This Person is a Dog

"My name is Nishinomiya. I serve as the manager of the Holy Land Treasure Vault. Please present your authorization once more."

The Holy Land Treasure Vault stood at the western corner of Pangaea Castle's outer walls. Its modern architectural style was utterly at odds with the ancient charm of Pangaea Castle, making it quite famous throughout Mary Geoise. Anyone seeing it alongside Pangaea Castle for the first time would inevitably be struck by the jarring contrast and ask, "What is that place?" After all, Pangaea Castle was known to everyone.

Bred had once asked Laskey, "What is that place?" regarding the Holy Land Treasure Vault. Laskey had told him, so he reached the Holy Land Treasure Vault without needing anyone to guide him.

What was especially surprising was that there were numerous guards outside the Holy Land Treasure Vault, yet very few staff members within—only one. It was the middle-aged man standing before Bred, who called himself Nishinomiya. He had short black hair parted seven-three, sharp features, prescription glasses, and a ring of mature stubble around his mouth. Combined with his suit, he perfectly embodied meticulous professionalism.

However...

With a closer, more thorough look at Nishinomiya, Bred could tell that the smile on his face and his respectful manner were so fake they were nauseating. If Bred failed to produce authorization, or if the person who had granted it lacked sufficient influence, Bred guessed Nishinomiya would immediately put on a different face. He certainly would not keep smiling and acting respectful, without showing the slightest contempt for Bred's age.

This guy's a real bootlicker, Bred secretly judged. He casually tossed Nishinomiya the authorization Minister Honest had granted him, adding his introduction, "Bred. P0."

Nishinomiya's smile became even brighter, and his manner even more respectful—to the point of exaggeration. "Oh~~~ So it is Lord Bred! Please forgive my failure to receive you properly."

Just as Bred had expected, Minister Honest's name carried weight. His identity as a newly promoted P0 agent carried even more.

"What a surprise~ Lord Bred, you are so young and accomplished! I have never seen a P0 agent as young as you. You have an enviable and wonderful future ahead of you..." Nishinomiya began flattering Bred in every way he could.

Then Bred interrupted Nishinomiya and said flatly, "Don't envy me. You can't. A smooth-sailing life is something you'll never get to taste. It's the privilege of talent."

"..."

With two dry laughs, Nishinomiya concealed his embarrassment and gestured. "Lord Bred, please come choose the items you require."

"Let's look at the Devil Fruits first," Bred said, already having a plan in mind.

Before long.

"Only these? That's too few." In the enormous room, only a handful of Devil Fruits were on display. It was completely unlike what Bred had imagined. Subjectively, he had assumed that with the immense power the World Government wielded over the world, it should have collected at least dozens of Devil Fruits.

Nishinomiya explained, "Devil Fruits are treasures of the sea. Although they are also incarnations of the 'Devils of the Sea' and can be restrained by the rare sea-crystal mineral known as Seastone, they are still worthy of being called 'super gift packages.' Once eaten, they grant people superhuman powers. There is no need for arduous training like Haki, Chakra, or Nen to gain superhuman powers. As a result, when people find Devil Fruits, they generally eat them themselves."

"Other than being restrained by Seastone, what other weaknesses do Devil Fruits have?" Bred froze for a moment before carefully asking.

Nishinomiya shook his head. "None."

"Devil Fruit users aren't afraid of seawater?" Bred was astonished inwardly.

Nishinomiya continued at length, "To be frank, I would not recommend that you choose any of these Devil Fruits. Their quality is poor..."

Having steadied himself, Bred paid no attention to Nishinomiya's rambling. He glanced over the labels on the Devil Fruits: Zoan-type "Bug-Bug Fruit, Emperor Rhinoceros Beetle Model," Zoan-type "Dog-Dog Fruit, Chow Chow Model," Paramecia-type "Glazed Glass Fruit"... They were almost all trash. He did not believe that bullshit about there being no trash Devil Fruits, only trash Devil Fruit users. Devil Fruits had differences in strength; they had ranks and tiers!

"Since Devil Fruits have fewer drawbacks, they've become stronger in a sense," Bred mused. I'll wait for a Logia-type Devil Fruit. A top-tier utility Paramecia-type Devil Fruit would be fine too, and a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit wouldn't be bad either.

Seeing Bred standing there blankly, Nishinomiya called out, "Lord Bred?"

"Imperial Arms." Bred turned around.

They took the elevator.

Since Devil Fruits differed from what he remembered, Bred said, "Tell me about Imperial Arms, Mr. Nishinomiya."

"No problem! It would be my honor." Nishinomiya appeared excited. "Imperial Arms were born during the 'Blank Hundred Years' before the Government was founded. Perhaps they were made to fight enemies? The twenty royal families that established the Government—the ancestors of today's World Nobles—spent unimaginable wealth, gathered the finest craftsmen in the world at the time, hunted Super Dangerous Beasts of at least Tiger rank as materials, and used secret arts along with rare metals like Orichalcum to painstakingly forge forty-eight irreproducible legendary weapons capable of reproducing the special traits of Super Dangerous Beasts. They were named Imperial Arms."

Bred blinked. "Why were they named Imperial Arms?"

"The Government's predecessor was originally called the World Federal Imperial Government. It was only later renamed the World Government." Nishinomiya was quite knowledgeable and knew many things.

Bred said, "To put it simply, think of Imperial Arms as forty-eight Super Dangerous Beasts that humans can command."

"Ah? Ah." Casting a careful glance at Mosquito Girl, who was looking around everywhere, Nishinomiya agreed with Bred. He knew that Mosquito Girl was a demi-human Super Dangerous Beast, and he was especially frightened in hindsight by how carried away he had gotten earlier, bragging about "hunting Super Dangerous Beasts of at least Tiger rank as materials" while introducing Imperial Arms. It would have been terrible if he had angered Mosquito Girl.

Bred had already seen several Imperial Arms. Gozuki's [One Cut Kill: Murasame] at the Cipher Pol Agent Academy and the newly installed [Jewel Headdress: Ireston] on Minister Honest's head were both Imperial Arms, though the former belonged to the offensive category while the latter belonged to the support category.

This also included the book Nishinomiya had never let leave his hand, its cover set with a savage monster eye. It too was an Imperial Arm—the support-type [World Book: Longo Longo]. It recorded maps of every nation in the world, especially those within World Government territory. From products to locations, it contained detailed data without leaving out the slightest detail. On its final page were even prophecies of massive natural disasters that might occur in the future.

"Mr. Nishinomiya?" Bred smiled at Nishinomiya for the first time. "Managing the Holy Land Treasure Vault must be tough, right?"

Nishinomiya repeatedly waved his hands falsely. "Not at all, not at all."

"Do you want to leave the Holy Land Treasure Vault?" Bred stopped and stared into Nishinomiya's eyes.

Nishinomiya unconsciously lowered his head and bent at the waist. His lips trembled for a long while before he finally said, "I do."

"If there's an opportunity, I'll give you a hand." Bred smiled. "But you must remember: if you owe me a favor, you have to repay it."

PS1: Please vote. I threw out my back while working—damn, it hurts.

PS: For the Devil Fruit setting, I removed the weakness to seawater but kept the weakness to Seastone, while considering the incorporation of Naruto elements.