"Thank you, Master... Cough!"
Before the burly man could recover from the recent crisis, he suddenly coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Splash!
The water reappeared around him, forming a sphere that enveloped him.
The burly man tried to struggle, but the weakness he felt—like any Devil Fruit user touching seawater—left him completely immobile.
"This seawater is troublesome. If it keeps attaching itself automatically, there's basically no way to solve it. A Devil Fruit user would have to get out of the seawater or undergo long-term desensitization training in order to use their power. But after eating this fruit, there simply isn't that time."
Zephyr frowned, and to verify his guess, he boldly reached through the seawater protection barrier and pulled the burly man out:
"Try to control the water flow!"
After speaking in a deep voice, Zephyr's arm suddenly became covered in Armament Haki, which then spread to the burly man's body.
He came up with a possible solution: having others use Armament Haki to help control the situation.
"Sir, I don't know how to control it."
The burly man looked bitter; he had no idea where the water came from, let alone how he could control it.
Moreover, he felt his physical strength was being consumed at an alarming rate, and if he couldn't change the situation, he would probably die of exhaustion soon.
"Hmm?"
Zephyr ignored the burly man and was surprised to find that the seawater had actually penetrated the Armament Haki and was forcibly seeping out of the burly man's body, trying to cover his body and trap him.
"Is Armament Haki ineffective?"
"Armament Haki can resist Devil Fruit abilities, but it doesn't nullify them."
Ross shook his head, looking at the burly man as he fell into deep thought.
"Master, my strength is being depleted. I can't stop. At this rate, I will die soon."
Taking advantage of the brief moment, the burly man shouted, his voice filled with terror.
No one can remain unmoved when facing death, let alone a pirate slave who succumbed to fear of death.
"Will my stamina keep depleting...?"
Ross seemed to be deep in thought, recalling the hydrothermal layer surrounding the island.
It seems that the water layer was designed to exhaust the strong man's strength.
However, for an island of 200,000 square kilometers, the outer perimeter is at least 20,000 kilometers.
Such a large area would cause a 10-meter-high water flow, which would quickly drain even an admiral's strength, let alone a strong man who is only a D+ level.
Is it a test from the fruit itself? Or a side effect of the fruit?
"Zephyr, knock him out."
We know very little about this at present, so Ross decided to continue experimenting.
Zephyr, who was already holding the burly man, knocked him unconscious almost instantly.
Even though the strong man was unconscious, seawater continued to seep out without any sign of stopping.
"It seems it's not a side effect of the fruit, but rather the unique nature of this fruit."
Ross frowned slightly. The side effects would not be triggered after he fell into a coma. Only abilities similar to the elemental transformation of Logia-type Devil Fruits could be triggered after falling into a coma.
To confirm his suspicions, Ross also contacted Zane outside to verify that the sea blockade had not been lifted.
This already speaks volumes.
"Bang!"
Ross raised his platinum pistol and fired a shot into the burly man's forehead.
Zephyr frowned slightly. He could have stopped him, but he seemed to have guessed Ross's thoughts and ultimately did nothing.
Splash!
The burly man's head exploded like a watermelon, but what exploded was not a stream of elemental water, but a mixture of blood and brain matter.
With just one shot, the burly man died.
"It seems he doesn't have any Logia-type abilities."
Zephyr shook his head regretfully, but didn't show much other emotion.
He was only there to test the fruit, and he was using wicked pirates, so it didn't affect his sense of justice.
It's a pity that such a special fruit disappeared with the death of the strong man.
"That's unclear for now, after all, his strength isn't enough."
Ross replied casually, his attention mostly focused on the system notification he had just received.
[D-rank kill achieved!]
[Strength +1000]
[Special Reward: Model: Watatsumi Ability (Incomplete)]
It's actually a direct reward of Devil Fruit abilities?
This was the first time Ross had ever encountered such a situation.
Generally, after a kill, the special reward is the target's most proficient skill.
When Ross was grinding experience in the Holy Land, he killed quite a few ability users.
However, when killing a Devil Fruit user, most of what comes out is a Devil Fruit, and I've never seen a Devil Fruit ability appear.
Based on the strongman's previous performance, Ross could only think of one possibility.
Because the strong man did not gain the approval of the Human-Human Fruit Model: Watatsumi at all, he could only obtain the incomplete power of the fruit.
Even if it were any other fruit, this wouldn't hold true.
Most fruits, even if they don't awaken, are equivalent to having all the abilities; the only question is how much they will be developed later.
Ross closed his eyes slightly and began to sense the power of the fruit he had acquired.
It was a faint but very special power.
"Whoosh!"
The seawater that the strong man had just stirred up had turned into small puddles on the ground due to the death of the ability user.
At Ross's command, the seawater rose up and surrounded him.
"Saint Ross!"
Zephyr shouted loudly and punched the water away.
The seawater was a strange ability that came with the Model: Watatsumi...
"It's alright, this is an ability that comes with my family."
Ross casually made up a lie: different races have different special abilities, which is normal in this world.
"That's good."
Zephyr was relieved after hearing this; he was really worried that Ross would be entangled by that strange Devil Fruit ability.
Having served in the Marine for so many years and experienced countless battles, he had seen many unexpected and unpredictable attacks. Several times he had fallen victim to them, and if it weren't for the support of his colleagues, he might have died long ago.
Therefore, even though Zephyr dislikes Devil Fruits and is unwilling to use their power, he is still very wary of their abilities.
Ross gently waved his arm, and the seawater gathered in front of him, changing into different shapes under his control.
However, precise operation is indeed a difficult task.
In an attempt to form a dragon's head, a snake's head appears instead.
To form a perfect cube, the edges and corners are perfectly rounded.
These are all due to his lack of self-control and weak abilities.
However, this also proves that the Human-Human Fruit Model: Watatsumi really does have the ability to control seawater.
There's even a fruit that can directly control seawater... This really shocked Ross.
The weakness of Devil Fruits is seawater.
Being able to control seawater is equivalent to being able to counter all Devil Fruit users.
So, can he use the sea release technique in the One Piece world?
Moreover, Ross seems to have found a way to safely consume the fruit.
Thinking of this, Ross slightly raised his head, his gaze burning as he looked at the altar.
With the death of the strong man, new Human-Human Fruit, Model: Watatsumi reappeared on the previously empty altar.
...
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