The light screen appearing before Roy at this moment silently revealed a fact.
Yes—this youth who had been so easily captured by the G-51 Branch…
His real name was Alan, and he was actually a Devil Fruit user.
And—
"This Devil Fruit ability…"
The moment Roy saw the description of the ability, he immediately realized something.
Alan's ability was extremely unusual even among Devil Fruits.
"Its potential has a massive gap between the low end and the high end."
"If an ordinary person ate it, its combat strength would be weaker than most Zoan fruits."
"But if a powerful Haki user got this ability, the effect would be unimaginably strong!"
Just imagine…
If Marine Hero Garp, or the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, ate this fruit—
Then each of their slice clones would be almost equal in power to themselves.
"Seven Vice Admiral Garps… That's insane. The Marines might as well rename themselves the Garp Corps."
And the strengthening cost of this fruit clearly matched its overwhelming potential.
Its enhancement prices were the highest Roy had seen among all Devil Fruits so far.
"Want something to eat?"
Roy asked with a warm smile, eyes still fixed on the progress bar displayed on the screen.
"I'll treat you."
"I—I'm not eating anything from you Marines!"
Alan clearly didn't understand the countless thoughts that had just run through Roy's mind—he only felt that this muttering, mysterious Marine was terrifying.
And at that moment, the sand inside the hourglass finally ran out.
"Alright then."
Roy casually stood up.
"I'll head out first."
He stuffed the hourglass into his pocket, turned around, and walked toward the exit.
But when he reached the cabin door, his footsteps suddenly halted.
"Oh right, kid—"
His voice was light and calm.
"You should know that even if most Marines from the branch went to that banquet, trying to save those people is still extremely difficult… nearly impossible, right?"
He turned his head slightly as he spoke.
".I said, I don't understand what you're talking about!!"
This time, Alan roared.
But whether that roar was driven more by anger or fear… was hard to say.
One thing, however, was certain:
There was fear in his voice, anger too—but not even the slightest hint of wavering.
Roy smiled.
Bravery was something he always respected.
"Sir?"
When Roy stepped out of the temporary prison cabin, the Marine standing night watch on deck showed a puzzled expression.
"I'm a bit tired—going to rest first. Have someone come replace me.
And make sure the prisoner gets food and water. Also give him a blanket."
Roy instructed casually.
"Yes, sir!"
The Marine quickly nodded.
After giving those orders, Roy returned quietly to his own quarters—an independent room at the rear of the deck with a skylight.
And the moment he entered, the system prompts continued ringing in his mind.
[Paramecia – Slice Slice Fruit has been added to the Fruit Encyclopedia, current level: LV1]
[Fruit Encyclopedia Count: 19 → 20 fruits
(Paramecia – 8, Zoan – 7, Logia – 4, Special Paramecia – 0, Zoan Mythical Type – 1)]
[Fruit Count has reached 20 → Additional "Fruit Slot" obtained]
[Current Fruit Slots: 2 → 3]
[Fruits in Slots: Ox-Ox Fruit – Giant Rhino Model; Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit – Snow Rabbit Model; Empty]
Hearing the persistent chimes, watching the flickering notifications on the translucent screen—
Roy's smile grew wider and wider.
"This trip was totally worth it."
He sighed sincerely from the heart.
That's right.
After obtaining the Slice-Slice Fruit, his total number of Devil Fruits finally reached twenty, allowing him to unlock a third fruit slot.
For him, this was no small improvement.
Of course, even more important was—
"The Slice-Slice Fruit… This ability is crucial for me! Extremely important!"
That was what made Roy happiest at this moment.
As he had thought before, the thing troubling him most now was his identity.
He needed the Marine identity and status to protect himself, and he needed Marine channels to accumulate more Devil Fruit abilities.
But at the same time, he needed enormous—almost unlimited—amounts of money to upgrade his fruit abilities.
These two goals were almost impossible to achieve simultaneously—especially the latter, since any method that could earn huge sums quickly was always extremely dangerous.
But now…
"Slice."
Roy whispered the command silently in his mind.
In the next moment, the Slice-Slice Fruit was equipped into the newly unlocked fruit slot, and then—
"Buzz!"
His muscles and skin began to shift and distort—
as if his entire body were being torn apart.
Yet Roy felt no pain.
Instead, he felt something indescribable happening to both his body and consciousness.
And in the very next second—
An identical Roy Amos, completely naked, materialized out of thin air in front of him.
At that moment, Roy's strange sensation became even clearer.
He felt as though the body standing before him was simply an extension of his own.
His consciousness felt split into two—
yet both halves remained fully under his control.
Even for someone who had mastered many Devil Fruit abilities, this sensation was entirely new.
But Roy quickly adapted.
He first handed his clone a spare uniform—
because despite being a man of resources, seeing his own naked body was just too weird.
Then he began to control the clone, carefully feeling every change within the body.
And then—
Both Roys' mouths lifted into identical smiles.
"Just as I guessed…"
He murmured quietly.
Then he controlled the clone and had it throw a punch.
BOOM!
A powerful shock tore through the air, producing a sharp sonic crack—
and faint white fur could be seen sprouting on the clone's forearm.
That was the Snow Rabbit's fur!
That's right.
"The Devil Fruit abilities sliced out by the Slice-Slice Fruit are a perfect 'copy.'"
"And that includes the 'Devil Fruit abilities' themselves!"
Roy had already suspected this back in the prison.
Because the Alan inside the prison was clearly a sliced clone, yet Roy's Fruit Encyclopedia was still able to analyze a Devil Fruit ability from him.
That alone proved that the Slice-Slice Fruit most likely copies Devil Fruit abilities along with the body—
only, the cloned Slice-Slice Fruit ability itself cannot be used again.
For most people, this trait would be meaningless.
After all, even if someone discovered that the Slice-Slice Fruit could duplicate Devil Fruits, so what?
In this world, aside from that freak Blackbeard, normal people can only eat one Devil Fruit.
But for Roy, the situation was clearly different.
For example, right now—
"This clone of mine also possesses the Snow Rabbit Fruit and the Giant Rhino Fruit abilities!"
"The only drawback is that the Slice-Slice Fruit must occupy one of the clone's slots, and it can't be changed.
That means the clone will always have one less ability than my main body… but that's still more than enough!"
Roy understood just how significant this discovery was.
It meant that the dilemma he had been facing until now finally had a solution.
Starting today, he could continue staying in the Marines, safely accumulating more Devil Fruit abilities.
Meanwhile, his other clones could go out and obtain the massive amounts of Berry needed to upgrade the Fruit Encyclopedia—
without any concern for the methods involved!
For example, right now, he already had a very bold idea.
"First, I need to conceal my identity…"
Roy muttered in a low voice, scanning the room.
Soon, he spotted an item.
Beside the storage cabinet in the corner was a mask.
It resembled the face of a rooster, crafted with lifelike detail.
Roy immediately remembered what it was.
It was a souvenir Hans had brought back from his hometown in the South Blue two years ago.
"This is the South Blue's special 'Sea Beast Mask,' made from locally mined iron ore."
According to Hans—in a very confident tone—
this was one of the South Blue's most famous specialties, commonly seen in various South Blue kingdoms and even throughout the Grand Line, known for its durability and snug fit.
Of course, Roy later learned from the ever-discreet Mr. Fal that although it really was a South Blue specialty, Hans bought it mainly because…
it was cheap.
The next day, Hans—who had stepped onto the deck with his left foot first—was ordered to work night shifts for half a month.
And the mask was tossed into the corner of Roy's room ever since.
But now—
Roy picked up the mask and casually threw it to his sliced clone.
Once the clone put on the mask and the uniform, Roy checked repeatedly—
there were absolutely no visible facial or body features.
Only then did he nod in satisfaction.
"Then… let's begin."