One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 18 The torrential rain follows people, and the dragon-head mask!
"Promoted to major?"

Roy was naturally pleasantly surprised by what Lieutenant General Bilos had said.

Within the Navy, the rank of lieutenant commander is actually a dividing line.

Even a captain like him is essentially a low-ranking officer.

He could only lead his own action squad, namely the 'Detention Force Thirty-Fifth Squad', to carry out missions; in essence, he only had the authority to execute missions but not the authority to command them.

But it's different for officers at the colonel level.

Starting from the rank of major, he can have his name engraved on the warship and own his own private warship.

At the same time, they have a certain degree of command and decision-making authority, the power to appoint and dismiss their subordinates, the ability to issue some combat orders, view some high-level documents, participate in command discussions of classified operations, and even mobilize local naval forces to assist them.

This can also be seen from the salary - a captain's salary is around 30 Berries a month, while a major's salary will skyrocket to 50 Berries a month.

So it took Roy quite a while to come to his senses.

"So that's how it was!?"

Then he suddenly understood why Smoker had suddenly given up on capturing him as his lieutenant.

He was promoted to the rank of major, which, according to regulations, meant he could no longer serve as the adjutant of Smoker's Future Branch.

"Grandpa, you've really been a huge help!"

So, Roy spoke sincerely.

"Hahaha, it's nothing, it's nothing!"

Lieutenant General Bilos laughed heartily: "I promised to make you proud, kid. If I couldn't even keep my promise to my subordinates, I would have retired long ago!"

"But kid Roy, you're a major now, so I've already signed you up for the 'All-Army Martial Arts Exercise'—you don't have any objections, do you?"

"of course."

Upon hearing this, Roy was taken aback at first, but then nodded.

Now that we know that Lieutenant General Bilos will retire after the all-out military exercise, he will definitely participate in the exercise.

He was determined to get the position of the detention center manager.

"That's right, that's the spirit—it's rare to see you so serious."

Upon seeing this, Lieutenant General Bilos nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it. Before, you were so lazy and had no energy at all!"

But then he abruptly changed the subject: "However, I must remind you, as I just said—because of this incident, the World Government feels that our navy has been extremely incompetent."

"Therefore, in order to enforce military discipline, this military exercise will be different from previous ones and will be much more difficult."

He looked at Roy seriously: "You're not bad, but you still have some shortcomings, so I contacted an old friend and asked him to give you special training in these last few months."

"An old friend? Special training?"

Upon hearing this, Roy frowned slightly.

He didn't think he needed any special training.

"Correct!"

Lieutenant General Bilos said seriously, "He's a very capable guy, and he hasn't taught anyone for quite some time—he should contact you soon, so learn from him, kid."

He patted Roy on the shoulder.

Seeing that the lieutenant general already had a "the future is yours" look on his face, Roy could only nod helplessly: "Alright then."

"Okay! Then go back and prepare."

So, Lieutenant General Bilos waved his hand and casually took out his beloved meatball skewers from the drawer.

Roy, of course, had no intention of disturbing his boss's afternoon tea, and obediently turned and left.

only.
"Old man Bilos's old friend, a very capable person. Hmm, there are only a few candidates, so it's not hard to guess what he wants me to cram for at the last minute."

As Roy walked out of the castle tower, he already had a rough idea of ​​what was going on.

However, it is clear that this matter is not important to him.

What really matters to him is...
"We need to create the next slice clone as soon as possible to continue acquiring Bailey, while also solidifying the existence of the 'Twelve Constellations'."

"Otherwise, my presence in this incident would still be quite noticeable, and I might be targeted."

Roy pondered this in his heart.

The only problem now is

His gaze, however, was fixed on what was in front of him.

The content displayed on the illusory light screen was very clear.

Fruit Encyclopedia

[Holder: Roy Amos]

[Currently listed Devil Fruit types: 21 (Paramecia-8, Zoan-8, Logia-4, Special Paramecia-0, Mythical Zoan-1)]

Number of fruit slots: 3

[Currently in slot: Glint-Glint Fruit LV2, Dragon-Dragon Fruit - Pteranodon Mode LV3, Strong-Strong Fruit]

[Current holdings of Pele: 1.27543 billion]

Which types of fruits should we strengthen?

Roy was caught in a happy dilemma.

Yes.

In the last attempt to steal the Celestial Gold, he ultimately chose to spend 4 million Berries to enhance one of his Logia-type Devil Fruits, the 'Glint-Glint Fruit'.

The LV2 Glint-Glint Fruit allows the body to be 'partially elementalized', while also possessing extremely high speed and the powerful destructive force of lasers. In his opinion, it is a Logia-type Devil Fruit ability that is quite suitable for the Wind God Pteranodon Fruit.

And the facts have proven that this enhancement was necessary.

It was this ability that allowed 'Rooster' to survive when facing Brigadier General Lan Li's strongest sword strike of his life.

"Logia-type Devil Fruits are inherently countered by Haki, but they can only attack Logia-type users—when they are in their elemental form, techniques like 'decapitation' or 'heart piercing' cannot achieve an instant kill."

"Combined with the powerful vitality of the ancient Zoan type, it's a perfect match."

Roy thought to himself that his choice of fruit pairing was indeed very appropriate.

But now the problem is quite simple.

"First, we need to use 500 million Berries to upgrade the Slice-Slice Fruit to LV2, so that we can create two more clones. This is the necessary expense."

"The problem lies in the upcoming enhancements."

Roy knew very well.

The five billion pegories he currently possesses is a considerable sum.

However, it's not enough compared to the money-guzzling Fruit Encyclopedia.

He can choose to upgrade several fruits to LV2, or upgrade the Dragon-Dragon Fruit to LV4, or upgrade several Logia-type fruits to LV3.

The price and ability differences between different fruits have given rise to countless choices.

"Cuckoo!"

But just as Roy was pondering this, he heard a voice above him.

He instinctively looked up and saw a seagull wearing a mailer's hat throwing a stack of newspapers at him.

"Oh? A newspaper from the World Economic News Agency?"

Roy took the newspaper, opened it, and took a look.

Sure enough, the bounty poster for the 'Rooster' that he had just seen appeared in the newspaper, while the matter of 'Arasite Island' naturally made headlines.

But Roy didn't care about that—the Navy had put a bounty on the criminal 'Rooster,' what did it have to do with him, a Navy Lieutenant Commander Roy? At that moment, his gaze immediately fell on an inconspicuous spot in the newspaper.

Alabasta has gone seven months without rain, raising concerns about unusual weather patterns.

".oh?"

Roy raised an eyebrow.

"I think I know which fruit I should enhance."

As he murmured to himself, Roy quickened his pace and soon returned to the detention center's barracks.

After closing the door, Roy continued to ponder his plan.

"But, have I forgotten something?"

And as the bright moon rises high and the night deepens.

Roy scratched his head and muttered to himself.

However, he quickly put this small doubt out of his mind.

He got back to work.

Roy, of course, had completely forgotten about it.
At this moment, on the training ground of the detention troops.

"Why isn't the boss here yet?"

In the darkness of night, Hans shivered from the cold, utterly alone.

"Wasn't he coming to beat me up? Has he forgotten?"

"Maybe I should go back first. No, if the boss finds out I'm done for—ouch. It's so cold."

A week after Sergeant Hans caught a cold from staying up all night training.

Alabasta, Airuma.

This city, located on the southwestern coast of Alabasta and adjacent to the Santora River, was once known as the 'City of Oasis' because of its prosperity.

But recently, an uneasy atmosphere has permeated the city.

For seven months—a full seven months—not a single drop of rain fell in Airuma.

As a result, the Santoro River, which once flowed continuously and nourished both banks, now has a water level that is at an all-time low, and even water supply to Eluma has become a huge problem.

"Water prices are getting higher and higher, and now it's said that even groundwater is drying up."

South of the city of Eruma, Aiha wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the large vat in front of him, which was almost empty.

"what is going on?"

He was very anxious.

As a country where most of its land is desert, the people of Alabasta have certainly experienced droughts.

But this drought, which seemed to be sucking the earth dry, was something he had never encountered before.

"Don't worry, King Ahakobula will definitely find a way."

His wife, who was holding their daughter, was comforting her husband.

"King Cobra? I've heard that Albania has been experiencing normal rainfall."

Ahmed managed to scoop a mouthful of water from the jar and hand it to his wife and daughter, saying as he did so.

"The situation is even worse in the Yuba Oasis in the north, where people have already begun to flee—if the king had a solution, he would have thought of one long ago."

He was disturbed.

Although there is no concrete evidence yet, there have been recent rumors about Airuma.

It is said that His Majesty the King used some improper means to ensure that it rained in the capital, while the rest of the country remained dry.

He didn't quite believe it, after all, the King of Cobra had always been known for his wisdom, but...
"This isn't a solution."

Looking at the blindingly blue sky, Aiha murmured.

But it is precisely at this moment.
"Ok?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Aiha caught a glimpse of the scene not far away.

Not far away, at the edge of the desert outside the city, one could see...

A solitary figure is slowly approaching.

The figures were still some distance away and appeared somewhat blurry.

But Aiha could clearly see the scene around that figure.

"."

So, almost instinctively, Ahmed rubbed his eyes—he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

It wasn't until the figure drew closer that he realized it wasn't an illusion.

At that moment, right above that figure's head.

Dark gray rain clouds were constantly forming and gathering above his head.

The clouds were not high, as if they had formed out of thin air.

Within the clouds, a clearly visible curtain of water, like a pillar falling from the sky, enveloped the figure!

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

As the figure drew closer, Aiha could almost hear the voice.

That was the sound that all the people of Eluma had been longing for.

That was rain—a torrential downpour.

"That person, that person... is he a god?"

At that moment, the thought almost subconsciously arose in Aiha's mind.

But the next moment, he came to his senses.

"Quick! Zina, go get the basins and jars, bring out everything in the house, quick!"

Seeing the approaching downpour, he quickly said to his wife.

"Ok!"

After his wife hurriedly went to get the water container...

Aiha then took a deep breath and turned to look at the figure again.

At this moment, the figure was very close.

Therefore, Aihar can see what the other person looks like.

He was wearing a dark robe that concealed his figure.

But Ah could see that he was wearing a mask on his head.

Aiha recognized the mask—a specialty of the South China Sea called a 'sea beast head mask,' which is said to be available everywhere, and can even be custom-made.

In a large country like Alabasta, and in a major city like Airuma, it is not uncommon.

But amidst the torrential rain, the mask gave Aiha a sense of boundless majesty and mystery.

That's a dragon head mask!

(End of this chapter)