The Spoils
Shanks and Beckman landed on the deck of the warship where Foz was...
The two didn't actually need to come together, but Beckman felt that since he was the one who invited Sig over, he should handle any danger himself, while Shanks... was really eager to watch the show.
However, the two had only taken a few steps, and before they could even enter the cabin below deck, they saw several CP9 agents fleeing out.
Sigh--
Shanks whistled.
He didn't understand why these people seemed to be running away from something, and also... it seemed like two people were missing?
"Oh no!" Foz saw that there were already people on the deck, and that they were the Captain and first Captain of the Red-Hair Pirates, and his heart sank.
At that moment, Foz clutched the box in his hands and shouted, "Stop them!" Then he began to use Geppo, intending to leave through the air.
Although it wasn't Celestial Gold, it was an extra tribute from King Goa to the Celestial Dragons —a Devil Fruit. It wasn't particularly important to the Celestial Dragons, but because of the close relationship between King Goa and Mary Geoise, CP9 members came to escort the tribute.
The others launched a suicidal attempt to stop them...
However, Shanks didn't move at all. Beckman stepped forward and brandished his special long-handled pistol—longer than a short gun but shorter than a rifle, more like a handgun in appearance, and without a handle in the conventional sense, or even a trigger ring, only a buttstock at a slight angle to the barrel, making it look like a wide stick.
Beckman applied Armament Haki, instantly turning the entire flintlock pistol a silvery-white color...
Beckman gripped the barrel of the gun, using the butt for leverage, and unleashed Gun-fighting techniques resembling a battle axe, quickly taking down several CP9 agents. At this moment, Foz had only taken a few steps outside.
Beckman tossed the gun lightly, letting it spin halfway through the air before catching it with his hand now holding the stock. He glanced in Foz's direction...
Foz felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but turn around to look. Just then, Beckman lightly imitated the sound of a "bang," and then Air Bullet wrapped in Armament Haki shot out from the barrel!
Suddenly, Foz felt a powerful punch to his back. He was struck so hard that he couldn't catch his breath and fell into the sea.
Foz originally intended to take the opportunity to dive away—at this point, he hadn't yet eaten the Saber-toothed Tiger Fruit.
But just then, a stream of water shot into the sky, knocking him unconscious. And with the water came Sig —who was still holding the wooden box that Foz had just dropped—and landed back on the deck.
"What just happened down there? It seems like the CP9 people are avoiding you?" Beckman looked at Sig curiously.
"It's nothing. Besides naval combat, I'm also quite good at... fighting in the shadows," Sig said casually.
"That's amazing!" Shanks exclaimed with interest.
Beckman was puzzled—being good at naval combat was understandable, but what did it mean to be good at fighting in the dark? With Observation Haki, dim light shouldn't have much of an effect; could it be that his opponent was afraid of the dark?
"You guys got here pretty fast." Sig was equally curious; he had just broken through the deck and gone down when he immediately heard sounds coming from the deck.
There are so many naval warships in between, can you two fly?
"Eh? Right, you don't know my Devil Fruit ability, do you?" Shanks slammed his right hand down.
Sig really didn't know...
WEC generally avoids directly describing the abilities or strengths of strong individuals in its reports, as Morgans is also afraid of being implicated.
"I am Paramecia Fly-Fly Fruit... the Fly-Fly Person." Shanks's figure blurred halfway through his sentence, and he disappeared from Sig's sight. The words "Fly-Fly Person" came from behind Sig!
Sig's eyes narrowed slightly—even with his Observation Haki fully activated, Sig still couldn't detect how Shanks moved.
"The Fly-Fly Fruit's ability isn't flight, but rather a 'leap' in spatial coordinates. Theoretically, I can instantly reach any location I can lock onto, and I can bring someone with me," Shanks explained his ability simply.
Although Sig didn't understand what "being able to lock on" meant, he could just think of it as the ability to "teleport".
This explains why Shanks was able to save Luffy from the sea in the original work.
After teleporting directly there, Shanks was suppressed by the seawater, which greatly limited his stamina. He could only use Conqueror's Haki to scare away the King of the Sea. He even had his arm bitten off by Luffy's "outdoor monster"!
Even the strongest Devil Fruit ability wouldn't be surprised to have their arm bitten off by a sea monster in the ocean. In that situation, it would be truly astonishing if they could still use Conqueror's Haki.
"Is this something CP9 is escorting? It doesn't look like Celestial Gold, so what could it be?" Shanks curiously, looking at the wooden box Sig was holding, rubbing his hands together as he spoke.
Sig didn't give him the pleasure of opening the box, and said directly, "Devil Fruit, Paramecia Rubber Fruit."
"Huh? You've already seen it?" Shanks seemed a little disappointed that he hadn't opened the box.
"No, I heard you," Sig said, handing the box to Shanks.
"So you can even identify what kind of fruit it is? But... if you hear it often, won't it conflict with the fruits you already have?" Shanks was good at grasping the key points.
"No, I can suppress myself and not absorb the Devil Fruit ability." Sig thought for a moment, then said, "Besides... I think I can suppress the second Devil Fruit ability now."
Shanks and Beckman were both taken aback. Each person can only possess one Devil Fruit ability... that's common sense!
Shanks then frowned slightly and asked, "Is this... the ability to Voice of All Things? Or is it Fish-Man Race's ability? Or... Half Fish-Man's ability?"
Sig could sense that Shanks least wanted the last possibility.
"I don't know, but I've never heard of Roger having multiple abilities back then, and there's no precedent for it among the Fish-Man Race... It's unlikely to be unique to Half Fish-Man, right? Hmm, actually I think it's probably because of me..."
Hearing what Sig said, Shanks and Beckman both focused their attention even more intently.
"It's because I'm likable, maybe even the sea likes me even more, so I might be suppressing my second Devil Fruit ability!" Sig said, making a lot of sense.
Beckman:...
Beckman rolled his eyes.
Shanks laughed loudly, "Hahaha, who knows... Do you want to try it out directly? This is also your spoils." He then held up the Rubber Fruit.
"Forget it, if it's the second Devil Fruit ability, I'd like it to be stronger," Sig refused.
While Rubber Fruit could have a promising future if developed properly, it did not meet Sig's expectations.
"However, as for Devil Fruit ability, it depends on how well they are developed. Hmm... and you're already used to fighting without Devil Fruit ability, so it would be great if there was a Devil Fruit that could assist your fighting style," Shanks advised Sig.
This is why Sig brought this up—that way, Shanks will also help him find the right fruit!
Meanwhile, Lucky Roo, having made a slight movement, had already dealt with all the warships.
While not adhering to a strict "no killing" policy like the Sun Pirates, the Red-Hair Pirates did not kill indiscriminately. After the battle, they ignored the lives of the Marines, took their valuables, and left without giving them any further chances or any intention of finishing them off...
Dongdong: Regarding the "Fly-Fly Fruit," it mainly fits Shanks's several teleportation-related actions, plus the Japanese homonym of "Red-Hair" being 489, corresponding to the cover page of the 489 manga, where the Straw Hat Pirates is "flying" in the sky. Considering Oda's creative habit of using homophones and cover page hints, this fanfiction sets up a "Fly-Fly Fruit" as a second possibility.
Of course, since the setting hasn't been officially announced, it's normal for second-hand interpretations to be wrong; it could be a different Devil Fruit, or even that the Devil Fruit ability.
However, Oda has not explicitly stated or implicitly confirmed that Shanks does not have a Devil Fruit, let alone the setting that "the entire Red-Hair crew does not have Devil Fruits." It is normal to make such assumptions, but these are all secondary interpretations. Just because one secondary interpretation is more popular does not mean it should be used as the official interpretation to deny other secondary interpretations, right?
If we're talking about Oda's implicit acceptance, there was one reader survey where his answer seemed to hint that Shanks Oda the "Time-Time Fruit." However, let's just consider that Oda's mischievousness for now. He didn't follow that hint; the book's alternate setting is still the "Fly-Fly Fruit."
(The sword has a secondary interpretation of Devil Fruit, which is another foreshadowing element from the original work. I won't explain it further to maintain suspense.)