"This guy should have a Vivre Card. If we don't deal with it as soon as possible, I'm afraid Doflamingo will catch up."
Neru reminded him.
Rhode had mentioned wanting to pick an auspicious day to attempt obtaining the Devil Fruit, but considering the risk of being pursued by a Shichibukai following the trail of a Life Card, it was better to eliminate the threat now.
Hearing Neru's reminder, Rhode instantly became alert.
He had almost forgotten about that.
In particular, Dressrosa, where Doflamingo was based, was located in the latter half of the Grand Line. It was the section of the route sandwiched between the North Blue and the West Blue. One only needed to cross the Calm Belt to travel directly from the New World to the North Blue.
As for Doflamingo's Ito Ito no Mi ability, he could move by attaching his threads to clouds in the sky, making him fully capable of pursuing them across the Calm Belt.
If he were to face Doflamingo now, Rhode wouldn't be confident of victory.
"Fortunately, I have you, Neru!"
After patting Neru on the shoulder, Rhode felt a surge of relief.
"But let's eliminate that skinny dog first and use him as a buffer."
"Buffer?"
Several people looked puzzled at Rhode's words.
"Well~ although I can't choose the auspicious day of the zodiac, at least I've prioritized the less important ones first. It's a matter of ritual!"
"Although I don't know what you're talking about, it's exactly what I want."
After taking a nap, Law, who had recovered most of his strength, extended his palm, and a light blue light flickered within it.
"ROOM - Isolation Room!"
A light blue halo expanded, encompassing the two captured individuals and the surrounding fruits.
"It seems more reliable this time."
Drawing on his numerous experiences of being treated by the Law, Rhode made a judgment.
Compared to the last time he killed Bellamy, Law's abilities felt more stable this time.
"Yes, that area is almost completely in a different dimension from us."
Neru nodded in affirmation.
His unique experiences allowed him to perceive this point more acutely.
"What are you…"
Despite being a family executive who served Doflamingo, Gladius still possessed some knowledge.
After a Devil Fruit user died, the fruit's ability would be randomly reborn in the sea. The specific mechanism remained unknown.
However, there had been instances where ordinary fruit had suddenly transformed into Devil Fruits.
What these individuals before him intended to do now…
"It seems you also know something."
There was no time to converse with Gladius, so Law focused all his attention on the area within his ROOM.
As his fingers twitched, a dagger that had been placed in the water tank moved slowly and pierced Edorad Manudo's heart.
Time passed slowly. Three minutes later…
"Looks like it failed again!"
After maintaining the domain with all his strength for three minutes, Law released his ability, looking slightly fatigued.
Compared to the use of ordinary abilities, this technique consumed significantly more physical stamina.
Even though Law, who had been rigorously training with Rhode since childhood, was much stronger than before, he had almost reached his physical limit within the "Isolation Room" for three minutes.
"I heard that Devil Fruits have their own will and will choose a suitable host. It seems there are no small dogs in our group, hahaha."
The experiment had failed again, but Rhode wasn't overly disappointed.
It had originally just been his idea. Success would have been ideal, but even without it, there was no loss.
"Hurry up and continue. The 'mat' has been laid out; strike while the iron is hot!"
Turning his gaze to Gladius, Rhode urged Law.
"Now I can only maintain it for half a minute at most."
Facing Rhode's expectant gaze, Law looked troubled.
Although Rhode didn't seem to mind, Law still wanted to do his best to make this work.
As both an able user and a researcher, Law knew in his heart that Rhode's idea was feasible. The current issue was that he hadn't developed his fruit abilities sufficiently.
"No wonder I didn't retain the Dog-Dog Fruit just now. It's probably because the devil inside knew you were already a Devil Fruit user. Otherwise, you and the Dog-Dog Fruit would have been a perfect match."
Rhode mercilessly teased Law, then waved his hand before the other could retort, cutting off his intended reply.
"Forget it, half a minute should suffice. This kind of thing still relies on luck. If it works, maybe ten seconds will be enough. If it doesn't, even half an hour won't work. I believe luck is on my side!"
Hearing Rhode's words, Law no longer hesitated and activated his fruit ability again, encompassing Gladius and the fruit within its range.
"Young Master will not let you get away with this!"
Foreseeing his own demise, Gladius composed himself. He simply looked at Law with cold eyes and spoke softly.
"I won't let him get away either!"
Looking at Gladius calmly, Law felt a sense of composure within.
With a flick of Law's finger, the long knife pierced Gladius's heart. His severed head on the wooden box trembled slightly, and his eyes completely lost their light.
At the precise moment Gladius died, an apple placed nearby suddenly transformed, becoming a Devil Fruit with strange swirling patterns under everyone's watchful eyes.
Paramecia-type Devil Fruit - Pamu Pamu no Mi (Swelling-Swelling Fruit!)
"Success!"
Upon witnessing the rebirth of the Devil Fruit, everyone cheered. They felt as though they had accomplished something remarkable!
At least before this, no one had ever heard of anyone successfully extracting the power of a Devil Fruit.
Finally succeeded!
Seeing the newly formed Devil Fruit, Law felt a wave of relief wash over him.
As expected, just as Rhode had said, it only took a second for the new fruit to be reborn!
With this successful instance, he could finally breathe easy. The feeling of carrying everyone's expectations but being unable to deliver was truly uncomfortable!
So, what kind of pressure must Rhode, who carried everyone's dreams and steered their course, bear?
Just as everyone celebrated the successful interception of the Devil Fruit's power, Law felt a small inkling of Rhode's responsibility and pressure as their captain.
"Why are you still so exhausted? It only took less than ten seconds just now."
Rhode patted Law on the shoulder, interrupting his thoughts.
"What should I do with this Devil Fruit?"
His train of thought broken, Law turned to pose a question.
"Emm… Penguin, Shachi, do either of you want to eat it?"
"Us?"
A hint of surprise flickered across Penguin and Shachi's faces.
"This is a Devil Fruit worth at least 100 million Berries! Boss Rhode, are you going to give it to us directly?"
Their previous cheers had been partly due to witnessing the Devil Fruit's rebirth firsthand and partly out of joy for the entire Rhode Pirates. Before this, they had never considered the possibility of eating a Devil Fruit themselves.
"Of course! You are my partners!"
"Boss Rhode!" x2
The two excitedly hugged Rhode.
"Don't be ridiculous. There's only one fruit right now. Who will eat it first?"
"But, Boss, you don't have a Devil Fruit yourself."
The two exchanged glances, and then Penguin hesitated before speaking.
"I have no plans to eat a Devil Fruit for the time being, and Neru feels the same. We haven't fully explored our own potential yet."
"Let's hold onto the opportunity for now."
Shachi took over the conversation, glanced at Penguin, and nodded affirmatively at Rhode.
Then, they plastered flattering smiles on their faces and hugged Rhode's legs.
"Since we asked who would eat first, we'll be given another fruit choice later. When there's a fruit next time, we'll become able users together! Your word is bond, Boss Rhode!!"
"Don't worry, I'll give you a choice – stop hugging me already. Two grown men are so disgusting!"