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"Promoted to Lieutenant Commander?"
Upon hearing Vice Admiral Biros's words, Roy was naturally quite pleased.
Within the Marines, the rank of Lieutenant Commander essentially marked a dividing line.
Company-grade officers, even Captains like himself, were essentially high-level grunts. They had the authority to execute missions and lead their squads, in his case, the 35th Detention Unitbut they were still tethered to the whims of others. You could follow orders perfectly, but you didn't get to decide the destination.
Field-grade officers, however, were a entirely different breed.
Starting from the rank of Lieutenant Commander, one could carve one's own name onto a battleship and possess an exclusively assigned battleship.
They also gained a certain degree of command authority, including the right to appoint or remove subordinates, personally issue operational orders, access high-level documents, participate in confidential operational command discussions, and mobilize local Marine forces to assist them.
This distinction was also reflected in salary: a Captain earned roughly 30 million Beli per month, whereas a Lieutenant Commander's pay jumped sharply to around 50 million Beli per month.
It took Roy a moment to fully process this.
"So that's how it is," Roy murmured. It finally clicked why Smoker had suddenly backed off his relentless campaign to drag Roy into his future branch as a deputy.
By regulation, a Lieutenant Commander couldn't serve as a subordinate to a fellow field officer in that capacity.
"Old man," Roy said, his voice genuinely sincere for once, "You really pulled through for me on this one."
"Hahaha, it's nothing, nothing!"
"Gahahaha! Don't mention it!" Biros let out a booming laugh. "I told you I'd report your merits. If a Vice Admiral can't even keep a promise to his own men, he might as well hang up the coat and go fishing!"
Biros's laughter subsided into a knowing look. "But listen, Roy—now that you're a Lieutenant Commander, I've already taken the liberty of signing you up for the Grand Military Drill. No complaints, I assume?"
Roy stiffened for a fraction of a second, then gave a firm nod. "Naturally."
Since he knew that Vice Admiral Biros would retire after the Grand Military Drill, he was determined to participate.
He was determined to claim the position of Warden-class Officer of the Marine Detention Unit.
"Good! That's the spirit," Biros said, looking satisfied. "It's a nice change of pace to see you focused. You were getting so lazy I thought you'd grown roots!"
Then, the Vice Admiral's tone shifted, losing its jovial edge.
"However, I need to give you a heads-up. Because of this 'Youji' incident, the World Government thinks the Marines have gone soft. They're breathing down our necks about discipline."
"So, in order to straighten out discipline, this Grand Military Drill… may be very different from before. The difficulty will be much higher."
He looked Roy straight in the eye as he continued to speak. "Your strength isn't bad, kid, but you still have shortcomings. I contacted an old friend and asked him to put you through special training during these last few months."
"An old friend? Special training?" Hearing this, Roy frowned slightly.
He really didn't think he needed any special training.
"Yes," Biros said solemnly. "He's a formidable guy—hasn't taken a student in years. He'll be contacting you soon. Pay attention and learn well, kid."
He reached out and clapped Roy on the shoulder with a weight that felt like a passing of the torch.
Seeing the "the future is in your hands" look on the old man's face, Roy could only manage a helpless nod.
"Alright."
"Good! Now get out of here and start preparing."
With that, Vice Admiral Biros casually pulled his beloved skewer of dumplings out of the drawer and waved his hand.
Naturally having no intention of disturbing his superior's afternoon snack, Roy obediently turned to leave.
Only...
As he stepped out of the keep and into the crisp air, Roy's mind was already spinning. 'An old friend of Biros… someone powerful who hasn't taught in years.'
He could think of a few candidates, and he had a pretty good guess as to what kind of "hell" they'd try to put him through.
But clearly, this matter wasn't that important to him.
What truly mattered to him was...
'I need to get the next Slice Clone up and running', Roy thought, his pace quickening. 'The 'Twelve Zodiac' need to become a concrete reality in the eyes of the world. My performance in the heist was a bit too loud, if I don't create a bigger distraction, the heat is going to stay on me.'
'The only real problem now is...'
His gaze shifted forward.
The information displayed on the illusory light screen before him was strikingly clear.
[Devil Fruit Encyclopedia]
[Holder: Roy Amos]
[Current Recorded Devil Fruit Types: 21]
[(Paramecia–8, Zoan–8, Logia–4, Special Paramecia–0, Mythical Zoan–1)]
[Fruit Ability Slots: 3
[Fruits Currently Slotted:
Glint-Glint Fruit LV2,
Dragon-Dragon Fruit · Wind God Winged Dragon Form LV3,
Strength Fruit]
[Current Beli Held: 5.1376 Billion]
"Which fruits should I strengthen next?"
Roy fell into a blissful dilemma.
Yes.
During the previous operation to seize the Heavenly Tribute, he ultimately chose to spend 400 million Beli to enhance one of his Logia Fruits: the Glint-Glint Fruit.
At LV2, the Glint-Glint Fruit enables the body to partially elementalize, granting extreme speed and the destructive power of lasers. In Roy's view, of all the Logia Fruits, it complemented the Ryu Ryu no Mi (Dragon-Dragon Fruit), Model: Wind God Winged Dragon.
And the facts proved that this enhancement had been necessary.
It was precisely this ability that allowed "Youji" to survive Rear Admiral Lanli's strongest sword strike.
"Logia Fruits are indeed countered by Haki, but that only enables the user to hit the Logia-type user. During elementalization, methods such as beheading or piercing the heart simply cannot result in an instant kill."
"Paired with the powerful vitality of an Ancient Zoan, it's practically a perfect combination."
Roy silently marvelled at how well his Devil Fruit setup had come together.
But the problem at hand was also quite simple.
"First, I have to spend 500 million Beli to strengthen the Slice-Slice Fruit to LV2. That way, I can create two extra clones. That expense is unavoidable for the Zodiac Plan."
"The real issue lies in what to enhance after that."
Roy was very clear about this.
The five billion Beli he currently possessed sounded like an enormous sum.
Yet, when faced with the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, this bottomless money pit, it still wasn't enough.
He could upgrade several Devil Fruits to LV2, or push the Dragon-Dragon Fruit to LV4 or strengthen a Logia Fruit to LV3.
The differences in price and ability between the fruits gave rise to countless possible choices.
"Coo!"
Just as Roy was deep in thought, he heard a sound above his head.
He looked up instinctively and saw a seagull wearing a delivery cap tossing down a thick stack of newspapers.
"Oh? The World Economy News?"
Roy caught the bundle with practiced ease. As he unfurled it, the fresh bounty poster he'd seen in Biros's office fluttered out from between the pages.
The front page was already screaming about the "Arashit Island Incident," dominated by grainy sketches of the chaos.
But Roy couldn't care less about that, the Marines were hunting a criminal named "Youji (Rooster)", what did that have to do with Lieutenant Commander Roy of the 35th?
His gaze immediately shifted to an inconspicuous corner of the newspaper.
[Alabasta Has Seen No Rain for Seven Consecutive Months, Abnormal Climate Draws Attention]
"...Oh?" Roy raised an eyebrow.
"I think I just figured out which fruit needs an upgrade next."
Murmuring to himself, he quickened his pace and soon returned to the Marine Detention Unit dormitory.
Closing the door, he continued refining his plan.
"Wait… did I forget something?"
As the bright moon climbed higher in the sky and night fell, Roy scratched his head and muttered softly.
But he soon cast this minor doubt aside.
He returned to his work.
Roy had completely forgotten that, at that very moment, on the Marine Detention Unit training field.
"Why isn't the boss here yet?"
In the dead of night, Hans stood alone, shivering in the cold.
"Didn't he say he was going to beat me up? Don't tell me he forgot?"
"Should I head back first? No, if the boss finds out, I'm dead. Achoo! So cold..."
A week later, Sergeant Hans had caught a cold from staying up all night training.
...
Alabasta, Erumalu.
This city, located on the southwestern coast of Alabasta beside the Sandora River, was once known as the 'City of Oasis' due to its prosperity.
Recently, however, an air of unease had begun to spread throughout the city.
Seven months, a full seven months had passed without a single drop of rain falling on Erumalu.
As a result, the once-roaring Sandora River, which had nourished both banks for generations, had dropped to a historic low. Even obtaining water for the city had become a serious problem.
"The price of water keeps going up. I hear even the underground water sources are drying up now."
On the southern outskirts of the city, Aiha wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the large vat in front of him, which was now almost empty.
"What on earth is going on?"
He was deeply anxious.
The people of Alabasta were naturally familiar with droughts in their desert country.
But a drought that felt as though it was sucking the land completely dry, this was the first time he had ever experienced anything like it.
"Don't worry, Aiha. King Cobra will surely find a solution." His wife, holding their daughter in her arms, tried to comfort him.
"King Cobra? I heard that Alubarna has been getting its usual amount of rain."
As he spoke, Aiha managed to scoop out a mouthful of water from the vat and handed it to his wife and child.
"On the contrary, the northern Yuba Oasis is in even worse shape. People have already started fleeing. If the king had a solution, he would have acted long ago."
He was extremely uneasy.
Although there was no solid evidence yet, rumors had begun to spread through Erumala recently.
It was said that His Majesty the King had used a method that should never have been used, ensuring rainfall over the capital while leaving the rest of the country completely dry.
Aiha didn't truly believe it. After all, King Cobra was renowned for his wisdom and virtue.
"This can't go on."
Staring at the painfully blue sky, Aiha muttered under his breath.
And at that very moment...
"Hm?"
Aiha noticed something in the distance out of the corner of his eye.
At the edge of the desert outside the city, a solitary figure was slowly approaching, seemingly unaided.
From afar, the figure looked blurry.
However, Aiha could clearly see what was happening around them.
"..."
Almost instinctively, Aiha rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. It was only when the figure drew closer that he could finally confirm that it wasn't an illusion.
Above that person's head, dark grey rain clouds were forming and gathering continuously. The cloud layer was low, as if it had materialised out of thin air.
Within those clouds, a clear curtain of water poured down from the sky like a pillar, completely enveloping the figure!
"Shuaa... laaa!"
"Shuaa... laaa!"
As the figure drew nearer, Aiha could almost hear it. It was the sound every citizen of Eruma had longed for:
Rain... a torrential downpour.
"That person… that person… Is he a god?" The thought rose in Aiha's mind almost instinctively.
But the next moment, he snapped back to his senses.
"Quick! Zina, go get basins and vats! Bring out everything we have, hurry!" Seeing the rainstorm closing in, he urgently shouted to his wife.
"Okay!"
As his wife rushed off to fetch every container they could use to collect water, Aiha took a deep breath and turned back toward the approaching figure.
By now, the figure was very close.
Close enough for Aiha to make out his appearance.
He wore a dark, long robe that concealed his body.
But Aiha could clearly see that on his head as he was wearing a mask.
Aiha recognized that type of mask, a 'Sea Beast Head Mask', a specialty of the South Blue. They were said to be sold everywhere, even custom-made. In a great nation like Alabasta, and in a major city like Erumala, such masks were not rare.
Yet within that pouring rainstorm, the mask filled Aiha with an overwhelming sense of majesty and mystery.
It was…
A dragon-head mask.
(End of Chapter)