## Chapter 6: Heavenly Gold? Slice-Slice Fruit!
Without expending much effort, Loy quickly arrived at G-51 Headquarters.
When he arrived in front of the office doorplate that read "Branch Chief - Colonel Aspert".
His enhanced hearing, thanks to the Snow Rabbit Fruit, allowed him to pick up voices from inside the office.
"Colonel, this time we've truly troubled you!"
One voice said this.
The other voice, however, laughed heartily and said, "Director Mantel, what are you saying? Our G-51 Branch has always received the noble nation's patronage, so helping you resolve trouble is only right!"
"That's different. Your branch's consideration is the King's will, Your Majesty. I am expressing my gratitude to you on my own behalf; after all, this shipment of goods is part of the 'Heavenly Gold' for the World Government."
"I heard that this time at Sabaody Archipelago, you sold quite a few good items, and even obtained a precious Devil Fruit?"
"That's right—that's why you helped us capture that Pirate, allowed us to temporarily store our treasures at the branch, and in a few days, you'll even escort us. These are all immense favors; you must accept this!"
"Oh, no, I couldn't—how could I possibly accept such a thing?"
Loy: "..."
Couldn't they be a little quieter when accepting bribes?
Doing it brazenly... they have no shame!
However, the content of their conversation undoubtedly caught Loy's attention.
"Part of the Heavenly Gold, and a... Devil Fruit?"
Muttering to himself, Loy pushed open the office door.
Sure enough, he saw a portly man, dressed in luxurious clothes, secretly slipping a very expensive-looking gemstone ring into the pocket of the Marine in front of him.
The burly, muscular Marine in front, though making a show of refusing, seemed destined to be overpowered by the other party's persistence in the end.
But at this moment, Loy, having pushed open the door, clearly interrupted this 'good show'.
"Who are you!?"
Thus, the G-51 Branch Manager, Colonel Aspert, immediately looked at Loy with suspicion and uncertainty.
"Marine Headquarters Escort Team, Lieutenant Loy Aros. I'm here on Headquarters' orders to take custody of the criminal!"
Loy reported his name and rank without changing his expression.
"Escort Team?"
Colonel Aspert quickly composed himself, saying, "I am Aspert. This is the victim of this attacked merchant ship, Director Mantel of the Nismal Kingdom!"
As he made the introduction, the chubby man also nodded and smiled at Loy.
"Lieutenant Loy, I believe you already know—tonight I will be hosting a banquet at the branch. Perhaps you would like to attend?"
He said this, but Loy didn't even glance at him, instead directly ignoring him and looking at Colonel Aspert: "Colonel, I'm here for the prisoner transfer—my time is limited; please lead the way."
"..."
Regarding Loy's somewhat cold and unyielding attitude, both Colonel Aspert and Director Mantel frowned, clearly displeased.
A moment later, Colonel Aspert coldly nodded: "Since Lieutenant Loy is in such a hurry... let's go."
He snorted, then led Loy towards the branch's prison.
Inside the prison, Loy indeed smoothly saw the "Pirate" who had boasted about attacking the Nismal Kingdom's merchant ship.
He was a young man covered in blood.
He was probably under twenty, very thin, with bandages wrapped around his limbs and torso, looking extremely miserable and clearly having undergone considerable brutal torture.
But when Loy and Colonel Aspert walked into the cell, his gaze was still sharp, and he gritted his teeth without saying a word.
"This is the fellow."
Colonel Aspert glanced at him and said casually.
"We've already investigated; there's no bounty on this fellow. He's probably a new Pirate from some unknown small island—but he's got a stubborn mouth; he absolutely refuses to give his name."
"His strength is also very weak. I don't know where he got the courage to dare to plunder a merchant ship from a World Government Member Nation."
He snorted with disdain.
In this world, there naturally wouldn't be household registration systems or identification cards.
Apart from some major or prosperous nations, the majority of ordinary nations or island commoners are essentially unregistered.
Therefore, investigating the identities of Pirates has always been a major problem. Except for some well-known great Pirates, common small Pirates often don't have anyone investigating their origins.
But clearly, Colonel Aspert didn't care.
"The transfer procedures have already been completed—you can take him at any time."
After saying this, he glanced at Loy again, then turned and left.
Before leaving, Loy's enhanced hearing allowed him to faintly catch Colonel Aspert's complaints, such as "doesn't know how to appreciate favors," "stubborn fellow," "just a mere Lieutenant," "escort team," and so on.
However, Loy no longer had any spare attention for Colonel Aspert's complaints.
At this moment, he was staring fixedly at the young criminal in the cell, a strong hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
But then, he still forced down the surprise in his heart, turned to the Marine at the cell door, and said, "Proceed with the transfer immediately."
So, not long after, Loy brought this young Pirate, who stubbornly refused to reveal his name, back to his warship.
"Hans, Far—notify Headquarters that we have received the criminal and are returning. Also... I will personally take the first watch for this fellow."
Loy instructed Hans and Far this way, then personally escorted the criminal into the warship's temporary brig.
After sitting down on the familiar sofa, Loy casually took out an hourglass and placed it in his hand.
His gaze remained fixed on the young man in the cell, not saying a word.
"..."
This stare made the young man's heart pound.
"What are you looking at?"
So he growled, like a wounded wild beast.
But he hadn't expected that Loy, upon hearing his words, didn't beat him like the other Marines had; instead, he smiled.
"What's your relationship with those slaves on the merchant ship?"
And the first sentence Loy uttered made the young man tremble all over.
"You... what are you saying? I don't understand!"
A moment later, he came back to his senses and said this.
Loy clearly didn't care about the young man's answer, but simply continued talking to himself: "Let me guess."
"You sent a warning letter in advance telling them you would rob them, to scare them into willingly docking the ship at G-51 Branch?"
"Then you boarded and were caught by them, and they naturally relaxed their guard—in fact, they did relax; tonight's banquet is proof."
"The merchant ship's treasures have already been transferred to the branch, so no one would think your real target was those 'worthless' slaves left behind on the merchant ship to be sold."
When Loy said this, he saw that the young man was already trembling all over.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about..."
He still tried hard to deny Loy's words, but his voice was already somewhat hoarse.
At this moment, the shock in his heart was unprecedented.
He didn't understand.
He didn't understand why this Marine in front of him could speak of his entire plan, nor did he understand where he had been exposed.
"I... I'm locked up here by you, how could I possibly save any slaves—Marine, do what you want with me, just don't say things I don't understand!"
His voice was almost choked.
But upon hearing this, the smile on Loy's face became even stranger.
"That's right, you're not wrong—you're right here, brought onto my warship under everyone's watchful eyes... no one would suspect you."
"This is the most brilliant, and also the most effective part."
Loy said this.
And his gaze remained fixed on the young Pirate.
But in his eyes...
A virtual light screen silently revealed the whole truth.
[Devil Fruit user 'Alan (Slice Clones)' has been discovered.]
[Devil Fruit confirmed as 'Paramecia-type: Slice-Slice Fruit', currently being analyzed and stored in the 'Fruit Encyclopedia'.]
[Fruit Ability: Can create 'Slice Clones' that are completely identical to the user's current state, but the clones cannot create further slices.]
[Note: Slice Clones share consciousness and memories with the main body. Clones cannot be restored after death, and the main body will suffer a certain degree of damage.]
[The main body can recall clones or refresh their state by touching them.]
[If the main body dies, all clones will disappear simultaneously.]
[Effect at each Level:]
[LV1: Gains weak Devil Fruit effects, can create one Slice Clone.]
[LV2: Gains partial Devil Fruit effects, can create three Slice Clones, requires 500 million Beri to unlock.]
[LV3: Gains full Devil Fruit effects, can create seven Slice Clones, requires 3 billion Beri to unlock.]
[LV4: Deep Fruit development, can create twelve Slice Clones. The main body can instantly swap positions with any Slice Clone, and can recall and resummon Slice Clones regardless of distance, requires 6 billion Beri to unlock.]
[LV5: Fruit Awakening: Endless Slices. In addition to the twelve basic clones, can create an unlimited number of weakened Slice Clones, but each weakened Slice Clone only possesses a small portion of the main body's strength, requires 12 billion Beri to unlock.]
[Analysis progress: 21%.]
(end of chapter)