Harlow Gale stepped into the workshop, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim, flickering light of oil lamps. The place was a chaotic blend of primitive and advanced—wooden beams held up the thatched roof, while polished metal and glass instruments cluttered every available surface.
Shelves sagged under the weight of ancient tomes, brittle parchment, and crude blueprints scrawled with dense, barely legible notes. Various gadgets lay scattered across workbenches, some sparking faintly, others whirring as if on the verge of falling apart.
At the center of it all stood Kiwanu, a short, pudgy man with the same pear-shaped physique as the other Torino villagers, though his complexion was paler, his skin marked with ink stains instead of the sun.
His wild, white hair stuck out at odd angles, giving him the look of a man who hadn't seen daylight in years—which, judging by the mess around him, wasn't far from the truth.
Gale cleared his throat. "Uh, hey, are you Kiwanu?"
Without looking up, Kiwanu waved a stubby hand. "Pass me that tool."
Gale frowned. "What?"
"The tool. That one." The old scientist pointed vaguely toward a cluttered table without so much as glancing in Gale's direction.
Still confused, Gale hesitated before picking up what looked like a wooden wrench with strange metal components attached to it. He handed it over, watching as Kiwanu muttered to himself, adjusting some sort of device with exaggerated care.
After a few moments, with a triumphant nod, the old man pressed a button.
A tiny propeller at the top of the device spun furiously before sputtering to a stop. A moment later, the entire contraption let out a pathetic wheeze and collapsed under its own weight.
Gale stared at it. Then at Kiwanu.
For the first time, the scientist turned to face him, stroking his chin. "Hmmm… seems I miscalculated the aerodynamics again…"
Gale, arms crossed, exhaled slowly, wondering if coming here was a mistake.
Still, he had come all this way—there was no point in leaving just like that.
Gale cleared his throat and started, "I just arrived at the village. The others told me to—"
Before he could finish, Kiwanu waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, they did mention a strange fellow stumbling into our village, but as you can see, I'm terribly busy, so please go away."
Gale blinked, scratching the back of his head. He was half tempted to turn around and do just that, but he pressed on. "I don't want to impose, but Shanba said you know a lot about Devil Fruits… and that you might be able to tell me about mine."
At that, Kiwanu's head snapped toward him with unsettling speed, his beady eyes gleaming with sudden interest. He examined Gale like some kind of exotic animal—or worse, a rare test subject.
"A Devil Fruit, you say?" Kiwanu stepped closer, his voice sharp with intrigue. "You've eaten one?"
A shiver ran down Gale's spine, and his instincts screamed at him to take a step back, but he held firm and nodded. "Yeah… I ate one yesterday, but I'm not sure what kind of fruit it is. Probably a Paramecia type."
The glint in Kiwanu's eyes intensified. Before Gale could react, the old scientist moved. One second he was standing across the room, the next he was right in front of him, his stubby fingers producing a measuring tape from seemingly nowhere.
"What do you feel? Any unusual sensations? What's changed?!" Kiwanu fired off questions in rapid succession, looping the tape around Gale's chest, arms, and even his head.
He muttered numbers under his breath, scribbling notes onto a notepad that Gale could swear he hadn't been holding a second ago.
Gale stiffened, raising his hands. "Whoa, hold on—what the hell are you doing?!"
"Scientific analysis, obviously!" Kiwanu snapped, completely unfazed. "Now, did you experience any pain upon consuming it? Strange visions? Any newfound abilities beyond the obvious?"
Gale groaned. "I—can you slow down?!"
Kiwanu, of course, did not slow down.
Kiwanu adjusted his tiny, round glasses and grinned with a spark of excitement. "You see, ever since I first read about Devil Fruits in the village's records, I've been utterly fascinated by them! They defy logic, challenge the laws of nature, and spit in the face of everything we understand about how the world works!"
His stubby fingers twitched in excitement as he paced around the workshop. "But until now, I've never actually seen a Devil Fruit, let alone encountered someone who's eaten one! This is groundbreaking! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" He turned back to Gale with a sharp glint in his eye. "Whatever it is you came to ask, I will hear you out. But! Only after you answer a few questions and undergo some tests."
Gale exhaled through his nose, already regretting this. "You mean to tell me I gotta be your guinea pig before you'll actually help me?"
Kiwanu waved off his complaints. "Oh, hush! It's just a little scientific curiosity!"
Gale groaned but eventually threw up his hands. "Fine, whatever. Just don't get any weird ideas."
Thus began what could only be described as an hour of torment.
Kiwanu poked, prodded, measured, and even had Gale stand on one foot while holding a rock just to see if anything about him had changed externally. The old scientist made him lift objects, stretch his limbs, tap his fingers, and even yell just to test if his voice had altered. All the while, Kiwanu took notes, occasionally nodding to himself or humming in thought.
By the end of it, Gale sat on a stool, rubbing his face with both hands while Kiwanu made one last scribble in his notepad.
Finally, the old scientist let out a satisfied nod and smirked smugly.
Gale slowly blinked at him, feeling drained. "So… I gather you've come to some kind of conclusion?"
Kiwanu nodded again. "Indeed."
Gale sat up a little, anticipation building in his chest. But Kiwanu just stood there, stroking his chin.
"...And that conclusion is…?" Gale prompted.
Kiwanu's eyes gleamed as he suddenly pointed a stubby finger straight at Gale, his voice booming dramatically:
"You have undoubtedly ingested a Devil Fruit!"
Gale nearly fell off his stool. He staggered, barely stopping himself from face-planting onto the ground. His fingers dug into his temples as he let out a long, suffering sigh.
"The taste of wet garbage in my mouth when I bit into that damned fruit was all the confirmation I needed," he grumbled.
Kiwanu blinked at him, tilting his head. "Well, if you already knew you'd ingested a Devil Fruit… then why are you here?"
Gale leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "Look, what I actually want to know is what fruit I ate," he said, his tone exasperated.
Kiwanu stared at him blankly. Then he shrugged. "Well, why didn't you just say so?"
Gale's eye twitched. His fingers curled into fists as he felt the overwhelming urge to grab this stubby old man and launch him across the workshop. He could already picture it—Kiwanu soaring through the air, colliding with the shelves, all while he screamed, You never gave me the chance!
But instead, Gale inhaled sharply, clenched his teeth, and muttered through a forced smile, "Totally my bad…" He let the words hang for a second before adding, "So… how about it? Can you help me?"
Kiwanu adjusted his glasses, puffed out his chest, and gave a confident nod. "Of course I can! But first, tell me—what can you do?"
Gale rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not entirely sure… but I think I can make things lighter or heavier."
The old scientist perked up, his beady eyes shining with curiosity. "Fascinating… fascinating indeed! But theory is one thing—we must conduct an experiment!"
Gale crossed his arms. "Fine by me, but I need something to test it on."
Kiwanu grinned, shuffling over to his cluttered workbench. He rummaged through the mess before pulling out a small metal tool—some kind of wrench. He placed it on a surprisingly well-maintained scale, carefully measured its weight, and scribbled it down in his notes.
Then he handed the tool to Gale. "Alright! Make this heavier."
Gale nodded, gripping the tool firmly. He focused, his brows furrowing as he willed his power to activate. He could feel something shift—a strange sensation, like his energy was being funneled into the object. After a few moments, he exhaled.
"It's done," he said.
Kiwanu took the tool back and placed it on the scale. The needle jerked upward, confirming the increase in weight. He let out an intrigued hum, scribbling something down.
Gale leaned forward. "So? What do you think?"
Kiwanu held up a hand. "Wait."
Gale frowned but said nothing, watching as the scientist stared at the scale, tapping his fingers against his round belly.
A minute passed.
Then another.
Just as Gale was about to lose his patience, the scale moved again—but this time, in the opposite direction. The tool was slowly returning to its original weight.
Kiwanu turned to Gale with a smirk, tapping his fingers against his pudgy chin. "So, you are capable of increasing or decreasing the weight of an object," he mused. "But the change is not permanent..."
Gale slowly blinked. "...And that means what, exactly?"
Kiwanu shrugged. "It could mean anything! But for now, we'll have to conduct more tests to determine anything conclusive."
Gale groaned internally. Of course we do.
Another hour passed with Kiwanu handing him various objects—tools, scraps of metal, even a rock he pulled from a drawer for some reason—ordering Gale to make them heavier or lighter. The scientist measured each result with almost obsessive precision, scribbling furiously in his notebook, muttering things like, Fascinating... and Curious... under his breath.
Finally, after what felt like the hundredth test, Kiwanu let out a thoughtful hum.
"Well?" Gale asked, rubbing his sore fingers.
Kiwanu flipped back through his notes. "The increase and decrease in weight has been random so far. The duration that the effect lingers hasn't been consistent, either."
Gale frowned. "So I can change the weight of objects, but it's random?"
Kiwanu shook his head. "That is possible... but it's more likely that the inconsistency comes from your lack of control rather than the ability itself."
Gale crossed his arms, considering that. "So what, I just suck at using it?"
"In layman's terms, yes," Kiwanu said with a teasing grin. Then, his expression turned more serious. "But in the first place… it's too early to say that your ability is simply to change the weight of objects you touch."
That threw Gale off. He tilted his head. "Wait, what else could it be?"
Kiwanu's grin widened, almost predatory—like a fisherman who'd just felt something bite his hook. "We'll have to do a few more tests to find out…"
Gale didn't even protest this time. He just sighed, resigned himself to his fate, and braced for the next round of tests.
This time, Kiwanu wasn't just measuring weight—he was obsessively checking dimensions, inspecting every nook and cranny of each object Gale affected. He muttered calculations under his breath, flipped through pages of notes, and even held up a magnifying glass at one point.
Finally, he let out a triumphant, almost manic laugh. "I get it now!"
Gale raised an eyebrow. "Uh… get what?"
Kiwanu gave him a smug, knowing look. "Your power isn't to control an object's weight… it's to control its density."
"Density?" Gale muttered, tilting his head. "How come?"
Kiwanu grinned. "The weight of an object—its mass—is determined by density multiplied by volume." He made a sweeping gesture with his stubby hands. "In that equation, the total weight remains unchanged and entirely dependent on the density and the volume."
Gale stared blankly at him, processing the words like a man trying to decipher an ancient prophecy. It had been years since he graduated high school, and to say his knowledge of physics was rusty would be an understatement.
Noticing his reaction, Kiwanu let out an exaggerated sigh. "Okay, let's break it down. What's three times three?"
Gale blinked at him. "…Nine?"
Kiwanu nodded approvingly. "Very good. Now, if 3 × 3 equals 9, then how do we increase the result?"
Gale shrugged. "Uh… we just increase it?"
Kiwanu slapped his forehead. "No, no! You can't just change the answer! That makes the whole equation stop making sense." He exhaled sharply, then continued, "But… what if, instead of changing the answer, we change one of the numbers? Say, we turn one of those threes into a four instead."
Gale frowned, still not entirely following. "So… 3 × 4 instead of 3 × 3?"
"Exactly!" Kiwanu grinned. "Now, apply that same logic to weight. If mass equals density times volume, and you're making something heavier or lighter without changing its size…" He trailed off, waiting for Gale to connect the dots.
"…Then I must be changing its density instead," Gale finished, eyes widening slightly.
Kiwanu snapped his fingers. "Bingo!"
Gale muttered, "So I can control density… neat…" He nodded to himself, then turned to Kiwanu. "Well, thanks for your time. I better get going now."
Kiwanu looked at him as if he'd just committed the gravest of insults. "What? You can't go yet!"
Gale frowned. "Why not?"
Kiwanu straightened up, adopting a matter-of-fact tone. "Because there are more tests to be done! I—I mean we, no, you must determine if your ability affects organic matter, or only inanimate objects! Can you use it on yourself? What's the upper limit? There are so many questions left unanswered!"
The frantic enthusiasm in the old scientist's voice sent a cold shiver down Gale's spine. Slowly, he took a step back toward the door. "Look, I'm really grateful, but I gotta hit the road…"
He swallowed hard, thinking to himself, 'You just might dissect me if I stay here any longer…'
He kept that particular thought to himself, but the way he immediately turned and bolted toward the door spoke volumes.
Unfortunately, he barely took three steps before he felt an unexpected weight on his legs.
He looked down.
Kiwanu was clinging to his thigh with the sheer desperation of a man being dragged away from his life's work. "Come now… it'll just be a few more tests… I promise they won't be invasive…" He hesitated. "Probably…"
Outside, the villagers passing by Kiwanu's workshop paused as frantic cries for help rang out from within.
They glanced at each other, chuckled, and continued about their day.
...
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