Inside lay the Devil Fruit he'd obtained three years ago,
a Paramecia—the Wapu Wapu no Mi (Warp-Warp Fruit).
In the original story, it belonged to Van Augur, the Blackbeard Pirates' sniper,
a Devil Fruit tailor-made for a marksman.
But for Aos, it would never be just a sniper's support fruit.
When his strength could no longer inch forward, Aos might consider eating this space-related Devil Fruit:
once developed to awakening, it could bring surprises—warping every enemy attack a thousand miles away; rapid warps for a "Kamui-style" phasing, immune to all strikes; casually warping Devil Fruit users straight into the sea…
If the Paw-Paw Fruit can slap away pain and send you on a world tour, why couldn't the Warp-Warp?
To Aos, Mythical Zoans may be strong, but Paramecia are no slouches—especially the conceptual ones.
As for why not eat it now…
Aos was waiting.
He worried about a certain hunch: before the proper moment, would the final island reject Devil Fruit users?
In the original tale, Buggy mysteriously spiked a fever right before landfall and missed the One Piece,
and no one else showed that symptom.
Buggy's biggest difference from the others was that he was a Devil Fruit user—the Chop-Chop Fruit.
So Aos wouldn't gamble. The fruit wasn't going anywhere; he could wait two years.
In the meantime, he could pour his energy into Haki, just as Kaido said: "Only Haki reigns above all."
Aos wasn't about to put the cart before the horse and turn himself into a flashy Fruit user who crumples the second Conqueror's coating touches him.
Is Kid strong or not?
With awakened railguns, he can injure an Emperor with ease; one blast wipes out fleets by the sheet.
But if your Haki can't keep up, Shanks takes one look into the future, catches a bit of your wind-up, and—like walking a dog—one Divine Departure deletes you.
Three billion, carved like a chicken.
So no matter what, Aos would never abandon Haki training.
He'd forge the world's hardest Armament, see farther with Future Sight, and wield Haoshoku Haki that bowed to no one.
Sailing with the Roger Pirates was, right now, the fastest way to power up his Haki—a copy of Shanks's rise, in a sense…
"Knock knock…"
While Aos drifted in thought, a knock sounded at the door.
"Uncle Petermoo?"
Red light flickered strangely in Aos's eyes, and he "saw" a chubby man at the door.
He pulled on his pants, opened up—and sure enough, it was his marksmanship mentor,
the Roger Pirates' sniper, Petermoo.
"Aos, still up?"
Petermoo held a long, bandage-wrapped, staff-like object and clapped Aos on the shoulder like an old friend.
Aos nodded and invited him to sit.
"What's this…?"
"I'm here to congratulate you, Aos. Not everyone's got the aptitude for Haoshoku."
Grinning, Petermoo handed the item straight to him.
Credit where due—Petermoo was a solid mentor: he'd poured himself into teaching Aos deeper Kenbunshoku applications and sniping craft, worthy of being called "master."
Aos took it—and knew what it was at once:
a long gun,
with real heft…
He unwound the bandages layer by layer to reveal a glossy black sniper rifle—slick lines, and every piece, from receiver to scope housing, was top grade.
What a material…
It was all freaking Seastone!
Holy—
Aos was at a loss for words. He'd planned to become a Fruit user—shooting, tanking, and sniping—but what now?
Warp powers and a sniper rifle—mutually exclusive?
"Uh… it's a fine gun, for sure!"
Seeing Petermoo's hopeful little eyes, Aos couldn't bring himself to say anything ungrateful.
Worst case, he'd keep it wrapped in bandages later.
Besides, it really was a great rifle. Any seasoned sniper could tell at a touch it would do several kilometers without a hitch.
Coat the bullets in Armament—or a Fruit power—and in theory you could shoot even farther.
"Hahahahaha, of course! I paid a fortune back in the day. But I'm too used to my old partner now, so I never switched—your lucky day, kid!"
Petermoo laughed, clearly happy the fine gun had found a worthy home.
Because Aos deserved it.
Snipers with Conqueror's are rare; in all these years, Aos was a lone seedling—his future limitless.
Petermoo didn't have Conqueror's; as a sniper he'd never rank among the world's strongest. But Aos might.
So this was also an investment—in the art of sniping!
"I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but I saw Shanks was still up, so I figured you probably were too, and came over tonight."
At that, Aos—still fiddling with his new weapon—paused, arched a brow, and asked, curious:
"What's Shanks doing, going nuts in the middle of the night?"
"Probably because of you."
Petermoo caught his puzzlement and smiled. "Seeing you—same age—flatten an enemy officer so easily, Shanks must've been rattled."
Then he burst out laughing.
Raised by Captain Roger since he was little, Shanks had monstrous talent—Roger's chosen successor in will.
And Aos was Petermoo's disciple.
Now Aos > Shanks,
which, in a sense, means Petermoo > Roger?
"Looks like Shanks has the heart of a strong one, too."
Which made sense. From the moment he boarded, Shanks—already gifted Roger's straw hat—had the first stirrings of a world-striding mindset, and the mantle of "king of the next generation" on his shoulders.
Aos's arrival, inevitably, slapped a ceiling on the kid who'd been unrivaled among his peers.
Shanks, who'd traveled with the Roger Pirates since childhood, was actually losing to Aos, a boy raised in a village—like a noble prodigy falling to a grassroots child of fortune.
Didn't that mean Captain Roger's will shouldn't be his to inherit—and the straw hat shouldn't be his, either?
Shanks couldn't accept it.
Even if Aos hadn't targeted him, the gap in their raw selves made Shanks compare himself by reflex—hoping to take back MVP of their trio someday.
After Aos awakened Haoshoku that afternoon, Shanks started going all in that very night.
"Keep at it, Aos—blink and you'll get overtaken."
Petermoo's words didn't really pressure Aos.
He'd never planned to inherit any "will" or be Pirate King.
He wanted to see what One Piece actually was—purely for feeling and curiosity.
If he really wanted the title, it'd be easy: once Roger died, take the Eternal Pose to Laugh Tale for a victory lap and declare he'd found the treasure.
Still, he did care about strength.
He couldn't have his fun—pull a little swagger—only to get stonewalled by Shanks and forced to run; the guy was infamous for sticking his nose in.
Shanks might have "face" with other people,
but in front of him and Buggy,
he didn't have a single hair.