After resting for ten minutes, Tsuru personally tested the Slow-Slow Beam this time.
When the slow beam hit her, she noticed her movements became extremely sluggish, as if time itself had slowed down.
However, her thoughts were not affected.
Instinctively, she resisted with her strength, struggling against the slow effect.
Foxy closely observed Tsuru, and within three to four seconds, she broke free from the slow effect.
Indeed, the slow beam’s effect on opponents significantly stronger than him was greatly diminished. The twelve-second slow duration only lasted three to four seconds on Tsuru.
Foxy’s expression darkened. In the anime, Foxy easily slowed down his enemies for thirty seconds, which seemed incredibly powerful at the time.
But upon closer inspection, those enemies were just small fry.
The Slow-Slow Fruit had more flaws than he had imagined.
Ten seconds for Yaffel and three to four seconds for Tsuru. Despite his hopes, reality struck him like a cold bucket of water, bringing him back to his senses.
Tsuru paced back and forth, having noticed the same issue. However, it didn’t affect her positive view of Foxy. Despite its many flaws, the ability was undeniably powerful and terrifying.
This boy had limitless potential.
Tsuru smiled warmly, feeling as if she had found a treasure.
“Foxy, how old are you?”
“Fourteen.”
Foxy exhaled softly, regaining his composure.
“Do you want to become a Marine?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” Tsuru’s expression turned serious, scrutinizing Foxy. She wanted to understand his motivations, even if not completely.
“I want to become strong. I want revenge. I want to eradicate pirates. I want to live well. This is my promise to Aphelandra.”
Foxy spoke candidly, meeting Tsuru’s gaze without reservation. He knew he couldn’t deceive someone like her.
Tsuru, an expert in reading people and strategies, saw through him easily.
Moreover, Foxy genuinely wanted to become strong, seek revenge, and eliminate the wicked pirates.
After over ten seconds of staring, Tsuru’s serious expression softened into a smile.
She could guess who Aphelandra was—likely someone from Foxy’s village.
“Welcome aboard.”
Tsuru agreed, decisively.
Her intuition told her that Foxy might be hiding something, but she knew that what he had said was true.
Everyone had their secrets, after all.
Furthermore, Foxy’s intentions seemed genuine, even if barely passed the mark.
“Go and rest. We’ll reach Marineford tomorrow.”
“Vice Admiral, are the villagers really all…”
Foxy asked, hopeful yet hesitant.
“Rest assured, we have given them proper burials,” Natayubis answered in Tsuru’s stead.
“Thank you. I’ll go rest now.”
Foxy, looking a bit despondent, endured the pain and bowed to Tsuru, Natayubis, and Yaffel before following Yaffel out of the office.
“That boy is very polite,” Natayubis remarked with some sympathy.
“He’s quite promising,” Tsuru said, watching Foxy leave. She appreciated his manners and gratitude, seeing great potential in him.
Foxy understood his situation well. He was still weak, and being polite and grateful would win him a favor. Whether his sincerity was genuine or not, he had succeeded for now.
Back in the infirmary, Foxy lay on his bed again, thanking Yaffel before she left.
Lying alone, Foxy’s expression turned grim.
That Scar pirate had escaped, and he swore to avenge this grudge.
Touching his left eye, Foxy wasn’t too worried about becoming one-eyed. In this world, with all its strange abilities and advanced medical technologies, he believed his eye could be healed.
Like with the Op-Op Fruit.
He also had to avenge Aphelandra and the others.
This incident had alarmed him. He had to become stronger, as the feeling of helplessness and fear was too overwhelming.
His ability was weaker than he had imagined.
Additionally, he had underestimated the Slow-Slow Fruit’s shortcomings.
Firstly, the specific gesture of the orchid finger. Foxy had been experimenting with changing it for over forty days but had made no progress.
Moreover, he had just discovered that hitting someone significantly stronger than himself reduced the duration. This didn’t seem to match the original story!
Was it possible that Oda thought the Devil Fruit was too game-breaking and decided to nerf it?
Additionally, the beam’s speed, duration, and cooldown were all major issues.
If the beam was too slow, it would miss its target, rendering the ability useless.
And as he had just seen, the twelve-second duration could drop to three to four seconds against a strong opponent.
As for the cooldown, it was a glaring flaw.
Moreover, there was the issue of Observation Haki. All things considered, the Slow-Slow Fruit didn’t seem so great.
Frowning in thought, Foxy began to organize his ideas and plans.
Now that he was aboard Tsuru’s ship and about to join the Marines, he needed to grow and develop quietly.
Revenge could wait. Setting a goal of seven to eight years seemed reasonable.
Next, he needed to develop his Devil Fruit ability. Despite its many flaws, they could all be improved.
Regarding the orchid finger, he would change it if possible; if not, so be it.
As for the reduced duration against stronger opponents, that would resolve itself as he grew stronger.
Ultimately, his weakness was the root problem.
Foxy had a few directions for developing his Slow-Slow Fruit.
He aimed to reduce the damage or other negative effects on his body while maintaining his ability’s efficacy, much like the development of the Paw-Paw Fruit.
He also needed to improve the beam’s speed, duration, cooldown, and range.
He could look to Kizaru for inspiration, though replicating moves like the Light-Speed Kick was unrealistic.
He could adapt techniques like Yasakani no Magatama and Ama no Murakumo for his use.
In essence, the Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) and the Noro Noro no Mi (Slow-Slow Fruit) seemed to be opposites.
Both used light particles, one golden and one pink. But why was the Glint-Glint Fruit a Logia, requiring no specific gestures, allowing element transformation and explosive power, while the Slow-Slow Fruit had so many limitations?
Wasn’t the gap a bit excessive?
Shaking his head, Foxy couldn’t help but feel that Oda might have rushed through the development of the Slow-Slow Fruit.
Another point that confused Foxy was whether the Slow-Slow Fruit slowed down the physical body or slowed down time for the target.
However, the Slow-Slow Fruit also affected inanimate objects, like moving cannonballs, stones, and bullets.
This suggested that the Slow-Slow Beam most likely slowed down time for the target.
If that was true, could he develop techniques to pause or stop time?
That would make Foxy a god, a ruler of the world.
Suppressing his wild imagination, Foxy believed that strengthening himself would naturally improve his abilities.
The foundation of everything was physical strength. Without a strong body, even having great powers was meaningless.
Joining the Marines and mastering Rokushiki was a must. Ideally, he would master all six techniques, but if not, at least two or three.
Soru and Geppo were essential.
Then there was Haki.
As he lay there, Foxy was determined to grow stronger and overcome the many limitations of his Devil Fruit. He knew he had a long road ahead but was resolved to face it.
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