One Piece: Control Fruit

On the day the transfer order for Rono was signed in the Warring States period, Spandam's father, Spandine, specifically instructed Spandam not to try to bully Rono.

While both father and son had long wanted to get rid of CP9, Rono was different. At the rate Rono was developing, he would undoubtedly end up in CP0, becoming someone directly under the Celestial Dragons—a potential bodyguard for one of the powerful Celestial Dragon families.

(Some claim Spandine is a Celestial Dragon, but the author doesn't believe it. If he were, then after Spandam got his face smashed in, the Marines would've sent an admiral after Luffy, which doesn't match Spandine's character. So here, Spandine is merely a high-ranking official.)

But who is Spandam? He's the infamous teammate who can turn a normal-difficulty quest into hell-difficulty. Would he listen to his father?

And so, the previous scene happened.

Rono easily caught up with Mr. Spandam, whose "Douriki" (power level) was a total of 8, and casually swiped a claw at him.

A few strands of Spandam's hair were sliced off. His legs went weak, and he plopped onto the ground.

In that moment, Spandam recalled his run beneath the sunset all those years ago... That was the day his intelligence left him.

"Sir~ Why are you sitting on the ground?" Rono withdrew his Bone-Implant Armament, a faint, mocking smile at the corner of his lips.

"Ugh!" Realizing he wasn't dead, Spandam flew into a rage and snapped at Rono. "Well? Hurry up and help me up!"

"..." Rono stayed silent for a moment in mourning for Spandine. Raising a son like this must've been exhausting.

"Director Spandam, would you like me to help you up?" Rono bent down until their noses were nearly touching.

"N-No, that won't be necessary…" Spandam finally became aware of how awkward his position was and dared not act up again.

"I thought so. A powerful man like Director Spandam couldn't possibly be unable to stand up on his own."

Mockery level up: LV2.

Though Spandam was an idiot, his talent for bootlicking and currying favor was top-tier.

Once he realized Rono was not someone he could mess with, his attitude flipped 180 degrees.

Getting up as if nothing had happened, Spandam even seemed to forget the humiliation just moments before. He patted Rono's waist (due to the height difference) and said cheerfully, "That was just a small test, don't take it to heart. Come, let me host a welcome dinner for you."

"Ah~ As long as they don't care, I'm fine with it." Rono absentmindedly gestured with his chin toward the Marines who had just been sent packing. He still had a system task waiting on him.

Spandam summoned some Marines to clean up the battlefield and remove the corpses.

"Let's call it a day, Director Spandam. As you can see, I'm covered in blood. I need a shower and a proper meal first."

Rono picked up his flower pot and luggage and followed Spandam to a small courtyard. After handing over the key and exchanging a few pleasantries, Spandam left.

"System, when does the timer start?" Rono was referring to the countdown for the handstand push-up training.

"Eww, so gross! Go shower first—countdown starts in 10 minutes."

The little boy form of the system appeared over Rono's head, pinching his nose in disgust.

Rono sighed in relief too—he was drenched in blood. Doing handstand push-ups in this state would've been unbearable.

Doing them all night was manageable for Rono. With accelerated regeneration, he no longer had to worry about pulled muscles or soreness. Still, the system's demands were harsh—suffering was unavoidable.

After showering, Rono, now in just his underwear, began the handstand push-ups inside the room.

An hour passed. Rono had already endured three electric shocks. He gritted his teeth and said nothing. Why? Because if Spandam ever found out, it'd become blackmail material.

As dawn broke the next day, Rono finally completed the system's task, collapsing into a puddle of sweat, tongue hanging out.

Throughout the night, Rono suffered over 500 electric shocks, pushing through purely on willpower by the end.

After catching his breath and taking another shower, Rono skipped breakfast and went straight to bed.

He slept until the afternoon, only waking up when his stomach growled in protest. On the table was a meal, slightly cold.

Rono's favorability toward Spandam +1.

Devouring it hungrily, Rono then completed another system task, finally earning some free time.

He found an iron spade in the courtyard's storage shed and started digging holes on the left side of the yard to plant trees.

Let me know if you'd like this styled more like a light novel, with tone adjustments for narration or dialogue!

After a good while of hard work, Rono finally finished planting the tree. He watered it, stepped back a few paces, and admired his work with satisfaction.

"Little master's taste is top-tier," Rono shamelessly praised himself.

"Lord Rono, where did this tree come from? I consider myself well-traveled, but I've never seen a tree like that," Spandam asked, having appeared at the courtyard gate without Rono noticing.

"Heh, my eye for quality isn't just talk. This tree is one of a kind in the entire world. It only grew through a series of coincidences and rare conditions. And I only paid 12 million for it," Rono replied, clearly pleased. After all, he was still a 15-year-old boy and Spandam's admiration—though not outright flattery—hit the spot. Rono felt good all over. The tree had been worth every beri.

"What! You got it for just 12 million? Lord Rono, I have to say—you got a steal," Spandam said, genuinely surprised, not just pretending.

"If you put it in an auction house and let it warm up for two months, just the fact that it's the only one of its kind would push the Celestial Dragons to bid over 200 million," Spandam added, continuing to heap praise. Rono chimed in here and there, clearly enjoying the attention.

"All right, so what did you come here for?" Rono reined in his smile and got to the point.

"Well, I do have something to discuss—one personal matter, and one official matter," Spandam said, choosing his words carefully.

"Start with the personal one."

That simple sentence made Spandam a bit happy.

"All right then. I want to apologize, Lord Rono, for offending you yesterday."

Though Spandam wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and couldn't pull off any real schemes (his entire plan would've failed if Tom hadn't taken the fall for Franky), he did have high emotional intelligence. He knew how to be flexible. Aside from acting like a spoiled rich kid now and then, he wasn't all that bad.

Have you ever seen him bully men or harass women?

Seen him exploit commoners?

Nope.

When it came to enemies, of course, he wanted to make them suffer as much as possible.

"What kind of relationship do we have? An apology makes us sound distant." Rono grinned, casual and familiar. "Just call me Rono."

"That's even better, Rono. This task is not far from your current mission location—otherwise, I wouldn't bother you with it."

"Oh? Where is it?"

"Alabasta."

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