“Rogue Town isn’t that big. I don’t believe we can’t find that brat.”
Spandau’s face was grim and menacing on returning to their base.
Rogue Town, located in the western part of the Kingdom of Providence, was a small border town with a population of about 100,000, including migrants. In the grand scheme of the kingdom, it was insignificant.
Yet, pirate crews and underground factions rivaled the Cutlass Pirates in this small town.
With a bounty of 4.6 million berries, Spandau could lord over such border towns, rule the nearby seas, and occasionally plunder and oppress surrounding villages.
Even so, the Cutlass Pirates lived quite comfortably.
But this time, they got caught with their pants down. A brat stole from them, causing the loss of a billion berries and several crewmates.
It was like having the worst luck possible, being cursed with bad fortune.
No one had dared to challenge Spandau and the Cutlass Pirates in this part of the sea for a long time. This time, Spandau was determined to make that brat experience the depths of hell, ice-cold ruthlessness, and heartless cruelty.
He hoped the brat hadn’t eaten the Devil Fruit. If he had, the best way to recoup the loss would be to sell him to a spit. Who knows how much a Devil Fruit user would fetch?
Despite being in the game for years, Spandau had never encountered a Devil Fruit user, only heard about them.
Damn it.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, his heart aching.
If he couldn’t catch that brat, it would gnaw at him, increasing his chances of a stroke. It felt like his life was at stake.
That bastard.
Along the way.
Hermes didn’t make a move. He planned to strike at night, aiming for the head. Otherwise, taking out the small fry one by one would eventually alert Spandau, potentially turning an easy mission into a hard one, which wouldn’t be worth it.
After all, Spandau had a bounty of 4.6 million berries. Without the Mini Mini Fruit, Spandau could easily crush him.
Once they were back at the base, Spandau sent all his men to search for Hermes.
Maintaining his five-millimeter form, Hermes hid in the base, secretly observing Spandau. Unfortunately, Spandau didn’t intend to nap, even after the sunset.
Until all the pirates who went out returned.
Predictably, they came back empty-handed, with no valuable information.
This enraged Spandau, who hacked the captured slum dwellers to death in his fury.
“Keep looking for him!”
Spandau roared, still burning with anger.
Once all the pirates left again, Spandau started drinking to drown his sorrows. The loss of a billion berries pained him deeply, fueling his hatred for Hermes.
If Hermes appeared before him, he would dismember him, tie him up, and hack him to pieces.
Standing by a table leg, Hermes watched Spandau drink bowl after bowl of liquor. This was a godsend opportunity.
It was as if Spandau offered his neck for Hermes to slice effortlessly.
An hour later.
Spandau was thoroughly drunk.
Hermes boldly walked towards him, climbed up his leg, and, at the right moment, jumped into the bowl of liquor. The drink swallowed him down.
He needed Spandau’s head, and it had to be intact.
Thump, thump, thump!!!
The powerful heartbeat was intense.
But the next moment, it stopped. Hermes instantly returned to his normal size, bursting Spandau from the inside. Blood, flesh, and viscera sprayed everywhere, and Spandau’s broken head rolled to the table’s edge, still red and drunken.
Standing drenched in blood, Hermes felt a bit empty.
It was too easy.
There was no challenge. A pirate with a 4.6 million berry bounty died without resistance, and there was no sense of accomplishment.
This was the difference between having a Devil Fruit and not having one.
“This method of killing is a bit crude.”
Hermes looked at the bloody mess, his body covered in blood and gore. It was nauseatingly grotesque, but surprisingly, he didn’t feel like vomiting. Instead, he was very calm.
If he had encountered this scene right after crossing over, he might have had nightmares.
He found something to hold Spandau’s severed head, collected some of Spandau’s money, and walked out openly.
The remaining Cutlass Pirates were nothing to worry about. If he ran into them, he’d deal with them. After all, some had bounties of a hundred thousand or a few hundred thousand berries.
He had researched their values thoroughly.
On the third day.
Hermes used some of the berries he took from Spandau to join a merchant caravan heading to the capital. They would pass by the eastern Marine branch, where he planned to exchange Spandau’s head for the bounty.
After much thought, Hermes decided to become a bounty hunter. Besides the convenience of the identity, it was a great way to gain experience.
And it paid well.
Becoming a pirate was not an option for now. Though it sounded impressive and trendy, he was still in the newbie phase and needed to build his strength.
As for joining the Marines, the previous rejection put him off.
He had considered the Revolutionary Army and the underground world, but bounty hunting suited him best. Besides, occupations weren’t fixed; if he felt like it, he could become a pirate or Marine later.
Hermes never stuck to rules. He respected his emotions and desires.
Since crossing over, Hermes has been the freest and most daring. No rules would bind him. Living freely, eating well, and growing strong were his goals.
He wanted to live like a king.
Sitting in the carriage, with a box containing a head beside him, he enjoyed the beautiful scenery, the gentle breeze carrying a hint of floral fragrance, the winding path stretching into the distance.
Looking at the endless dirt road, Hermes had a sudden inspiration.
He thought of the phrase “shrinking the ground to inches.”
With the Mini Mini Fruit’s power, he could develop it to that level. Upon awakening the fruit, he could shrink an area of hundreds or thousands of meters, then expand it, effectively allowing him to take a single step to cover vast distances.
Or shrink a mountain, then throw it and restore its size or even enlarge it, creating a devastating effect.
Or enlarge a handgun, turning a bullet into the size of a cannonball, similar to the Moa Moa Fruit’s effect.
Though the Moa Moa Fruit, also called the Multiply-Multiply Fruit, strictly doubles things, if he had eaten it, he’d have considered halving, like reducing the enemy’s speed or attack.
But the original World Destroyer never developed it this way, which was
‘t surprising. In this world, those who developed their abilities were incredibly powerful, like Bartholomew Kuma, while those who didn’t were weaklings.
Another idea was to shrink and enlarge bombs, becoming a walking disaster.
Or even manipulate concepts, like shrinking wounds or enlarging them, reducing enemy attacks or amplifying his own, shrinking enemy limbs or enlarging their heads.
Developing the fruit should be bold.
Unfortunately, for now, Hermes could only change his size. There was a long way to go.
Besides that, he needed to increase his other powers.
For example, he needed to master the three types of Haki. Conqueror’s Haki aside, he needed to learn Armament and Observation Haki and train them to their utmost potential. Otherwise, any strong Observation Haki user could easily counter him.
Additionally, he should aim to master the Rokushiki techniques. These were specialized marine techniques, but similar ones could be used on the sea. Relying solely on his exploration was unreliable, so he needed to find a way to learn one or two techniques. Combined with his shrinking ability, he could destroy enemies from within without expanding.
Moreover, there was swordsmanship. With the Mini Mini Fruit’s support, his slashes could grow, exponentially increasing their power.
Overall, the future looked promising and full of potential.
He was going to soar.
This Devil Fruit was highly satisfactory to Hermes. A good Devil Fruit could infinitely elevate one’s level, while a mediocre one revealed its limits at a glance.
“Damn, I’m grateful to the readers who haven’t forgotten me after all this time. I’m so moved, I love you all immensely, like you’re a part of me.”
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