Explosion-Explosion Fruit! Successful Acquisition

"This guy must have a Vivre Card. If we don't deal with him quickly, Doflamingo might come after us."

Nerl said, reminding him.

Rod had mentioned before that he wanted to pick a good day to try and obtain a Devil Fruit, but considering the risk of the Shichibukai tracking them via the Vivre Card, it was better to eliminate the target now.

Hearing Nerl's reminder, Rod instantly became alert.

He had almost forgotten about that.

Especially since Doflamingo's location, Dressrosa, was in the latter half of the Grand Line, a route sandwiched between the North Blue and West Blue. He could reach the North Blue directly from the New World by crossing the Calm Belt.

And Doflamingo's Ito Ito no Mi ability allowed him to move by wrapping his strings around clouds in the sky, giving him the capability to cross the Calm Belt and pursue them.

If he had to face Doflamingo now, Rod wasn't confident he could win.

"Good thing I have you, Nerl!"

Patting Nerl's shoulder, Rod was filled with relief.

"However, let's take care of that scrawny dog first. Use him as a stepping stone."

"Stepping stone?"

Hearing Rod's words, the others looked confused.

"Well~ I can't pick an auspicious day anymore, but at least I can open the relatively less important one first. It's about the ritual!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm all for it."

After a short rest, Law, who had recovered most of his stamina, extended his palm, a pale blue light flashing in his hand.

"ROOM--Isolation Room!"

A pale blue circle appeared, enveloping the captured individuals along with the surrounding fruits.

"It seems more reliable now."

Based on his experience of being healed by Law multiple times, Rod made his judgment.

Compared to his performance the last time he dealt with Bellamy, his ability felt more solid this time.

"That's right, that area is almost completely in a different dimension from us."

Nerl nodded in affirmation.

His Kenbunshoku Haki was special, making him feel this more profoundly.

"You guys are..."

After all, Gladius was a family executive following Doflamingo and had some knowledge.

When a Devil Fruit user dies, their fruit randomly reappears at sea; the exact principle is unknown.

However, someone once saw ordinary fruits suddenly turn into Devil Fruits.

What these guys in front of him were trying to do now...

"It seems you know a thing or two."

With no time to chat with Gladius, Law focused all his attention within the ROOM's domain.

As his finger twitched, a dagger previously placed in the water tank slowly moved, piercing Manudo's heart.

Time slowly passed, and after three minutes...

"Looks like it failed again!"

After maintaining the domain at full power for three minutes, Law deactivated his ability, looking slightly fatigued.

Compared to normal ability usage, this move consumed much more stamina.

Even Law, who had trained his body alongside Rod since childhood and was much stronger than before, was almost at his physical limit after maintaining "Isolation Room" for three minutes.

"I heard Devil Fruits have their own will and choose suitable hosts. It seems none of us are scrawny dogs, hahaha."

Despite the repeated failure of the experiment, Rod wasn't too disappointed.

It was just his idea to begin with. It would be great if it succeeded, but there was no loss if it didn't.

"Hurry up and continue! The stepping stone has been placed, let's strike while the iron is hot!"

His gaze fell on Gladius, and Rod urged Law.

"I can only maintain the ability for half a minute at most now."

Meeting Rod's gaze, Law looked troubled.

Although Rod seemed indifferent, he still wanted to do his best.

As the user of the ability and somewhat of a researcher, Law understood that Rod's idea was feasible; the current problem was his insufficient development of the Devil Fruit ability.

"No wonder the 'Scrawny Dog Fruit' wasn't preserved earlier. It's probably because the devil inside knew you were already a user. Otherwise, you and the 'Scrawny Dog Fruit' would be a perfect match."

Rod mercilessly teased Law, then waved his hand before he could retort, interrupting him.

"Forget it, half a minute should be enough. This kind of thing depends on luck. If it works, it might take ten seconds; if not, even half an hour won't help. I believe luck is on my side!"

Hearing Rod's words, Law no longer hesitated. He activated his Devil Fruit ability again, covering Gladius and the fruits within its range.

"The young master won't let you go!"

Having foreseen his own death, Gladius calmed down instead, looking at Law with cold eyes as he spoke softly.

"I won't let him go either!"

Looking at Gladius with a calm gaze, Law's heart was also at peace.

As Law's hand moved, his long sword pierced Gladius's heart. The head he rested on the wooden box trembled slightly, and his eyes completely lost their light.

The instant Gladius died, an apple placed around him suddenly changed, transforming into a Devil Fruit with strange patterns before everyone's eyes.

A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit—the Explosion-Explosion Fruit!

"We succeeded!"

Witnessing the rebirth of the Devil Fruit with their own eyes, everyone erupted in cheers. They seemed to have accomplished something incredible!

At least, before this, no one had ever heard of someone being able to steal the ability of a Devil Fruit.

Finally, success!

Seeing the formed Devil Fruit, Law felt a sense of relief.

Just as Rod had said, it only took a second for the new fruit to be reborn!

With a successful case, he could finally relax. Carrying everyone's expectations without being able to fulfill them was truly unbearable!

Then, how much pressure must Rod, who carried everyone's dreams and sailed with them, be shouldering?

While everyone was cheering for the successful acquisition of the Devil Fruit ability, Law felt a trace of Rod's responsibility and pressure as a captain.

"Why do you still look so drained? That only took you less than ten seconds."

Rod clapped Law on the shoulder, interrupting his thoughts.

"What should we do with this Devil Fruit?"

His thoughts interrupted, Law shifted the topic and posed a question.

"Umm... Pekoms, Shakky, do either of you want to eat it?"

"Us?"

A flicker of surprise flashed across Pekoms and Shakky's faces.

"This is a Devil Fruit worth at least a hundred million Belly! Are you just going to give it to us, Boss Rod?"

Their cheers earlier were partly due to witnessing the rebirth of a Devil Fruit with their own eyes, and partly out of joy for the Rod Pirates as a whole. They hadn't even considered eating a Devil Fruit before this.

"Of course! You are my comrades!"

"Boss Rod!" x2

The two excitedly hugged Rod.

"Stop fooling around. But there's only one fruit now, who will eat it first?"

"However, Boss, you haven't eaten a Devil Fruit yourself yet."

The two exchanged glances, and then Pekoms hesitantly spoke.

"I don't plan on eating a Devil Fruit for now, and neither does Nerl. We haven't even fully tapped into our own strength yet."

"We'll hold onto the opportunity for now," Shakky added, glancing at Pekoms before nodding affirmatively at Rod.

Then, their faces broke into fawning smiles as they hugged Rod's thighs.

"Since you asked who would eat it first, you'll give us fruit choices later, right? When there's another fruit next time, we'll both become ability users together! You'll keep your word, won't you, Boss Rod!!"

"Don't worry, I'll give you choices—stop hugging me, you two grown men, it's disgusting!"