Ten days later.
East Blue.
Marine 16th Branch.
As soon as Sean stepped off the warship, he was greeted by a beaming Gion.
"Sister Gion, you're still here?" Sean asked with a wry smile.
He knew exactly why she hadn't left. After all, under her "pressure" previously, he had promised to get her a new warship. Knowing her, she wouldn't leave until she saw that ship.
"Of course I'm still here. Did you forget what you promised ?"
"How could I? But things like that take ti," Sean replied. "Even if I contact the Galley-La Company right now, it'll probably be two or three months before the ship is ready for delivery, right?"
"That's true. I've heard that Galley-La's business is booming lately. There's a waiting list of several months just to order a ship!"
"Exactly..." Sean spread his hands helplessly.
"But you have money!"
"Wait, what does my money have to do with this?"
"What do you an? You can just pay extra! As long as the money is right, who cares about skipping the line?"
'Pfft...'
'My dear sister, are you really just trying to bleed my Belly dry?'
Sean was speechless. He wondered if he should tell Barry and the others to pause their current projects for a few days to build one for Gion. With so many shipwrights on hand, a large warship should only take five or six days.
"Fine. I'll talk to Iceburg in a bit and see if we can jump the queue."
"Now we're talking! In that case, I'll stay at your branch for a while. I'll report to Headquarters once the new ship arrives. In the anti, I'll test whether your swordsmanship has rusted over the last six months."
"Fair enough. I'll have soone arrange accommodations for you," Sean nodded, not bothering to refuse.
After leaving Headquarters, he hadn't found a high-level swordsman to spar with, aning he had been practicing in a vacuum. Training alone provided very limited experience points. Now that leveling up required tens of thousands of points, the progress was painfully slow if the daily base experience remained low, even with his multipliers.
'''
After settling Gion and her subordinates, Sean took Lucci to the underground research departnt.
"Retes, is the equipnt I asked for ready?"
"It is ready, Rear Admiral Sean. However... what exactly is this for?" Retes asked, looking bewildered.
About half a month ago, Sean had called and ordered the construction of a special room within the underground research departnt. Most importantly, Sean insisted that the entire room be constructed from a specific material.
Retes had spent the last two weeks trying to figure it out. Why spend such a staggering amount of resources to build a room like this? Because the material Sean demanded was...
Seastone!
The global production of Seastone was incredibly low, and the vast majority of it was controlled by the World Governnt. To build a room of the size Sean requested required a terrifying amount of the material—nearly exhausting all the reserves Lucci and the others had acquired through the underworld.
Retes rembered Sean ntioning that the Seastone Lucci had procured had cost nearly 2 billion Belly. It was originally intended for Retes to research Seastone bullets and the Seastone cluster bombs Sean had proposed. Now, there was nothing left; those projects had co to a complete standstill.
"Don't worry. Lucci and the others are already finding a way to get a new batch of Seastone. If all goes well, it should arrive within ten days," Sean said. "As for this room..."
He glanced at the two people Lucci was holding by the collar and smiled. "It was built specifically for them."
Retes had noticed the two prisoners the mont Sean and Lucci entered. Judging by the Seastone handcuffs and their limp, weakened state, he could tell they were Devil Fruit users. However, he had no idea who they actually were.
"Let's go. Lead the way."
"Yes, Rear Admiral Sean!"
Pushing his doubts aside, Retes nodded and led them forward.
A minute later, they arrived at their destination: a 5x5x5 ter cubic room. Inside, there was nothing except a single pillar, a few shackles, and several mysterious protrusions on the walls. It looked more like an interrogation room.
"Was everything built according to my specifications?"
"Yes, Rear Admiral. It is constructed entirely of Seastone. Once the door is closed, it is completely sealed."
"Very good. Lucci, take Crocodile in first. Chain him to that pillar."
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
'Crocodile?'
Retes's brain montarily stalled. Hadn't the newspapers reported a while ago that Rear Admiral Sean had personally dealt with Crocodile? What was going on?
"Don't be nervous; you'll find out in a mont. Just find any fruit—an apple, a pineapple, anything will do!"
"Fruit?"
"Yes. You should have so here, right?"
"Ah, yes! Yes, I do!"
Coming back to his senses, Retes scurried away and returned shortly with a few apples. Sean took one and placed it on the floor inside the room.
By then, Lucci had already shackled Crocodile to the pillar. Despite the situation, Crocodile remained conscious. He didn't say a word, watching them with cold, indifferent eyes. To him, this was simply an interrogation room.
Did they think he feared torture? Don't make laugh. Who do they think I am? I am Crocodile!
But in the next mont, he was stunned. Weren't they going to interrogate him? Why were they leaving?
And they closed the door?
It was pitch black; he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.
'Damn you, Sean. You're so stingy you won't even put a light in your interrogation room?'
Outside the room, Retes asked, "Rear Admiral, what do we do now?"
"Send him on his way."
"Uh..."
"What? Don't tell the chanism I had you install isn't working?"
"No, no! It's definitely installed exactly as you requested. It's just that if this is an execution, we don't need—"
Retes was screaming internally. Was this entire elaborate setup just for an execution? They spent 2 billion Belly to build this room! This was absolute extravagance...
"Alright, I know you're calling a spendthrift in your head. Trust , you'll understand why in a mont. For now, send him on his way!"
"Yes, Rear Admiral Sean!"
Despite his confusion, Retes nodded and pressed a button on the outer wall.
One second...
Two seconds...
Three seconds...
"Retes, you're sure there weren't any problems?"
"Positive!"
"Then why haven't I heard a thing?"
"Well... that's because this room is completely airtight, so..."
"Fine... just to be safe, we'll open the door in five minutes," Sean said with a wry smile.
He realized the soundproofing and sealing were simply too effective, which was why he hadn't heard anything from the inside.
'''
Five minutes later.
The door to the Seastone room opened once more.
A sizeable pool of blood had already ford beneath Crocodile. The man himself was completely lifeless. Upon closer inspection, his body was riddled with gunshot wounds.
Because he had been shackled with Seastone, he was unable to nullify the physical impact of the bullets; he was no different from an ordinary human. When shot, he bled, and just like anyone else, he died.
Sean didn't care what happened to Crocodile, however. His attention was fixed on sothing else...
The apple on the floor.
As his gaze landed on the fruit, a look of excitent crossed Sean's face. Beside him, Lucci and Retes stared with wide eyes, their expressions filled with disbelief.
Five minutes ago, it had been a plain, ordinary apple. But now, both its size and shape had shifted significantly. Most notably, the strange patterns swirling across its skin...
This... wasn't this a Devil Fruit?
"Retes, didn't you ask earlier what this room was for?"
"Now I can tell you."
"This room is specifically designed to strip a Devil Fruit from a user and... infuse it into a fruit of my choosing."
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