Without any difficulty, Roy quickly made his way inside G-51 headquarters.
When he arrived in front of the office marked "Branch Commander – Captain Aster"…
The enhanced hearing granted by the Snow Rabbit Fruit let him clearly pick up the voices inside.
"Captain, sir, we truly owe you for this matter!"
One voice said.
The other replied with loud laughter:
"Steward Mantal, think nothing of it! Our G-51 branch has always been supported by your kingdom. Helping resolve your troubles is only natural!"
"That's different—His Majesty's support for your branch is one thing. But I'm thanking you personally. After all, this shipment's proceeds will become part of the World Government's CelestialTribute."
"I've heard the rumors—you sold quite a few fine 'goods' at Sabaody this time, didn't you? Even obtained a rare Devil Fruit?"
"That's right—so since you caught that pirate for us, and even allowed us to temporarily store our treasure here—and will be escorting us in a few days—your help is simply tremendous. You must accept this!"
"Oh, no, no, I couldn't possibly—how embarrassing…"
Roy: "…"
Seriously, could they at least lower their voices while taking bribes?
Right in broad daylight… absolutely shameless.
But the content of their conversation caught Roy's interest.
"A portion of the Celestial Tribute… and a Devil Fruit?"
Muttering to himself, he pushed open the office door.
As expected, he saw a fat, extravagantly dressed man trying to stuff an extremely expensive-looking gemstone ring into the pocket of the Marine in front of him.
The burly, muscle-bound Marine was doing the routine "polite refusal," but at this rate, he was seconds away from giving in.
Roy's abrupt entrance cut the scene short.
"You—who are you?!"
Captain Aster, commander of G-51, turned toward Roy with visible shock.
"Lieutenant Roy Amos of Marine Headquarters' Detention Unit. I'm here under orders to take custody of the prisoner."
Roy stated calmly.
"The Detention Unit?"
Captain Aster immediately straightened up.
"I am Aster. This gentleman here is the victim of the pirate attack, Steward Mantal of the Nismael Kingdom."
As he introduced him, the fat man gave Roy a smiling nod.
"Lieutenant Roy, I assume you've already heard—tonight I will be hosting a banquet here at the branch. Perhaps you would be willing to honor us with your presence?"
He said pleasantly, but Roy didn't spare him even a glance. Instead, Roy ignored him entirely and looked straight at Captain Aster.
"Captain, I'm here for the prisoner transfer. My time is limited. Please lead the way."
"…"
Roy's cold and blunt tone made both Captain Aster and Steward Mantal frown. They were clearly displeased.
A moment later, Captain Aster finally gave a curt nod.
"Since Lieutenant Roy is in such a hurry… then let's go."
He huffed coldly and led Roy toward the branch prison.
Inside the prison, Roy finally saw the so-called "pirate" who had threatened to attack the Nismael Kingdom's royal merchant ship.
It was a young man covered in blood.
He looked no older than twenty, his body extremely thin. His limbs and torso were wrapped in bandages, his appearance utterly miserable—obvious signs of brutal torture.
Yet when Roy and Captain Aster entered the cell, the young man's gaze was still sharp. He clenched his teeth and remained silent.
"This is the one,"
Captain Aster said casually after glancing at him.
"We've already investigated. No bounty record, nothing. Probably some no-name rookie pirate from some tiny island. But he's got quite the stubborn mouth—refuses to give his name no matter what."
"Weak, too. No idea where he found the courage to try robbing a merchant ship belonging to a World Government member nation."
He spat on the ground in contempt.
In this world, things like household registration or ID cards simply don't exist.
Except in a few major nations or prosperous regions, most ordinary people from small countries or islands are essentially unregistered nobodies.
That's why identifying pirates has always been a headache. Aside from famous big-shot pirates, nobody bothers checking the background of small-time ones.
But clearly, Captain Aster didn't care in the slightest.
"The transfer paperwork is already complete—you can take him anytime."
After saying this, he shot Roy a sideways glance, then turned and left.
As he walked off, Roy's enhanced hearing faintly picked up muttered complaints—something along the lines of "doesn't know his place," "stubborn bastard," "just a Lieutenant ," "Detention Unit," etc.
But Roy no longer paid any attention to Aster or his grumbling.
His entire focus was locked onto the young prisoner in the cell.
A flicker of intense excitement lit up in Roy's eyes.
But soon he forced down his excitement, turned his head toward the Marine standing at the cell door, and said,
"Proceed with the transfer immediately."
Not long after, Roy brought the young pirate—who stubbornly refused to give his name—back onto his own warship.
"Hans, Fal—notify Headquarters that we've received the prisoner and are returning. Same procedure as always. I'll personally take the first watch."
After giving instructions to Hans and Fal, Roy led the prisoner alone into the ship's temporary holding cell.
He sat down on the familiar sofa and casually placed an hourglass on the table.
His gaze never left the young man inside the cell. He said nothing.
"…"
The stare made the young man's heart crawl with unease.
"What are you looking at?"
He growled, like a wounded beast.
But what he didn't expect was that Roy didn't beat him like the Marines before. Instead, Roy smiled.
"What's your relationship to the slaves in that merchant ship?"
The very first sentence Roy spoke made the young man's entire body tremble.
"Y-You… what are you talking about? I don't understand!"
After a moment of shock, he forced out a response.
Roy clearly didn't care what the young man said. He continued on his own:
"Let me guess."
"You sent a pre-warning letter telling them you would attack, so they'd panic and dock at G-51 Branch?"
"Then you walk right into their hands to get caught. Naturally, they relax their guard—
and they did. Tonight's banquet proves it."
"The treasure from the merchant ship has already been moved into the branch. No one would think your real goal is the leftover slaves on the ship—the ones they consider worthless."
When Roy said this, he saw the young man trembling violently.
"Y-You're talking nonsense…"
He tried his best to deny Roy's words, but his voice was already hoarse.
Inside, his mind was in complete shock.
He didn't understand.
How could this Marine know every detail of his plan?
Where had he slipped up?
"I—I'm locked up here by you! How could I possibly rescue any slaves? Marine, kill me or torture me if you want, but don't say things I don't understand!"
His words were nearly stammered.
But upon hearing this, Roy's smile only grew brighter.
"Yeah, you're right—you're here, taken onto my warship in broad daylight.
No one suspects you."
"That's the brilliant part. And the most useful."
Roy said this calmly.
His eyes remained fixed on the young pirate.
But in his vision…
A faint translucent interface revealed the truth.
[Detected Devil Fruit user: "Alan (Slice Clone)"]
[Confirmed Devil Fruit: Paramecia-type "Slice-Slice Fruit" — analyzing and recording to the Fruit Encyclopedia]
[Fruit Ability — Can create a "slice clone" identical to the current physical state of the user. Clones cannot produce further slices.]
[Note: Clones share consciousness and memory with the original. When a clone dies, it cannot be restored, and the original suffers partial damage.]
[The original can reclaim or refresh a clone by touching it.]
[If the original dies, all clones vanish simultaneously.]
[Level Effects]
LV1: Minor fruit power; can create 1 slice clone.
LV2: Partial fruit power; can create 3 slice clones (requires 500 million Berries to unlock).
LV3: Full fruit power; can create 7 slice clones (requires 3 billion Berries).
LV4: Advanced development; can create 12 slice clones. The original can freely swap places with any clone, recall clones regardless of distance, and resummon them (requires 6 billion Berries).
LV5: Awakening — InfiniteSlicing. Beyond the 12 main clones, can create unlimited weakened clones, each possessing only a small portion of the original's strength (requires 12 billion Berries).
[Analysis Progress: 21%]