Chapter 18: The Rain Follows the Man, and the Dragon's Head Mask!
"Promoted to Major?"
Roy was genuinely surprised by Vice Admiral Viroth's words.
In the Marines, the rank of Major was a critical dividing line.
A Company Officer, which included his previous rank of Captain, was still a low-level officer. He could only lead his own small unit—the '35th Detention Squad'—on missions. He had the right to execute orders, but no real command authority.
But a Field Officer was different.
Starting at the rank of Major, he could have his own name on a warship. He would have a degree of command and decision-making power, the authority to appoint his own subordinates, issue certain combat orders, view high-level documents, participate in planning classified operations, and even mobilize local Marine branches to assist him.
The difference was clear in the salary: a Captain's pay was about 300,000 Berries a month. A Major's pay jumped to 500,000 Berries a month.
It took Roy a moment to put it all together.
"So that's what happened!"
He suddenly understood why Smoker had given up on recruiting him. Now that he was a Major, he was no longer eligible to serve as an adjutant for a branch commander.
"Old man... you've done me a huge favor!" Roy said, this time with genuine sincerity.
"Hahahaha! It's a small thing!" Viroth laughed. "I promised I'd commend you, kid. If I can't even keep a promise to my own men, I'd have retired long ago!"
"But... now that you're a Major, I've already signed you up for the 'All-Marine Demonstration'. No objections, right?"
"Of course not."
Roy was briefly surprised, but then nodded. Since he knew Viroth was retiring, he had to participate. That commander position for the Detention Unit... he was going to get it.
"Good! That's the spirit! It's rare to see you so fired up," Viroth said, clearly satisfied. "This is more like it. You're usually so lazy, no energy at all!"
But then, his tone shifted. "I have to warn you, though. Like I said, because of this incident, the World Government thinks we're incompetent."
"So, to restore discipline, this All-Marine Demonstration... it's going to be different. Much harder than before."
He looked at Roy. "You're strong, kid, but you're still lacking. I contacted an old friend to give you some special training in these last few months."
"An old friend? Special training?"
Roy frowned. He really didn't think he needed any "special training."
"That's right!" Viroth said. "He's one of the best, and he hasn't taught anyone in ages. He should be contacting you soon. Learn from him, kid."
He clapped Roy on the shoulder.
Seeing the "the future is in your hands" look in the Vice Admiral's eyes, Roy could only sigh and nod. "Fine."
"Good! Then go and get ready."
Viroth waved him away, already reaching into his desk for his beloved dango skewers. Roy, having no desire to interrupt his boss's tea time, quickly left.
Viroth's old friend... one of the best... Roy mused as he walked out. There are only a few people that fits. It's not hard to guess what they'll try to cram...
But that wasn't important.
What was important...
"I need to create the next Slice-Clone as soon as possible. I need more Berries, and I need to solidify the 'Zodiac's' existence."
"Otherwise, I was too close to this incident. I could still be a target."
The only problem now...
His eyes fell on the transparent screen that only he could see.
[Fruit Encyclopedia]
[Holder: Roy Amos]
[Fruit Count: 20]
[Fruit Slots: 3]
[Equipped: Glint-Glint Fruit LV2, Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Quetzalcoatlus LV3, Strong-Strong Fruit]
[Current Berries: 5,137,600,000]
"Which fruits should I upgrade?"
Roy was lost in a very happy dilemma.
In the heist, he had ended up spending 400 million Berries to upgrade one of his Logias, the 'Glint-Glint Fruit.'
At LV2, it allowed him 'partial elementalization,' granting him extreme speed and the devastating power of lasers. He felt it was the perfect complement to the Quetzalcoatlus fruit.
That upgrade had been necessary. It was what had saved 'Yuji' from Lanley's final, all-out strike.
"Haki is the weakness of a Logia, but that just means it can be hit. When I'm elementalized, things like 'decapitation' or a 'pierced heart' aren't an instant kill. Combined with the vitality of an Ancient Zoan... it's a perfect combination."
Roy was, quite frankly, proud of his build.
But now, the question was simple.
"First, 500 million to get the Slice-Slice Fruit to LV2. That will give me two more clones. That's non-negotiable."
"The question is... what's next?"
He knew that 5 billion Berries sounded like a lot. But in the face of the money-devouring Encyclopedia, it was barely anything.
He could upgrade several fruits to LV2, or the Ryu Ryu fruit to LV4, or even a few Logias to LV3. There were too many choices.
"Coo-coo!"
As Roy was thinking, he heard a sound from above. A News Coo dropped a bundle of papers.
"Oh? The World Economic News?"
Roy caught the paper. Sure enough, the 'Yuji' bounty poster he had just seen fell out. The Araheet incident was the front-page headline.
Roy didn't care. The bounty was for 'Yuji.' What did that have to do with him, Marine Major Roy?
His eyes, however, immediately scanned for and found a small, inconspicuous article.
[ALABASTA: NO RAIN FOR SEVEN MONTHS. ABNORMAL CLIMATE DRAWS CONCERN]
"...Oh?"
Roy's eyebrow shot up.
"I think I know exactly which fruit I'm upgrading."
Muttering to himself, he quickened his pace, returning to his quarters.
He shut the door and began to plan.
"Wait... am I forgetting something?"
As the full moon rose high in the sky, Roy scratched his head, a vague, nagging feeling. But he just as quickly dismissed it and got back to work.
He had, of course, completely forgotten...
...
At that very moment, at the Detention Unit's training grounds...
"Where... where is the Captain?"
Freezing in the night wind, a lonely Hans shivered.
"He... he was supposed to come and beat me up... Did he forget?"
"Maybe I should just go back... No! If he finds out I left, I'm dead... A... Achoo! ...It's so... so cold."
One week after Sergeant Hans caught a cold from 'training' all night...
Alabasta, Elumalu.
This city, on the southwest coast, was once known as the 'Oasis City.'
Now, it was a city of panic.
Seven months. Not a single drop of rain had fallen. The Sandora River, which had once nourished the land, was at its lowest point in history. Even getting drinking water was a problem.
"The price of water keeps going up... They say even the groundwater is drying up..."
In the southern part of the city, a man named Eha wiped the sweat from his brow, staring at the nearly empty water barrel.
"What in the world is happening?" he despaired.
As a nation of deserts, Alabasta was used to droughts. But this... this was a drought that felt like it was sucking the very life from the earth.
"Don't worry, Eha... King Cobra will find a way," his wife said, holding their daughter, trying to comfort him.
"King Cobra? I heard Alubarna is getting rain just fine!" Eha spat, ladling a tiny bit of water for his wife and child. "Yuba, to the north, is even worse. People are starting to flee. If the King had a way, he would have used it by now!"
He was afraid. There was no proof, but the rumors were spreading. Whispers that the King was using... something... to keep the capital watered, at the expense of the rest of the kingdom.
He didn't want to believe it. King Cobra was known as a wise and just ruler. But...
"This can't go on."
Eha stared at the painfully blue sky.
But at that exact moment...
"Hm?"
He caught something in the corner of his eye.
In the distance, at the edge of the desert outside the city... a lone figure was walking.
The figure was too far to make out, but Eha could see what was happening around him.
"..."
Eha rubbed his eyes. He couldnType of... he couldn't believe it.
As the figure got closer, he knew it wasn't a mirage.
Directly above the person's head, a dark gray cloud was forming, swirling. It was low, as if it had appeared from nothing.
And from that cloud, a visible, solid pillar of water was falling, drenching the lone walker!
"Shhhhhh... Shhhhhh...!"
As the figure drew closer, Eha could hear it. The sound that all of Elumalu had been praying for.
It was rain. A pouring, driving rainstorm.
"That... that person... Is that a god?"
The thought came to him unbidden. But he snapped out of it.
"Zina! Zina! Get the pots! The barrels! Get everything!" he roared to his wife.
"Right!"
As his wife scrambled to find containers, Eha took a deep breath and looked back.
The figure was much closer now. He could see him.
He wore a dark, heavy robe that covered his body.
And on his head, he wore a mask.
Eha recognized the type of mask—a 'Sea Beast Head Mask' from the South Blue. You could buy them anywhere. They weren't rare, even in Alabasta.
But in this downpour, this mask seemed majestic, powerful, and mysterious.
It was a... Dragon Head Mask!