The soft thud of the dumpling hitting the ground startled the sleeping puppy from its nap.
The little dog stood up and gave its body a lazy shake. It blinked sleepily, finally noticing the strange object that had disturbed its rest.
Curious, the puppy sniffed the small dumpling on the ground. Sensing no danger, it didn't hesitate—its tiny mouth opened, and it gobbled up the dumpling in one swift bite.
Everyone watching held their breath, craning their necks to see what would happen next.
But… nothing happened.
The puppy let out a lazy yawn, stretched its body, and promptly flopped back down, resuming its nap as if nothing unusual had occurred.
(|||)???
All the Marines exchanged confused glances, question marks practically floating above their heads.
"Is that it? Nothing happened?" one of them whispered, puzzled.
Even Connie frowned, scratching his head. Just as he was about to turn to Tama for an explanation, Tama suddenly shouted:
"Dog! Come here!"
Instantly, the puppy's ears perked up. It sprang to its feet, tail wagging, and sprinted toward Tama without hesitation.
Before it could reach her, Tama raised her hand and made a sharp, commanding gesture.
"Stop! Sit!"
The puppy skidded to a halt right in front of Tama, sat down obediently, and stuck out its tongue, panting happily.
With a sweet giggle, Tama began giving the puppy more commands. She had it perform tricks like shaking hands, rolling over, spinning in circles, and even scratching on command—complex behaviors that typically required weeks of training.
The Marines stared in stunned silence, their confusion slowly giving way to understanding.
Connie, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, finally voiced what everyone was thinking.
"Is this… animal control?"
Tama beamed proudly, stroking the puppy's head as she looked up at Connie.
"Yup! As long as animals eat my dumplings, they become my friends."
"Friends, huh…" Connie muttered, raising an eyebrow.
That doesn't look like friendship to me, he thought. It's more like complete mind control.
Too bad she can only control animals. If she could control people, we could have Tama take over one of the Four Emperors. Now, that would be interesting…
But just as that thought crossed his mind, another, far more exciting idea struck him.
Wait… If animals are affected… then Sea Kings are animals too, right?
If Tama can feed her dumplings to the Sea Kings…
The possibilities raced through Connie's mind, and once the idea took hold, he couldn't shake it. The thought of controlling the monstrous Sea Kings was almost too incredible to imagine.
If she can really do it… Forget the Four Emperors. Even if Pirate King Roger were resurrected, our G66 branch could take him on!
His heart pounded with excitement at the potential.
Quickly, Connie composed himself and turned back to Tama, his eyes gleaming with hope.
"Tama," he asked, trying to keep his voice calm, "have you ever tried controlling fish or shrimp in the river with your dumplings?
Does your ability work on aquatic animals too?"
Tama tilted her head in thought for a moment before nodding seriously.
"Yup! One time, I fell asleep by the stream outside the village. When I woke up, I fed my dumplings to the fish."
Her innocent words sent a jolt through Connie.
"It's different from dogs, though," she continued. "Dogs stay my friends for a whole month. But with fish, we can only be friends for three days."
"It actually works…"
Connie was floored. If she could control regular fish, there was a high chance her ability would work on Sea Kings as well.
Even with the three-day limit, this was a game-changer.
No one had ever heard of someone controlling those ferocious, monstrous creatures. But Tama—this three-year-old girl—might be the first.
And who knows? Maybe, as Tama grew and her Devil Fruit powers evolved, she could extend the duration or even gain permanent control.
Always think positively, Connie told himself.
With this in mind, Connie could barely contain his excitement as he turned to Tama's grandmother.
"Grandma," he announced happily, "I'm proud to say that Tama is officially accepted into the Marine Academy!"
The moment those words left his mouth, Tama and the other children erupted in cheers. It was as if they'd won a great victory.
The Marines who had followed Connie to the orphanage smiled warmly at the joyful scene. They reached into their bags and pulled out the gifts they'd brought, distributing them to the children.
The children squealed with delight, their happiness multiplying as they received the surprise presents. They quickly grabbed the Marines' hands, dragging them back into the orphanage to play.
Tama was immediately surrounded by several older kids, hailed as a hero.
She was about to join the Marine, and to her friends, she had already become the pride of the orphanage.
Connie didn't follow the children inside. Instead, he turned to Grandma, offering her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry," he said gently. "We'll take good care of Tama."
Then, stepping aside, he pulled out his Den Den Mushi and dialed his superiors. This news was too important to wait.
After a few rings, the line connected.
A cold, tired female voice came through the receiver, laced with irritation.
"This is Ain. What's going on?"
Hearing Ain's voice, Connie immediately straightened up, his tone becoming more formal. But he couldn't completely hide the excitement bubbling beneath his words.
"Big sis, it's me, Connie. You'll never guess what I found!"
There was a long, heavy silence on the other end of the line. Then Ain spoke again, her voice low and dangerous.
"Because of a certain idiot, I'm already losing my mind over this recruitment.
If you're calling to joke around, I swear I'll come over there and crack your skull open right now."
Connie gulped, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Ain was usually gentle, but when she got mad…
He quickly abandoned any playful tone.
"Ah—no, no jokes! I promise! I've got serious news. You're going to want to hear this," he stammered, shifting into a full report mode.
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