One Piece: Control Fruit

The four-man team's pace was quite fast—it only took a month and a half for them to reach Alabasta.

"Eh? Captain, are we abandoning the ship?" Rono asked curiously.

If they abandoned the ship, Don's abilities would be useless. Sacrificing a team member before even encountering the enemy? Rono figured the captain wouldn't be that irrational.

Sure enough, Hadaway rolled his eyes.

"Rono, do you ever think before you speak? If we were abandoning the ship, what about Don? We're here to wait for a contact—an informant from CP4."

Hadaway paused and, after checking the time, turned to the group.

"It's been a rough voyage. You all can go enjoy yourselves around the harbor for a bit. Just be back by dinnertime. And don't forget to bring me something, too."

"Yahoo!" Rono shouted and jumped up in excitement.

"Easy, Rono. I'm right behind you," said Serona in his usual calm tone.

"Eh~ Serona, aren't you excited? We can finally go out and have some fun!"

Seeing Serona's composed expression made Rono feel like his own coolness level had just dropped a notch. He immediately grew annoyed—how could someone out-cool him?

System Boy: "..."

Never seen someone so shameless in my life.

"Huh? I am happy," Serona replied, scratching his head.

Looking at Sedona's earnest face, Rono was speechless.

As for Don, he was more reserved.

"I'll pass. I'll stay here and keep the captain company."

"Hmph. Someday I'll be the captain. Then I'll let the crew go play whenever we dock."

Hearing Rono's childish declaration, Hadaway smiled and said,

"Come on, here's your allowance."

Rono took the money and left with Serona to find a tavern.

Once the two were gone, the warmth on Hadaway's face disappeared.

"Don, do you still remember Lord Atalia's orders? Don't get too close to them and forget who you are."

"Don't worry. I know my limits. There's nothing more satisfying than snuffing out talents before they mature. Heh... it'll be a pleasure."

"I'll repeat the plan: Priority one—kill Rono. Priority two—kill Serona. We must retrieve the cargo. But that's already been arranged. Headquarters negotiated with Crocodile. We just need to go to the designated location and pick it up." Hadaway explained coldly.

In the Holy Land of Mariejois, not all Celestial Dragons are fools. Otherwise, the Five Elders would have overthrown them long ago. Several of the great Celestial Dragon families raise private enforcers and loyal death squads. CP0 agents are typically the personal bodyguards of family heads. Their status and treatment are vastly different from ordinary people.

The man in sunglasses belonged to the Miyadongtario family, the highest-ranked Celestial Dragon family. That family alone held control of 50% of the Celestial Dragon's power—evidence of their terrifying influence.

Hadaway and Don, on the other hand, were from the Atalia family, which ranked second. But Atalia didn't fear Miyadongtario, because their rank came from combat strength, while Miyadongtario's strength lay in influence and reach.

This time, the Atalia family had found the perfect opportunity to eliminate the new blood of the Miyadongtario family—Rono and Serona.

Meanwhile, Rono and Serona were completely unaware. They were still partying in a tavern. Thanks to his height, Rono pushed through the crowd with Serona to grab a good seat, watching the pole dancers perform on stage.

Outside the tavern, a group of men in mixed attire gathered. The leader held up two wanted posters and told his subordinates,

"Get a good look. Once we go in, these two are the targets."

The faces on the posters were none other than Rono and Serona.

Inside, the music and dancing continued, but Rono and Serona started to sense that something was off. The tavern had suddenly gone quiet—which was unusual for such a rowdy place.

Serona quietly slipped into a shadowy corner of the room.

It took a few seconds for Rono to notice.

"Huh? Where'd that Serona guy go?"

A group of people entered the tavern. The leader looked around. Most of the pirates and civilians had already fled after sensing danger.

They had hoped to catch Rono and Serena off guard, but apparently, the targets were still completely unaware. The leader didn't quite know what to make of the situation.

"All right, boys—kill them! The agency said: kill one squad leader, get the reward for a centurion. Kill two, and it's double! That's 500,000 berries!"

The thugs' eyes lit up. They pulled out their weapons and charged forward.

The leader rubbed his chin, murmuring,

"Something's wrong. Wasn't there a second kid named Serona?"

Rono wasn't the least bit panicked as the group of attackers rushed toward him. He activated his Bone Armor—the pale-white exoskeleton instantly wrapped around his entire body. Grinning, Rono said,

"I don't know what this is all about, but if I just knock everyone down, it should be fine."

Instead of retreating, he charged forward, ignoring the shoddy long blades slashing his way. He lunged at the nearest enemy, aiming for the neck. The man couldn't dodge in time—his head was cleanly severed.

Blood splattered across the white bone armor as Rono's long red hair flared like a blazing flame.

Double kill, triple kill, quadra kill—Rono was aiming for a penta kill, ready to claim his… internet café fees—er, no, wait, that's not right.

Just as he was basking in his dominance, a sniper bullet shot toward him.

In that split second, every hair on Rono's body stood on end. A thought exploded in his mind—Danger! Chest!

Without thinking, he ducked low—Bang! A bullet grazed the top of his head, scorching his hair, but it regenerated almost instantly thanks to his enhanced healing. The bullet missed Rono and slammed into the bar counter behind him, completely shattering it like a miniature explosion had gone off.

Rono's pupils contracted—not because of the bullet's power, but because... this ability—it was Don's Devil Fruit power.

An ominous feeling surged in Rono's heart.

"Serona! Stick close to me! There's a sniper on their side too!"

"It's Don," Serona said calmly, suddenly appearing at Rono's side. "That's my rifle he's using."

The implication was clear—only one person could have Serona's gun and possess that fruit ability.

As the saying goes, misfortune never comes alone.

A heavily muscled, bald man with thick lips entered the tavern. With a wave of his hand, he struck down one of the attackers blocking his path, stepping over the corpse to approach Rono. Though this man was also over 2 meters tall, he only reached Rono's chest in comparison.

"Who's this shorty? And what's with the lame outfit?"

Taunt activated.

"The man who's going to kill you," the burly man said as he took up a fighting stance.

Mr. 1 of the Baroque Works—Daz Bonez—has arrived.

Rono dropped his casual attitude—this guy gave off pressure, unlike the grunts. And with Don, the sniper, lurking somewhere with those devastating bullets, this was serious.

"Give me five minutes. As long as Don Alpha dares to shoot again, I can counter-snipe," Serona's calm voice whispered in Rono's ear. He had already rolled into cover behind a sofa.

Rono squinted and muttered,

"Dude… do you not know one of life's three great delusions is: 'I can counter-kill'?"