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Steve Rogers had walked into the building expecting a lot of things. He expected a negotiation. He expected a sales pitch. Maybe even a little bit of tension.
What he didn't expect was for Rosh to take one look at his choice and basically say, ''Try again.''
"You're not wrong, Captain," Rosh said, his voice as smooth and steady as ever. "The Strong-Strong Fruit would definitely make you hit harder. It would do exactly what it says on the label."
He folded his hands on the desk, leaning in just enough to make the air feel a little more electric.
"But that's also where it ends. It's a boost, nothing more."
Steve frowned. He wasn't used to being told his tactical choices were basic. But before he could even start to argue, Rosh kept going.
"I'm not saying it's a bad fruit. For 99% of the people walking through that front door, it's a dream come true." A small, almost teasing smile touched Rosh's lips. "But for someone like you? The ceiling is way too low. You'd hit that limit in a week, and then what?"
That got Steve's attention. He wasn't the type to get offended; he was a soldier, and he knew when someone was giving him a better strategy. Now, he was just curious.
"You have a better idea?" Steve asked as he arched an eyebrow.
"Not just one idea," Rosh said, shaking his head. "What I'm saying is that you're accidentally putting yourself in a box, Captain. You're looking for a tool, but you should be looking for a transformation. There are better options, options you haven't even seen yet."
Steve leaned back, confused. "I went through every single entry on your website. I did my homework. The Strong-Strong Fruit was the most practical thing on the list."
"That's because you were looking at the public catalog." Rosh raised a hand, signaling toward the door. "Give me a second."
Almost like she had been waiting for the cue, Elizabeth walked in. She wasn't carrying a standard tablet from the showroom floor. This device was sleek, glowing with a UI that looked decades ahead of anything on the market. She handed it to Rosh, who swiped through a few encrypted screens before sliding it across the desk to Steve.
"Take a look at our real inventory."
Steve took the tablet, expecting to see a few extra stats or maybe some price discounts. Instead, his eyes went wide. He started scrolling, and his brain struggled to keep up. Page after page of abilities he had never even dreamed of. These weren't just "powers", they were forces of nature.
His thumb hovered over one entry. Then another.
The String-String Fruit. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit. And then there were the Logias, the mysterious elemental fruits Nick Fury had whispered about with a look of genuine fear in his eyes. None of this was on the website. Not even a mention.
Steve looked up, his voice low. "Manager... what is this?"
"This," Rosh said casually, "is the restricted section."
Steve blinked, his mind racing.
"The public database is for the general public," Rosh explained, his expression turning serious. "Most Devil Fruits are safe enough to sell to anyone with the cash. They're flashy, they're fun, and they make life easier."
He paused, locking eyes with Steve.
"But the others? The Others are dangerous. I'm talking about the kind of power that doesn't just win a fight, it levels a city. It changes the map. Those aren't the kind of things I put on a public website for just anyone to click 'buy' on."
The realization hit Steve like a physical weight. The website wasn't the full store; it was just the lobby. The beginner's guide.
The truly world-shaping powers, the ones that could actually decide the fate of the future, were kept behind a very different, very private door. And for the first time, Steve realized he hadn't even scratched the surface of what Rosh was truly capable of.
Looking at that glowing tablet, Steve had to admit, his first impression of Rosh was officially shattered.
Up until five minutes ago, he'd pegged Rosh as a dangerously irresponsible merchant, a guy handing out god-like powers to anyone with a heavy enough wallet. But if Rosh only cared about the money, these world-shaking fruits would be on the front page of his website with a "Buy Now" button. Instead, he had them locked away in a vault.
Whether Steve liked his style or not, one thing was clear: Rosh understood the weight of the weapons he was selling. He wasn't just making a profit; he was managing a powder keg.
"There are Devil Fruits on this list capable of total devastation," Rosh said, his voice dropping an octave. "In the wrong hands, some of these could create disasters that no government on Earth is ready for."
Steve looked down at the screen. Looking at the "Heavy Hitters" list, he couldn't argue with that.
"Because of that," Rosh continued, his gaze locking onto Steve's, "every customer gets a different clearance level. And yours? Yours is about as high as it gets."
Steve asked confused, "Why me?"
Rosh let out a small, knowing smile. "Because your character has already been tested, Captain. You spent your whole life making the hard choices when there were no cameras around. You sacrificed everything for people who didn't even know your name."
He shrugged, leaning back. "History already did your background check for me. I trust the receipts."
For the first time since he'd walked in, Steve actually laughed. It wasn't a loud laugh, but it was enough to let the tension drain out of his shoulders. The suspicion he'd been carrying felt a lot lighter now.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Manager," Steve said, his smile finally reaching his eyes. "Then, if it's okay with you, I'd like to take a look at what's actually on the menu."
"Take your time," Rosh replied.
Steve dived back into the tablet, and this time, he was hooked. The deeper he scrolled, the more wild it got. There were fruits for everything: total defense, battlefield control, powers that could turn one man into an entire army. It was a tactical playground.
But then, something weird caught his eye. He frowned, tapping a specific line on the screen.
"Manager?"
"Yeah?"
"I thought these were bought with gold," Steve said, turning the screen around. "So why are all these prices listed in something called Origin Points?"
Rosh just nodded, completely unbothered. "Like I said, Captain, your clearance is different. Think of Origin Points as a kind of premium credit."
Steve stared at him. "Premium... credit?"
The words felt weird in his mouth. To be fair, Steve was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that everyone carried a supercomputer in their pocket now. A few days ago, a smartphone felt like alien tech. Now he was being told he had to use digital "reward points" to buy supernatural powers?
The twenty-first century was officially exhausting.
"I only have gold," Steve admitted, feeling a little out of his depth.
"Not a problem," Rosh said, folding his hands. "The conversion is pretty simple."
"How simple?"
"One kilogram of gold equals one Origin Point."
Steve just sat there for a second. He looked at the tablet. He looked at Rosh. He looked back at the tablet.
He let out a tiny, weary sigh. If the exchange rate was that basic, why even bother with the "Origin Points" name at all? Why not just say how much gold it cost? It felt like modern society just loved making things more complicated than they needed to be.
But then again, this was a world where people could turn into falcons and buy magic fruits from a shop. Maybe "Origin Points" was just another weird modern trend he had to get used to.
"Actually, Captain, there's one thing you've got wrong." Rosh's grin took on a bit of a dangerous edge as he tapped a few commands into his tablet.
Steve looked up, his brows furrowing in confusion, "And what's that?"
"You said you only have gold," Rosh said, turning the screen around so Steve could see the glowing display. "But that's not exactly true."
He pointed to a specific section of the digital ledger. "According to our records, you've already got a pretty massive balance in your account."
Steve blinked. "An account? I don't remember opening one."
"Think of it as a pre-loaded membership," Rosh said casually. His eyes scanned the data for a second before they landed on the final number. "Ah. Here we go."
Steve waited, his heart doing a weird little kick in his chest. Rosh read the number aloud like he was ordering a coffee.
"You currently have a balance of one billion Origin Points."
The room went dead silent.
Steve actually thought his hearing had finally given out. "One billion?!"
The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. For the first time since he'd stepped into the Devil Fruit House, the legendary Captain America looked completely, 100% rattled.
Even if Steve didn't fully get the "points" system, he knew math. And if one point equaled one kilogram of gold... the value Rosh had just quoted was beyond insane. It was more wealth than most countries saw in a century.
Steve leaned back, his voice cautious. "Manager... that has to be a mistake."
"Nope. No mistake."
"But I've never deposited anything," Steve argued.
"True."
"I didn't even know what an 'Origin Point' was ten minutes ago!"
"Also true," Rosh agreed, looking thoroughly entertained by Steve's minor existential crisis.
Steve stared at him, trying to make the numbers make sense. "Then where did a billion points come from?"
Rosh folded his hands, his gaze turning sharp. "Your Luck."
If Steve was confused before, he was totally lost now. "My... what?"
"Your Luck, Steve." Rosh leaned in, his voice dropping to a calm, steady rhythm. "Tell me something. Have you ever wondered why you were the one who survived the Super Soldier Serum? Out of all those candidates, why did history pick Steve Rogers?"
Steve opened his mouth to answer, but Rosh didn't stop.
"And after you crashed that plane into the Arctic? Why didn't you die? Most people would've been a popsicle in minutes. But you? You slept in the ice for seventy years and woke up in a brand-new century like you'd just taken a long nap."
The office grew quiet. Steve thought back to all those moments, the bullets he'd dodged, the falls he'd survived, the impossible odds. He gave the only answer he'd ever had.
"I guess... I've just been lucky."
Rosh let out a soft chuckle. "Once is luck. Twice is a coincidence." He held up a third finger. "But an entire lifetime of surviving the impossible? That's something else entirely."
He gestured to the room around them. "Think of the world like a story. If this reality were a movie, everyone would have a role to play. Most people are just background extras. Some are supporting cast. But a very, very small number of people... they're the protagonists."
Steve had a sinking feeling he knew where this was going.
"Captain America, whether you like it or not, you're the Main Character," Rosh said with a faint smile. "Protagonists survive things that should kill them. They pull off miracles. They change the world just by showing up. You call it luck. I call it Luck with a capital L."
He tapped the "one billion" figure on the screen. "That fortune you've been building up your whole life? That's where your Origin Points come from. You've been saving up 'destiny' for decades, Steve. It's time you finally spent some of it."
For the first time in a very long time, Steve Rogers was completely speechless. Because somehow, against all logic, Rosh's explanation felt disturbingly right.
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Next Chapter: Cap's Awe and the Power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit
Next Next Chapter: Ultimate Defense Meets Absolute Destruction
Next Next Next Chapter: Nick Fury Demands to See the Universe's Manager!
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