Sairona's Devil Fruit

"Good luck." Xil pushed the Devil Fruit toward Sairona.

"Ah, my luck..." Sairona suddenly remembered how he'd been swindled two years ago, then thought of how he'd ended up aboard Rono's pirate ship. "It's not great."

After saying goodbye to Xil, Sairona returned to the hotel and found Rono, then went over the matter Xil had entrusted to him. Maybe it was because Sairona had his Sniper Rifle in his right hand, but Rono didn't get distracted. He listened carefully, then asked, "Is the Navy not paying?"

Sairona was taken aback too. That was right—they could fleece the Navy for a fortune. The Navy had made a huge profit back when they sold the two of them to the Gongdongtalio Family.

"Then should we demand double the bounty?" Sairona weighed the pros and cons before giving his answer.

"Double? That's way too little! This is the Pirate King's son. Five times as much, no less." Rono looked disdainful and held up five fingers.

"It's not my money anyway. You go talk to the Navy." Sairona looked completely calm.

"Uh, right." Rono awkwardly lowered his hand. "I'm not exactly... great with words, so you should go talk to them."

"Even if you wanted to go, I wouldn't let you." Sairona looked at Rono as if he were an idiot.

"..." Rono was speechless.

"Gelu Gelu," Gelu chimed in.

Rono wasn't worried at all about whether they'd catch Ace. Was some brat who'd just entered the Grand Line really going to know Haki? How strong could his martial arts be? With Sairona there too, he'd be dead no matter what. Uh, though they were supposed to capture him alive.

After discussing it with Rono, Sairona returned to his room and looked at the Devil Fruit on the table, his feelings complicated. In the end, he gritted his teeth and decided that if it was the Vulture Fruit, he simply wouldn't transform in the future and would only use the boost to his eyesight.

"Gah—Ugh—" Sairona almost gagged to death. He finally understood why everyone said Devil Fruits tasted like shit. The smell of shit, leftover food, and yogurt mixed together and left to ferment for a month would make you want to vomit just from smelling it. A Devil Fruit turned that smell into a taste, assaulting your taste buds.

By the time he'd nearly brought up bile, Sairona finally managed to block out the taste and test his fruit. It wasn't the Vulture Fruit, which came as a relief. His arms turned into a pair of wings. Sairona frowned. He wouldn't be able to hold his rifle like this. In his second form, his eyes grew deep-set, his mouth became a beak, and sharp talons sprouted from his feet, tearing through his shoes. Most importantly, wings grew from his back. After testing them, Sairona roughly assessed the differences between his two forms. His third form transformed him completely into a bird, with several times the speed and strength of his second form. His second form was more flexible and versatile, which was exactly what Sairona needed.

The Zoan Devil Fruit Bird-Bird Fruit, Eagle Form: the Azure Eagle Fruit. That was Sairona's Devil Fruit Ability.

The next day, Rono took Gelu out for morning training. After sweating through a strenuous workout, Rono belatedly realized, "Where's Sairona? Is he slacking off today?"

Rono suddenly looked up. A Black Shadow more than two meters across circled overhead. "Gelu, watch Daddy catch you a bird. When your Uncle Sairona gets up, we'll stew it for soup."

"Gelu Gelu!" Gelu said happily.

Rono activated Crimson Armor, his muscles bulging. With a whoosh, he leaped into the air, then used Geppo to propel himself hundreds of meters into the sky.

"Caw—" The Azure Eagle let out a piercing cry. Its beak turned pitch-black, and it beat its wings, becoming a streak of black light that slammed into Rono. Rono could use Geppo in the air, but he was clearly less nimble than on the ground. He dodged the beak aimed at his eyes, but the Azure Eagle's talons still gouged several holes in his chest. An Azure Eagle that knew Haki—now that was rare! Rono's eyes gleamed. It'd be really nourishing to eat. Gelu might even grow taller again.

His wounds healed. The skin on Rono's upper body peeled away, revealing Crimson Armor muscle, and a layer of black Haki quickly covered him. "Boom, boom, boom!" The air erupted with sonic booms as Rono appeared in front of the Azure Eagle at a speed invisible to the naked eye. The Azure Eagle's pupils shrank. Clearly, he hadn't expected Rono to move so fast in midair.

"Black Shadow: Heavy-Cannon Strike!" Rono shouted the skill name in an overly dramatic voice.

"Holy crap, Rono! Are you trying to kill me?"

"Huh?" Rono clearly hadn't caught on. He just thought the voice sounded familiar, but his hand kept moving as he grabbed and slammed the eagle down. "Shit!" The Azure Eagle—Sairona—only had time to say that before hastily concentrating all his Haki where Rono's hand was coming down. His black Armament Haki shimmered faintly. Bam! The Azure Eagle crashed to the ground. Sairona lay in the crater, aching from head to toe.

"Dad... Dad, gurgle gurgle? (Why is it Uncle Sairona?)" Gelu looked at Sairona in the crater and spoke to Rono.

"Son, you called me Daddy!" Rono hadn't heard a word of what Gelu said afterward. He landed and pulled Gelu into a tight hug, so moved that tears streamed down his face. (Picture a certain green-clad, bowl-cut man.)

"Gelu... Gelu Gelu (Daddy's going to suffocate Gelu)." Gelu struggled with all his might.

"Oh, oh, oh, Daddy was wrong." Rono wiped away his tears and let Gelu go. Gelu staggered back a few steps, nearly out of breath. He didn't like Daddy anymore.

"Gelu, come on, let's eat the bird. Go wake Uncle Sairona up. Seriously, sleeping this late—he has no sense of time at all." Rono patted Gelu's head and walked toward the crater.

"Hey! Sairona, why is it you? Where did you hide the bird?" Rono saw Sairona lying in the crater and his eyes nearly popped out. He immediately demanded an explanation. That bird had been his catch. Birds that knew Haki were rare these days.

"Help me up first," Sairona said calmly. If the Zoan Devil Fruit hadn't strengthened his body, every bone in it would've been broken. He'd known that Rono had been holding back before, but he hadn't expected him to be this ridiculously strong.

"Sure." Rono lifted Sairona out of the crater with his little bead-like eyes.

"Go on, tell me. Where did my bird go?" Rono glanced sideways at Sairona.

"I am that bird." Sairona looked at Rono, perfectly calm.

"...What?" Rono's eyes really did pop out this time. He hurriedly put them back in, stared at Sairona, whose expression clearly said What the hell?, then turned to Gelu. Gelu wore an expression that said You absolute idiot.

"Gelu Gelu (I told you, but you wouldn't listen)."

"Oh! So that's what happened! Come on, let's eat." Rono stiffly turned his head back and forced a smile. He started toward the dining hall.

"Are you trying to run away?" Sairona said calmly.

"Rono, Sairona, are you all right? I just heard a huge crash." Xil hurried over.