One Piece: Marine to Warlord to Conqueror

”Boss! Boss!”

”What is it?”

The office door flew open with a bang.

Dante didn’t so much as flinch. He took a slow sip of black tea, watching over the rim of his cup as Mock skidded to a halt in front of his desk.

”Easy, Mock,” he said calmly. ”How many times do I have to tell you? No need to rush. Just breathe and tell me what’s going on.”

”Boss...”

Mock rubbed the back of his head. ’The boss seems way too calm today,’ he thought. His eyes darted around the office. ’And Robin isn’t in her usual spot, either.’

Of course, he wasn’t here to see her.

He turned his attention back to Dante, shaking off his boss’s relaxed air. He eagerly set a small treasure chest on the desk. ”Boss, this is it!”

The last time he’d been back, he’d been completely blindsided by the news that a Marine Admiral was now their backer. Then the boss had rushed them all back out to sea so fast he’d completely forgotten about the treasure that old man had given him. He’d left it locked up in the ship’s treasury until just now, when a stray thought about the old man had finally jogged his memory.

Mock looked at Dante, who was still sipping his tea like some retired admiral, and excitedly flipped the chest open.

”This has to be the Devil Fruit you were talking about! I can’t believe I almost forgot it.”

The chest was open. Dante’s gaze fell inside.

There, nestled on the velvet lining, was a strange, swirling patterns... fruit.

No doubt about it. It was a Devil Fruit.

A flicker of surprise finally crossed Dante’s face. He looked up at Mock. ”Where did you get this?”

He was surprised, sure, but after all the other good news today, he wasn’t about to get worked up over it.

”From that group we brought back last time,” Mock said, scratching his head as he tried to remember. ”That old man... what did he say? Oh, right! He said he found it in the forest!”

As Mock stumbled through the story, Dante pieced it together. An old man finds a Devil Fruit in the woods, Mock brings him and his family back to the island, and in the chaos of setting sail again, the fruit gets forgotten.

Dante nodded, waving off Mock’s clumsy explanation. He lifted the Devil Fruit from the chest, turning it over in his hands.

Finally finished with his story, Mock leaned in, his eyes wide with fascination as he stared at the fruit. He knew about Devil Fruits, of course. Besides Robin, he’d seen plenty of users lately.

Like Kuma...

’Man, I’d love to have Kuma’s ability,’ he thought. ’Kidnap- *Ahem* Rescueing people would be so much easier. I could just swat anyone I needed to, and *thwump*, they’d land right at the boss’s feet.’

But that was Kuma’s power. This was the first time he’d ever seen an actual Devil Fruit up close, uneaten.

Mock blinked. ”I heard these things are worth at least a hundred million Berries?”

He’d barely gotten the words out when a new voice piped up from the doorway.

”A hundred million Berries? Where’s a hundred million Berries?” Nami’s head poked into the office. She looked around, confused. ”Hey, where’s Robin? She’s usually here.”

”Ahem. It’s nothing,” Dante said, clearing his throat. As Nami walked in, he dangled the Devil Fruit from his fingers. ”This is a hundred million Berries.”

”A Devil Fruit?!”

Nami’s question about Robin evaporated. Her attention snapped to the strange fruit in Dante’s hand, her eyes lighting up as she hurried closer for a better look. She’d knew enough of the Grand Line to know exactly what it was. But like Mock, this was the first time she’d seen one that hadn’t been eaten yet.

”Where did this come from?”

”Mock brought it back.”

After Dante gave her the short version, Nami finally understood. A look of wonder crossed her face. ”I can’t believe our luck.” She pouted, a wistful look in her eyes. ”If I’d found something like this back then, maybe my life wouldn’t have been so hard!”

”Don’t be ridiculous,” Dante grumbled, shattering her daydream. ”Arlong and that rat Nezumi would’ve never let you keep it. They’d have just stolen it along with all your money and made you start over from zero.”

”You’re right. They absolutely would have,” Nami said, her fantasy deflating. The memory of Arlong’s breaking promise after Dante helped her acquire the money.

But still in the end all that money meaning nothing, her years of struggles being useless still stung. She sighed, then clenched a fist. ”Damn it, I should have landed a few more hits on Arlong and that rat myself!”

She remembered the absolute despair she’d felt when she learned they were working together.

But then... her anger softened. A small smile touched her lips.

’At least,’ she thought, ’when I hit rock bottom, I found true friends.’

A wave of warmth washed over her. Everyone was thriving now, and she was so happy for them. Her only regret... was that Bellemere wasn’t here to see it.

”A hundred million Berries?” Nami said, pulling herself back to the present. Her gaze fixed on the fruit again. ”So, what kind is it? I know Devil Fruits are worth a fortune, but I’ve also heard some are totally useless. You eat one by accident, and you get a worthless power and you can’t swim anymore!”

”So what’s this one’s ability?” Mock asked, leaning over curiously at Nami’s words. ”Is it useful or not?”

While the two of them peered at the fruit, Dante took another sip of his tea. ”Actually... I know what this one does.”

He’d read about it in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, Robin had a copy, of course. He just never expected to actually see one in person.

Instantly, Nami and Mock snapped their heads up, their eyes locked on him.

”What is it? Is it a valuable Logia?” Nami pressed.

”Boss, can I eat it? I’ve never tasted one!” Mock pleaded.

Dante looked speechlessly at the two of them. One had eyes that were practically sparkling with Beri signs, the other had a trail of drool forming at the corner of his mouth.

’Everyone on the sea thinks Logia types are the strongest,’ he mused, ’but they have no idea what’s coming. In the long run, the Mythical Zoans are where the real power is.’

As for this fruit...

Dante gave Mock a strange look. ”You can eat it if you want.”

”Huh? Really?”

”Sure,” Dante said with a shrug. He glanced at Mock’s eager face. ”But I don’t think you’ll like the ability. It’s the Calm-Calm Fruit.”

”The Calm-Calm Fruit?” Mock repeated, scratching his head. ”What’s that?”

”The Calm-Calm Fruit...”

That’s right. It was Corazon’s old fruit. Trafalgar Law’s adoptive father. It created invisible, soundproof barriers. Anything inside couldn’t hear the outside world, and nothing outside could hear what was happening within.

He hadn’t found Law, but he’d found his adoptive father’s fruit instead?! It wasn’t exactly useless, it had its uses, but an ordinary person wouldn’t know how to tap into its true potential. While the true potential of a Devil Fruit always came down to the user’s ingenuity, and many on the open sea chanted, ”There are no useless Devil Fruits, only useless users!” how to develop a seemingly useless fruit like this was beyond most people.

’Then again,’ he recalled with a smirk, ’Corazon mostly used it to get a good night’s sleep... which, to be fair, it was great for.’

After Dante’s explanation, Mock’s burly face scrunched up in disgust. ’What would I need that for? I’m already the most tight-lipped guy on the sea.’

Nami’s interest plummeted, too. She pouted. ”So what’s the use of that? We should just sell it.” She’d been hoping for a Logia.

Just as the two of them wrote the fruit off, a slow, sly smile spread across Dante’s face.

”No,” he said, holding up the Calm-Calm Fruit. ”This is actually very useful. In fact... I have a crazy plan.”

He lowered his gaze to the fruit in his hand, a glint in his eye. Under Nami and Mock’s confused stares, he spoke in a low, deliberate voice.

”If it works, we’ll have everything.”

Hearing the word ”everything,” Nami’s disdain vanished. Her eyes narrowed, locking onto the fruit as if it had just turned to solid gold.

”Kidnapping...”

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