One Piece: We already have the Four Gods, so my Six Paths Sage is reasonable, right?

He put down his palm-leaf fan, stood up, and said with barely suppressed excitement and solemnity, "You might not believe it, but in all my life, this is the first time I've ever encountered something so strange."

"After I finished picking the tomatoes, one of them underwent a strange change right in front of me. It grew bigger, developed lines, and turned into a fruit I had never seen before."

After he finished speaking, as if afraid that the other party would not believe him, he added seriously, "Don't worry, I'm definitely not making this up. I saw it with my own eyes."

Roger's gaze lingered on the fruit for a long time, then he looked up and asked calmly, "Old man, selling it?"

The old man's smile faded, as if he had been asked an answer he had already considered.

He shook his head. "Not for sale. I have a feeling this is a lucky fruit bestowed upon me by God. I plan to take it home and keep it as a family heirloom."

Rayleigh stood to the side, his gaze slowly shifting from the fruit's markings to the weathered face. He spoke unhurriedly, "Such a strange scene—what if it's an ominous sign? What if this oddly shaped fruit brings annihilation to your entire family?"

Of course, this isn't entirely a threat; there's a real possibility it could happen. After all, if a Devil Fruit were to appear on an unarmed old man, he would inevitably be robbed if someone recognized its value.

The old man was clearly shaken by Rayleigh's words. If it was truly a lucky fruit, that would be fine, but if it were an evil fruit that would bring about a terrible disaster, then it would really be a loss.

After hesitating for a while, the old man finally spoke, "How much are you... willing to pay?"

Roger gave a slightly embarrassed smile: "Hehe, we don't have any money. Can we pay you back?"

Indeed, not long ago, all of Roger's treasure was looted by Rocks' crew, leaving them with only a tiny bit of money.

That's obviously not enough to buy a Devil Fruit.

The old man's face darkened visibly after hearing those words.

He froze for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the carrying pole beside him and swung it at Roger with a whoosh: "Get out of here! Have you no shame?! You have hands and feet, why do you spend all day carrying around this broken knife and fooling around? Can't you just earn some money peacefully?!"

Roger, Rayleigh, and Jabba all jumped back simultaneously. They didn't fight back or offer any explanation; they just ran and laughed.

"Thank you," Roger called back, his voice filled with sincere gratitude and a promise. "I'll definitely make it up to you next time we meet!"

"roll!"

The old man's voice came from the alley entrance, and the carrying pole swung twice more in the air.

After the three figures had completely disappeared, he turned around, cursing.

Then he froze.

The oddly shaped fruit was gone.

Where the fruit was originally placed, there were a few loose coins and a few crumpled banknotes.

Not many, probably just a few thousand peggs.

The old man stood in front of the stall, holding a carrying pole in his hand, looking down at the money, and remained silent for a long time.

Then he muttered something under his breath, his voice much lower and softer than before.

He bent down, picked up the money one by one, folded it neatly, and put it into his inner pocket.

Finally, the old man sat back down on the small stool, picked up the palm-leaf fan, and slowly fanned himself a few times, as if nothing had happened.

-------------------------------------

Euro Jackson.

Ship hall.

Rayleigh sat at the long table, holding a yellowed picture book in his hands, comparing line by line the deep purple fruit on the table.

"All the characteristics match up. This Devil Fruit is called the 'Rubber Fruit,' and it belongs to the Paramecia type. The eater will gain rubber powers, able to stretch and bounce any part of their body, including internal organs, skin, and teeth, at will." Rayleigh said, tracing the patterns on the fruit with his fingertips.

Jabba, sitting on the sofa, leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the fruit for a moment before looking away. His tone carried an undisguised disappointment: "I thought it would be some amazing fruit."

Roger didn't reply. He sat across the table, his hands on his knees, leaning slightly forward, his gaze fixed on the deep purple fruit, a faint smile on his lips.

"No, I don't believe that an ordinary Paramecia-type Devil Fruit could follow us as if it possessed a 'will'."

Rayleigh turned to Roger: "You mean... the Devil Fruit encyclopedia we obtained from the World Government is incorrect?"

"My gut feeling tells me it's not that simple, but I can't rule out the possibility that my gut feeling is wrong," Roger said seriously.

Rayleigh closed the booklet, paused for a moment, and then slowly said, "Most of our Devil Fruit encyclopedia was obtained from the World Government. It's possible they deliberately tampered with it to try and hide something."

"Are you going to eat? Rayleigh? Jabba?" Roger suddenly asked.

Jabba was the first to wave his hand, without even hesitating: "Me? Forget it. Eating this would grant me rubber powers, but I'd be a landlubber forever. Between the two, I prefer my own power."

Rayleigh chuckled and placed the booklet on the table. "I think the same way Jabba does. I don't want to lose the ability to swim in the future."

Roger did not respond immediately.

He reached out and picked up the deep purple rubber fruit on the table, weighed it in his hand, and then gently tossed it into the air.

The fruit flipped twice, drew an arc in mid-air, landed on the table with a 'thud,' bounced twice, then slowly rolled towards the edge of the table, finally falling to the floor. It rolled a few times and stopped at Roger's feet.

Roger bent down, picked it up, and tossed it into the air again.

This time the angle was clearly biased towards Jabba, but after the fruit landed, it still rolled twice and returned to Roger's feet.

"Da~"

the third time.

Roger didn't deliberately control the direction this time; he simply let go and allowed the fruit to slip from his palm.

It bounced twice on the floor, as if it had its own consciousness, and rolled back to the tip of his boot.

The ship's hall was quiet for a moment.

Rayleigh lowered his voice, his tone solemn: "It... seems to have chosen you, Roger."

Jabba's voice followed closely: "So, it's happened twice in just a few days; it followed you."

Roger slowly bent down and picked up the rubber fruit. This time, he didn't throw it away, but carefully examined the fine spiral patterns on the surface of the fruit.

"Does this mean you approve of me?"

.........

.........

(Second update delivered. Everyone, please be more active! It's almost become stagnant; all the data is completely unresponsive.)