"Rori, go run the bath and prep food and drinks for me," Klein ordered.
As for why he called her Rori—well, her real name was too long and awkward to say.
Calling her Rori just rolled off the tongue easier.
He'd been busy the past few days searching for gold and Devil Fruits—barely eating, barely sleeping.
He deserved a proper break.
Brrring brrring brrring—
The Den Den Mushi rang, and Os instinctively counted, "Call number 198."
"Mr. Klein, shall I answer it?"
As soon as he pulled out the Den Den Mushi, he already knew it was Fleet Admiral Oharden calling.
"Pick it up," Klein said, taking the Den Den Mushi from Os. "Moshi moshi, this is Klein."
"KLEIN, YOU BASTARD!! You finally pick up this old man's call?!"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Oharden's furious face to perfection, roaring like a lioness in heat.
The shout nearly made Klein go deaf—he stretched out his arms, keeping the Den Den Mushi at a distance.
"Do you even know how many damn times I've called?! If you don't head for the New World right now, I'll strip your rank and drag you back myself!!"
"YOU HEAR ME, YOU LITTLE—"
"How the hell have you still not checked in at G-14?!"
A barrage of verbal cannon fire. Marshal Oharden had been holding back a full tank of fury—and now, finally, he had a target to unleash on.
"I'm going, I'm going—heading there right now. I'll be at G-14 in the New World in under a month!" Klein cut him off.
"Realer than pearls!"
"You better not be bullshitting this old man!"
"Why the hell would I lie to a crusty old guy like you? The warship's already sailing at full speed toward the New World!"
"Say it again. Say you're heading to the New World."
"I'll say it ten times if you want."
Even Marshal Oharden couldn't quite believe it. "Fine, I'll trust you this once. But you better keep me posted on your progress!"
The Den Den Mushi cut off.
Oharden let out a long sigh. "That bastard Klein is finally willing to head to the New World. I, this old man..."
"Being Fleet Admiral of the Marines is damn near impossible. When the hell do I get to retire?!"
He prayed for retirement every damn day.
Been praying for years.
Gloriosa blushed furiously as she wiped down Klein's torso with a towel.
Nearby, Shakky stood like a statue—hands full of clothes and towels, her lovely face glowing red and warm.
Klein's physique was like something out of a Greek statue: perfect muscle lines, radiating raw, masculine power.
For Gloriosa, who had lived in Amazon Lily and hadn't been around men in ages—this was a brutal test of will.
Every time her hands moved to wipe him down, they trembled slightly.
Klein closed his eyes, thinking: "With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in my hands, this Devil Fruit's powers are practically unmatched."
In the future, the Marine Admirals would wield the Magma-Magma Fruit, Ice-Ice Fruit, and Glint-Glint Fruit—but none of them could match the breadth of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Speed, strength, destructive power, perception, healing, metal smelting, energy generation...
You could practically call it a hexagon-shaped Devil Fruit—well-rounded in every stat.
Truth be told, the moment he got the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he almost gave in and ate it.
He held back. Sure, the strong don't fear Seastone or seawater, but still—it was a fatal flaw.
And Klein hated weaknesses.
If he didn't eat it, he'd have to think about who to give it to. Sell it to Garp? Zephyr?
Or maybe save it for one of his future "sons"?
Someone like Kaido, or Whitebeard?
For Klein, the decision was too important to rush. For now, he'd hold on to it.
With his cheat-like power, even a single flaw was too dangerous.
It would chip away at his sense of security.
Who knew whether those around him could resist temptation? After all, it was a CP agent who ambushed and took down Bullet, leading to him being captured by Garp and Sengoku.
You can never be too careful.
In an organization as massive as the Marines, who knew how many of them were really just World Government lapdogs?
"I said I would become a man without weaknesses—" Klein remembered that line he had declared in front of everyone.
He planned to walk that path to the end.
Klein kept his eyes closed, enjoying Gloriosa's bath service. Even with his eyes shut, he could sense her pounding heart...
And that oddly rising body temperature.
"Rori, you've done well while I was away. Tomorrow, I'll teach you the rest of the Rokushiki techniques."
His sudden words made Gloriosa jump—but then her eyes lit up with joy, and she bowed her head, whispering softly, "Thank you... Master."
"Mmh. Carry on," Klein replied calmly.
The game was finally done updating.
Klein lay on a deck chair, eyes closed, enjoying the salty sea breeze.
He logged into the game.
Immediately, a system announcement popped up, along with a prompt:
"Enable Full-Dive Holographic Experience?"
Klein activated it instantly. "190 billion Berries... let's see what these amateurs can really do."
A blue holographic interface materialized in front of him.
"Heh—" Klein sneered. 'That's it?'
'This is the big surprise? What a waste of hype.'
"I, Klein, hereby names you the FW of the gaming industry!"
He opened his eyes and reached for a drink on the side table—only for his hand to freeze mid-air.
[Chilled Watermelon Juice]
[Effect: +1 Stamina, +1 Mood]
Klein froze, brain stuttering. His heart skipped a beat. "Holy shit—I did underestimate these amateurs."
"Did you just link to real life?!"
He hadn't expected this. Ten days of patching, and the game…
The game had evolved from a janky little 2D clicker…
To full-blown, sci-fi-tier hyperreal VR.
Klein immediately tested it out—trying to put the watermelon juice into his inventory. The drink vanished from his hand.
And inside the game's inventory grid—a square slot lit up, holding a cup of watermelon juice. Thıs content belongs to 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝕟𝕖𝕥
Klein was stunned. This update was insane.
Was this still the same low-budget dev team he remembered?
He turned to look at the others on deck.
When his gaze landed on Os, who was mid-training, a white frame popped up beside him.
[Name: Os | Faction: Marine | Rank: Marine Captain | Primary Class: Sniper…]
White-framed overlay.