With a flicker of light, a transparent page glowing with a faint blue halo floated in front of Chrollo.
Drawn on the page was a light brown, strange-looking fruit covered in tiny thorns.
[System: Detected that the Host has stolen the Sand-Sand Fruit.]
[Logia Type · Sand-Sand Fruit]
[Description: Allows the user to control sand freely and transform their body into sand. The user's hand can drain moisture from any living being or object it touches, turning them into withered, sand-like states. Weakness: If the body comes into contact with water or blood, the sand solidifies, making the user vulnerable to physical attacks.]
[Rating: Rarity: A / Potential: A / Practicality: S]
[Appraisal Comment: If you can't hold onto the sand, you might as well scatter it to the wind. For a Logia fruit, just remember one thing... don't rely too heavily on the fruit itself...]
[Overall Rating: A-Rank. Host receives 8 Free Attribute Points.]
Just as I thought...
It was exactly as Chrollo expected. A fruit like the Sand-Sand Fruit, which had such a glaring weakness, couldn't achieve an S-rank rating.
Although its destructive power was immense, its potential and its fatal weakness to water clearly dragged down its score.
It seemed that only with double-S evaluations or higher could the overall rating reach S-Rank.
Chrollo then reached out and touched Daz Bones.
[System: Detected that the Host has stolen the Dice-Dice Fruit.]
[Paramecia Type · Dice-Dice Fruit]
[Description: Allows the user to turn any part of their body into a blade at will. This gives ordinary punches and kicks the lethality of steel weapons. Because the entire body is made of blades, the user's body—including internal organs—is as hard as genuine steel.]
[Rating: Rarity: B / Potential: A / Practicality: A]
[Appraisal Comment: I am the blade itself.]
[Overall Rating: A-Rank. Host receives 4 Free Attribute Points.]
"Huh?"
The Dice-Dice Fruit actually gave him a small surprise.
He had assumed this fruit would be B-rank at most. It was just steel, after all.
Anyone who reached the level of a Master Swordsman, or possessed strong enough physical combat skills, could cut through steel.
In the New World, Master Swordsmen were everywhere, and monsters roamed like stray dogs. Because of that, Chrollo had viewed this fruit's potential as very limited.
Staring at the 'A' rating in the Potential column, Chrollo stroked his chin in thought. "Is it possible to temper the body the same way one tempers a blade with Haki to create a Black Blade?"
"If that's the case, the body's durability could be trained to become as tough as a Black Blade!"
This possibility was highly likely. Otherwise, during the Summit War later in the timeline, how would Daz Bones have managed to block a flying slash from Hawkeye Mihawk?
Thinking about it that way, it seemed like a pretty decent ability.
Finally, Chrollo placed his hand on Bon Clay.
[System: Detected that the Host has stolen the Clone-Clone Fruit.]
[Paramecia Type · Clone-Clone Fruit]
[Description: By touching someone's face with the right hand, the user can instantly transform to look exactly like that person or animal. This includes a perfect copy of their face, physique, and voice. There is no time limit on the transformation. Touching one's own face with the left hand restores the user to their original form.]
[Description: The user can memorize faces they have touched and transformed into in the past, allowing them to transform again at any time, even if the original person is not present.]
[Rating: Rarity: C / Potential: D / Practicality: A]
[Appraisal Comment: If used with malicious intent, this ability hides a threat capable of toppling nations. But don't try to copy me; I'm simply a legend.]
[Overall Rating: C-Rank. Host receives 2 Free Attribute Points.]
"The rating... is quite low."
This was the first time Chrollo had seen a 'D' evaluation appear. However, it was understandable. While the Clone-Clone Fruit had high practicality, its contribution to combat power was... almost zero.
In fact, using it could even lower the user's combat effectiveness.
The Clone-Clone Fruit had a fatal flaw: when transformed into someone else, the body's combat instincts were lost, leading to a severe drop in physical fighting ability. Furthermore, the fruit could not copy the abilities or powers of other Devil Fruit users. Therefore, this fruit was only useful for battles of wit, infiltration, and overthrowing regimes; it offered no help in a direct fight.
"It seems the System's main criteria for rating fruits are combat capability and potential," Chrollo analyzed silently.
After stealing the fruits, Chrollo stored Crocodile ("Old Sand"), Daz Bones, and Bon Clay into his [4-Dimensional Apartment]. Then, he reached out and opened his attribute interface. It was time for his favorite part—allocating points!
However, upon opening it, a look of surprise immediately surfaced on Chrollo's face.
In the stats column, aside from Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Stamina, a brand-new attribute had appeared—
Armament Haki: 70 (A)!
Did this mean that once Haki reached a high enough level, it would manifest as an attribute?
Chrollo rubbed his chin, analyzing this development.
Haki is a power dormant within the strong, waiting to be developed. So, undoubtedly, it counts as a attribute. That makes sense!
This means... I can level up Armament Haki by adding points, skipping the grueling process of training it manually where progress is usually slow!
Simply perfect!
Chrollo stroked the [Bandit's Secret] book hovering in the void with a tender look in his eyes.
"Old Bandit really lives up to its upgraded status. Truly authoritative!"
The other Troupe members, seeing their leader acting like this, knew he was having one of his episodes again. They tacitly looked away in various directions, pretending they hadn't noticed anything.
"Alright, time to add points!"
Opening the attribute panel, he first pushed Armament Haki up to 80. Then, he put 2 of the remaining 4 points into Stamina, and 1 point each into Strength and Agility.
Chrollo's final panel looked like this:
[Name: Chrollo]
[Attributes: Strength: 78 (A) / Agility: 78 (A) / Intelligence: 79 (A) / Stamina: 78 (A) / Armament Haki: 80 (A+)]
[Awakened Nen Ability: Bandit's Secret (Specialist · Evolved)]
[Aura Capacity: 720,000 (Royal Guard Level)]
[Currently Held: Nen Abilities: 24 types (Click to expand details)]
[Stolen Devil Fruit Abilities: 13 (Click to expand details)]
When his Armament Haki hit 80, Chrollo could clearly feel the color of his Haki deepening, reaching a level of obsidian hardness and density.
Finishing the allocation, Chrollo flipped his wrist. The page representing the Sand-Sand Fruit disappeared, and a strange fruit shaped like a cactus materialized in his palm.
Chrollo turned to face the Troupe members.
Who should get this fruit?
First, it was certain that a Logia type like the Sand-Sand Fruit corresponded best to the Transmuter Nen affinity.
Among the Troupe members, aside from Feitan—who had already acquired the Munch-Munch Fruit and was a Transmuter—there was only one person left.
Chrollo looked toward Machi.
Her long pink hair was tied back with a ribbon, and she stood beside the others, her expression calm but carrying a hint of stubbornness.
Noticing Chrollo's gaze, Machi slowly walked out from the group. She took the Sand-Sand Fruit from Chrollo's hand and, with a composed face, began to nibble on it, bit by bit, until she had eaten the whole thing.
Watching her finish, Chrollo asked, "How does it feel, Machi?"
Machi lowered her head, staring at a sphere of sand that was gradually gathering, swirling, and condensing in her palm. The corners of her mouth slowly curved up into a breathtaking arc.
"It feels... good."
"I've never been better."