The National was still some distance away from the dozen pirate ships, but those vessels were nearly connected together.
While the battle raged on one side, the looting had already begun on the other.
In less than half an hour, dozens of guards had finished collecting all the treasure.
“Captain of the Guard, there’s a giant log behind those ships—at least a hundred meters long.
Should we bring it back too?”
One of the guards ran over and reported to Zhiye.
Zhiye had noticed it as well.
Unfortunately, they simply didn’t have the time.
If circumstances were different, they could have dealt with it later, but that wasn’t possible now.
“Pack up all the treasure and move it back to the ship,” Zhiye ordered.
“Forget about the tree.
Nobody touches it.
We don’t have time.”
Meanwhile, Nero was still fighting Camoron.
In truth, he could have defeated him long ago.
He simply chose not to.
Instead, he quietly allowed his guards enough time to finish their looting.
Once all the treasure had been transported back to the National, Nero finally spoke.
“Camoron, are you still planning to fight?”
His voice was calm.
“I don’t have time to waste on you.”
“If you insist on blocking my path, then I’ll just take your fifty-million-Bailey head with me.”
Camoron was breathing heavily.
He couldn’t understand how the boy before him had become so much stronger in only two days.
Of course, he had seen the treasure being taken from his ships.
But what could he do about it?
“Get lost!”
Camoron snarled.
“If we meet again, I’ll definitely kill you!”
He spoke the most cowardly words in the fiercest tone possible.
Nero couldn’t have cared less.
He had already wasted half an hour here.
There was no reason to stay any longer.
The moment Nero left, Camoron collapsed onto the deck.
Cold sweat poured down his face.
Nero’s mastery of the Six Powers alone might not have been enough to defeat him.
But the techniques of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu were another matter entirely.
Nero simply didn’t want to push Camoron into a desperate corner.
If the pirate chose to drag everyone down with him, Nero might survive, but he couldn’t guarantee the safety of everyone aboard the National.
No one knew the true limits of a Devil Fruit user.
Nero wasn’t willing to gamble on it.
Taking the treasure was enough.
Camoron could only watch as the National disappeared toward Reverse Mountain.
There was nothing he could do to stop it.
The moment they crossed Reverse Mountain, Gogoya finally asked the question she had been holding back.
“Your Majesty, why did you let Camoron go?”
“We don’t have time to deal with him.”
Nero leaned against the railing.
“More importantly, I don’t want the Marines or the World Government paying attention to us.”
A pirate worth fifty million Baileys wasn’t some nobody.
If Camoron died, the news would spread quickly.
The Marines would investigate.
The World Government would investigate.
Other pirates would investigate.
The Tru Kingdom wasn’t ready for that kind of attention.
Only now did Gogoya seem to understand.
No matter what they did, staying low-profile remained the most important principle.
Nero had understood that long ago.
No one in this world knew the future better than he did.
If he were alone, becoming a pirate might actually be an interesting option.
But things were different now.
Too many people depended on him.
The Tru Kingdom wasn’t large, but it was still his home in this world.
There were only two main ways to grow stronger here.
One was relentless training.
The other was Devil Fruits.
And this invasion of the Tru Kingdom had served as a timely reminder.
“Your Majesty!”
Zhiye approached with a grin.
Several guards followed behind him, each carrying a small box.
“We found three particularly interesting items among the Demon Pirates’ treasures.”
Nero immediately became curious.
When he saw the size of the boxes, he casually asked,
“Devil Fruits?”
Zhiye blinked.
“How did Your Majesty know?”
“What else could make you look so excited?”
“I’ve seen Devil Fruits before.”
“You’re right, Your Majesty.”
Zhiye nodded.
“But I’ve never seen these three.”
As he spoke, he opened the boxes.
Inside were three Devil Fruits.
Each had a completely different appearance.
The one in the middle was especially unusual.
It emitted a faint blue glow.
“Do we have any information on them?” Nero asked.
Gogoya immediately stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, we’ve identified two of them.”
She pointed to the fruit on the left.
“That’s the Smoke Fruit.”
Then she pointed to the fruit on the right.
“That one is the Iron-Iron Fruit.
It allows the user to turn whatever they touch into steel.”
Finally, she looked at the glowing fruit.
“As for this one… it doesn’t appear in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.”
Nero’s eyes narrowed.
A Devil Fruit that wasn’t recorded?
That was interesting.
No matter where Camoron’s crew had found it, it belonged to the Tru Kingdom now.
Nero stepped closer and examined it carefully.
The Smoke Fruit was nearly worthless.
The Iron-Iron Fruit had some value.
But the glowing blue fruit felt different.
A strange, cold aura radiated from it.
Instinctively, Nero placed a hand on it.
Then he closed his eyes.
“System.”
He spoke inwardly.
“Can you identify this Devil Fruit?”
“The answer requires payment of ten million Baileys.”
The system’s voice sounded immediately.
“Would you like to proceed?”
Nero almost cursed.
Even now, the system was charging money.
Still, he didn’t hesitate.
“Pay.”
Ding.
His already dwindling funds shrank even further.
Then the system responded.
“Answer: Paramecia-type Space-Space Fruit.”
“It grants powerful spatial abilities.”
“The user can manipulate space for offense, defense, and movement.”
“After awakening, the fruit can be used for spatial travel, spatial folding, and even interdimensional traversal.”
For a moment, Nero simply froze.
He had always planned to become stronger through training.
He never intended to rely on a Devil Fruit.
Yet this fruit was different.
Its potential far exceeded anything he had imagined.
His luck was absurd.
Not only had this trip earned him an enormous amount of treasure, but he had also obtained three Devil Fruits.
And one of them was the Space-Space Fruit.
“Your Majesty?”
Gogoya’s voice snapped him back to reality.
“You seem distracted.”
“Hm?”
Nero blinked.
“Oh, nothing.”
“You really are alright?”
Gogoya asked again.
“I’m fine.”
Nero smiled.
“I was just thinking about something.”
Then, without hesitation, he picked up the glowing fruit.
“Your Majesty!”
Gogoya’s eyes widened.
“You don’t mean to eat it?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Nero shrugged.
“As for the other two, see if anyone wants them.
If not, we’ll auction them later.”
“Your Majesty…”
Gogoya looked worried.
Zhiye stepped forward as well.
“We don’t object to you eating one, but this fruit isn’t recorded anywhere.”
“What if it’s a useless ability?”
“You’ll never get another chance.”
They both knew the rule.
A person could only consume one Devil Fruit in their lifetime.
Whatever ability they received, they had to live with forever.
The funny part was that everything they knew about Devil Fruits had originally come from Nero himself.
Without him, nobody in the Tru Kingdom would have understood them at all.
Nero simply smiled.
Then, in front of everyone, he took a bite.
The moment the fruit entered his mouth, his face twisted.
“Urgh!”
His stomach churned violently.
The taste was even worse than he had imagined.
It was beyond disgusting.
For a moment, he nearly vomited.
Still, he forced himself to swallow.
When he finally managed it, his face had turned green.
He sat heavily on the deck and took several deep breaths.
The remaining fruit was immediately tossed aside.
No one found this reaction surprising.
Nero had already explained that a Devil Fruit only required a single bite.
Yet after consuming it, there didn’t appear to be any immediate change.
The legendary spatial ability seemed completely absent.
Meanwhile, Nero was practically laughing inside.
A Devil Fruit that controlled space.
How could he not be excited?
“Your Majesty, how does it feel?”
Gogoya and Zhiye leaned closer, their curiosity obvious.
Nero rolled his eyes.
“If you’re both so interested, there are still two fruits left.”
“Why don’t you each eat one and find out for yourselves?”
“I’ll pass.”
Zhiye shook his head immediately.
“I intend to reach the top through my own strength.”
“I don’t need a Devil Fruit.”
Nero snorted.
“This thing tastes worse than the worst food I’ve ever imagined.”
“So what ability did you get?”
Gogoya asked eagerly.
Nero grinned.
“Guess.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Just tell us.”
Nero had no intention of revealing it.
No one knew what enemies he would face in the future.
Keeping his abilities hidden was often the best weapon.
There were too many powerful monsters in this world.
And the true strength of the World Government remained a mystery.
That uncertainty was what concerned him most.
Even after obtaining the Space-Space Fruit, he had no intention of displaying it openly.
Faced with their continued questioning, Nero merely smiled.
“I don’t know yet.”
Then his expression became serious.
“Tell Barro to keep moving.”
“Everything waiting for us back home is more important than this.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
And so, no one learned what kind of Devil Fruit Nero had eaten.
Not even those closest to him knew what power he had obtained.
The National continued sailing across the calm sea.
The atmosphere aboard was completely different from before.
By their estimates, it would take at least five days to return from Reverse Mountain to the Tru Kingdom in the South Blue.
Until then, all they could do was rely on the Den Den Mushi for news.
⸻
Meanwhile, the Tru Kingdom remained under siege.
The Kingdom of Roya had joined forces with dozens of pirate crews.
Even the royal capital had been forced to divert soldiers to deal with pirate attacks.
Compared to the pirates, Roya itself wasn’t the greatest threat.
That was precisely the problem.
The kingdom’s military could only respond to so many fronts at once.
In less than two days, the Tru Kingdom had already lost two islands.
Although the nation’s economy had undergone dramatic growth over the past several years, and its military was stronger than Roya’s, it couldn’t withstand attacks from dozens of pirate crews simultaneously.
The kingdom’s population was small to begin with.
Now, under the pressure of war, fear had begun spreading among the people.
Fortunately, most of the outer islands were dedicated to flowers and decorative plants rather than critical industries.
The majority of the population remained concentrated in the royal capital.
That was the only reason the situation had not become even worse.