One Piece: Control Fruit

Rono, seeing that Serona had found cover, turned his full attention to Daz Bonez. As for the sniper? Worst case, he gets shot in the head. It's not like it won't grow back.

Daz Bonez's fingertips began to form metallic blades as he charged at Rono. Taking a deep breath, Rono activated his Crimson Armor, let out a roar, and charged head-on at Daz Bonez.

Clang! The sharp clash of metal rang out as the two collided.

Clang! Clang! Clang! No matter where Rono struck with his hardened bone claws, it produced the sound of metal on metal.

"Damn, this is so busted," Rono complained inwardly—though that didn't stop him from saying it aloud:

"Hey, why are you like solid steel? Is that your Devil Fruit ability or what?"

Daz Bonez, clearly not the brightest, nodded earnestly.

"That's right. I'm the Blade-Man—my whole body is made of blades. Your fruit's not bad either if you can clash with mine like that."

"My Devil Fruit?" Rono had barely spoken the words when—Bang!

His head exploded like a watermelon, and his body collapsed to the floor.

Daz Bonez: "…"

Serona: "…"

Though annoyed, Daz didn't waste time. As a killer, completing the mission came first. Without looking back at Rono, he turned toward the sofa where Serona had taken cover.

Serona bolted for the tavern exit, smoke still rising from the revolver in his hand.

Daz Bonez gave chase, smashing through obstacles in his way. He quickly began to close the distance. Serona rolled forward and fired several rapid shots from his revolver.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The shots rang out sharply as Daz staggered backward under the sheer force of the bullets, giving Serona enough distance to escape.

Serena was now dashing deeper into Alabasta. The ship was no longer an option—who knew what traps Don had left behind? And maybe even Hadaway...

Reloading as he ran, Serona shot down a few unlucky grunts who hadn't run far enough and tried to come back to loot. With a quick spin and three precise shots in a triangle formation, he hit Daz Bonez squarely, slowing him again.

"Only six bullets left," Serona muttered under his breath. "Damn it… if only I had my sniper rifle—wait!"

A realization struck him, and he turned sharply toward a tall building.

Back at the tavern, Rono touched his newly regenerated head and smirked.

"Still just as handsome."

"Seriously, I hadn't even finished introducing myself and they were already trying to kill me?"

The moment he was shot, Rono had deactivated his Crimson Armor. Still reeling from the hit, he leaned on the doorframe and stepped out. The streets were completely deserted—seems everyone had gone into hiding. Technically, that made Rono the "disaster" they were hiding from.

The combination of Crimson Armor and regenerating a head had drained him significantly. So, Rono "borrowed" some food from the tavern's owner and ate on the go while tracking the gunfire—Sedona's shots made for excellent breadcrumbs.

Meanwhile, Serona had reached the rooftop and was climbing. His sniper rifle was hidden up there—but his condition was not ideal. He was nearly out of stamina, and Daz Bonez was just a few steps behind. Serona had even tossed aside his revolver to lighten the load. Practically crawling, he finally reached the rooftop—and found a corpse.

It was Don.

At the exact moment Don had fired earlier, Serona had also pulled the trigger. Their shots overlapped perfectly—so much so that it sounded like a single gunshot.

Rolling forward again, Serona snatched the sniper rifle lying next to Don and fired instantly—Bang!

But his move had been too obvious. Daz Bonez, already expecting it, dodged the shot with a sidestep.

"I'm honestly surprised you managed to kill that guy," Daz admitted. "But it ends here."

He raised his right hand and sliced Serona's sniper rifle in half. Daz felt uneasy when that weapon was in Serona's hands.

Now came the final blow. He raised his blade arm high and slashed down mercilessly. If that strike landed, Serona was dead for sure—

"Ahhhhh!!!"

A shirtless, red-haired teenager crashed through the window, roaring as he tackled Daz Bonez to the ground—interrupting the deadly attack just in time.

"Round two, start." Rono brushed the shards of glass off his body and smiled at Serona. "Surprised?"

"Surprised? Hell, I'm freaked out," Serona replied in his usual flat tone.

Rono didn't bother chatting with Serona any further. Activating his Crimson Armament, he prepared to go another round of 1v1 with Daz. "I wasn't done earlier," Rono said, brushing flakes of skin from his body.

Daz remained silent. The reappearance of Rono—who should be dead—had put him under serious pressure.

Daz assumed his opening stance, his Devil Fruit power fully unleashed, his skin faintly glinting with a cold light.

Rono's right leg tensed, and in the next instant, he appeared behind Daz, thrusting his claw at Daz's back.

Sparks flew as the strike missed. Rono followed up with another. "Knee Strike: Explosive Burst!" The tiles beneath his feet shattered from the recoil, and a burst of blood erupted from the muscles in his lower leg.

Boom—

Daz smashed through a wall and was sent flying from the attic.

"Ugh!" Daz spat a mouthful of blood—he was broken.

Climbing out of the rubble, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Damn it, is that guy a monster?

Rono's knee strike had included bone-spike damage. But Daz dared not pull the spike from his waist—he'd lose too much blood and be done for.

Rono shaded his eyes with a hand and scanned the area, eventually spotting Daz.

"Sigh, if I'd known, I wouldn't have hit him that hard. Now how am I supposed to catch up?" Even Serona, whose expression never changed, was now wide-eyed. He knew Rono's close-quarters combat was brutal, but he hadn't expected it to be this terrifying.

"If I had a sniper rifle—hell, even just a gun—that guy would be dead today," Serona muttered, watching the retreating Daz with frustration.

Bang! Rono suddenly leaped in front of Serona, taking a hit—his abdomen was blown open, splattering Serona with gore.

Fighting back nausea, Serona scrambled to a blind spot for cover. "Northwest direction, bullet diameter 3.2cm. It's likely a KT-741."

Rono rushed over as well. He wouldn't die, but it hurt like hell.

"We need to leave, Rono. This is someone else's turf—we're at a serious disadvantage," Serona said, analyzing the situation calmly.

But—

"Hell no! We're hitting back!" Rono deactivated his Crimson Armament, snarling. "Screw that, taking a hit like this—how am I supposed to show my face in the underworld if I back down?"

"..." Serona fell silent. After about a minute, his face relaxed and he said, "You saved my life. If you're going crazy, I'm going with you!"

Serona was a naturally gifted sniper—a genius. Otherwise, the Gungnir Family wouldn't have recruited him. And geniuses always have a bit of pride. Now, Serona's pride had been stirred.

"I need a gun," Serona said, locking eyes with Rono.

"No problem at all."