Vergo Goes To Jail, Marine Sends Devil Fruit

The next morning, Arias recalled the system prompt he received the night before. Virgo had been arrested.

In the intricate plot of Ice and Fire Island, the destinies of three key characters—Luo, Virgo, and Guysa—were being reshaped, with two of them altered due to Arias's actions. The Bajiquan rewarded by the system was a basic physical skill, not as magical as some, but it provided Arias with additional close combat methods.

Wondering if the Devil Fruit promised by Sengoku would be delivered, Arias continued refining weapons. His methods became more sophisticated, with loyal female warriors now equipped with bite bags, and the successful development of white dolls. Additionally, he created a simple version of the slimming stove. Though it couldn't grant abilities to a person, it could copy Arias's own abilities onto the white doll.

Three abilities—ghost walking, phantom body barrier, and earth walking immortal—were added to the white puppet, giving it a mysterious aura. Despite this, its combat abilities were still lacking. Arias decided to refine the black puppet based on the white puppet, but he understood it would take time.

With extensive knowledge of weapon refining, Arias expected no major surprises in crafting the black puppet. However, for superior divine machine creations, exceptional weapon refining skills and high-quality materials were essential. Realizing that the current materials were still too ordinary, he tasked the female warriors of Nine Snakes with inquiring about Baoshu Adam and searching for superior metals.

As Arias contemplated, a Marine warship silently sailed into the Calm Belt, headed for Nine Snakes Island. The unexpected arrival of the Marines heightened tension among the island's residents.

Yamato swiftly reached the port, followed closely by Sonia and her troops. Upon learning of the situation, Arias hurried to the port with Hancock. Even though the report indicated only one warship, the world respected strength above all, and the presence of a top-tier powerhouse was more concerning than an entire army.

The atmosphere grew more intense as they neared the port, and Arias heard a hearty laugh.

"Haha! This is the legendary daughter's kingdom!" The voice echoed.

Upon closer inspection, Arias tensed up. The visitor was none other than Vice Admiral Garp, a figure known for his incredible strength and unwavering determination.

Garp remained on the ship, showing no inclination to enter Nine Snakes Island. Relieved, Arias greeted him with a smile. "Vice Admiral Garp!"

Acknowledging the greeting, Garp's adjutant, Bogart, disembarked, carrying a wooden box in his hand.

"Your intelligence is accurate. Vergo is indeed a spy for the Donquixote family! This is the Devil Fruit Sengoku promised you!" Garp got straight to the point, and Bogart tossed the wooden box to Arias.

Although Arias wasn't initially assigned to handle the courier delivery task, the matter involved a Devil Fruit, making it too crucial for him to be careless. Coincidentally, Garp, on his way back to East Blue, had made a stopover for Sengoku.

"Vice Admiral Garp, consider visiting Nine Snakes City during your stay!" Arias warmly invited Garp, taking the wooden box and opening it in front of him. The box indeed contained a Devil Fruit, resembling a sugar apple but with a flat top and distinctive brown lines.

After closing the box, Arias extended a courteous invitation to Garp, who declined, citing the rule that men were not allowed in Amazon Lily. Garp signaled for Bogart to return to the boat, and they sailed away.

Observing Garp's departure, Arias led the people back to Nine Snakes City. With the Devil Fruit in hand, Arias turned to Hancock for advice.

"Hancock, who do you think is more suitable for eating this Devil Fruit?"

Examining the fruits in the wooden box, he found it challenging to make a decision.

Hancock, indifferent to the matter, replied, "I'll defer to your judgment."

Arias considered that the Marine-sent fruit was likely an ordinary Zoan, not particularly powerful. Deciding it was best to keep it for now, he envisioned potential future uses—selling them for money or rewarding individuals based on their performance.

As the year 1510 approached, Arias reflected on the events of the past year. Fozifu's escort of the Rubber Fruit had faced setbacks when kidnapped by the Red Hair Pirates, leading to imprisonment in the underwater prison. Following this, Red Hair acquired the Rubber Fruit, ventured to East Blue's Windmill Village, and forged a connection with Luffy.

Luffy consumed the Rubber Fruit, and after Shanks broke his arm and left East Blue, Luffy was entrusted to the bandit Dadan to befriend Ace and Sabo.

Shortly afterward, Sabo set sail and was bombarded by Celestial Dragons, losing his memory. However, he was rescued by Dragon. Koala returned to her hometown of Forchart Island on the Sun Pirates' ship, where Fisher Tiger was ambushed by the Marines and succumbed to serious injuries. Jinbei took over as the captain of the Sun Pirates, and Arlong was subsequently arrested.

Gild Tesoro seized and consumed the Ginkin Fruit at an auction held by the Donquixote family. In the same year, Kuina tragically passed away.

Reflecting on the events, Arias pondered which actions could have a significant impact on the world line. The idea of confronting Red-Haired Shanks for the Rubber Fruit crossed his mind, but he doubted Shanks' strength, considering his previous encounter where he lost an arm to an offshore lord. However, the anomaly in Shanks' qualifications made Arias curious. A person who could contend with Hawkeye in sword skills might possess a power level surpassing that of a typical Shichibukai.

Unsure about the location of the Rubber Fruit, Arias decided to focus on East Blue's Windmill Village as a potential intervention point. Contemplating the possibility of directly eliminating Luffy, he wondered if such an action could bring about more substantial changes. However, he was wary of Garp, who considered East Blue his territory and could bring Admiral-level combatants to suppress any threat.

Arias knew he had to be cautious in choosing his interventions to avoid severe consequences.