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"No need to thank me. Honestly, it was nothing."
When Tony Stark—the Tony Stark—gave a rare, heartfelt thank you, Rosh simply waved it off with a lazy flick of his wrist, his voice light, almost dismissive.
It wasn't false modesty. To him, it truly had been nothing. All he had done was extend his Observation Haki into a cave thousands of miles away, requiring as much effort as lifting a teacup.
Before the moment could stretch, Happy jumped in quickly, eager to steer things in his favor. "Mr. Stark, if you're that grateful to Shopkeeper Rosh, then maybe you could, you know, buy a Devil Fruit while you're at it?" His tone was cheerful, but the intent was obvious; he was trying to cancel out the debt Tony had just promised.
Tony glanced at him sideways, unimpressed. "Relax, Happy. I was planning on buying one anyway. But let's be clear: purchasing a Devil Fruit isn't some kind of thank-you gesture. I'm buying because I'm interested. What I owe the Shopkeeper? That's something else entirely, and I'll settle that debt in my own way."
Happy let out a silent groan. So much for subtlety.
''Heh," Rosh chuckled. "No need to be so formal, Stark."
This was exactly the kind of answer he expected from the billionaire. It fit Tony's personality perfectly, proud, pragmatic, unwilling to mix business with sentiment. Not that it mattered. A favor from Tony Stark would have been a priceless treasure to most people, enough to buy loyalty, status, or even a future. But for Rosh? It was just another pebble on the road. Barely worth a second thought.
Shaking off the moment, he smoothly shifted the conversation. "I'm guessing you've already done your homework on Devil Fruits."
"That's right." Tony's reply was brisk and confident, with a gleam of curiosity sharp in his eyes. "Shopkeeper, I heard from Happy and Pepper that you've got something called the Arms-Arms Fruit. Word is, it lets a person turn their own body parts into any weapon they can imagine. Is that true? Can you tell me more about it?"
Pepper had been the first to bring it up, mentioning it right after she'd purchased her Bubble-Bubble Fruit. Happy had echoed the idea not long after, selling it as if it were tailor-made for Tony.
Back then, Tony had dismissed it all as nonsense. Devil Fruits? Magical powers? Ridiculous. He was convinced it was some kind of scam; clever enough to fool even Pepper Potts, but not him.
That was before Afghanistan. Before the cave. Before he'd seen with his own eyes what Devil Fruit users could really do.
Now? Now there wasn't an ounce of doubt left in him. His skepticism had been burned away, replaced by something he hadn't felt in years.
Anticipation.
The Devil Fruits Tony had once dismissed as fairytales now demanded his full attention. Even without tasting one himself, just from Pepper's and Happy's descriptions, he could feel it in his gut, this Arms-Arms Fruit wasn't just interesting, it was tailor-made for him.
And Tony liked that. He liked it a lot.
Weapons had always been the core of his identity. His brilliance, fame, fortune, and everything were built on them. Sure, he had shut down Stark Industries' weapons division, vowing that his technology would never again be used to slaughter innocents. But this was different. This wasn't about designing tools for others to misuse. This was about him becoming the weapon.
The memory of that cave still burned in his mind. His escape plan, though interrupted by his rescue and the loss of his blueprints, had never left him. The idea of building that armored suit stayed with him, haunting him. It wasn't just a project; it was a promise to himself.
That suit would redefine Stark Industries. No longer the world's leading arms dealer, but a pioneer of something greater. Something powerful enough to undo the damage his past creations had caused. Something that could protect lives instead of destroying them.
The thought of becoming a crime-fighting hero hadn't yet crystallized, but the seed had been planted, and it was already beginning to sprout.
And the Arms-Arms Fruit might just be the catalyst to make it bloom.
"Of course," Rosh said casually, pulling out the Devil Fruit catalog. He placed it on the counter and flipped to a marked page, tapping the entry with a finger. "Here it is, the Arms-Arms Fruit. As you've heard, it allows its user to transform any part of their body into whatever weapon they can imagine."
Tony leaned forward, his eyes sharp, voice cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "Then let me ask you, Shopkeeper… how exactly is a weapon defined when it comes to Devil Fruits?"
Happy jumped in eagerly, answering before Rosh could. "Isn't it obvious? Guns, cannons, tanks! That kind of stuff. If you'd eaten this fruit back in Afghanistan, Mr. Stark, they never would've kept you locked up. You could've just rolled out a tank and blown the whole cave to rubble!"
Happy's excitement was evident, though underneath it was regret too; if only Stark had listened to him and Pepper sooner, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so bad.
But Tony's expression didn't change. Tanks and guns? Child's play. Those toys were relics of a mindset he'd already left behind. None of them could match the vision that burned in his head. None of them could ever hold their ground against enemies armed with weapons he himself had once designed.
It wasn't even close.
Rosh, however, only smiled, as if he'd been waiting for this very question. "The truth is," he explained smoothly, "the word weapon has no fixed definition. Devil Fruits respond to the will and imagination of their users. You asked me how a weapon is defined? My answer is this: if you believe it's a weapon, then it is."
Tony's eyes widened, a flicker of excitement sparking across his face before he could hide it.
"Then tell me this, Shopkeeper…" His voice slowed, carrying weight. "What about a suit of powered armor? To me, that's the ultimate weapon. Could the Arms-Arms Fruit bring something like that into being?"
"Powered armor?" Happy repeated blankly, tilting his head. To him, it sounded like nothing more than science fiction, the kind of flashy tech you'd see in movies, not reality.
But Rosh understood. Perfectly.
"Yes," he answered without hesitation, his tone steady, certain. "As I said, the fruit can manifest whatever you recognize as a weapon. If your imagination and control are strong enough, then yes… It's possible."
That single confirmation was all Tony Stark needed. His entire demeanor shifted. His smirk returned, sharper than ever, but his eyes, those eyes burned with unmistakable, uncontainable excitement.
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Next Chapter: The Big Upgrade
Next Next Chapter: An Unstoppable Perfect Armor
Next Next Next Chapter: The Iron Monger
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