The Slice-Slice Fruit!
6: Chapter 6: Heavenly Tribute?
The Slice-Slice Fruit!
Without much effort, Roy easily made his way inside the G-51 Branch headquarters.
When he arrived in front of the office door bearing the plaque “Branch Commander – Colonel Ast,” the enhanced hearing granted by his Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit allowed him to clearly make out the voices inside.
“Colonel, we’ve really put you to a lot of trouble this time!” said one of the voices.
The other voice let out a hearty laugh.
“Manager Mantal, think nothing of it!
Our G-51 Branch has always enjoyed your kingdom’s generous support.
Resolving trouble for you is only our duty!” “That is quite different.
The care shown to your branch is the King’s will, whereas I am expressing my own personal gratitude to you.
After all, the cargo payments from this trip are a part of the ‘Heavenly Tribute’ to be presented to the World Government.” “So I’ve heard.
You sold quite a lot of fine goods in Sabaody this time, and even acquired a precious Devil Fruit?” “Yes—which is why your help in catching that pirate, allowing us to temporarily store our treasure here at the branch, and promising to escort us in a few days are all massive favors.
You absolutely must accept this!” “Oh, please, I couldn’t possibly…
how could I be so bold…” Roy: “…” Seriously, could they keep their voices down when accepting bribes?
In broad daylight…
how shameless!
However, the contents of their conversation undoubtedly piqued Roy’s interest.
“A part of the Heavenly Tribute, and…
a Devil Fruit?” Muttering to himself, Roy pushed open the office door.
Sure enough, he was greeted by the sight of a stout, luxuriously dressed fat man stuffing a costly-looking gem ring into the coat pocket of the Marine standing before him.
The burly, muscular Marine officer was making a show of pushing the hand away in mock refusal, though it was clear he would soon “succumb” to the fat man’s persistent strength.
However, Roy’s entrance instantly disrupted the fine performance.
“Who are you?!” Ast, the commander of the G-51 Branch, glared at Roy with immediate suspicion and wariness.
“Lieutenant Roy Amos of the Marine Headquarters Custody Force.
I am here by order of headquarters to take custody of the prisoner!” Roy announced, his expression remaining completely neutral.
“The Custody Force?” Colonel Ast’s expression quickly turned serious.
“Ah, I am Ast.
And this is Manager Mantal of the Kingdom of Nismail, the victim of the merchant ship attack.” As Ast introduced him, the fat man offered Roy a beaming, polite nod.
“Lieutenant Roy, I trust you already know—I am hosting a banquet at the branch tonight.
Perhaps you would do me the honor of attending…” He spoke warmly, but Roy did not even spare him a glance.
Completely ignoring the man, Roy looked directly at Colonel Ast.
“Colonel, I am here to conduct the prisoner transfer.
My schedule is tight.
Please lead the way.” “…” Roy’s cold, blunt attitude caused both Colonel Ast and Manager Mantal to frown, their displeasure obvious.
After a brief pause, Colonel Ast nodded coldly.
“Since Lieutenant Roy is in such a hurry…
let us go, then.” With a cold snort, he turned and led Roy toward the branch’s prison.
Inside the cells, Roy indeed laid eyes on the “pirate” who had allegedly threatened to plunder the merchant ship of the Kingdom of Nismail.
It was a heavily bruised and bloodied young man.
He looked to be under twenty years old, extremely thin, with bandages wrapped tightly around his limbs and torso.
He looked incredibly pitiful, having clearly undergone brutal torture.
Yet when Roy and Colonel Ast entered the cell, the youth’s gaze remained sharp, and he gritted his teeth without uttering a single word.
“This is the fellow,” Colonel Ast said casually, glancing at him.
“We’ve run a check, but there’s no bounty poster for him.
He’s likely just a rookie pirate from some backwater island.
His mouth is tough, though; he refuses to reveal his name.” “His strength is pathetic as well.
I have no idea where he got the courage to attempt to plunder a merchant ship belonging to a World Government allied nation.” Ast spat on the floor in disdain.
In this world, there was no such thing as a unified household registration or identity card system.
Aside from some of the larger empires or highly prosperous nations, the lower-class citizens of most ordinary countries or islands were essentially undocumented.
Consequently, investigating the identities of pirates had always been a major headache.
Aside from prominent pirates who had already made a name for themselves on the sea, ordinary small-time pirates rarely had their backgrounds thoroughly investigated.
Of course, Colonel Ast clearly did not care either way.
“The transfer paperwork is fully processed.
You may take him whenever you wish.” Having said his piece, Ast gave Roy one last dismissive glance, turned on his heel, and walked out.
As Ast departed, Roy’s keen hearing picked up his faint, grumbling complaints: “doesn’t know what’s good for him,” “stubborn fool,” “a mere lieutenant,” and “Custody Force.” However, Roy had no attention to spare for Colonel Ast’s gripes.
At that moment, he was staring fixedly at the young prisoner in the cell, a surge of intense pleasant surprise flashing deep within his eyes.
Suppressing his excitement, Roy turned to the Marine guards at the cell door.
“Initiate the transfer immediately.” Shortly after, Roy brought the young pirate—who still refused to utter a single word—back onto his warship.
“Hans, Fal—notify headquarters that we have successfully taken custody of the prisoner and are setting sail to return.
Same old rules…
I will personally pull the first watch on this guy.” After instructing Hans and Fal, Roy escorted the prisoner into the warship’s temporary holding cell alone.
Taking a seat on his familiar sofa, Roy casually placed an hourglass on the table.
He kept his gaze fixed on the young man in the cell, remaining completely silent.
“…” The silence and intensity of Roy’s gaze made the young man’s skin crawl.
“What are you looking at?” the youth hissed, sounding like a cornered, wounded beast.
To his surprise, instead of beating him like the other Marines had, Roy merely smiled.
“What is your relationship with the slaves aboard that merchant ship?” Roy’s very first sentence caused the young man to shudder violently.
“Y-you…
what are you talking about?
I don’t understand!” the youth stammered after recovering his wits.
Roy didn’t seem to care about the young man’s denial.
He simply went on, talking to himself: “Let me map this out.” “Sending a warning letter in advance to inform them of your impending raid was to terrify them, forcing them to actively dock at the G-51 Branch?” “Then, you allowed yourself to be captured to make them lower their guard—which they did, as tonight’s banquet proves.” “The merchant ship’s treasure has already been moved to the safety of the branch, so no one would ever suspect that your true target is the remaining, worthless slaves left behind on the ship.” As Roy spoke, he watched the young man begin to tremble uncontrollably.
“Y-you…
what nonsense…” the youth tried to deny it, but his voice had grown hoarse.
At this moment, the shock in his heart was unprecedented.
He could not understand.
How could this Marine before him outline his entire plan so perfectly?
Where had he slipped up and exposed himself?
“I-I’m locked up right here by you.
How could I possibly save any slaves?
Marine, kill me or torture me as you please, but stop talking about things I don’t understand!” His voice was nearly stammering now.
Hearing this, the smile on Roy’s face grew even broader.
“Exactly, you’re absolutely right.
You’re right here, transferred onto my warship in broad daylight under everyone’s watchful eyes…
No one will ever suspect you.” “That is the most brilliant, and the most useful part of this.” Roy spoke softly, his gaze remaining fixed on the young pirate.
But in Roy’s eyes, the illusory light screen floating in the air silently laid bare the entire truth.
[Detected Devil Fruit user: ‘Aran (Slice Clone)’] [Confirmed Devil Fruit: Paramecia-type Slice-Slice Fruit.
Analyzing and storing in ‘Fruit Encyclopedia’…] [Fruit Ability: Can create a ‘Slice Clone’ identical in current state to the user.
Clones cannot create further slices.] [Note: Sliced clones share consciousness and memory with the main body.
Clones cannot recover once destroyed, and the main body will suffer a degree of damage upon their death.] [The main body can touch clones to recall them or refresh their state.] [If the main body dies, all clones will disappear simultaneously.] [Effects by Level:] [LV1: Gain weak fruit effects.
Can create one slice clone.] [LV2: Gain partial fruit effects.
Can create three slice clones.
Requires 500 million Berries to unlock.] [LV3: Gain full fruit effects.
Can create seven slice clones.
Requires 3 billion Berries to unlock.] [LV4: Deep fruit development.
Can create twelve slice clones.
Main body can swap positions with any clone at any time, and recall/re-summon clones instantly regardless of distance.
Requires 6 billion Berries to unlock.] [LV5: Fruit Awakening: Endless Slices.
In addition to the twelve base clones, can create an infinite number of weakened slice clones, though each clone possesses only a small fraction of the main body’s power.
Requires 12 billion Berries to unlock.] [Analysis progress: 21%]