Chapter 44: Lin Que's guess, the Spirit Status of Taotie ()

Power started growing again?

Hearing Mitsuri Kanroji's words, Lin Que couldn't help but be stunned.

Having obtained the Taotie Fruit from the World Government, Lin Que naturally knew the effect of this Devil Fruit.

Apart from the initial improvement in physique upon consumption, there was no effect of a secondary increase in physical fitness.

And more importantly, judging by Mitsuri Kanroji's tone, the power growing in her body was not small.

"Is the power still rising?"

"No, it has stopped."

Mitsuri Kanroji replied: "Just in those few seconds, it suddenly surged."

"Only a few seconds..."

Lin Que thought for a moment and suddenly said: "Burst out with your full strength now and punch me."

Mitsuri Kanroji nodded: "Okay."

She wasn't worried that bursting out with her full strength would accidentally hurt Lin Que.

Although her strength had increased by who knows how many times compared to before, Mitsuri Kanroji still remembered Lin Que's performance in the Demon Slayer world.

Those few demons that clearly weren't simple were blown to bits without even a chance to react, not even a scrap left.

Mitsuri Kanroji wasn't confident she could do that kind of exaggerated thing, even if her current strength were doubled.

"I'm coming!"

Activating the power of the Devil Fruit, Mitsuri Kanroji entered a half-beast state, a pair of sheep horns growing on her head and a thick tail extending from behind her.

Setting up a charging posture, her body disappeared from the spot in the next instant and appeared in front of Lin Que.

Bang—!

"Not bad."

Blocking the opponent's punch with one finger, Lin Que narrowed his eyes and sensed it carefully.

"This power... it's about at the peak of the six-digit range; with a little training, she could even go toe-to-toe with that 'disgrace of the five-digit range'."

"Disgrace of the five-digit range?"

Kuro Usagi, who was to the North North North Side, tilted her head, feeling a bit curious.

"Who is that?"

"That snake I knocked down with one punch last time."

"Are you talking about that subordinate god of Lady White Yasha!"

Kuro Usagi reacted instantly: "Although her performance was a bit lacking, she doesn't deserve to be called that."

Lin Que looked over in surprise: "Are there five-digit beings even worse than her?"

"Ah, this..."

A conflicted expression appeared on Kuro Usagi's face.

Thinking carefully, it seemed there really weren't any five-digit beings in her memory weaker than Shirayuki-hime.

"Regardless, she is still Lady White Yasha's subordinate god."

"It's better not to call her that when speaking to outsiders."

"Naturally, I will still give White Yasha some face."

Lin Que shrugged and looked back at Mitsuri Kanroji in front of him.

Although he had disparaged a certain 'disgrace of the five-digit range' in his daily routine, the opponent was, after all, a five-digit level existence.

Given enough time, Shirayuki-hime could even summon a tidal wave of sufficient scale to destroy a small country.

Compared to an existence of that level, Mitsuri Kanroji, who was just an ordinary person a few minutes ago, was undoubtedly like heaven and earth.

Even if she had improved her physique by eating a Devil Fruit, there was still a significant gap in basic strength compared to the opponent.

Being able to jump to the peak of the six-digit range all at once, and even enter the five-digit realm with a little training, was definitely related to that inexplicable surge just now.

"Kuro Usagi, you know what this situation is, right?"

"I don't know."

Kuro Usagi shook her head: "To be honest, this is the first time I've seen such a situation."

Without doing anything, her strength inexplicably improved.

Sitting at home, strength comes from the sky.

This is too enviable.

"By the way, could it be related to that Devil Fruit?"

Recalling what Mitsuri Kanroji experienced before her strength improved, Kuro Usagi guessed: "For example... that Devil Fruit activated the potential power in Kanroji's body, which is why she suddenly became stronger."

"Impossible, Devil Fruits don't have that effect."

Lin Que denied this guess.

However, after Kuro Usagi's reminder, his attention returned to the Devil Fruit he had excluded at the beginning.

Although the idea of 'activating potential power' was completely off-base, there seemed to be another possibility.

"Kuro Usagi, does Little Garden have a Taotie?"

"Taotie? There used to be one."

Kuro Usagi, who usually performed poorly, rarely played a role.

"But that Taotie had a very nasty and greedy personality, and liked to steal other people's things."

"If I remember correctly, it even stole the dessert that was supposed to be offered to the Queen."

Seeing Kuro Usagi suddenly stop, Mitsuri Kanroji, who was to the North North North Side, asked curiously: "And then?"

"There is no 'and then'."

A wry smile appeared on Kuro Usagi's face: "That Queen doesn't have a good temper."

As one of the three problem children of Little Garden, it was good enough if the Halloween Queen didn't cause trouble on a daily basis.

Having someone steal from her, and stealing the special dessert she had been looking forward to for several days, how could she possibly endure it?

Anyway, since that incident, the only Taotie in Little Garden had completely disappeared, and no one had ever seen it again.

There were only rumors that the food for the Halloween Queen's knights seemed to be quite good during those few days.

"Huh? Just for stealing a dessert, it lost its life!"

Mitsuri Kanroji shivered: "That sounds so scary!"

"Actually, it's not that exaggerated."

Kuro Usagi comforted her: "How should I put it... as long as you follow the Queen's rules, she is actually quite easy to talk to."

After all, she is one of the rare problem children who will send people to clean up the mess after causing trouble.

Compared to other problem children who disappear after causing trouble or simply leave the cleanup work to others, this is already a very approachable performance.

Ending the topic about the Halloween Queen, Kuro Usagi's gaze turned to Lin Que.

After Lin Que's questioning, Kuro Usagi, who was actually not stupid, realized the other party's underlying meaning.

"Lin Que, you don't mean to say... Kanroji suddenly became stronger because she shared the Spirit Status of the Taotie?"

Lin Que shook his head: "I'm not sure about the specifics."

But thinking about it, this was the only possibility he could think of at the moment.

As for whether it was true or not, that could only be left to professionals to judge.

"Let's go, let's go to Thousand Eyes and have it appraised."