For a long moment, Liam Ross simply stared at the Devil Fruit floating before him, his expression twisted in a way that resembled someone suffering through a stubborn stomachache. His emotions surged and tangled together, an inexplicable mix of disbelief, irritation, resignation and amusement.
"Seriously? Of all things I could have gotten, it had to be this one?"
The fruit's surface shimmered in light pink, its swirling interior unmistakable. The Paramecia class. The Smooth-Smooth Fruit.
Liam could almost feel the universe laughing at him.
In all of One Piece history, if there was a Devil Fruit whose power and user shocked the audience the most, it was this one. Not because of strength, but because of sheer absurdity. When Alvida first appeared in the story, she was a massive woman with freckles and a club fit for smashing skulls. But after eating this very fruit, she transformed rapidly into a dazzling, curvy beauty whose existence seemed engineered to break readers' expectations.
Liam still remembered the exact moment he saw that scene years ago. He had been eating instant noodles, watching casually, and when Alvida appeared again in Rogue Town, he had almost spit an entire mouthful across the screen.
The transformation was that drastic.
Now, staring at the Smooth-Smooth Fruit in his hand, Liam felt an irrational, creeping concern. A ridiculous thought crossed his mind.
If he ate this, would he become the most dangerously beautiful man in the entire seas?
He shivered.
Absolutely not.
No way.
Never.
Shoving that mental image deep into a vault inside his mind, he sighed.
So much praying, so much sincerity, and this was the result.
The disappointment stung.
"Fine. I will fuse it. At least make it useful."
He summoned the system interface. The newly unlocked Fusion Heart feature pulsed softly in gold.
"Please place the two items you wish to fuse," the system instructed.
Liam placed the Smooth-Smooth Fruit into the first slot without hesitation. Then he scanned through his inventory. There was plenty of food, lots of one-time-use trashy items like the Good Person Card, and mountains of instant noodles.
Well, noodles were abundant.
He grabbed a cup and placed it into the second fusion slot.
"Fusion. Go."
He waited.
A cold beep echoed in his mind.
"Error. Items incompatible. Please choose items of similar quality."
Liam blinked.
"System... you did not explain that earlier."
"Is it not obvious?" the system replied flatly. "Can instant noodles truly compare to a Devil Fruit?"
Liam folded his arms and argued with absolute seriousness.
"Why not? They are both edible."
The system fell silent.
He could almost feel its artificial disappointment.
Fine. Something similar in quality. That meant something moderately rare, but not priceless.
His eyes landed on the Usopp Early Marksmanship Fusion Card.
Good riddance.
That was going into the slot.
He swapped out the noodles and inserted the card.
"Fusion," he repeated.
This time, a sudden hum vibrated through the room. The two items glowed intensely, swirling with radiant golden light. Liam watched in excitement until another message popped up.
"Fusion fee: ten million Berries. Confirm payment?"
Liam's expression darkened instantly.
"System... that is not very kind."
"Does the host intend to receive this service for free?" it answered coolly.
"I..."
He was speechless.
The ten million Berries he had just won from the Lucky Gift Pack had barely even warmed his pocket before the system snatched it away.
"Fine. Pay it."
The golden glow surged, consuming both items. A bright light burst at the center of the Fusion Heart.
"Ding. Fusion successful. The host has received a Weapon Enhancement Card."
A grin tugged at Liam's lips.
Finally, something good.
He pulled out his blade, Falling Rose, from his inventory. The katana had long been on the verge of ascending into the quality tier of a Fine Grade Blade. He touched the Weapon Enhancement Card to its hilt. It dissolved instantly, sending a deep crimson shine rippling across the blade.
In a few breaths, Falling Rose had officially ascended into a Fine Grade Blade. Its cutting power now brushed the border of a Great Grade Blade.
Liam admired the weapon for a moment, satisfaction warming his chest.
That evening, as night settled over Marineford, Liam headed to the portside bar to meet his friends. Meanwhile, one of his clones descended silently into the sixth floor of Impel Down to perform his nightly sign-in.
"Ding. Special location detected. Sign-in reward increased by twenty percent. Proceed?"
Liam sipped his drink at the bar and nodded.
"Sign in."
"Ding. Sign-in successful. You have received the Master Pickpocket Tool Card."
He checked its description and let out a low whistle.
Now that was useful.
The next morning, Liam performed his daily sign-in the moment he opened his eyes.
"Ding. Sign-in successful. You have received one hundred thousand Berries."
With that done, he stepped out of his room one last time. He went to Vice Admiral Kuzan to say farewell, collected the recommendation letter for the special training camp and walked toward the docks. A small single-person boat waited for him.
He pushed off into open waters.
High above, in the watchtower overlooking the port, Kuzan and Fleet Admiral Sengoku watched the tiny boat drift farther and farther away.
"You are really letting him go so easily?" Kuzan asked, curious.
Sengoku chuckled. "We already confirmed he has no connection to Emperor Tevant. And the boy's talent is exceptional. Give him a few years and he might become one of the Marine Supernovas."
Kuzan nodded in agreement.
"By the way," Sengoku added, shifting the topic, "the World Government has finalized the decision for Tevant."
"What is it?" Kuzan asked.
"They are moving Vegapunk's research lab into Impel Down. Three years of research. Then execution."
Kuzan fell silent.
The small boat carrying Liam was now only a tiny dot on the horizon.
One day later, Liam reached the North Blue.
Yesterday, he had contacted Capone Bege using his alternate identity, Lofey. The mob boss, now deep in the West Blue, had been startled to hear from him, unsure why someone who vanished suddenly from the battlefield would contact him again.
Liam asked directly about the situation in the West Blue.
Bege's information was clear.
Doflamingo had sent his subordinates into the region, attempting to seize control of the entire underworld network.
Liam's eyes had gone cold at that.
"So, now that he thinks he will avoid punishment for being captured, he dares to act recklessly again. Doflamingo..."
And Robin was still in their hands.
That alone made this personal.
Liam set his course for the Donquixote Family.
At the main base of the Donquixote Pirates, an enormous island adorned with Doflamingo's signature flamingo emblem waved proudly in the wind. The complex bustled with activity under the watchful eyes of the family's officers.
Doflamingo lounged on a beach chair in the middle of the courtyard, shirtless, wearing sunglasses, enjoying the sun while sipping fresh juice.
"Young Master," Trebol said, wobbling as he approached, snot trailing as always. "Good news. Diamante sent word from the West Blue. They have already taken over half the syndicates."
Doflamingo grinned with smug satisfaction.
"Tell Diamante that if Capone Bege agrees to submit, he can keep his life."
"Understood," Trebol said with a laugh.
Then it happened.
A blinding streak of light tore through the sky.
It crashed down like a meteor, slamming directly into Doflamingo's position with a thunderous explosion that rocked the entire base.
The era of reckoning had arrived.
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