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"Alright, Manager. I've officially made my decision."
May took a deep, grounding breath, squaring her shoulders as she forced herself to look completely confident.
"I'll take the Health-Health Fruit."
The words left her mouth with the absolute, rock-solid determination of someone signing a massive, life-altering contract. And honestly, she kind of was.
Still, even though she had finally crossed the finish line and made a choice, a tiny, stubborn corner of her heart was absolutely aching. It was hard to ignore the nagging voice in the back of her mind, reminding her of what she had just signed away.
She had essentially traded a literal mountain of gold, millions of dollars that could have instantly wiped out every single debt, paid for Peter's college, bought a beautiful house, and changed their lives forever.
Now that she had officially committed to a practical, medical-type Devil Fruit instead of one of the incredibly flashy, elemental abilities she'd secretly been drooling over, she couldn't help but feel a sudden wave of classic buyer's remorse. Just a tiny, painful twist of it.
"Ms. Parker."
Rosh leaned forward, propping his chin lazily on one hand as his sharp eyes locked onto her face. "You don't exactly look thrilled."
May nearly jumped out of her skin, her hands flying up in surprise. "Thrilled? Of course I'm thrilled! What are you talking about?" She let out a laugh that was just a little too high, a little too fast, and completely unconvincing. "This is a wonderful Devil Fruit. Seriously! Your recommendation is absolutely perfect, Manager. I have zero complaints. None at all!"
The giant, megawatt smile plastered across her face looked completely fake. Rosh didn't even have to use his mystical powers to see right through it; her terrible acting gave it away instantly.
"May," Rosh said, a faint, amused chuckle escaping him.
She froze.
"You really don't need to pretend with me," Rosh said, his voice dropping into an easy, reassuring tone. "You're sitting there feeling disappointed because you haven't actually figured out what this fruit is truly capable of yet."
That instantly did the trick. The lingering regret in May's eyes vanished in a flash, replaced by a sudden spike of pure curiosity. She leaned in a fraction of an inch. 'Wait, was there a catch? A hidden upgrade?'
According to the digital catalog, the Health-Health Fruit was exactly what it sounded like on the tin: a high-tier recovery ability. Nothing more, nothing less. At least, that was her baseline understanding of it.
Rosh leaned back comfortably in his leather chair, crossing his legs. "The catalog isn't lying to you," he explained smoothly. "The Health-Health Fruit grants you absolutely extraordinary regenerative capabilities. As long as your body is still technically ticking and your vital organs haven't completely quit on you, any injury you take will heal at a mind-boggling, accelerated rate."
May nodded along slowly. Okay, so far, this was exactly what she had already read on the screen.
"However," Rosh continued, holding up a finger, "there is one major rule you need to understand."
"What kind of rule?" May asked, her heart beating a little faster.
"It heals," Rosh paused, letting the word echo. "It does not reconstruct."
May blinked, her mind scrambling to figure out the difference. "Meaning... what, exactly?"
"Meaning, if you happen to get an arm cleanly severed in a freak accident, it's not going to magically sprout back like a lizard's tail."
"Oh," May muttered.
Honestly, that sounded fair enough. Even in a world that was rapidly being overrun by crazy Devil Fruit powers, instantly growing back entire limbs felt a little too sci-fi and ridiculous, especially for a fruit that fit comfortably inside her specific destiny budget.
May leaned her elbows onto the desk, looking directly into Rosh's eyes to do a quick recap.
"So, let me get this completely straight," May said. "It fixes up cuts and bruises?"
"Yes." Rosh nodded.
"It turns a months-long recovery time into seconds?"
"Yes."
"It keeps me from dying if things go south?"
"Correct."
"And... that is literally it?"
"Correct."
May just stared at him.
One second passed. Two seconds. Three seconds.
She slowly glanced down at the tablet screen displaying the fruit. Then she looked back up at Rosh. Then she looked back down at the tablet, and then right back up to Rosh again.
"Manager..." May started, her voice sounding a little flat.
"Yes?"
"Are you absolutely, one hundred percent sure there isn't a secret second page to this file that I missed?"
"Nope."
"No hidden, ultimate ability?"
"Nope."
"A secret, glowing transformation mode?"
"Nope."
"Some kind of magical, team-healing aura?"
"Nope."
"What about energy blasts?"
"Nope."
"Laser eyes?"
"Definitely not, May."
May's shoulders slumped instantly, all the tension leaving her body as she let out a long, thoroughly defeated sigh.
"So... it really just heals things?"
"It really just heals things."
An intensely long, awkward silence stretched over the office. May stared blankly into the empty space over Rosh's shoulder, her brain desperately trying to process the massive anti-climax.
'Is he seriously messing with me right now?'
That was the exact question currently looping on a loud, frustrated track inside May's head.
She already knew the Health-Health Fruit could patch up injuries. The description was right there on the tablet, written in perfectly clear, plain English.
Yet, for the past few minutes, the Manager had been talking with so much gravity and hype that she had mentally braced herself for some earth-shattering revelation. She had fully prepared herself to hear about secret anime-style techniques, unexpected cosmic upgrades, or hidden martial arts. Something. Anything!
And after all that suspenseful buildup... the final answer was still just standard healing.
May could feel a tiny wave of irritation bubbling up in her chest.
Across the desk, Rosh didn't miss the subtle change in her expression. A knowing, incredibly amused smile played on his lips.
"Patience, Ms. Parker," he said, his tone smooth and completely relaxed. "I haven't actually finished explaining the best part yet."
May narrowed her eyes at him, leaning back slightly. "Alright. Go on."
"Let me ask you a quick question first," Rosh said, folding his hands together on the desk. "Are you familiar with Wolverine?"
May blinked, completely thrown off. "Wolverine?"
"The mutant from the X-Men."
"Of course, I know who Wolverine is," May replied instantly.
Honestly, living in New York City and not knowing about the X-Men was practically a crime. They popped up on the morning news so often that even regular people who couldn't care less about superheroes recognized their names and costumes.
"But what does he have to do with any of this?" May tilted her head, her brow furrowing. "Wolverine is a mutant. A frontline fighter." She pointed a finger toward the glowing tablet screen. "And this is just a healing fruit."
To her, the connection was completely invisible. For average citizens, the world of the X-Men existed on a totally different planet. They dealt with high-stakes mutant conflicts, dangerous supervillains, and world-ending crises. Meanwhile, May's biggest daily struggles involved making rent, buying groceries, and making sure Peter actually finished his math homework before bed.
Their two realities just didn't overlap.
Rosh's smile only widened, an intriguing spark of curiosity in his eyes. "Tell me, Ms. Parker... how old do you think Wolverine actually is?"
The question caught her completely off guard.
"His age?" She frowned, her brain scrambling. That was definitely not the direction she expected this conversation to go. Still, knowing Rosh, he didn't ask random questions without a massive punchline waiting at the end.
She took a moment to search through her memory. She thought about old news footage, televised interviews, and random historical photographs she'd seen online. Finally, she just gave a helpless shrug.
"I don't know," she guessed. "Forty? Maybe his late forties?"
Rosh's smirk grew downright wicked. "Take that exact estimate."
May nodded cautiously, her heart doing a weird little flutter. "Okay..."
"Now, add another hundred years to it."
The entire office went completely, utterly silent. May just stared at him. Then, she stared a little harder, wondering if she had misheard the number.
"...What?" she squeaked out.
"Add another hundred years," Rosh repeated, his voice entirely deadpan.
"Manager," May's voice cracked just a tiny bit. "That's literally impossible."
"Not for Wolverine, it isn't."
May's eyes went wide as saucers. A hundred years? More than a hundred and forty years old? The entire concept sounded completely absurd. Human beings simply weren't built to last that long. Even with modern medicine, advanced science, and the healthiest lifestyle on the planet, reaching a century was considered a miracle. Yet, Rosh was casually sitting there, telling her that Wolverine had cleared that milestone decades ago.
"W-Wait a second," May leaned forward, her hands pressing against the desk. "You're telling me he's over a hundred and forty years old? For real?"
"At the very minimum," Rosh answered without a single shred of hesitation.
May felt like she couldn't breathe. "That doesn't make any sense! That completely shatters every single biological rule we know about the human body!"
And yet, even as the protests flew out of her mouth, she knew deep down that arguing was totally pointless. Rosh wasn't the type of guy to just invent random facts to sound cool, especially not during a serious professional consultation, and definitely not when discussing a life-altering purchase. If the words left his mouth, it meant it was the absolute truth.
Which meant Wolverine's impossible age was a physical reality.
The realization hit her like a runaway freight train. Suddenly, a flood of random details she'd never even questioned before came rushing back to her in a dizzying wave.
Wolverine always looked exactly the same. Every single photograph from the past. Every old news report. Every grainy piece of historical footage from decades ago. Year after year, decade after decade, the man never seemed to age. He never looked weaker. He never looked slower. He looked like a guy who was permanently frozen in his physical prime.
And now that she was actually connecting the dots... that was absolutely terrifying. Because it meant his body wasn't just surviving the years. It was actively resisting the passage of time itself.
Slowly, almost mechanically, May turned her gaze away from Rosh and looked back down at the tablet resting on the table. A strange, electrifying sensation began to brew deep in the pit of her stomach. A wild suspicion. A breathtaking possibility.
May sat completely frozen, her mind working in absolute overdrive. All the random puzzle pieces Rosh had dropped over the last few minutes suddenly slammed together, clicking into place with the force of a lightning strike. As a woman, and more importantly, as a caretaker who constantly worried about the future, the hidden value buried beneath his words hit her like a tidal wave.
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, her entire posture going stiff as a board.
"Manager..." Her voice hitched, jumping up a couple of octaves. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
Rosh flashed her a knowing, completely calm smile. "That depends on what you're thinking, May."
She leaned forward so fast she practically slid right off the edge of her plush chair, pressing her hands against the desk. "The Health-Health Fruit... it doesn't just patch up regular cuts and bruises, does it?"
"No, it doesn't."
"It actually messes with the body's aging process?"
"Yes."
Her breathing turned incredibly shallow, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Meaning... meaning it literally gives you a longer lifespan?"
"Precisely."
That single word landed in the quiet office like a massive clap of thunder.
Rosh nodded, completely unbothered by her existential meltdown. "The underlying magic of the fruit's healing mechanism is that it constantly maintains your body's cellular health at a flawless level." He tapped his fingers lightly against the dark wood of his desk. "Every single second of every single day, your cells are actively repairing minor damage, refreshing themselves, and operating at a peak efficiency level that normal humans can only dream of."
May listened, completely terrified to even blink in case she missed a single syllable.
"Because of that constant cellular maintenance," Rosh continued smoothly, "your physical body ages at a radically slower pace than anyone else's."
The sheer weight of the realization hit her full force. Her jaw dropped. For a long moment, she couldn't even form words.
Suddenly, the Health-Health Fruit didn't look like a boring medical band-aid anymore. It looked like the ultimate jackpot.
This wasn't just a basic survival tool to keep her safe from some mysterious future disaster. This was youth. This was longevity. This was literal time itself, wrapped up in a weird, magical fruit.
If she ate this thing, she wouldn't just drag out her senior years in a rocking chair. She could potentially stay healthy, high-energy, and completely vibrant for decades past her normal prime. While everyone else her age gradually slowed down and watched their health fade, she'd still be walking around Queens looking and feeling decades younger.
The sheer scale of it left her completely starstruck. A hundred years old, maybe even older, and still looking great? Still active? Still entirely herself? She swallowed hard, her mind spinning out.
"Manager..." Her voice sounded faint, like she was listening to herself from across a massive canyon. "That is... completely insane."
Rosh chuckled softly, waving a hand to bring her back to earth. "Now, before you get too carried away and start planning your centuries-long vacation, let me clarify a few things so we're on the same page."
May snapped out of her daze instantly, sitting up straight. "Right. Lay it on me."
"I only used Wolverine as a rough comparison," Rosh explained, his smile fading into a more practical expression.
May's face fell just a tiny bit. "Oh. So there's a catch?"
"The basic biological principle is pretty similar, but the two powers aren't exact copies," Rosh said, folding his arms over his chest. "Wolverine's mutant healing factor is significantly stronger when it comes to raw, explosive regeneration. He can survive things that would turn a regular person into dust in a fraction of a second."
"So... I'm not actually becoming a female Wolverine?"
"Not exactly, no."
May pouted slightly, a tiny wave of disappointment washing over her.
Rosh continued, "His mutant traits and the Health-Health Fruit work through entirely different internal mechanisms. Which means, practically speaking, your lifespan isn't going to be quite as absurdly long as his."
The bright excitement in May's eyes dimmed a fraction. She braced herself for the bad news. "Alright, hit me with it then. How long are we actually talking here?"
Rosh didn't hesitate. He gave her the straight answer. "If you don't get into any freak accidents or encounter anything completely extraordinary... you're looking at approximately one hundred and fifty years."
Total silence stretched across the room. May blinked once. Then she blinked twice.
"One hundred and fifty years?" she repeated.
"Yes."
"And... that was your version of the bad news?"
"Yes."
May just stared at him for a second, and then a look of pure, comedic offense took over her face.
"Manager, that is absolutely not bad news!" she yelled, slapping her thigh dramatically. "Oh my gosh, for a second there, you made it sound like I was getting totally ripped off!"
Any tiny shred of disappointment she had felt vanished into thin air. I mean, come on, one hundred and fifty years was still completely ridiculous! No normal human being in the history of the world could ever dream of reaching that age while keeping their youthful energy and physical health perfectly intact.
The more she ran the numbers in her head, the more mind-blowing the entire deal became.
A century and a half of healthy, vibrant life. Instant physical recovery from trauma and illness.A permanent safety shield against whatever terrifying crisis was lurking in her timeline. Most importantly, she wasn't paying a single copper cent out of her own bank account. The literal universe was footing the multi-million-dollar bill via her destiny credit.
The pure, unadulterated excitement returned to her chest with a vengeance. Every single bit of her earlier buyer's remorse, hesitation, and anxiety evaporated like mist under a hot sun. She knew exactly what she had to do.
May slammed her hand flat against the surface of the desk with a loud *Thud!*
"Manager!" Her eyes practically sparkled with pure joy. "Lock it in right now."
Rosh offered a small, satisfied smirk. "So, you've officially made up your mind?"
"I have never been more certain of anything in my entire life," May declared, her voice ringing with absolute, unshakable conviction. "I'm taking the Health-Health Fruit."
This time, there was no faking it. May Parker sounded like a woman who knew she had just scored the absolute jackpot deal of a lifetime.
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Next Chapter: Nick Fury's Ultimate Contingency
Next Next Chapter: The Merciless Execution of the Winter Soldier
Next Next Next Chapter: The End of the Hand, The Beginning of the Hunt
Visit my P@tr3on or K0‑fi ''Isopuff'' page and unlock +20 extra chapters and daily updates!