
Flash frowned.
Then Diana turned to Batman—who maintained his cold, unreadable expression.
A thoughtful look crossed her face.
"If we do consider mentality…"
She nodded to herself.
"Bruce can defeat you thirty times."
Flash gawked.
"Wait, what?! Why thirty?!"
Diana's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're… too gullible."
Flash turned to Batman.
Batman remained silent.
Which, honestly, made Flash even more nervous.
Flash sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Okay, maybe you have a point…"
"But I'm not the kind of hero who relies on hand-to-hand combat."
Shin smirked.
"Yeah? Tell that to the Central City Villains."
Flash's eye twitched.
He knew exactly what Shin meant.
Central City's criminals weren't monsters.
They weren't gods.
Most of them weren't even that strong.
Yet somehow—
They kept beating him up.
Half the time, Flash would get ambushed, trapped, or outmaneuvered.
Then he'd have to rely on pure luck to win the fight.
It was embarrassing.
"...Okay, okay. Maybe some extra strength wouldn't be a bad idea."
Shin crossed his arms, grinning.
"Good. Then I'll prepare your Human-Human Fruit soon."
Flash's shoulders slumped.
"Why do I feel like I just got scammed?"
*******************************
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