One Piece: Control Fruit

Rono raised an eyebrow. "What's the objective?"

"A shipment belonging to the World Government was stolen by pirates in Alabasta. The cargo is highly sensitive and cannot be exposed to the public, so the Marines can't be involved. Higher-ups said we can even destroy it if necessary. But I'm hoping you can go negotiate a deal with Crocodile," Spandam said, handing Rono a prepared document.

"You can take a look—this is more of a personal investment on my part."

"Can't understand any of it," Rono said, flipping through the document briefly.

"A ship will arrive to pick you up tomorrow morning. All you need to do is fight."

Spandam paused, then lowered his voice.

"I suspect Crocodile's the one who hijacked the shipment. If it was him, don't act recklessly—come back and call for backup. And of course, not the Marines. They can't know about this."

"Oh, oh, oh, I get it. If I can't win, I'll call for help," Rono replied with a relaxed expression, which made Spandam feel uneasy. He had a gut feeling Rono wouldn't follow the plan.

"Originally, Blueno and Jabra were supposed to go with you, but they accepted other missions a few days ago."

"No big deal. Just take good care of my tree."

"But of course."

After some more casual chatting, Spandam took his leave.

Once Spandam had gone, the system's little boy avatar appeared on Rono's shoulder.

"Hey brat, got a mission for you: fight with Crocodile. Winning isn't required. Complete the task and you'll unlock the ability to allocate points into Observation Haki."

"Come to think of it, I didn't check my character panel yesterday."

The little boy waved his hand, and a glowing screen appeared in front of Rono.

A 3D model of Rono rotated on the display, with his stats shown beneath it:

Name: Wolf Rono

Age: 15 (The system thinks showing days is pointless. Not like it's your birthday.)

Innate Skills: Regeneration Factor, Bone Claws

Devil Fruit Ability: Control Fruit (Stage One)

Fruit Techniques:

Bone-Implant Armament (Greatly boosts defense and adds minor offensive options. Stamina consumption: moderate)

Assessment: Doesn't match your Berserker class, but good for clearing small fry.

Crimson Armor (Sheds skin constraints and amplifies muscular explosiveness. Nearly zero defense. Best used with super-regeneration and Berserker mode. Stamina consumption: severe)

Assessment: Gain power, lose endurance. Huge burst damage, but at the cost of sustained combat ability.

Combat Mode: Berserker (Passive)

(Activates when facing mortal danger. Increases combat awareness and insight. Trades injury for injury, life for life. Very suitable for you.)

Duration: 5 minutes

Cooldown: 24 hours

Assessment: The more intense your emotions, the more likely it is to activate. Be cautious—it may trigger a bloodlust state.

Physique: 40 (Upgradeable)

Skeleton: 49 (Upgradeable)

Observation Haki: 0 (Upgradeable)

Armament Haki: 0 (Upgradeable)

Stat Points Available: 16

Overall Assessment: Not bad. But in a world without Haki, who even are you?

The 16 available stat points were the result of Rono's intense month-long training, which he had yet to spend.

"System, add 11 points to Skeleton, 5 points to Physique."

"Got it, please wait... Ding! Enhancement complete," the little boy replied in a robotic voice.

With a physique 4.5 times stronger than the average adult and skeletal strength 4 times tougher, Rono felt a surge of power through his body.

"Better get used to the strength first," Rono muttered as he extended his bone claws and slashed at the wall. Crrkk! The claws sunk all the way in with only slight resistance.

"Tsk tsk... this sharpness is on par with a top-grade blade," Rono said, retracting his claws as he headed toward the training room in Enies Lobby.

Ten minutes later, the sound of booming clashes echoed from the training room, and Spandam received a report:

"Rono, huh? I knew he was strong—but not this strong. Looks like we have a real shot at pulling off that negotiation."

After finishing his training, Rono was satisfied. All that was left was to wait for tomorrow's transport to Alabasta.

The next morning, as Rono was going through his usual training routine, a Marine came running over.

"Lord Rono, the ship has arrived. May I ask when you'll be ready to depart?"

"I'll head out after a shower."

Rono looked at the Marine soldier standing a couple of meters away in the courtyard and couldn't help but find it amusing. They were all still terrified by the massacre he unleashed that night. This poor guy had probably been forced out by the others.

After his shower, Rono packed a few belongings and headed to the port. Three people were already waiting there. After boarding the ship and storing his luggage, Rono said to the others,

"Let's introduce ourselves."

Although Rono was the main combat force on this Alabasta mission, he wasn't the team leader. The World Government probably knew that aside from fighting, Rono was useless.

"I'm Hadaway, the commanding officer of this mission. You'll follow my plans—any objections?" said a calm, middle-aged man, taking the lead.

"I'm Serona, the sniper," said a quiet young man with a low presence.

"I'm Don Alpha. You can call me Don. I'm a gunner," said a well-built young man, raising his hand.

"I'm Rono. I'm a berserker," Rono replied energetically.

"Berserker? What's that?" asked Captain Hadaway. He believed knowing every crew member's strengths would help bring out their full potential.

"It means a warrior who fights like he has no regard for his own life."

"Well, that name fits," the captain muttered.

"Wait, Captain—where's our navigator?" Rono suddenly realized the entire team was made up of damage dealers, with no support.

"That would be me. All right, there's still time to get to know each other, but for now—let's set sail," the captain ordered.

"Got it!" the group replied in unison.

Time at sea always flew by. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed. By then, Rono had gotten to know Hadaway, Serona, and Don pretty well, and they all had a general grasp of each other's abilities.

Hadaway was an expert navigator. His combat skills were average, but he didn't drag the team down. He was a strategic thinker and the architect of the current plan.

Serona was a highly talented sniper who could hit a mosquito's wing from 300 meters away. He had such a low presence that it worked in his favor—perfect for a sniper, where survival and staying hidden were key.

Don, seemingly an ordinary gunner, initially puzzled Rono. He couldn't figure out why Don had been chosen for the mission—until he learned Don was a Devil Fruit user. His ability was "amplification." If one of his cannonballs hit an enemy ship, it would deal five times the damage of a normal shell. Couldn't hit? No problem. Once it did, that ship was done for.

And finally, there was Rono. He hadn't revealed all of his abilities—he simply told the others that his fruit was similar to the Bone-Bone Fruit, allowing him to cover his body in bone for enhanced defense. He also demonstrated his Bone Armor technique.

Rono knew the others had also kept parts of their abilities hidden, but no one said a word—not even Captain Hadaway, who was probably the most curious of them all.

Reason one:

If someone knows your Devil Fruit powers, they can figure out how to counter you. In Serona's case, if people knew his stealthy habits, he'd be much easier to target.

Reason two:

This was a temporary team. Once the mission was over, they'd all go their separate ways and disappear from each other's lives.