"Blue Eagle, you're being reckless! There's no way we can beat someone like Borsalino. Even if you're Admiral Sengoku's son, that doesn't mean you can act on a whim!"
"Yeah, exactly! Blue Eagle, just give up. We're no match for a monster like Borsalino."
"He's on the same level as Sakazuki, they're both monsters! There's no need to go up against either of them..."
…
The cadets surrounded Rosinante, voicing their concern. Borsalino, watching this crowd fuss over him like he was the center of their world, spoke up with an exaggerated pout:
"Hey hey~ You guys are being a bit too biased, don't you think? Sure, the little bro is cute and all, but not one of you is rooting for me? And calling me a monster? That's just plain rude~"
The cadets turned to glance at Borsalino. He pouted, looking mock-hurt, but his playful irreverent expression only made them like him less.
Despite having the strongest combat abilities in their class, Borsalino and Sakazuki weren't exactly popular. Sakazuki was overly rigid, always scowling—people respected his strength but found him impossible to like.
Borsalino, on the other hand, was infuriating in his own way. Lazy, glib, and constantly running his mouth, he carried himself with an arrogant air—unsurprising for someone with a Logia-type power like the Glint-Glint Fruit. Most cadets steered clear of him.
In fact, the combined popularity of Borsalino and Sakazuki couldn't hold a candle to Rosinante's. While people feared their strength, they liked Rosinante and support born from friendship always ran deeper than fear.
"Enough with the whining, Borsalino." Rosinante said sharply. "Stop talking nonsense and go get ready. Tomorrow, I'm going to defeat you."
"A serious little bro really is the scariest kind~"
Borsalino smiled lazily, clearly unfazed. Rosinante ignored him and headed straight for the training grounds. He hadn't finished his daily workout yet.
As he walked, Rosinante's thoughts were already spinning.
How could someone without Haki defeat a Logia-type like Borsalino?
In the world of One Piece, Logia users were among the strongest. Before Haki became widely understood, they were practically untouchable.
Still, that didn't mean Logia users had no weaknesses. They were vulnerable to seawater and Seastone.
Seastone, in particular, was a potent weapon against Devil Fruit users. But Rosinante was a Devil Fruit user himself, he couldn't even touch Seastone without losing all his strength. Worse, he didn't have any Seastone weapons.
Which frankly, made sense. Seastone was a strategic material used by the Marines to counter Devil Fruit users. There was no way they'd casually hand it over to a nine-year-old kid who had just celebrated his birthday.
So without Seastone, what could he use to take down Borsalino?
Rosinante wracked his brain but came up empty. As far as known counters to Logia-types, there were only two options: Haki—which he hadn't learned, and Seastone—which he didn't have.
That meant the only thing he could rely on was his mastery of Six Powers. But even those were mostly useless against a Logia-type like Borsalino. So what else did he have?
His system-provided equipment? Useless. All his current gear was focused on recovery, not offense.
That left one last possibility, his Devil Fruit.
The Silence-Silence Fruit.
He'd eaten the Silence-Silence Fruit several months ago and had only developed one auxiliary ability so far: Deep Sleep.
For a body cultivator, that was an absolute cheat. It essentially gave him several times more training hours every day. Over time, that kind of compounding effect would make him terrifyingly strong. If someone with patience and discipline just sat around training for two or three decades, they could reach a level rivaling Garp's. At that point, they could beat down anyone they wanted.
But… was that all the Silence-Silence Fruit could do?
Couldn't it also be developed into offensive abilities?
Rosinante pondered this as he reached the training field. He grabbed a barbell with one hand and rested his chin on the other, deep in thought.
The Silence-Silence Fruit's main ability was to nullify sound. But why could it do that? What was sound, anyway?
Before answering that, he had to think—how is sound produced, and how does it reach a person's ears?
According to physics, sound is created when objects vibrate, producing waves that travel through a medium like air, water, or solids—until they're detected by a biological hearing organ.
So… if the Silence-Silence Fruit could make sound disappear, did that mean it stopped vibrations?
Rosinante activated his soundproof chamber, picked up a large broadsword from the weapon rack, and flicked it with his finger. The blade began to vibrate, but there was no sound.
Staring at the trembling blade, Rosinante reached a conclusion.
"The Silence-Silence Fruit doesn't cancel the vibration itself. Instead, it nullifies the transmission of vibration through the medium. The vibrations are still happening at the source, but they're being blocked from spreading through the air. Which means, if no vibrational energy travels outward, nothing reaches your ears."
He muttered to himself as he scratched on the ground with a stick. Without even realizing it, he wrote characters in the dirt: Whitebeard.
The strongest man in the world—Edward Newgate. His Tremor-Tremor Fruit allowed him to generate shockwaves that could ripple across oceans, cause tsunamis, and obliterate islands.
And Rosinante's power nullified the transmission of vibration through a medium.
So what would happen if Whitebeard struck with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit? The initial impact—the point of contact—would still unleash devastation. Rosinante couldn't negate that. The destructive energy created at the origin would remain intact.
But… the shockwaves that rippled out from the epicenter?
Rosinante could completely nullify them using the Silence-Silence Fruit.
No shockwaves meant no tsunamis. No island-cracking devastation. All of it, cut off at the source.
"Heh… I really am Whitebeard's natural counter."
A grin crept across Rosinante's face. Who said the Silence-Silence Fruit was garbage? If it could counter the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, then it was definitely worth developing.
But all that was great for dealing with Whitebeard. The real question was: how the hell was he going to deal with Borsalino and the Glint-Glint Fruit?
Rosinante furrowed his brows. Whitebeard could wait, Borsalino was the immediate threat.
Could he possibly develop an anti-Glint-Glint technique using the Silence-Silence Fruit?
He paced around, brainstorming. The thing about Devil Fruits was that developing their powers took real creativity—and today, he just wasn't feeling it. His thoughts began to blur… until, suddenly, as he idly activated his Devil Fruit power—
An idea struck.
A flash of inspiration lit up his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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