The Ownership of the Devil Fruit

After obtaining the result he wanted, Roy had no intention of lingering any longer in this dreadful place. He walked step by step through the air toward the exit.

The king was still waiting beside the entrance to the Underground Palace. He had no doubt that Roy would be able to obtain the Devil Fruit. If even someone with Roy's strength could not pass, then all he could do was admit defeat to his ancestors.

What worried him now was whether the information passed down generation after generation had been false, or whether some accident had occurred over the long years. If Lord Roy believed he had deliberately deceived him, then the Gilia Kingdom would truly face utter destruction.

Just as he was lost in wild thoughts, Roy had already returned to the surface through the entrance, a relaxed smile still on his face. Seeing him like this, the king knew he had worried for nothing.

The king had originally wanted to offer some congratulations, but after returning to the ground shrouded in the stench of decay, Roy did not want to stay for even a moment. He gestured for the king to leave first and talk later.

Once outside, the king showered him with thanks before leaving in satisfaction. Roy then returned to the base and summoned all of his Senior Executives.

When Patch and the others arrived, Roy was seated at the head of the room, leisurely eating fruit. In front of him lay a banana-shaped Devil Fruit.

With the Dream-Dream Fruit's dream-manipulating abilities, Roy was not worried in the slightest about his subordinates rebelling. He had not even hidden the news of the Devil Fruit from them, so the moment they entered, they realized that the Devil Fruit on the table was the legendary Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, even rarer than a Logia.

"Boss, is this an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit? It doesn't seem much different from the one I ate back then." Patch rubbed his shiny bald head as he asked.

"Idiot, you ate the Paramecia Rampage Fruit. How could it possibly be anything like a Zoan?" King bickered with Patch as usual.

"Lord Roy, this must be a supreme treasure bestowed upon you by heaven! I understand now—you must be the legendary king of the seas who can eat a second Devil Fruit!" Brain-Dead Fan Yonji said, looking at Roy with boundless worship in his eyes.

Roy's mouth twitched. He had no desire to pay attention to this fool, so he looked at the others instead. "Kenkon, Kayou, I've decided to give this Pteranodon Fruit, Quetzalcoatlus Model to one of you. Discuss it between yourselves and decide who will eat it."

Kayou still wore his usual gloomy expression. He lightly brushed back the hair on his forehead, shrugged, and said, "Captain, give the fruit to Kenkon. A chef can't give up the entire sea just for strength."

Roy could understand his reasoning. After all, the All Blue was every chef's ultimate dream. He turned his gaze toward Kenkon, only to find that he was shaking his head as well.

"My lord, I am already past thirty, and my potential has long been exhausted. It would be best not to waste such a treasure on me. Besides, the only thing I seek in this life is the sword. My talent is dull; only through utmost dedication and sincerity can I pursue the supreme path of the sword."

Roy covered his face, nearly weeping. Whenever things became somewhat formal, Kenkon loved to toss out a few literary lines like that, claiming it would restore his ancestors' glory. Yet he clearly lacked the literary talent for it, leaving everyone unbearably embarrassed. Since they could not talk him out of it, they could only let him be.

"You two had better think this through. This is a treasure of the seas. If you miss this chance, you might not get another opportunity this good."

Seeing that the two remained unmoved, Roy felt a faint sense of sorrow. This was an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, and it even came with the ability to fly. If he had not obtained the Dream-Dream Fruit, he would definitely have chosen to eat the fruit before him.

Who would have thought these two guys would be completely indifferent to it? Roy was starting to wonder whether the world had changed.

"Captain, there's no need to rush. We haven't even entered the Grand Line yet, so we have plenty of time to find a suitable owner for it," King advised.

"Fine, I suppose that's all we can do. By the way, how is that Marines Commodore doing now?" Roy changed the subject and continued asking.

"That Marine's will is indeed resolute. He isn't afraid of death at all and keeps shouting that we'd better kill him quickly, or he'll definitely take revenge. But after following your suggestion, Captain, and locking him in a completely sealed Black Room, he actually started getting a little agitated in less than a day."

As he said this, King looked at Roy with admiration. They had all thought that locking someone who did not even fear death in a Black Room would be useless. However, they could not openly challenge the captain's authority, so they had followed Roy's orders.

Roy naturally knew that, for many people, death was not much of a threat. Endless darkness and solitude, on the other hand, could drive a person mad or even cause them to break down completely.

Roy was not simply trying to torture Arita; he was not that bored. He greatly coveted Arita's training experience with the Six Powers, but the dreams of someone with such a firm will were extremely difficult to invade. Therefore, Roy had to find a way to push Arita's mind to the brink of collapse.

"One day isn't enough to break through his psychological defenses. Give it another ten days."

At some point, a new round of Roy's exploits began spreading across the seas.

In Sea Calendar 1515, the Phantom Sword Grand Fleet annihilated Marines Commodore Arita in the Gilia Kingdom and crushed the Drunken Pirates, becoming one of the overlords of the North Blue.

To most people, the first piece of news was far more shocking than the second. A Marines Commodore was no minor figure, especially in the North Blue, where he could practically be called a Sea-Suppressing Needle. With such a person having been annihilated, even Marine Headquarters would be thrown into turmoil.

In the eyes of most people, the Drunken Pirates were merely a gang of brutal villains with no real ability. Before their captain conquered the Ciss Kingdom, he had only been a minor pirate with a bounty of 10 million Beli. He had only received an exceptional bounty increase to 50 million Beli because of his brutal deeds.

There was no shortage of trash like that among the countless pirates of the North Blue. It was hardly surprising that they had been crushed by the Phantom Sword Pirates.

As for the rumors claiming that the captain of the Drunken Pirates was supposedly a great pirate with a bounty exceeding 80 million Beli, most people treated them as a joke.

What kind of joke was that? Would someone with the strength to merit an 80 million Beli bounty remain unknown? Would he still be wandering around the North Blue? More importantly, would someone of that caliber be killed in the North Blue?

Inside Marine Headquarters.

"Damn it, that bastard Roy again. Where is Rear Admiral Drake? Hasn't he set out yet?"

"Reporting to Vice Admiral Jando, Rear Admiral Drake has just returned from a mission. The news has not yet reached him."

"Have him depart immediately. Letting such a brutal pirate continue operating in the North Blue is simply a disgrace to our Marines."

"Yes! By the way, Vice Admiral Jando, we still have in the North Blue—"

"Shut up. Let Rear Admiral Drake handle it. Don't meddle in other matters."

"Yes."