An Attempt Regarding Devil Fruits

"Before we set sail, we should make plans and take stock."

After reaching a decision, the group sat down together again.

"First, Rod, what are you planning to do with this guy you brought back?"

Nia pointed to Bellamy, who was unconscious in the corner, and asked.

"Although they claimed to be working for Doflamingo before, that was likely just their wishful thinking. I doubt someone with the Shichibukai's influence would bother with such small-time thugs."

"Doflamingo?"

Rod's gaze fell upon Bellamy.

He had just confessed his past dealings with Doflamingo and their feud, only to immediately hear news about him.

"Speaking of which, what exactly is this Shichibukai you've all been talking about?"

Pekoms suddenly raised his hand, and Shakky nodded in agreement.

Ever since their captain, Rod, started mentioning them, they had been wondering what this so-called Shichibukai was.

However, the atmosphere had been so good then, and they were so caught up in the joy of being able to set sail with him, that they hadn't had a chance to ask until now.

"Honestly, don't you guys ever read the newspaper? And you decided to go out to sea without even understanding the situation?"

"Apologies, Captain Rod. We've been dedicating all our time to training. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to meet your demands. As for the situation, as long as we're with you, Captain Rod, there's nothing to worry about!"

"Fine..."

Nia sighed slightly as she glanced at the two of them, then began to explain.

"The Shichibukai, as they're called, are Great Pirates who have obtained permission from the World Government to plunder. They stand at the apex of the seas, and each one possesses terrifying strength and influence."

"So, our goal is to defeat one of them and take his place?"

"Sounds not bad."

Nia sighed again as she watched the two of them discuss it with such seriousness.

"Let's get back to this guy."

"You all know about Devil Fruits, right?"

Instead of directly answering Nia's question, Rod suddenly brought up Devil Fruits.

"It's rumored that after a Devil Fruit user dies, the devil within them is reborn upon the sea, creating the same Devil Fruit anew. That's why the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia exists; most of the fruits have appeared in the world before."

Nia looked at Rod, confused, not understanding his intention in suddenly bringing this up.

"However, this world is vast. Trying to find the corresponding Devil Fruit after a user's death is like finding a needle in a haystack."

Ignoring Nia's gaze, Rod continued.

"So, what if we were to shrink this world? If this world weren't so vast, wouldn't it be easier to find that Devil Fruit?"

"That makes sense. A smaller area would definitely make it easier to find things."

"But how do you shrink the world?"

"Shrinking the world we inhabit is impossible, of course. But we can try to shrink the world of the user, even down to the size of a single room!"

Rod's gaze fixed intently on Law.

"I see!"

Law suddenly understood.

"You've had this idea for a long time, haven't you? That's why you had me develop this ability."

"Exactly! Let's give it a try. Pekoms, quickly bring out all the fruits. We should have plenty of reserves!"

"Coming right up!"

Soon, everyone formed a circle. In the center lay Bellamy, still unconscious, surrounded by a large pile of various fruits.

"ROOM--Isolation Room!"

A flash of blue light emanated from Law's palm, and a hemispherical blue space covered the clearing, enclosing Bellamy and the surrounding fruits.

"It looks a bit different from the usual ROOM."

"This is a technique developed based on my ability—Isolation Room. It can completely seal off the space within ROOM from the outside, preventing even air circulation. If one stays within its range for too long, they could even suffocate from lack of oxygen."

"ROOM—Conductor's Baton!"

Law's fingers bent slightly, and the knife placed nearby flew up and brutally pierced Bellamy's heart.

As Bellamy died, everyone stared intently at the pile of fruits within the space. If everything went according to plan, the devil of the Spring-Spring Fruit within Bellamy would be reborn in one of those fruits.

Time ticked by, second by second.

"It seems we failed!"

After a long while, Rod let out a sigh, but he wasn't overly disappointed.

Although he thought it was a viable method, he hadn't expected to master the method of acquiring Devil Fruits so easily.

After all, even in the original story, it was only after Blackbeard ate the Dark-Dark Fruit that he was suspected of mastering a method to obtain Devil Fruit abilities.

"I think I felt it."

After deactivating his ability, Rod took a breath. Using his Ope Ope no Mi consumed a large amount of stamina. Normally, he would save stamina by continuously opening and closing his space.

Maintaining the space for such a long time, especially the newly developed and more stamina-draining Isolation Room, was a huge challenge to his physical strength.

"Just now, I felt something pass through my Isolation Room. It seems this approach is correct, but this ability still needs further development."

"It's good that the approach is correct. --However, you still need to train your stamina. You're already exhausted after maintaining the ability for only ten minutes, Rod."

"I told you, using my ability consumes a lot of stamina."

"Don't make excuses. Using any Devil Fruit ability consumes stamina. You're just not very durable!"

"You bastard!"

"Devil Fruits sell for at least 100 million Belly on the black market. We've found a way to get rich!"

Nia looked at Rod as if he were a god of wealth.

Although this attempt was unsuccessful, as long as the other party's ability improved further, they would definitely succeed. At that time, they would be able to obtain Devil Fruits consistently.

100 million Belly!

That could buy a lot of dried fish...

"Right, what about the money Jason gave you earlier? I haven't seen how much it is yet. If you're preparing to set sail, there will be many things to purchase."

After snatching the money box from Rod, Nia held her breath and opened it with excitement.

"50 million Belly!"

After counting, Nia let out a cheer. With this as startup capital, they could prepare quite a few things.

"However, you're not planning to use my ship for the voyage, are you?"

Suddenly remembering something, Nia turned to look at Rod.

"I'm telling you in advance, that's just a second-hand boat I bought. It can't withstand storms at all."

"Let's rest first. We'll talk about the ship tomorrow. If nothing unexpected happens, we should have a great ship."