Little Oars before Marineford was worth 550 million Berries. Even factoring in the premium from being a captain, he had to be worth at least three or four hundred million.
So what was strange about Charlotte Smoothie, his vastly enhanced version, having a bounty close to one billion Berries?
Since her value did not come from one-on-one Combat Power, but rather from her destructive power against ships and buildings, her intimidation of the weak, and the strict environmental requirements that prevented her from reliably displaying it at any time, it also explained why Charlotte Smoothie was helpless whenever she encountered a somewhat stronger enemy.
Given Charlotte Smoothie's talent and diligence, being able to play such a role was already quite satisfying.
However, in Mousse's eyes, now that he had a deeper understanding of Devil Fruit development, this young lady in the manga's original timeline had still failed to fully tap into the potential of the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit.
Mousse had noticed its biggest problem back when he read the manga: Smoothie had taken the path of swordsmanship in Body Techniques, but that did not pair well with the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit's strongest water-absorbing ability.
The Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit required contact with the target to absorb water, while close-range slashes were already lethal enough on their own. Even without the water-absorbing ability, they were generally sufficient to badly injure or even directly kill an opponent.
Smoothie was especially tall, so she could only use a greatsword and follow the path of a power-based swordsman. Her innate killing power was already excessive. Adding a water-absorbing effect was not even icing on the cake—it was completely superfluous.
In fact, the path of a swordsman not only clashed with the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit's abilities, but also with Smoothie's racial traits.
Her long, beautiful legs were indeed beautiful, but