The Clear-Clear fruit...
If he used this thing to tempt Sanji, he would probably join the ship immediately, right?
Hiroto felt a bit of regret. To him, aside from that hard-to-praise 'Chivalry', Sanji was excellent in all other aspects.
Recruiting Sanji would also yield enough Distortion energy for an orange entry.
But the situation indeed didn't allow for it. Garp had been looking for him everywhere after the Loguetown incident.
In any case, this haul made the trip worthwhile.
The Logia type can be given to Nami to make up for the team's shortcomings and, while he's at it, develop Nami's combat talent in that area.
The Warp-Warp fruit can go to Van Augur. For a sniper, this Devil Fruit is undoubtedly the best.
If he remembered correctly, the Warp-Warp fruit is capable of large-scale island-to-island teleportation and can take people along via touch. The description says it goes wherever one wants to go.
Ultimately, this devil fruit shouldn't be as simple as just teleportation. It's more like wish-fulfillment regarding geospatial positioning.
As for the Clear-Clear fruit, it didn't show much usefulness when used by Absalom.
Later, after Absalom's death, Shiryu of the Rain, ate this Devil Fruit.
In Hachinosu arc, Shiryu used the Clear-Clear fruit's ability to successfully launch a sneak attack on Garp.
Combining that with Hiroto's attempt just now, it's certain that the type of desire represented by the Clear-Clear fruit is the wish not to be discovered, to have no presence, and to be invisible.
In other words, if developed well, it can evade detection by Observation Haki.
But...
"It's a bit too one-dimensional."
Compared to the previous two Devil Fruits, the practicality of the Clear-Clear fruit is much lower. Even in the hands of a powerful swordsman like Shiryu, it only provides advantages in terms of surprise attacks, invisible slashes, and the like.
For Hiroto, eating this Devil Fruit to gain such an advantage held no value at all.
And as for keeping it to give to someone else?
Aside from Zoro, basically everyone on the ship would be a devil fruit user eventually anyway.
Looking further ahead, the timeline is too long, and the uncertainty is too great.
"Instead of letting it pile up in my hands, I might as well try it out. It's just a Devil Fruit, after all." Hiroto's eyes flickered and he had an idea.
He reached out and grabbed the Clear-Clear fruit, instantly activating [Gluttony].
Previously, he had tried to devour it just to see what devil fruit it was, but this time, he was devouring it in the truest sense of the word.
[Sit-ups] had many advantages, but in Hiroto's view, the requirement of the entire movement of "performing a sit-up" was actually an advantage in itself.
Amidst the gloom of approaching death, one turns their consciousness into a heart, using the powerful beat that symbolizes life to break through that swamp-like sinking.
It was precisely this "Heart of Will" that made Hiroto choose his current course of action.
[Gluttony] was triggered and in an instant, countless images and whispered murmurs surfaced in Hiroto's mind, containing cravings that came from different sources but shared the same direction.
Thump... Thump...
The Heart of Will burst forth, tearing through the layers of cravings, prayers, and wishes, charging all the way to the deepest core.
In the outside world, in less than a second, the palm of Hiroto's hand holding the Clear-Clear fruit suddenly became transparent, and the transparency quickly swallowed his wrist and arm. Like an erosion, it used "transparency" to dye the madman who dared to usurp the devil's power.
No, I can't do it yet.
If that's the case, then let's try this.
In a flash, the bursting "Heart of Will" changed according to Hiroto's thoughts, transforming into an incomparably sharp blade that violently sliced off a portion of those wishes and demands.
Then, the power of [Gluttony] swallowed that portion of wishes.
Or rather, it fleeced it.
Thwack!
The Clear-Clear fruit was tossed aside.
Hiroto clutched his head as a buzzing filled his mind. He slowly crouched down, only recovering after more than ten minutes.
When he opened his eyes again, he could clearly see that one of his arms had "disappeared."
Without hesitation, a surge of Armament Haki poured into that "disappeared" arm, consuming a large amount of Haki.
Hiroto's transparent arm gradually regained its shape, bone, flesh, and skin tone, finally completely dispelling the Devil Fruit's influence when half of his Haki was consumed.
He stood up and picked up the Clear-Clear fruit, but as soon as it touched his hand, the fruit deflated. The Devil Fruit essence inside had already transferred away.
Fortunately, this scene was within Hiroto's expectations. Compared to the loss of the Clear-Clear fruit, he cared more about the experience just now.
Insufficient willpower?
No, that wasn't the reason. Being able to slice a part off meant that it was effective.
The real problem lay in the lack of more effective means involving the will—Conqueror's Haki, perhaps.
Hiroto thoughtfully recorded his findings, then called up his panel.
Yes, the attempt just now wasn't without harvest. The part sliced off from the Clear-Clear fruit, or rather, the scraps of the Clear-Clear fruit, had formed a new entry.
[Entry: Presence Concealment]
[Quality: Orange]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: Significantly reduces the intensity of one's aura and presence.]
[Cost: Stamina]
[Note: Kato Megumi, is that you?]
The entry formed was actually orange grade!
Its effect was simple and crude: consume stamina to reduce aura intensity and presence.
In Hiroto's memory, when Silvers Rayleigh was training Luffy, he once said that there were 500 beasts on the island with a stronger aura than Luffy. One could see from this that aura intensity is a very important reference factor in Observation Haki detection.
If he could reduce it to the level of an ordinary person, combined with [Presence Concealment], he might gain an advantage that was nearly equivalent to being "ignored."
"It's a decent harvest, nonetheless."
Hiroto closed the panel, stood up, and left the cabin to begin his training.
As for those two Devil Fruits, he would talk to Nami about the Logia: Cloud-Cloud Fruit once she returned.
The Warp-Warp fruit...
He planned to let Van Augur prove himself more before giving him this Devil Fruit.