Tatsuki walked slowly toward the high platform with his hands in his pockets.
He arrived before the three priceless devil fruits, reached out, and let his fingertips lightly brush against the rinds covered in mysterious spiral patterns.
Just when everyone thought he was about to pick one up—
Tatsuki suddenly withdrew his hand, a hint of boredom appearing on his face.
"Reporting to Admiral Sengoku, reporting to Instructor Zephyr."
Tatsuki turned around, his back to the treasure that could drive the world mad, and spoke in a flat voice, "I don't want a single one of these fruits."
The entire arena was dead silent.
This lasted for a full three seconds, and then, the crowd exploded.
"What?!!"
"Did I hear that right? He refused?"
"Those are Logia types! Did he get his brain scrambled in the fight?"
Sengoku was stunned, his hand holding a teacup suspended in mid-air. In all his years, he had seen people fight until they were bloody for a devil fruit, but he had never seen someone refuse one when it was handed to them on a silver platter.
Zephyr's expression darkened instantly, and an invisible pressure spread out. "Tatsuki! This is no time for jokes!"
"Do you know what you are refusing? This is a power that countless people can only dream of!"
"Power?"
Tatsuki let out a light chuckle and looked up, a heart-palpitating arrogance flashing in his eyes.
He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the confused New Recruits, the shocked officers, and finally landing on the three people on the ground.
"Instructor, you often teach us not to rely too heavily on Devil Fruit abilities."
"Abilities are certainly powerful and can allow one to reach the top in a single step. But precisely because they come too easily, they cause people to become lax and neglect the tempering of their body."
"In the New World, no matter how strong a devil fruit ability is, there will be a day it is countered. Only Haki... Haki is the power that transcends everything."
These words were like a thunderclap, striking into the heart of everyone present.
Only Haki transcends everything!
This wasn't just a slogan, it was a declaration of a powerful man who possessed absolute confidence in his own strength.
On the ground, Sakazuki snapped his eyes open and stared fixedly at the figure silhouetted against the sunlight. Unwillingness and shock were intertwined in his heart.
This guy... this kind of spirit...
Zephyr was stunned.
Looking at the troublemaker who usually gave him the biggest headaches, his eyes actually felt a bit warm.
He had always worried that this generation of 'monster rookies' would rely too much on their talent and neglect basic taijutsu and the tempering of Haki.
He never expected that the one who understood him best, the one who most thoroughly carried out his 'Black Arm' will, would be Tatsuki.
"Good."
Zephyr laughed loudly.
His large hand slapped heavily on Tatsuki's shoulder, nearly dislocating it.
"As expected of a soldier I trained! You have ambition! Since you firmly believe in your own path of Haki, then I won't force you to eat these things!"
On the platform, Garp crushed his senbei into powder and laughed wildly. "Kyahahahaha! Sengoku, did you hear that? This kid is exactly to my taste."
In an instant, the way the entire audience looked at Tatsuki changed. From the fear of looking at a monster, it turned into the respect of looking at a pure powerhouse.
This was a true man who was willing to give up shortcuts in pursuit of ultimate power.
[Ding! Published the 'Haki Supremacy' speech, establishing a fake profound persona, triggering mass admiration!]
[Triggered 'Subverting Cognition' achievement! Violation Points +2000!]
Hearing the system notification, Tatsuki was blooming with joy inside.
Don't want the devil fruits?
Nonsense!
There were plenty of devil fruits in the system roulette that he had never even heard of, they were definitely stronger than these three.
Besides, once he became the Fleet Admiral in the future, how could he do without reliable soldiers under him?
And...
Tatsuki looked at the deeply moved Zephyr, and his expression suddenly became a bit wretched.
"Um... Instructor, since I'm not eating the devil fruit, it's equivalent to saving important strategic resources for Marineford, right?"
Zephyr hadn't recovered from his emotion yet and nodded subconsciously. "Yes, these three devil fruits are indeed precious. Leaving them for Sakazuki and the others is an excellent supplement to our combat power."
Tatsuki rubbed his hands together and spoke rapidly, "In that case, can you convert my quota into cash? I've calculated it, these devil fruits are worth at least over a billion Berries, right? Will you give me cash, or deposit it directly into my allowance account? A twenty percent discount is fine too, I'm not picky."
The air froze.
The smile on Zephyr's face stiffened and gradually cracked.
The tea Sengoku had just sipped sprayed all over the back of Garp's head.
"What did you say?" Zephyr's voice was trembling.
"Convert it to cash."
Tatsuki blinked and said righteously, "I won this reward with my own ability. I chose not to take the physical item and instead exchange it for equivalent currency. That's very reasonable, right?"
"I've already thought it through. After I get this money, I'll first go to Sabaody to buy a manor, and then hire dozens of maids... ahem, I mean hire dozens of sparring partners to temper my Haki day and night."
"Reasonable? I think you want to go meet God!"
Zephyr finally reached the end of his patience. Veins popped on his forehead, and a roar echoed through the sky.
"I'll give you noble and selfless! I'll give you 'Haki transcends everything'!"
Boom!
With a loud bang, Tatsuki was kicked away by Zephyr like a meteor, turning into a bright star on the horizon.
"Wake those three bastards up! The devil fruits belong to them! And send that scoundrel Tatsuki to the solitary confinement room to reflect for three days!"
In the sky, Tatsuki's receding screams could still be heard.
"If you won't give the money, then forget it! Why are you hitting me! I'm going to the World Government to file a complaint against you!"
[Ding! Publicly soliciting a bribe from an Admiral, treating top-tier strategic materials as a monetary transaction!]
[Severely profaning the sanctity of 'Justice'! Gained a huge amount of Violation Points: +5000!]