Roy was not a fool.
By this point, he had almost completely figured out the timeline of Skypiea.
More than thirty years ago, Rocks D. Xebec arrived in Skypiea, took the gold, and left a message.
During his final voyage, Gol D. Roger came to Skypiea and saw Rocks's message.
The Pirate King clearly knew something, which is why he had Kozuki Oden carve the Poneglyph inscription mentioning the name "Star Lord."
Of course, many questions remained.
For example, according to Roger's message, Rocks had made some kind of "choice."
In the message he left behind, Rocks even addressed Roy as a "companion" without hiding his forbidden true surname.
But these were clearly secondary details.
The information Roy had was enough for him to deduce a possible answer.
"Did I travel back more than thirty years, meet Rocks, and make an agreement with him?"
"Because of that agreement, Rocks came to Skypiea to take the gold."
This was almost the only possible conclusion. Based on everything Roy currently knew, only one method was capable of accomplishing something like that:
The Modo Modo no Mi, or Return-Return Fruit.
"The awakened effect of this Devil Fruit could send me back five hours."
"But that's not right. The Return-Return Fruit affects the Devil Fruit user. Rocks came here at least thirty years ago. I couldn't possibly rewind time that far!"
Roy frowned deeply.
"Could it be that I solved the side effects of this Devil Fruit in the future? But even if that were the case, what kind of situation would force me to use such an ability?"
He knew himself well.
The Return-Return Fruit's special awakened ability required an enormous cost. Although its effect was powerful, the restrictions were severe.
Under normal circumstances, even if he had solved the fruit's side effects, he would never use it.
Unless...
"Some massive crisis forced me to."
That possibility made Roy's heart grow heavy. Several possible threats crossed his mind at that moment: the Three Admirals, Kaido, Big Mom, Whitebeard, the Five Elders, and even Imu.
Roy didn't know which one it was.
But he knew what he should do next.
"Gather information about Rocks and Skypiea and Enel. Maybe I can deduce which point in the past I returned to. Perhaps there will even be clues about the future crisis."
"Besides that, I should also collect information about the Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates."
He pondered silently.
Previously, he had never paid much attention to information about Rocks.
After all, that legend belonged to two eras ago. Because it involved the God Valley Incident, almost all records about Rocks were classified secrets.
But now, things were different.
With his current authority and status, Roy now had the qualifications to access those records.
Aside from the information problem, though—
"I also need to hurry with the next slot..."
Roy muttered inwardly, his gaze once again turning to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
On the illusory pages of the book before him...
After turning the page belonging to the Devil Fruit Fusion Slot, a new page appeared.
[Lineage Factor Development – Analysis Progress: 0.03%]
[Collecting Devil Fruits can accelerate the analysis speed. Current number of Devil Fruits collected: 60]
[When the analysis progress reaches 100%, the special slot 'Devil Fruit Creation Slot' will be unlocked.]
That's right.
After unlocking the fifth slot – the Devil Fruit Fusion Slot, the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia had opened a new page, just as Roy had expected.
Unlike before, however, this page no longer required him to collect a fixed number of Devil Fruits.
Instead, it displayed a progress bar.
Roy had recently noticed that the bar increased slightly every day.
Originally, he hadn't been in a hurry.
After he cooperated with the Revolutionary Army and seized control of Baroque Works, he received a large sum of Beli every year.
Additionally, he could occasionally let Youji (Rooster) intercept the Heavenly Tribute or let Zishu take on a few assassination jobs.
In short, he could have spent one or two years calmly accumulating strength instead of acting aggressively.
But now...
His thinking had changed. He didn't know what would happen in the future.
He didn't know what had happened in the past.
He didn't know what his fate would be in the upcoming crisis.
But there was one thing he knew for certain. He could not slow down his pace.
"I'm still not strong enough. It's not time to relax yet." Roy thought to himself.
He knew that he could now officially put certain plans on the agenda. Even though he didn't get the gold of Skypiea, the money provided by Baroque Works and the Revolutionary Army should be enough.
The next day:
Coffin Island — Hitman Town:
The House of Death Tavern was closed today.
"Yes, Lord Drug Peclo. I have already dealt with the replies from those two and gathered all related information. Your meeting with them will absolutely remain unknown."
"I'll go ahead to the island where the meeting will take place and set up security to ensure absolute safety."
"Rest assured, everything was done discreetly. Zishu hasn't noticed anything."
In a hidden, pitch-black chamber, Miss Spider held a small Den Den Mushi and reported in a low voice.
Click.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, she raised her hand to quietly return it to a hidden compartment in the wall.
But at that moment...
"A specially modified parent-child Den Den Mushi? One that can't be monitored and only recognizes one user? That's high-end equipment."
The sudden voice made Miss Spider's body tremble instantly.
She turned around instinctively and saw the figure leaning against the wall not far away.
"!!!"
The moment she saw the rat-faced mask, Miss Spider curled her tongue immediately.
Underneath her tongue, a small black pill crushed instantly.
It was "Anmian," a special poison developed by the Drug Peclo Company.
It was a fatal toxin that killed upon contact with blood and had no cure.
Even as she felt the violent pain spreading through her body and her life gradually slipping away, a hint of relief and pride appeared in her eyes.
Yes.
Deciding to commit suicide so quickly was the best response she could make at that moment.
As a Warden-level officer of the House of Death, the person responsible for assigning missions to hitmen, she understood better than anyone how powerful Zishu was.
His 100% mission completion rate proved it.
She was not Zishu's equal.
More importantly, the plan that "Major Undertaker" Drug Peclo had recently been preparing could not be exposed to Zishu under any circumstances.
She could only die.
Even at that moment, she glanced at her wrist.
Attached was a white slip of paper.
It was her Vivre Card.
She held one piece, and Drug Peclo held the other.
Because of the poison's effect, the Vivre Card had already begun to burn.
That was the source of her pride.
Once he saw it burning, Drug Peclo would know the plan had been exposed and would immediately become cautious.
As an assassin raised and trained by the Major Undertaker since childhood, this was the kind of death she had always expected.
"As long as Lord Drug Peclo is safe."
That was what she thought.
But the next moment...
"How decisive. Such loyalty is worthy of praise."
She heard another voice.
But it wasn't Zishu. At the same time, she saw a figure appear beside her.
"Unfortunately..."
In the next instant, she felt something soft and furry brush lightly against her.
Then...
Miss Spider saw that her Vivre Card had suddenly stopped burning. Even the portion that had already burned away began to regenerate rapidly.
"Your foolish loyalty is meaningless."
The voice sounded again.
Yet, to Miss Spider, the voice sounded strangely familiar.
Because...
It was her own voice. Miss Spider struggled to open her eyes and see what was happening. But even though she used all her strength, her barely open eyes could only make out...
Nine shadows swaying continuously on the ground.
And a mask.
One of those shadows had just withdrawn from her face.
The shadow of the mask...
It looked like the face of a dog.
(End of Chapter)
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