Aiden calmed his feelings and prepared to open his status. However, his eyes were suddenly drawn to a small line of text at the bottom of Squard's file.
[Wish List: (Can be activated)]
"Huh?" Aiden's eyebrows went up slightly. "This old man has a final wish too? Let me see... I hope he doesn't want me to take care of his pet spider."
He clicked "Activate" out of curiosity.
As Aiden confirmed it with his mind, the line of text finally burst into a bright light and appeared before his eyes.
[Squard's Regret: Revenge Obsession]
Description: "Gol D. Roger... that man! He personally crushed the pirate crew I was so proud of and made me lose everything! My greatest regret is that I couldn't get revenge with my own hands. I couldn't drive my blade into his heart!"
Task Goal: Personally kill Gol D. Roger.
When Aiden saw this task goal, he froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Personally kill Roger?"
Ding!
[Search Result: The host is the executioner of Gol D. Roger.]
[Squard's Regret: Revenge Obsession] has been completed!
[Reward: You may choose one more item from Squard's remaining available rewards!]
Aiden stood there in total shock.
"Are you kidding me?! There's actually a good deal like this?!" The joy inside him was almost overflowing. "When I killed Roger, I didn't even know where you were! This counts as me helping you finish your wish?"
This was like a gift falling from the sky. Aiden tried to hide his smile and immediately opened Squard's remaining rewards.
Earlier, he had only cared about picking [Physical Improvement]. He hadn't looked closely at what other good things this old man had.
Swordsmanship (High-tier) Not necessary.
Armament Haki (High-tier) Same as above. His own was already better.
...
His gaze finally locked onto a [Talent] that was unique to Squard.
[Talent: Vortex Sensing]: In complex and changing environments at sea, your battle intuition and body stability will be greatly improved.
"This is good!" Aiden's eyes lit up. "On this ocean, this is a top passive skill! No wonder this old man was so fierce on that chaotic deck earlier. It turns out he had a passive bonus!"
"Select [Talent: Vortex Sensing]!"
As a strange feeling flowed into his body, Aiden opened his new and improved status.
Name: Aiden
Age: 17
Rank: Corporal
[Physical Improvement]: Top
[Talents]: Voice of All Things, Life Return, Vortex Sensing
[Skills]: Swordsmanship (Top-tier), Marksmanship (Top-tier), Navy Six Powers (High-tier), Fighting Techniques (Top-tier), Cooking (Top-tier), Stealth (High-tier), Fishing (Mid-tier)
[Haki]: Observation Haki (Peak), Armament Haki (Top-tier)
Sin Index: 365,237
"My physical strength is finally at Top-tier. The hardware has finally caught up with the software."
Aiden felt the surging power inside his body and began to calmly plan for the future. Now that his body was strong enough, the next step...
He immediately opened the [General Goods] shop and looked intensely at the upgrade options for [Haki] and [Skills].
Haki: Top-tier Armament Haki to Peak Armament Haki
Cost: 1,000,000 Sin Points
Skill: Top-tier Swordsmanship to Peak Swordsmanship
Cost: 1,000,000 Sin Points
"One million?!" Aiden looked at the long string of zeros and hissed through his teeth.
"This is a robbery! My current savings aren't even enough."
Aiden dropped the idea of paying to upgrade right now and started planning for later. Having a Top-tier body meant that as long as he had enough Sin Points, he could raise his Armament Haki or Swordsmanship to Peak.
When that time came, a Top-tier body combined with Peak Armament Haki or Swordsmanship, plus his already Peak Observation Haki, would likely reach the level of Admiral or Emperor class fighters. Even if he were on the weaker side of that level, it would be enough to truly protect himself on this sea.
Aiden finished his planning and pushed down his excitement. He picked up his sword and turned back to the cave where Rosinante was.
As soon as he entered the cave, he heard a weak groan. Rosinante was leaning against the rock wall, shaking as he stood up. He had clearly just woken up from his faint.
"Aiden! You're okay too! That's great..." Rosinante looked relieved when he saw him. But then he asked nervously, "Where are we right now...?"
He stopped halfway through his sentence and let out a surprised "Huh?" His eyes were drawn to something in the corner of the cave.
"Aiden, look... what is that?"
Aiden looked where he was pointing, and his pupils shrank instantly.
Between a pile of wet moss and rotten fruit, a purple fruit covered in strange patterns was sitting quietly in a crack in the rocks.
"What the...?!" Aiden was shocked. "When I hid Rosinante in here earlier, I checked this cave very carefully! There was nothing but a few pieces of rotten fruit!"
He stayed calm and secretly pulled up the system. He quickly flipped through the [Execution Files] of all the pirates he had just killed. He didn't see any information about a Devil Fruit user.
That meant this wasn't a fruit that had just respawned from a nearby death.
"Is this... spawned out of thin air? This old man... what kind of insane luck does he have?! Is the world forcing a fruit into his mouth?!"
Rosinante didn't know about Aiden's thoughts. He just walked over curiously and clumsily picked the fruit up.
"Aiden! Is this the legendary Devil Fruit?!"
Rosinante's eyes sparkled. "Aiden! Hurry and eat it! You're already so strong, you'll definitely be even more amazing if you eat this!"
Aiden didn't take the fruit right away.
He didn't hate Devil Fruits. After seeing the powers in this world, he wanted one. A top-tier Logia or a Mythical Zoan would be ideal.
But only if he knew what he was eating. He wasn't going to gamble on an unknown fruit and risk losing the ability to swim for something useless.
"Wait a second," Aiden said calmly. "I need to check what this is first."
He turned around and pretended to search through his pockets. Rosinante watched with curiosity but wasn't surprised.
While pretending, Aiden opened the system and spent 10,000 Sin Points to buy a [Devil Fruit Encyclopedia].
When Aiden pulled the book out:
"Wow! Aiden! You even have a book like that?!" Rosinante gasped.
Aiden ignored him. He placed the encyclopedia on a flat rock and flipped through it quickly.
"Purple... strange patterns..."
His fingers stopped on a page. He compared the drawing with the fruit in Rosinante's hand.
"There's no mistake. It's the Calm-Calm Fruit."
Rosinante leaned in eagerly. "How is it? Is it strong?"
Aiden pushed the book toward him. "See for yourself."
Rosinante read it slowly.
"Paramecia... creates a soundproof space... erases sound..."
His excitement faded.
"Silence? What kind of power is that? I can't even fight with it."
"Who said power is only for fighting?"
Aiden looked at him.
"You want power. You hate Sakazuki's methods. You want to save people your own way. But right now, you can't even protect yourself."
He tapped the page lightly.
"This ability fits you perfectly."
Rosinante froze. "For me?"
"Yes. You're clumsy. You miss shots. But with this, you can move unnoticed, enter dangerous places, and act when it matters."
Aiden's gaze was steady.
"It won't make you flashy. But it will let you save people when it counts."
Rosinante went silent.
Then his expression changed.
The hesitation disappeared, replaced by determination.
"Okay, Aiden." He nodded firmly. "I'll take it."
He closed his eyes and bit into the fruit.
The moment he did, his face twisted violently.
His entire expression collapsed.
He opened his mouth to scream.
"THIS TASTES SO BAD!"
No sound came out.
The cave fell completely silent