Drop Some power stones! If you like the chapter! It helps to keep me motivated to upload more!💎💎💎
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"It seems our luck isn't bad at all. If nothing goes wrong, this Devil Fruit should be the Soku Soku no Mi — the Speed-Speed Fruit."
Upon hearing Williams' words, Aaron instinctively activated his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki). Almost immediately, he sensed the unusual presence hidden among the pile of apples. Reaching in, he pulled out the odd-looking fruit and smiled as he turned to his two brothers beside him.
Seeing this, Williams and Shuma both broke into delighted grins.
A Devil Fruit — a miraculous treasure capable of granting power instantly. There were few in the world who could resist its temptation.
"It seems the rebirth of a Devil Fruit doesn't necessarily occur in the nearest piece of fruit," Aaron analyzed aloud. "Its regeneration appears to ignore distance to some degree. Still, it probably prefers fruits within a certain nearby range. Looks like we really did get lucky this time."
As he spoke, Aaron quickly revised his earlier assumptions about Devil Fruit rebirth.
Through his earlier experiments, he'd confirmed that a Devil Fruit didn't simply reincarnate in the nearest fruit. Yet since it had regenerated among the fruits in his office, that indicated there was likely a limited range — it tended to choose fruits relatively close by.
There simply wasn't enough data for him to reach a solid conclusion. But regardless, this outcome — obtaining a Devil Fruit — was already more than enough.
In the end, results were what mattered most.
"Williams, do you want to eat it?"
Aaron, whose ultimate goal was the Munch Munch Fruit, wasn't interested in this suspected Speed-Speed Fruit for himself. He handed it to Williams with a smile.
"M–me? Can I really?" Williams stammered.
Among the three brothers, he was the weakest. Though he had contributed greatly to their cause, this was still a world where individual strength could decide everything. Deep down, Williams wanted to become stronger — strong enough to protect himself and not drag Aaron and Shuma down.
"Of course," Aaron replied seriously. "You've been working hard these days. Without you sacrificing your training time to manage the trade guild and earn money, we wouldn't have such a solid foundation and growing influence now. You've done more than enough to deserve it."
Shuma grinned and nodded. "Big bro's right. If you want it, eat it — no need to feel embarrassed."
Williams was moved by their words, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "I'll pass. I'm too busy running the guild lately. This kind of ability's great for team battles — it'd be wasted on me. I'd rather have something that boosts survival instead."
Aaron and Shuma exchanged thoughtful looks.
Indeed, Williams rarely had time to train now. As the Flashgold Chamber of Commerce grew, his responsibilities as the guild's president left him with little free time. He was constantly on the move, running things non-stop. Giving him a Speed-Speed Fruit would indeed be wasteful.
The Speed-Speed Fruit could accelerate allies, boosting their movement and attack speeds — an incredible support-type ability, especially useful in large-scale battles.
"All right then," Aaron said, carefully putting the fruit away. "We'll find a better one for you next time."
There was a trace of gratitude — and guilt — in his eyes.
He knew the real reason Williams refused wasn't just practicality. Williams wanted Aaron to have the freedom to claim any suitable fruit they found, to strengthen himself whenever the opportunity arose. Managing the guild so flawlessly proved how clever Williams was — he had definitely thought that far ahead.
Aaron couldn't help but feel deeply thankful. His brother had sacrificed so much for him.
Williams smiled. "Don't worry. I doubt that 'next time' will be too far away."
And with that, the matter of the Devil Fruit was settled.
Aaron glanced at the wall clock. "It's time for me to go. You two should get back to work as well."
As soon as he spoke, he strode out of the room in his usual brisk, urgent manner.
"This guy moves too fast," Shuma muttered, watching Aaron's retreating figure. "It's hard to even keep up with him anymore."
The past few months had felt like a dream. From a lowly slave to a renowned intelligence chief — all thanks to following Aaron. Though Shuma had worked hard himself, the foundation of their intelligence network, including its ideological structure, had all been planned and built by Aaron.
Without that firm sense of unity and purpose, the group would never have grown this cohesive or expanded so fast.
"Tch, if you can't keep up, then I probably can't even see his shadow," Williams grumbled.
No one understood Aaron's drive better than they did. He was always the busiest of the three, yet somehow never satisfied — always pushing harder. His relentless determination often made them ashamed to slack off; whenever they even thought of taking it easy, Aaron's example would flash through their minds and push them back to work.
Over time, they'd accepted the truth — no matter how hard they trained, catching up to Aaron might be impossible. So, they chose instead to support him from the areas they excelled in.
They exchanged smiles and left the room together.
Meanwhile, Aaron — his face masked — was sprinting across rooftops in the slums, moving like a shadow in the night. With Kenbunshoku Haki, he could perceive every foothold even in darkness, and his exceptional physical strength allowed him to leap tens of meters in a single bound.
Before long, he had crossed the entire district and landed atop a building roughly fifty meters from the Donquixote Auction House.
"Let's hope I gain something new tonight," he murmured, staring at the massive fortress ahead with a grim look.
In the next moment, he closed his eyes and unleashed his Kenbunshoku Haki at full power, spreading his awareness over a radius of more than two hundred meters. Countless details inside the fortress flooded into his mind.
Every night, Aaron came here to survey the stronghold using Observation Haki — both to study its layout and traps through the patrols' movements, and to learn the daily habits and routines of Pica and Lao G.
He had persisted for over a month. By now, he was intimately familiar with the fortress — its mechanisms, traps, and guard rotations — and had even mapped out Pica and Lao G's schedules and interests.
Fortunately for him, neither Pica nor Lao G seemed to possess Observation Haki, leaving them blind to his watchful presence.
"…Huh?" Aaron's eyes suddenly snapped open. "Gilbert and Wapol are coming to see the Devil Fruit in a few days?!"
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