"Welcome to Torrance Town! You look exhausted. You can rest at my hotel—everyone knows it's the best in town!"
Wearing oversized glasses, a young girl around ten cheerfully greeted the arriving visitor at the dock. Torrance Town was remote and barely charted. Its isolation kept merchants away, and with business trickling in only rarely, the girl hadn't seen a guest in days. Her hotel, dubbed the "best," hadn't actually had any visitors for quite some time.
So when someone finally stepped off a boat, she was ecstatic. Her face lit up with genuine warmth.
"This is Torrance Town? Thank goodness... we finally made it." Vivi exhaled in relief. She had circled the Kingdom of Prodence multiple times just to locate this elusive town.
From experience, she had come to believe that the East Blue housed the kindest people. In contrast, the first half of the Grand Line was a toss-up—half good, half bad—while the New World was teeming with the wicked.
Only recently turning fourteen, Vivi was already tall and graceful, her noble upbringing giving her a refined aura. Alone, her beauty and presence often drew unwanted attention—thieves, pirates, and low-lifes. Despite unleashing her "Weiguo" twice and using Conqueror's Haki thrice, the trouble didn't seem to stop. It annoyed her deeply.
Finally reaching her destination filled her with excitement.
Even Duck Karoo gave a weary sigh. After constantly adjusting Vivi's navigation errors and correcting her sense of direction, he was mentally and physically exhausted. The town of Torrance, tucked on the western edge of the island, was finally found thanks to the naval navigator's sketched map.
Vivi, in good spirits, smiled at the glasses girl. "Yes, we're a little tired. We'll rest here for a few days."
"Great!" The girl jumped in joy, nearly half a meter high, then enthusiastically led them to her modest inn.
When asked about their purpose, Vivi gave a vague excuse: "Our tea hasn't been selling well, so I brought my pet duck to explore new markets." Of course, she couldn't say she was searching for a mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit. Who would believe someone claiming to understand all flora and fauna?
The girl, who doubled as innkeeper, waitress, and cook, didn't question her further. As long as guests paid their stay, the backstory didn't matter.
Vivi soon settled into life in Torrance.
The town itself was an anomaly, formed from centuries of ocean currents depositing wreckage, island fragments, stone, and garbage into one place. Rainwater and sea storms nourished the land until it grew into an unusual, habitable island.
The Kingdom of Prodence, while not as notable as Dressrosa or Alabasta, was still a powerful New World nation. Under King Elizabello II—wielder of the famed "King Punch"—the kingdom often waged war. With so many enemies and limited manpower, Torrance, with no strategic value, was left to manage itself. As long as it paid its taxes, the kingdom didn't interfere. A lone tax officer came every few months, and that was it.
Despite scouring Prodence's territories, Vivi had found no leads on the Devil Fruit she sought. She could only continue her search in the town itself.
Using Baileys to grease the wheels, she approached the elderly, hoping to extract some obscure knowledge.
"Bat? Never seen one."
"A swarm of bats at night? We're in bed by then, dear, no idea."
"Historical ruins? Looking for monuments, little miss? You feeling okay?"
She spent money liberally, but learned nothing.
Still, she wasn't discouraged. A Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit—Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire—was not something easily found. It hadn't surfaced in over a hundred years. If it was going to appear five years in the future, surely it was already on this island now. Devil Fruits didn't grow legs and walk off, after all.
But the people of this world had little regard for history, and Vivi found herself increasingly frustrated. Knowing the fruit was here but unable to locate it gnawed at her.
Eventually, she stopped asking and started listening.
The next morning, the innkeeper girl was startled to see Vivi walking out with her eyes closed, tapping a bamboo stick ahead of her.
She froze. The guest had been fine yesterday. Did she... go blind overnight?
But Vivi was fully focused. She had shut off her sight, enhancing her Observation Haki to its peak—"The Voice of All Things" was being pushed to its limit. Her Haki, now at Level 4, reached outward with surgical precision.
The girl's thoughts brushed her senses.
"Oh... the food was good. The red bean soup last night was delicious. Make sure to give my duck two bowls today—he loved it. My eyes? Just a meditative technique. Don't worry."
With a steady "tap, tap" of her stick, Vivi walked away calmly, leaving the girl dumbfounded at the door.
"A magpie nest in a tree? Not useful."
"A hole in the ground? A buried chest? Just trash."
Because Torrance was formed from centuries of wreckage and debris, every tree, rock, and artifact had a history. Vivi could sense each one—discerning, filtering, dismissing. Ten minutes walking, ten minutes resting. It was slow, exhausting work. A single misstep could cost her a full day. Still, it wasn't dangerous—just time-consuming.
Luckily, she had time. The one fated to eat the Vampire Fruit was still imprisoned in Impel Down. He wouldn't appear for years. Vivi could afford to be thorough.
The days flew by.
At first, Duck Karoo followed her around to ensure she could find her way back. But after discovering the town was perched at the highest point of the island—making it impossible to get lost—he relaxed.
Karoo spent his time playing rubber-band games with the inn girl, cards with local aunties, tag with village kids, and sometimes pretended to be a chicken just to entertain them. He'd call Igaram occasionally through a Den Den Mushi, giving updates like "The princess is alive," and little more.
Then, in the third week of her stay in Torrance Town, Vivi finally made a discovery…