Chapter 2: Nobody Knows Devil Fruits Better Than Me
Roy Amos. Captain in the Marine Headquarters, and commander of the Detention Unit warship 'DT-31'.
He was said to be from the West Blue, joining the Marines at age twenty and serving for eight years now.
His performance in the physical entrance exam at the Marine branch was mediocre. However, after participating in the capture of the West Blue Devil Fruit user, 'Captain Tola the Rhino,' his strength began to advance by leaps and bounds. This wasn't unusual; many Marine officers only began to show their true potential after encountering a powerful foe.
Following this, he was specially recruited into Marine Headquarters. After passing the headquarters' new recruit assessment, he proactively applied to serve in the Detention Unit.
This was what the Marines of the Detention Unit knew about Roy Amos.
But the truth was...
No one knew that Roy Amos was, in fact, a visitor from another world.
(This book was first published on twkan.com)
(Translator's Note: I have omitted the publisher's watermark text as requested in the 'no asterisks' rule, as it is not part of the narrative.)
There was one thing, however, that the Marines had gotten right.
Roy definitely had his own sense of justice.
"Ice-cold cola... is justice!"
Roy sighed in bliss as he sent a slice of pizza and a big gulp of ice-cold cola down into his stomach.
Right now, he was just watching the hourglass on the table in front of him.
At that exact moment, the last grain of sand fell.
And in his ear...
[Paramecia-type · Strong-Strong Fruit has been added to the Fruit Encyclopedia. Current Level: LV1]
As the voice sounded, the transparent screen in front of him changed.
It gradually transformed into the shape of a phantom book.
Right now, on the book's pages, a series of differently shaped Devil Fruits was displayed.
[Paramecia - Cage-Cage Fruit - LV1]
[Zoan - Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Rhino - LV1]
[Zoan - Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dalmatian - LV1]
[Logia - Glint-Glint Fruit - LV1]
[Logia - Magma-Magma Fruit - LV1]
[Logia - Ice-Ice Fruit - LV1]
And on the newest page, [Paramecia - Strong-Strong Fruit - LV1] had just finished being engraved.
With that, the book snapped shut.
On its cover, four words were written: [Fruit Encyclopedia].
[Holder: Roy Amos]
[Current Encyclopedia Fruit Count: 19 Types (Paramecia: 7, Zoan: 7, Logia: 4, Special Paramecia: 0, Mythical Zoan: 1)]
[Number of Fruit Slots: 2]
[Currently Equipped: Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Rhino LV1, Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu LV1]
[Current Berries: 41,130,000]
"The Fruit Encyclopedia has finally collected nineteen Devil Fruits... just one more to unlock the third fruit slot. And this guy's 'Strong-Strong Fruit' is actually a pretty useful ability!"
"This trip wasn't a waste."
These thoughts, which Roy was muttering to himself, were something only he could understand.
That's right.
As a transmigrator, Roy also had his own system.
It was this 'Fruit Encyclopedia' that he was looking at.
Just as the name implied, this system was related to the One Piece world's unique product: 'Devil Fruits.'
The Fruit Encyclopedia itself had two main functions.
The first function was Recording and Use.
As long as he got close to a Devil Fruit user and spent a certain amount of time with them, he could "record" their Devil Fruit into his Encyclopedia.
This recording speed would increase if the user used their ability in front of him.
After acquiring an ability, he could then use that Devil Fruit's power via the "Fruit Slots" in the Encyclopedia.
He started with only one Fruit Slot. For every ten Devil Fruits collected, he would unlock an additional slot.
Of course, if Roy managed to get his hands on an actual Devil Fruit...
He could absorb it directly, immediately acquiring the corresponding ability at LV3.
The second function of the Encyclopedia was the Strengthening of fruit abilities.
When a fruit was first recorded, its basic ability level was LV1.
After that, Roy could spend a sufficient amount of Berries, or treasure of equivalent value, to strengthen and upgrade the level of his fruit abilities.
Additionally, Roy could spend a smaller amount of treasure to temporarily unlock a higher-level version of a fruit ability. The cost was about one-third of the permanent unlock, but it only lasted for one hour.
Furthermore, perhaps because Roy wasn't actually eating the Devil Fruits...
The fruit abilities he gained were not restricted by seawater or Seastone.
And as for his "golden finger" cheat, Roy's evaluation was simple.
"It's broken!"
Yep.
He knew very well that the Fruit Encyclopedia's effect was, frankly, terrifying.
It allowed him to use multiple Devil Fruit abilities, and he wasn't weak to the sea or Seastone.
This was a wide-open highway straight to the pinnacle of this world.
Never mind that "Master" Kaido was always spouting nonsense about 'Haki reigning supreme.' The fact was, wasn't he himself a user of a legendary Devil Fruit, the [Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon]?
So, that brought up the question.
On this vast sea, where was the safest place to acquire a sufficient number of Devil Fruits?
For Roy, the answer was simple: the Marines.
As the colossal organization backed by the World Government, holding back the complete explosion of the Great Pirate Era...
The number of ability users within the Marines, as well as the number of ability users they came into contact with, was definitely the highest.
So, Roy chose to join the Marines. And he specifically chose the thankless 'Detention Unit.'
Facts had proven that his choice was the right one.
In these eight years, by coming into contact with ability users within the Marines and occasionally transporting ability-using criminals, he had already obtained a total of nineteen Devil Fruit abilities.
This list even included the Logia abilities of the current Three Admirals, and even Fleet Admiral Sengoku's Mythical Zoan 'Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu'—a top-tier Devil Fruit.
In terms of accumulating fruit abilities...
Roy had already built a respectable foundation.
So now, he only faced one problem.
Which was...
"I need to figure out a way to get money."
...His Excellency, the Marine Captain, thought.
Yes.
Just as mentioned, his fruit abilities required Berries to be strengthened.
The specific price varied greatly depending on the fruit, but they all shared one common feature: the stronger the fruit, the more expensive it was.
Based on Roy's summaries so far, a normal Paramecia or Zoan fruit required about 50,000,000 Berries to upgrade to LV2. LV3 required 200-300 million Berries. LV4 needed 1 billion, and LV5, the Fruit Awakening, generally cost upwards of several billion Berries.
Logia fruits were even more ridiculous. A common Logia like the Smoke-Smoke Fruit required 300 million Berries just for LV2. LV3 was a straight 1.5 billion, LV4 was 5 billion, and a Fruit Awakening was an astronomical figure of 10 billion or more.
And as for top-tier Logias like the Magma-Magma Fruit or the Ice-Ice Fruit, their upgrade prices were even higher.
For reference, Roy's monthly salary as a Marine Captain was about 300,000 Berries.
In his eight years as a Marine, even counting stipends and rewards from transporting prisoners, he had only managed to save up a little over 40 million Berries.
"I'm a good, clean-living guy who doesn't smoke or drink, and my only vice is a bit of cola... and even I have this much trouble saving money... buuuurp!"
Roy let out a small burp and sighed.
This was a real headache for him.
"I'm broke!"
Who would have thought that the one thing he'd worry about, both before and after crossing worlds, would be the exact same thing?
"If this doesn't work, my only option is to leave the Marines after I collect the 20th fruit. Maybe I'll become a bounty hunter or something. It means running all over the place, but at least the money's a lot faster than working for the Marines."
"And even though all my current abilities are only LV1, if I can unlock that third fruit slot, it should be more than enough to handle myself in the first half of the Grand Line."
Roy was calculating his options.
But it was at this very moment...
BOOM!
The ship's hold suddenly began to shake violently, and shouts of alarm echoed from outside.
Roy scrambled to protect his ice-cold cola, roaring, "What's going on?! Who's at the... right—Hans! Are you trying to get fired!?"
Shouting, he quickly chugged the rest of the cola in his cup, then threw open the door and stormed out of the hold.
He was met with the sight of a chaotic deck, with Marines scrambling and firing their guns.
They were all aiming... into the sea.
Under the moonlight in the dark night sky...
On the glittering surface of the sea, a massive beast had just poked its head out from beneath the waves.
It had the head of a lion, the body of a fish, and was dozens of meters long.
Its massive eyes glowed in the darkness like burning embers.
"Captain Roy, it's a Sea Beast! A large Sea Beast is attacking us!"
Sergeant Fal scrambled over to Roy, reporting anxiously.
"A Sea Beast?"
Roy raised an eyebrow.
As a Marine unit that operated long-term in the Four Blues, the Detention Unit's warships naturally had Seastone-lined hulls.
Under normal circumstances, Sea Beasts and Sea Kings shouldn't even be able to detect the ship's presence.
But accidents happened. For example, if a coastal Sea Beast or a small, shallow-water Sea King got too close to the surface, it might just spot the "big chunk of iron."
"Yes! It looks like our luck is just terrible."
Fal looked like he was about to cry.
But...
"What do you mean, 'terrible luck'? This is great luck, isn't it?"
Roy cut him off. "If I remember correctly, Sea Beast meat is worth a lot of money!"
"...Wh-What?"
Fal couldn't process this.
But Roy didn't answer him. "All hands, cease fire! If you damage the best cuts of meat, you're all dead!"
"?" (x N)
At this, all the Marines on the ship froze.
But as soldiers, they still subconsciously stopped pulling their triggers.
"Sir, you..."
Someone started to ask a question.
But before they could even get the words out, they saw Captain Roy move.
BOOM!
He bent his knees, tensed... and then leapt!
The tremendous force of his jump actually caused the entire warship to tilt significantly.
Under the stunned gazes of all the Marines, Roy's figure shot through the air, flying straight toward the giant Sea Beast.
"Captain Roy!" (x N)
The Marines cried out in alarm.
But in the next second, their alarm turned into shrieks of pure, unadulterated shock.
Because at that moment, the Sea Beast had clearly noticed Roy.
"ROOOAR!"
The massive head let out a low growl, then lunged, smashing toward Roy with immense force.
"It's over!"
"If he takes that hit head-on... even the Captain will..."
"Get the rescue team ready! Prepare to rescue the Captain!"
The Marines were in a full-blown panic.
But in the very next moment, the scene that unfolded before them nearly made their eyeballs pop out of their sockets, their jaws dropping wide enough to dislocate.
Under the moonlight.
The Marine Captain soared through the air, the "Justice" characters on his coat fluttering in the wind.
He drew back his elbow... and clenched his fist!
In the moonlight, every single Marine saw it—his arm, now impossibly thick, looking as if it had been forged from steel.
The muscles beneath his skin were coiled and knotted like iron cables.
[Currently Equipped Fruit-1: Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Rhino LV1 - Faint fruit ability, grants the physique of a giant rhino. Body strength and muscle density far exceed that of a normal human.]
[Currently Equipped Fruit-2: Strong-Strong Fruit LV1 - Faint fruit ability, grants a 5x multiplier to muscle strength.]
Many people knew that Zoan-type Devil Fruits gave their users powerful, beast-like bodies.
The gladiator Antoria also knew that his Strong-Strong Fruit could grant a massive enhancement to his muscles.
But... what happens when a person possesses both the baseline physical specs provided by a Zoan fruit, and the muscle multiplier provided by the Strong-Strong Fruit?
This was the answer.
BOOM!
Roy's fist shot forward!
The sheer, compressed force from the punch blasted the air, carving a visible "trench" in the surface of the sea in front of him.
The next moment, his fist collided with the Sea Beast's head.
And all the Marines watched...
As that enormous, hundred-meter-long Sea Beast... was sent flying by Roy's single punch!
"AWOOOO!"
It let out a pathetic cry, crashed back into the ocean, and was instantly knocked unconscious.
And Roy's figure, amidst a chorus of "Ehhhhhhhh!?" from his crew, landed perfectly on the Sea Beast's head.
That's right.
This was the reason why, even with all his fruits at LV1, Roy wasn't in a particular hurry.
Because...
"Stacking Devil Fruits isn't as simple as one plus one. As long as you have a deep enough understanding of enough Devil Fruits, even LV1 abilities can unleash unimaginable power!"
Roy whispered to himself.
"And in this world, nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me!"