Chapter 11: Logia-type Mera Mera no Mi! Absorb
After packing everything from the room into his system space, Rono left in satisfaction.
The slaves from the outer two rooms had already departed. Only Roger remained, still lying on the pile of gold with a look of enjoyment.
"Time to divide the spoils."
Rono took out the Devil Fruits he had just obtained, along with swords, guns, and cannons, and laid them all out in front of Roger.
"Oh~ Where did you find all this good stuff?" Roger asked, extremely curious as he looked at the dazzling treasures before him.
"I disappeared for a while, and it seems you didn't even notice." Rono felt exasperated. This guy was really too oblivious.
"Aren't these Devil Fruits? And so many other treasures!"
Roger hopped off the gold pile and stood before the treasures, admiring them intently like a country bumpkin seeing the big city for the first time.
If he hadn't read the original story, Rono would find it hard to believe that a guy like this would become the future Pirate King, revered by all.
"To be fair, let's split everything evenly—the gold, the treasure, the Devil Fruits, and the fine swords. You can pick first," Rono said.
After all, Roger was the "teacher" who had helped him acquire the three types of Haki. Letting him pick first could be considered repayment.
"Forget it. I'm not interested in Devil Fruits. As for a sword, I already have one. So, all this stuff is yours."
Roger waved his hand, refusing. He was genuinely uninterested in Devil Fruits.
Although he was interested in swords, Roger felt his current blade suited him fine and didn't need to be replaced.
"Are you sure? This is the Mera Mera no Mi, a Logia."
Rono picked up a familiar-looking fruit and showed it to Roger.
Although he had never seen a Devil Fruit encyclopedia, Rono had read the original story, so he knew what the Mera Mera no Mi looked like.
And right here was a Devil Fruit, precisely the Logia-type Mera Mera no Mi!
Its other name: 'Not Even Dogs Would Eat It.'
After all, other fruits could also produce flames, like Mythical Zoans, and their potential was even higher than the Mera Mera no Mi.
Even Kin'emon's sword could produce flames. What else was there to say?
"Oh~ so it's a Logia Devil Fruit. Is that useful for anything?" Roger was completely puzzled. It seemed he had no idea what a Logia type was.
"Alright, then. Since you don't need them, all of these are mine. To be fair, I'll just take one-tenth of the treasure."
Rono couldn't be bothered to explain what Logia Devil Fruits were to Roger.
Besides, the future Pirate King wouldn't care about a single Logia fruit. Roger was the man who became Pirate King relying purely on Haki and his combat skills.
He needed a sword even less. The one in Roger's hand was Ace, one of the twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
"Hahaha, you said it! What a score, what a score!" Roger danced around happily.
After all, this much money could buy a lot of wine.
Rono wasn't getting a bad deal, either. Even if "not even dogs would eat" the Mera Mera no Mi, it would sell for at least 500 million Berries on the black market.
After all, the base power of a Logia fruit was guaranteed. Against opponents who couldn't use Haki, a Logia user was practically invincible.
There were several other miscellaneous Devil Fruits, each worth at least 100 million. So, it was more or less an even split with Roger.
They moved all the treasure onto the Revenge, filling the ship to the brim.
"We probably just stole the Heavenly Tribute from half the countries in the East Blue," Roger remarked, looking at the treasure piled up into a small mountain.
This haul was massive. It was enough to buy a good pirate ship and stock up on a huge amount of wine.
"Those Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise... they must be feeling the pinch right now," Rono said faintly, gazing into the distance.
One man's gain is another man's loss.
The World Government's Celestial Dragons, losing so much Heavenly Tribute at once, would definitely be furious.
The thought of the pained expressions on those pigs' faces brought a sense of pleasure to Rono's heart.
He really wanted to see the furious, helpless expressions of those beastly Celestial Dragons with his own eyes.
"After this, we'll be famous all over the world!"
Roger leaned against the deck, looking into the distance, and shouted with his arms raised high.
After all, they had just robbed the Heavenly Tribute, freed all those slaves, and taken so much treasure. This was definitely a major incident that would shake the World Government and the Marines to their core.
They'd probably have bounties on their heads in a couple of days.
Rono was looking forward to it as well.
He wondered how high his bounty would be after this incident.
A bounty didn't necessarily represent one's true strength, but it did say something.
The higher his bounty, the more he would be valued when he joined the Rocks Pirates.
"I'm tired. I'm going to get some rest." Rono then found an excuse to return to his room and inspect his spoils.
First, he chose a sword. From the large pile of fine blades, he selected one that felt the most natural in his hand.
He now possessed Advanced Swordsmanship, so choosing a suitable blade would also enhance his combat power.
"'Meito: Kotetsu.' It's one of the 21 Great Grade Blades."
Looking at the name on the blade, Rono was pleasantly surprised.
He hadn't expected to obtain one of the 21 Great Grade Blades here. While it wasn't a Supreme Grade Blade, a Great Grade Blade was still an extremely top-tier weapon.
Picking up the Kotetsu, Rono resisted the urge to swing it. A single slash might just cut the Revenge in two.
Next up was the main event: the Devil Fruits.
The system had two uses for Devil Fruits. One was that after he possessed a fruit ability, he could directly absorb Devil Fruits to rapidly enhance the ability's development and awakening level.
But Rono hadn't found a suitable fruit yet. After all, the Mera Mera no Mi's potential was too low; he despised it even more than a dog would. Rono would not eat it.
If it were a top-tier Logia like the Goro Goro no Mi or the Magu Magu no Mi, Rono would consider it.
Or, say, a Mythical Zoan dragon-type fruit, Rono would consider that as well.
He didn't have a fruit ability right now, so this option was out.
That left only the other use: choosing to strengthen one of his existing abilities.
Five Devil Fruits weren't enough to raise his three types of Haki from Advanced to Top-tier, and Rono didn't plan to do that anyway.
After he joined the Rocks Pirates, upgrading his Haki by "picking up" abilities would be much faster than absorbing Devil Fruits.
"I'll just save them for now. I'll use them after I get a fruit ability. Maybe I can awaken it directly."
With this in mind, Rono prepared to store these Devil Fruits in his system space to collect dust.
He would wait until he found a suitable fruit ability before absorbing them.
[Ding~ Detected Natural Power in the host's vicinity. Absorb?]
"'Natural Power?' Is it talking about the Mera Mera no Mi?" Rono understood at once. This "Natural Power" must be referring to the Mera Mera no Mi.
[Absorb Natural Power?] This was the first time Rono had seen this function.
Following that, Rono carefully examined the system's functions.
He didn't know what to expect, but what he found was shocking. After understanding the "Absorb Natural Power" function, Rono was completely stunned!