Without much effort, Roy soon arrived smoothly inside the G-51 headquarters.
As he came to the office with the nameplate 'Branch Commander - Captain Aster'.
His hearing, enhanced by the Snow Rabbit Fruit, allowed him to hear the voices inside the office.
"Captain, we've really troubled you this time!" one voice said.
The other voice laughed heartily. "Steward Mantar, what are you saying... Our G-51 branch has always been under your kingdom's care. Helping you with your troubles is our duty!"
"That's different—the kingdom's care for your branch is His Majesty the King's will. I am expressing my gratitude on my own behalf. After all, this shipment's payment is to be part of the 'Heavenly Gold' offered to the World Government..."
"I heard you sold quite a lot of good merchandise in Sabaody this time, and even obtained a precious Devil Fruit?"
"Yes—so for you to help us catch that pirate, allow us to temporarily store our treasures at the branch, and even provide an escort for us in a few days, is a tremendous kindness. You must accept this!"
"Oh, I couldn't possibly—how could I be so bold..."
Roy: "..."
Seriously, can't you lower your voices when accepting a bribe? In broad daylight... so shameless!
However, the content of the conversation undoubtedly caught Roy's attention.
"Part of the Heavenly Gold, and... a Devil Fruit?"
Muttering to himself, Roy pushed open the office door.
Then, as expected, he saw a portly man in luxurious clothes stuffing a clearly expensive gemstone ring into the pocket of the Marine in front of him.
The burly, muscle-bound Marine captain was feigning refusal, but it looked like he was about to give in to the other's persistence.
But at that moment, Roy opening the door clearly interrupted the good show.
"Who are you!?"
The commander of the G-51 branch, Captain Aster, immediately looked at Roy with surprise and suspicion.
"Marine Headquarters Custody Unit Captain Roy Amos, here on orders from Headquarters to take custody of the criminal!"
Roy announced his identity with an unchanged expression.
"Custody Unit?"
Captain Aster quickly composed himself. "I am Aster. This is the victim of the attacked merchant ship, Steward Mantar of the Nismael Kingdom!"
As he made the introduction, the fat man also nodded at Roy with a smile.
"Captain Roy, I believe you are aware—I am hosting a banquet at the branch tonight. Perhaps you would be willing to grace us with your presence..."
He said this, but Roy didn't even glance at him, completely ignoring him and looking directly at Captain Aster. "Captain, I'm here for the prisoner handover. My time is tight, please lead the way."
"..."
At Roy's obviously cold attitude, both Captain Aster and Steward Mantar frowned, clearly displeased.
After a moment, Captain Aster nodded coldly. "Since Captain Roy is in such a hurry... let's go."
He snorted, then led Roy towards the branch's prison.
Inside the prison, Roy did indeed meet the 'pirate' who had threatened to attack the Nismael Kingdom's merchant ship.
He was a young man covered in blood.
He looked to be less than twenty years old, was very thin, and had his limbs and torso wrapped in bandages. He looked extremely miserable, having clearly undergone quite brutal torture.
But when Roy and Captain Aster walked into the cell, his gaze was still sharp, and he gritted his teeth without saying a word.
"This is the guy," Captain Aster said casually, glancing at him.
"We've investigated. Couldn't find a wanted poster for this guy, probably a rookie pirate from some small island—but his mouth is tough, refuses to give his name no matter what."
"He's also very weak. I don't know where he got the courage to dare rob a merchant ship from a World Government member nation."
He spat, speaking with disdain.
In this world, there were naturally no household registration systems or identity cards.
Except for some large or prosperous nations, the common people of most ordinary countries or islands were essentially undocumented.
Therefore, investigating the identities of pirates had always been a major problem. Apart from some famous great pirates on the sea, no one usually bothered to investigate the origins of ordinary, small-time pirates.
But it was clear that Captain Aster didn't care either.
"The handover procedures are complete—you can take him anytime."
After saying this, he glanced at Roy again and turned to leave.
Before he left, Roy's hearing seemed to faintly pick up Captain Aster's complaints, words like 'ungrateful,' 'stubborn bastard,' 'a mere captain,' and 'Custody Unit.'
However, Roy no longer had any spare attention to pay to Captain Aster's complaints.
At this moment, he was staring intently at the young criminal in the cell, a flash of intense surprise in his eyes.
But he quickly suppressed the surprise in his heart and turned to the Marine at the cell door. "Let's proceed with the handover immediately."
Not long after, Roy returned to his warship with the young pirate who refused to give his name.
"Hans, Fal—notify Headquarters that we have received the criminal and are heading back. Same as always... I'll personally take the first watch on this guy."
Roy instructed Hans and Fal, then took the criminal alone into the warship's temporary prison.
After sitting down on the familiar sofa, Roy casually took out the hourglass and placed it on the table.
His gaze remained fixed on the young man in the cell, not saying a word.
"..."
This stare made the young man's hair stand on end.
"What are you looking at?" he growled, like a wounded beast.
But he didn't expect that after hearing his words, Roy didn't beat him like the previous marines, but instead smiled.
"What is your relationship with the slaves on that merchant ship?"
The first sentence Roy spoke made the young man's entire body tremble.
"You... What are you talking about, I don't understand!" he finally managed to say after a moment.
Roy clearly didn't care about the young man's answer and just continued on his own. "Let me sort this out."
"You sent a warning letter in advance telling them you were going to rob them, in order to make them afraid, thus prompting them to dock at the G-51 branch?"
"Then you showed up and got caught by them, so they would naturally let their guard down—and in fact, they did. Tonight's banquet is the proof."
"The merchant ship's treasure has already been moved into the branch, so no one would think your real target is the worthless, leftover slaves on the ship."
As Roy said this, he saw the young man begin to tremble all over.
"You... you're talking nonsense..."
He still tried to deny what Roy was saying, but his voice was already a bit hoarse.
At this moment, the shock in his heart was unprecedented.
He didn't understand.
Why could this Marine in front of him lay out his entire plan? He didn't understand where he had been exposed.
"I... I'm locked up here by you, how could I possibly go save any slaves? Marine, kill me or torture me as you please, but don't say things I don't understand!"
His voice was almost stuttering.
But upon hearing this, the smile on Roy's face grew even wider.
"Yes, you're right—you are here, sent onto my warship in full view of everyone... No one will suspect you."
"This is the most brilliant and useful part," Roy said.
His gaze was still fixed on the young pirate.
But in his eyes.
The translucent screen of light silently explained the whole truth.
[Devil Fruit user 'Alan (Slice Clone)' has been discovered]
[Devil Fruit confirmed as 'Paramecia-type: Slice-Slice Fruit', now analyzing and storing in 'Fruit Encyclopedia']
[Fruit Ability - Can create a 'Slice Clone' that is completely identical to the user's current state, but the clone cannot create further slices]
[Note: The Slice Clone shares consciousness and memories with the main body. Once a clone dies, it cannot be recovered, and the main body will suffer a certain degree of damage]
[The main body can retrieve a clone or refresh a clone's state through touch]
[Upon the death of the main body, all clones will disappear simultaneously]
[Effects at each level]
[LV1: Gain weak fruit effect, can create one Slice Clone]
[LV2: Gain partial fruit effect, can create three Slice Clones. Requires 500,000,000 Belly to unlock]
[LV3: Gain full fruit effect, can create seven Slice Clones. Requires 3,000,000,000 Belly to unlock]
[LV4: Deep fruit development, can create twelve Slice Clones. The main body can swap places with any Slice Clone at any time, can retrieve and re-summon Slice Clones regardless of distance. Requires 6,000,000,000 Belly to unlock]
[LV5: Fruit Awakening - Endless Slices. In addition to the twelve base clones, can create an unlimited number of weakened Slice Clones, but each clone only possesses a small fraction of the main body's power. Requires 12,000,000,000 Belly to unlock]
[Analysis Progress: 21%]