One Piece: Control Fruit

In the year 1516 of the Sea Circle Calendar, Luffy was 13 years old, Ace was 15, and Rono was 15. Four years remained until Luffy set out to sea, and two years until Ace did.

Rono felt surrounded by utter darkness—he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. In the next moment, blinding white light engulfed the world.

"Beep... Naval Battle Simulation... Participants... 1 person."

As the white light faded, Rono was shocked to find himself standing on a ship's deck. The sea breeze carried a thick, metallic scent of blood that assaulted his senses, and the cries of battle reached his ears, snapping him back to reality. This feels way too real!

A tall, lean man wearing a green headscarf, two earrings on one ear, a black short-sleeve shirt, and dark jeans approached him while stretching and limbering up.

"Well then, let's do this!"

Bone armor activated, and Rono readied himself for battle.

"Here I come~" The headscarfed man's flippant tone irritated Rono. He rushed forward without hesitation, bone claws snapping out to strike at vital points.

The man sidestepped with ease.

"Oooh, someone's mad~" he taunted, his voice dragging with a mocking tone that made Rono sick to his stomach. Without responding, Rono spun into a whipping kick.

The man's lips curled into a smirk as he leaped back, dodging Rono's second attack. This time, he stopped his chatter. He crouched, then launched himself forward, closing in on Rono's side. Just as Rono retracted his leg, he took a knee to the ribs.

Before Rono could be flung away, the man grabbed his arm. He didn't even flinch as Rono's bone spikes pierced his hand—he simply smashed a fist into Rono's nose.

Crack.

Rono felt the bone in his nose break. A wave of dizziness flooded his head. Before he could react, an elbow struck his neck.

Crack. His throat bone shattered.

Crack. Another blow to his side. The sheer force of it dislocated one of his cervical vertebrae!

"Aaaah—!"

Agonizing pain tore through him. Even though he had a strong regenerative ability, that didn't mean he couldn't feel pain. On the contrary, because of his regeneration, the pain was doubled.

The headscarfed man tossed Rono aside like garbage, then casually scanned for his next opponent. Although it was odd that Rono hadn't bled, the seas were full of strange things. He simply stayed alert, just in case.

Lighting a cigarette, he watched his subordinates and the opposing pirates locked in battle, enjoying the spectacle—utterly out of place on the chaotic battlefield.

About ten seconds later, Rono coughed and struggled to his feet. Berserker Mode activated.

His eyes turned crimson. Skin peeled off his muscles, revealing blood-red muscle fibers beneath—resembling a full-body version of a "Parasyte" creature. The bone claws retracted, replaced by beast-like talons growing from his fingers. His teeth transformed into sharp canines.

Fruit Control: Crimson Armament!

Unlike the bone armor, which focused on defense, the Crimson Armament ignored defense entirely—his whole body became a weapon. To put it crudely: except for his butt, everything was damaged output!

As a berserker, who needs defense?

Trade wound for wound, life for life!

That's a true berserker. That's my way of fighting!

Meanwhile, the headscarfed man noticed Rono's transformation. His expression turned serious. Not waiting for Rono to fully evolve, he charged.

"If I could beat you once, I can beat you again~," he said, leaping into the air, twisting into a 360° downward kick.

"Roar!"

Rono let out a beast-like snarl and threw a punch straight upward. Not only that—he seized the man's calf mid-air, claws sinking deep into the flesh.

The headscarfed man responded with a precise knee strike to Rono's face. But this time, Rono didn't cry out. Bearing the pain of his broken nose, he grabbed the man's knee with his other hand, opened his mouth wider than any normal human could, and bit down hard.

He yanked his head back—ripping off a large chunk of flesh, pants and all. Even the bone underneath showed tiny cracks.

"Aaaagh!"

The headscarfed man screamed in agony, but strangely, the people around them seemed not to notice at all. They kept fighting, ignoring the scene entirely.

"Huff… huff…" Rono panted heavily, spitting out the chunk of flesh in his mouth. With both hands gripping tightly and his core tightening, he lifted the headscarfed man and slammed his upper body into the deck with a powerful throw. Muscles taut, he stood and slammed him down again—another massive crater formed on impact.

Amid the repeated bang bang bang of smashing into the deck, the headscarfed man's right knee finally gave in under the pressure—it snapped. Looking at the leg now hanging by just a few tendons, Rono showed no mercy. He tossed him onto a still-intact section of the deck, preparing for the final blow.

The headscarfed man's eyes rolled back, his mouth hung open, several teeth missing, and his jaw emitted clicking sounds. Due to the intense impacts and the pain of his shattered leg, he had lost all will to fight. He lay there motionless, not even groaning.

Rono stepped beside him, formed his right hand into a claw, and plunged it into the man's chest—pulling out a still-beating heart.

"Squish." With that sound, he crushed it to a pulp.

The space began collapsing, and everything returned to darkness once more.

"System Evaluation: B"

"Battle video downloaded. Please check."

"Friendly reminder: Hell Training (Part 2) starts tomorrow. Please prepare accordingly."

"A B rank, huh… Looks like I still have a lot of room for improvement."

The simulated opponent created by the system had the same physical strength as Rono, but his skeletal strength was only at the level of a normal person (not an average person—an important distinction), which is why Rono was able to bite through his kneecap.

"System, show character panel."

"Please wait… Beep."

Name: Wolfe Rono

Age: 15 years (183 days)

Constitution: 33 (Base physical strength) (Upgradeable)

Skeleton: 41 (Base skeletal strength) (Upgradeable)

Observation Haki: 0 (Upgradeable)

Armament Haki: 0 (Upgradeable)

Skills: Regeneration Factor, Bone Claws

Devil Fruit (Control-Type Fruit):

Bone Armor Mode

(Description: A rough application of the fruit's power to control bone growth, enhancing defensive capability. In terms of offense, it mainly diversifies combat styles.)

Crimson Armament Mode

(Description: A rough application of the fruit's power that removes the protective function of skin and bone to fully unleash muscular strength. Muscle fibers thicken, and explosive power increases greatly. Weakness: poor defense.)

Combat Mode: Berserker (Passive)

(Description: A mode that may activate in the face of fatal danger. Boosts combat instincts and battle comprehension. Downside: Tends to trade injury for injury, life for life, and risks falling into a bloodthirsty frenzy.)

Skill Duration: 5 minutes

Cooldown Time: 24 hours

Activation Chance: Depends on emotional fluctuations

Enhancement Points Available: 4

Evaluation:

You're better off staying a berserker—but even a great berserker needs some defense.

(Note 1: Your Devil Fruit development is seriously weak. Even this system feels embarrassed for you. (Judgmental face))

(Note 2: Surprised the system got an update? Hmph, this great one is a high-intelligence AI system—of course, I can upgrade and patch myself!)

"..."

Rono stared blankly at the system, speechless at its self-satisfied expression. A high-IQ little brat, huh?

After thinking it over, Rono decided to invest all the enhancement points into skeleton strength, raising it to 45 points.

As for why he didn't put points into Observation Haki or Armament Haki, Rono explained:

"I'm desperate too, okay? The system won't let me! Said I haven't met the requirements or whatever!"