One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 58 The Gods of Water? The Only Answer!
The Water City remains lively even at night.

A group of drinkers, arms around each other's shoulders, chatted loudly as they headed to their next drinking party.

And at this moment.
“Da!” “Da!”

A man wearing a rat-face mask walked along the streets of Water Seven, carrying two bloodstained packages.

But the patrons passing by late at night seemed completely oblivious to him.

"Buzz!"

Without a sound, the man passed through the body of one of the drinkers.

"The Door-Door Fruit. What a convenient ability."

At this moment, Roy, hidden behind the mask, was reflecting on his thoughts.

Within the light screen beneath his eyes, the origin of this scene is silently revealed.

[Door-Door Fruit LV3 - Can open doors to other dimensions and hide inside, while still having a view of the outside world]

Yes.

After obtaining the Door-Door Fruit, Roy decisively upgraded this extremely useful fruit to LV3.

In this way, he accomplished his original purpose for coming to Water City.

"Given enough time, the Rat can bring its other clones and meet with the main body to refresh its status without anyone noticing."

This gain alone was enough to satisfy Roy.

So here's the question—why did the Rat appear at the 'Buffalo Bar' before?

There are two reasons.

"Just as I guessed, the different dimensions of the Door-Door Fruit are interconnected."

This is the first reason—the shared alternate dimension meant that Bruno might discover Roy's secret, so he had to die.

Besides that, the second reason is...
"This clone's next plan still needs your heads."

"But before that..."

As it murmured softly, the mouse looked ahead.

Before he knew it, he had reached the edge of Water Seven.

Before him lay a surging sea.

But the mouse's steps did not stop at all.

He stepped into the sea, with surging waves beneath his feet.

But those countless waves had no effect on the Rat.

This is the power of the Door-Door Fruit—in another dimension, it is unaffected by anything from the outside world.

Then, until a certain moment.
"."

The mouse finally stopped in its tracks.

"According to the coordinates given by MR.4, it should be around here."

He looked out at the vast sea—no islands, no research institutes.

The sea remained empty.

Just as Mr. 4 himself said—if he hadn't experienced it firsthand, he probably wouldn't have believed there was an island nearby.

In fact, the same applies to the Rat.

He didn't initially think he could actually find that research institute.

But now it's different.

"What a coincidence."

Zishu sighed and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve.

"But surprisingly, the intelligence brought by these two CP9 members contained something interesting."

In fact, the mouse, who originally only went to the Buffalo Bar to kill Bruno, did not expect that he would happen to witness the owl and Bruno exchanging information.

Of course, Zishu didn't have high hopes for that box of intelligence.

After all, he knew that Bruno and the others' biggest goal in infiltrating Water Seven was to obtain the 'Pluto blueprints'.

As for information about Hades, Zishu couldn't be said to know nothing, but he could also say he knew everything.

Therefore, in his view, the box of intelligence was unlikely to be of much use to him.

But the reality exceeded his expectations. After going through that huge box of intelligence, although most of the information was indeed of no value to him...

But there was only one page that he found quite interesting.

[Records of government and naval personnel entering and leaving the Seven Waters - Year - 1503 (Sea Calendar)]

In April of 1503 in the Sea Calendar, Navy Captain Doberman traveled to Water Seven to repair his warships, staying for three days.

In May of 1503 in the Ocean Calendar, the CP9 vessel proceeded to Water Seven for routine maintenance, with a stay of one day.

【Haiyuan Calendar】

On this page, which is now 14 years old, lies a seemingly ordinary record.

In July of 1503 in the Sea Calendar, Dr. Vegapunk and his mechanical assistants traveled to Water Seven on their 'special scientific vessel' for scientific research.

[Because the 'Water Gods' had just entered low tide, the special science ship got lost in the waters south of Water Seven. The government dispatched five warships to search for it for a month without success. Finally, the government sent a high-ranking official to oversee the operation, and they successfully located the stranded Dr. Vegapunk in the nearby waters.]

Yes—on this page of information, the mouse saw the name 'Vegapunk'.

And the content is quite interesting.

"A month lost in the southern part of the Water Seven".

The coincidence is that the sea area he is currently in, as mentioned by Mr. 4, is south of Water Seven!
Furthermore, if we ignore the description of 'lost,' Zishu could even summarize what this intelligence report contains into another sentence.

"Vegapunk disappeared for more than a month near Water 7 without the Navy knowing his whereabouts!"

That's why he came here.

If his guess is correct, Vegapunk spent the month he disappeared traveling to the research institute on the island mentioned by Mr. 4.

Therefore, this information about the location of that research institute becomes extremely significant.

Especially the most crucial words.

"The ebb tide of the water gods"

The mouse murmured softly.

The water gods regularly unleash massive tsunamis that strike Water Seven every year.

Because its origin is unknown, but its power is no different from that of a god, it has this name.

The water gods arrive around June each year and gradually disappear in July.

Because of the influence of tides and ocean currents brought about by the water gods, the entire sea area around Water Seven would undergo corresponding changes at that time—so June was called the 'high tide' in Water Seven, and July was called the 'low tide'.

The waters near Water Seven are extremely dangerous for the next two months.

Ships entering the vicinity of Water Seven during high tide are likely to be swallowed by tsunamis due to rising sea levels.

Ships that enter the vicinity of Water Seven during low tide will be swallowed into the deep sea by the receding tide.

The sea surface of Water Seven will not return to its original calm until the tide has receded.

"Vegapunk arrived in Water 7 at the beginning of the 'low tide' and then 'lost' at sea for a month, just as the low tide ended."

“MR.4 said that he also encountered a huge tsunami when he was shipwrecked, which happened at the end of June—so that tsunami should be the last ‘water god’ of that year.”

"And after the shipwreck, it happened to be July, when the water gods entered the 'low tide period,' which is why Mr. 4 survived and was able to see the island."

This is too much of a coincidence, so much so that it almost makes the truth obvious.

“There is only one answer.”

With a low murmur, Zishu threw the two severed heads in his hand into the alternate dimension.

Then, he gently raised his hand.

"squeak."

A crisp sound of the door opening rang out, and he opened it.

The salty sea breeze entered his nostrils, and Zishu looked down at the sea.

Then, without hesitation, he leaped into the air!
He believed in the answer he had found.

"That island only appeared during the time of the water gods when the ocean currents were extremely unstable."

"It arrives in the shallows with the 'high tide,' appears on the surface during the 'low tide,' and then disappears after the end of the water gods' reign."

"The only explanation is that the island was in the sea from the very beginning!"

　Dear readers, please be patient. The Rat's abilities are not yet complete. This Water Seven storyline mainly lays the groundwork for later plot developments (main story + foreshadowing of the next clone), serving as a semi-transitional plot. The Rat's true main storyline comes much later.

　　As for the issue of domineering aura that everyone's been talking about, it will be resolved with the next clone. The protagonist will definitely be able to learn it before the Three Armies Exercise.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)