While Deadpool was having the time of his life in Rorschach's shop, the five minutes quietly ran out.
The smoothness in his feet vanished.
The zero-friction state disappeared instantly.
His body jerked, and he nearly stumbled flat onto the floor.
If Deadpool's reflexes hadn't been so sharp, he would have gone down hard.
But that was only the lesser problem.
The real issue was his skin.
The beautiful, flawless skin that could make women jealous began changing back at an alarming speed. In the blink of an eye, it was gone, replaced once again by that ruined, pitted face of his.
If he had never experienced anything else, maybe he could have endured it.
But now?
Now that he had tasted what it felt like to have a normal face again, how could he possibly accept going back?
"No! No! Don't change back! Don't!"
Deadpool clutched his face and shouted in panic.
"Sir, do you still think seven hundred thousand is expensive now?"
Rorschach's calm voice drifted over from the side.
He stood there with his arms folded, looking at Deadpool with complete composure.
Rorschach refused to believe that after personally experiencing everything the Slip-Slip Fruit could do, Deadpool would still be able to resist.
Deadpool fell silent.
Compared to the fruit's outrageous effects, seven hundred thousand dollars really wasn't expensive at all.
Not only was it not expensive, it was practically a bargain.
Deadpool had no doubt that if this fruit ever hit the open market, plenty of people would be fighting over it even at several million dollars.
This shop owner was already selling it with a conscience.
"Okay. Fine. Seven hundred thousand it is. Shit… that's my savings from two whole years…"
Deadpool pulled out a bank card, his face full of pain.
After killing Ajax and reuniting with Vanessa, he had gone back to his old line of work as a mercenary.
Sure, this lunatic had killed more than a few employers along the way too, but his fees had never been cheap. After two years of work, he could still scrape together seven hundred thousand.
The card was swiped.
The payment went through.
Rorschach took the Slip-Slip Fruit out of the display case and placed it in Deadpool's hand.
The second Deadpool got it, he bit down hard without hesitation.
His face twisted instantly from the horrific taste.
But this time, he gritted his teeth and didn't spit out a single bit.
Like a starving man who hadn't eaten in days, he wolfed the whole fruit down in one go.
"Shit, this thing is seriously disgusting."
"I never want to experience that taste again for the rest of my life."
After forcing down the final bite through sheer willpower, Deadpool couldn't stop complaining.
"Uh… well…"
Standing beside him, Rorschach looked like he wanted to say something.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Rorschach decisively shook his head.
If he told Deadpool right now that he only needed to take one bite to get the power, would Wade beat him to death on the spot?
Still, Rorschach really hadn't expected Deadpool to go at the fruit like a rabid dog and finish the whole thing in seconds.
By the time he snapped out of it, it was already too late.
All he could say was—
Deadpool really was Deadpool.
His combat power was impressive in every possible sense.
And while Rorschach was still silently marveling at that, Deadpool's skin began changing again after fully consuming the fruit.
This time, it didn't fade.
The restoration was permanent.
"It's back! I'm back again!"
Deadpool shouted excitedly, practically dancing on the spot.
"Congratulations, sir. You now possess the kind of face men envy and women admire. From now on, wherever you walk, you'll be the hottest guy on the street."
Rorschach offered his sincere congratulations from the side.
"That's right. I'm actually handsome now! Dear God… at this rate, I might fall in love with myself!"
Deadpool held up his phone like a mirror, admiring himself from every angle with shameless delight.
Thankfully, there was no one else in the shop right now.
And thankfully, Rorschach already knew exactly what kind of person Deadpool was.
Otherwise, anyone watching this would've immediately assumed Wade belonged in a mental institution.
"Boss, what other Devil Fruits do you have? Give me the full tour. I'm going to save up as fast as I can and buy another one!"
After finally putting away his phone, Deadpool looked at Rorschach with burning eyes.
He was already itching to eat a second Devil Fruit.
Sure, the taste was unforgettable in the worst possible way…
But compared to the superpower it gave him, that price was nothing.
"Sorry, sir. Under normal circumstances, each person can only eat one Devil Fruit. If you eat a second one, your body will explode and you'll die."
Rorschach explained with a serious face.
He fully understood Deadpool's desire to eat more, but the rules were the rules.
"Explode and die? That brutal?"
Deadpool shouted in his usual exaggerated tone, then immediately caught something in Rorschach's wording.
"Under normal circumstances? So that means there are special cases where someone can eat more than one, right?"
"Yes, sir. If you eat the Dark-Dark Fruit, then you can consume multiple Devil Fruits."
"That one's more expensive, I'm guessing?"
"It is. The Dark-Dark Fruit costs one billion dollars."
"One billion?!"
Deadpool sucked in a sharp breath.
A billion dollars for a single fruit?
Who the hell could afford that?
Even if he sold himself, it still wouldn't be enough.
"And at the moment, the Dark-Dark Fruit is out of stock anyway," Rorschach added.
At present, the fruits the system had unlocked were only the lower-tier ones.
Powerful fruits like the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and Glint-Glint Fruit hadn't been unlocked yet.
Those required the completion of corresponding sales missions first.
So even if someone had the money, they still couldn't buy them.
"What a damn shame," Deadpool said with genuine regret.
But there was nothing he could do about it.
"Oh, right, sir. I've created a group specifically for Devil Fruit users, so future ability holders can communicate and exchange ideas with each other. Are you interested in joining?"
Rorschach suddenly remembered that and asked.
Deadpool only hesitated for about a second before agreeing.
"Of course. That sounds fun as hell."
So the two of them added each other, and Rorschach pulled Deadpool into the group he had already created.
"Devil Fruit Home? Wait… there are only two people here?"
Deadpool looked at the social app and sounded genuinely surprised.
Which meant…
He was the very first customer to ever buy a Devil Fruit?
For a moment, Deadpool got the strange feeling that he might have been scammed.
"Right now, yes, there are only two of us," Rorschach admitted confidently. "But I believe there'll be more and more people in the future. Wade, I hope you can introduce a few customers to me too."
While adding each other earlier, they had exchanged names, so calling him Wade now was perfectly natural.
"That might be a little difficult. Your fruits are way too expensive. Most of the people I know can't afford them." Deadpool shrugged. "But I'll give it a shot."
"Then thanks in advance, Wade."
"No need to be polite, boss. Anyway… I should get going. I still have to cook for my girl."
Deadpool waved at him, then turned and walked out.
"Take care. I won't see you out!"
[Author Note]
If you think this book is good, don't forget to add it to your library so you won't lose it next time.