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Home of the Devil Fruits
The door to the office didn't just open, it practically flew off its hinges.
"Boss! Boss! You are not going to believe who just walked through the front door!"
Elizabeth was a total wreck. Normally, she was the definition of a "professional." She was the girl who could stare down billionaires and government suits without a single hair falling out of place. After a year of working for Rosh, she'd basically become the next Pepper Potts; cool, calm, and completely untouchable.
But right now? That version of Elizabeth was gone. She was flushed, breathless, and gesturing wildly like her hands had a mind of their own.
And honestly? You couldn't blame her. Because Steve Rogers had just stepped into the Home of the Devil Fruits
To a girl like Elizabeth, Captain America wasn't just a celebrity. He was a living history book. He was the hero who had sacrificed everything, the man every kid learned about in school, and the legend the entire world had mourned for seventy years.
Seeing him alive and standing in their lobby was enough to make anyone's brain short-circuit.
Rosh looked up from his desk, his expression unreadable. To him, seeing his "unshakeable" assistant lose her mind was actually more interesting than the news itself.
Without saying a word, he let his Observation Haki drift outward. His senses rippled through the building like a silent wave, and a second later, he felt it.
In the reception area, there was a presence that hummed with a different kind of frequency. It was steady. Disciplined. Powerful. Even compared to the other "enhanced" people who visited the shop, Steve Rogers had an unmistakable aura, a weight of conviction that you just couldn't fake.
A slow, faint smile played on Rosh's lips, 'Well, this was a twist.'
Captain America had been on his "must-meet" list for a long time. It wasn't just about his super-soldier strength or his fame; it was the fact that a hero of his caliber carried an insane amount of Luck. Rosh had always planned to find him eventually, he just hadn't expected the legend to come to him.
"It's really him, Boss," Elizabeth whispered, her eyes darting back to the door as if she was afraid he'd vanish if she looked away. "Captain America is actually here."
"I heard you the first time, Elizabeth." Rosh's voice was the complete opposite of her frantic energy, smooth, calm, and totally bored. He leaned back in his chair, looking like a man who hadn't just been told a ghost was standing in his lobby.
"Go find out what Captain Rogers needs," he said casually. He paused, his smile widening just a fraction as he closed the folder on his desk.
"And if he's looking to buy a Devil Fruit... bring him in."
Elizabeth just stood there, blinking.
She stared at her boss, waiting for... something. A double-take? A nervous pen-tap? Anything. But Rosh looked about as excited as if she'd just told him the mail had arrived five minutes early.
No shock. No "fanboy" moment. Just total, cool-headed acceptance.
Sometimes, Elizabeth seriously wondered if anything in this universe could actually rattle him. To the rest of the world, Steve Rogers was a legend, but in this office, Rosh was the one who held all the cards. To her, the man sitting behind the desk was the biggest mystery of them all.
"Understood, Manager," she whispered.
She took a deep, steadying breath, smoothed out her skirt, and forced herself back into "professional assistant" mode before heading out.
A few minutes later, the door opened again. This time, Captain America followed her in.
The second Steve Rogers stepped into the room, the vibe shifted. The air felt heavier, more grounded. Elizabeth handled the introductions with a quick nod and then slipped out, closing the door softly behind her.
The silence that followed was thick.
Steve took a moment to really look at the man sitting across from him. And honestly? He was floored.
Based on the way Nick Fury talked, Steve had expected a shadow-dwelling mastermind, someone older, someone who looked like they carried the weight of a thousand dark secrets. Instead, the guy in front of him looked remarkably young. Way too young to be the person who had completely flipped the world upside down over the last year.
Steve's feelings were... complicated.
On one hand, he hated what the Devil Fruits were doing to the streets. He came from a time where power was something you earned through discipline and sacrifice. Now, Rosh was selling "miracles" to anyone with a big enough bank account. Heroes, villains, mercenaries, it didn't matter. The shop didn't pick sides, and because of that, the world was getting a lot more dangerous. Steve couldn't help but wonder how much of the recent chaos could be traced right back to this desk.
But then, there was the other side of the coin, the miracles.
Peggy was alive and well because of this Devil fruits. There were medical breakthroughs, lives being saved, and scientific leaps that used to be impossible. The world was scarier, yeah, but it was also better in ways no one could deny.
That contradiction kept Steve stuck somewhere between being a skeptic and a reluctant admirer. But none of that changed why he was here today. The world was moving fast, and if he wanted to keep people safe, he needed to keep up.
"Manager Rosh," Steve said finally, giving a polite nod. "I've heard a lot about you."
A faint, knowing smile touched Rosh's face. "And I've heard quite a bit about you, Captain."
He gestured toward the chairs. "Please. Have a seat."
Steve sat, and Rosh leaned back, looking perfectly at ease. There was no point in dancing around the subject. Rosh wasn't the type for small talk, and Steve Rogers clearly wasn't in the mood for it either.
"I'm assuming you're here to buy a Devil Fruit, Captain," Rosh said, cutting straight to the chase. "The real question is, do you already know which one you want?"
He leaned back, watching Steve with a flicker of genuine curiosity. This was the Captain America, after all. A man who had literally defined an entire era of history. Rosh was dying to know what kind of power a man like Steve thought he needed.
Steve nodded, his expression steady. "I spent some time looking over the catalog on your website before I came in."
"A smart move," Rosh replied.
"There was one that stood out," Steve continued. "The Strong-Strong Fruit. According to the description, it grants the user incredible physical strength. I think that's exactly what I'm looking for." He spoke with the kind of certainty that usually ended a conversation. But as Rosh listened, he began to see the cracks in the legend.
Steve wasn't weak, not by a long shot. The Super Soldier Serum still made him faster and tougher than almost any human on the planet. But the world wasn't full of "ordinary humans" anymore. The goalposts had moved.
Steve had been watching the world change from the sidelines. He'd seen Clint Barton transform into a falcon, moving faster than the eye could follow. He'd heard Tony Stark turn himself into a one-man army. And those were just the people on his side. Every single day, more Devil Fruit users were popping up, and the gap between Steve and the rest of the world was turning into a canyon.
He was tired of being outmuscled. He was tired of realizing that all his experience and training didn't matter if his opponent was simply ten times stronger than him. To Steve, the Strong-Strong Fruit was the logical fix. If he wasn't strong enough, he just needed more strength. Simple, right?
Rosh's eyes narrowed, just a tiny fraction, so small Steve wouldn't even notice, 'The Strong-Strong Fruit? Really?'
Honestly, it wasn't the answer Rosh had been hoping for. It wasn't that the fruit was bad; any power that boosted your physical stats was a win. The problem was the man sitting across from him.
Captain America wasn't just another customer. He was a pillar of this world. Every move he made sent ripples through the future, and for Rosh, that meant Steve was a goldmine of Luck.
If Steve was going to make a move, Rosh wanted it to actually matter.
Picking the Strong-Strong Fruit felt too... safe. Too basic. It would make Steve a better fighter, sure, but would it change the course of history? Would it shake the foundations of the future? Probably not.
If the living legend was going to play the game, Rosh wasn't going to let him settle for a basic power-up. He was going to steer him toward something far more extraordinary.
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Next Chapter: The Price of Luck
Next Next Chapter: Cap's Awe and the Power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit
Next Next Next Chapter: Ultimate Defense Meets Absolute Destruction
Visit my P@tr3on or K0‑fi ''Isopuff'' page and unlock +20 extra chapters and daily updates!