"Vanessa, don't get too excited just yet. If you're buying this fruit because you want to wear beautiful new outfits every day, then I need to warn you first."
Rorschach looked at her and spoke honestly.
"I'm sure Wade already told you this, but any Devil Fruit only grants a basic ability when you first eat it. And at that early stage, the Outfit Fruit won't be enough to create refined, detailed clothing."
"At best, you'll only be able to make very rough-looking outfits."
"So if your goal is to wear a brand-new beautiful outfit every day… you'll probably need a period of training before you can really do that."
It was a bucket of cold water right when Vanessa was at her most excited.
Even though saying this might lower her enthusiasm to buy, Rorschach still felt it had to be said.
A responsible shop owner couldn't just talk about the good parts.
The flaws mattered too.
Business, after all, had to be built on honesty.
"Boss, how long would that training take?"
Vanessa stared at him immediately.
"That's hard to say. Maybe one or two months. Maybe one or two years. It depends on the person, so I can't give you an exact answer."
Rorschach told her the truth.
Even he couldn't make promises about something like that.
"One or two years…" Vanessa paused, then nodded firmly. "I think I can wait."
Compared to the temptation of wearing beautiful new outfits every day, what was a year or two of training?
It was absolutely worth it.
"As long as you're happy, sweetheart."
Deadpool stood to the side looking completely unconcerned.
As far as he was concerned, as long as the outfit could stop bullets, that was enough. Whether it looked amazing or not really didn't matter to him.
"Wade, then let's buy the Outfit Fruit, okay?"
Vanessa turned to him, clearly tempted.
"Don't rush, Vanessa," Rorschach said with a smile. "Let me finish the full introduction first. There's no need to decide so quickly. You're the only customers here right now. No one's going to steal it out from under you."
Then he continued explaining the Outfit Fruit.
"The Outfit Fruit does have some natural limitations."
"Any clothes created by the fruit can only be worn by the user. Once they're removed, they'll quickly weather away and disappear."
"Also, the outfits created by this fruit have extremely high toughness and durability. They can easily block bullets, blades, and similar attacks."
"But the hardness of the material itself isn't particularly high."
"In fact, the reason these outfits can be worn comfortably is because they're soft. And that also means the fruit doesn't really have much potential for offensive abilities."
Rorschach calmly laid out the downsides.
But to Wade and Vanessa, those weren't really downsides at all.
The fact that other people couldn't wear the outfits didn't matter. They had never planned to make money selling specialty bulletproof clothing in the first place.
And as for the lack of offensive potential, that was even less of a problem.
Deadpool's goal had always been to improve Vanessa's defense—not turn her into some assassin-beating combat expert.
"Boss, for Vanessa, this is already more than enough!"
Deadpool grinned shamelessly.
"Honestly, I'm already looking forward to having Vanessa put on a different outfit every night for me. What do you think, babe?"
That bastard said it so casually, then leaned over and kissed Vanessa right on the cheek as if they were in their own home.
"Wade, the boss is still here."
Vanessa's face wasn't nearly as thick as his. She flushed slightly and pushed him away.
"It's fine. I'm sure the boss doesn't mind, right, boss?"
Deadpool gave Rorschach an utterly innocent smile.
"Wade, the exit is on your left. I won't be seeing you out."
"Okay, okay." Deadpool surrendered instantly and switched topics without hesitation. "Let's keep talking Devil Fruits. Boss, wasn't there also a Marshmallow Fruit? Tell us about that one too."
"The Marshmallow Fruit, just like the name suggests, is a fruit that lets the user produce marshmallow-like material. The user can create a giant marshmallow mass to wrap around themselves, using it as a form of defense."
Rorschach gave them a simple introduction.
At this point, it was obvious Wade and Vanessa were already leaning heavily toward the Outfit Fruit.
But even so, the idea that marshmallow could be used for defense still shocked them.
Because in ordinary people's minds, marshmallow was soft.
Ridiculously soft.
Like cotton.
How could something like that possibly be connected to defense?
"Boss, how can marshmallow be used for defense?" Vanessa asked curiously. "Can it really stop bullets too?"
"Of course it can."
Rorschach nodded without hesitation.
"In the world of Devil Fruits, you have to throw away your usual assumptions. Anything you already think you understand can be given a completely new definition here."
"Take the Biscuit Fruit, for example. What do you think of when you hear 'biscuit'? Something crisp? Fragile? Harmless?"
He smiled.
"But what if I told you someone once made biscuits so hard that even missiles couldn't destroy them?"
He was, of course, talking about Cracker—one of Big Mom's Sweet Commanders.
The toughness of Cracker's biscuit soldiers was absurd. Even Luffy had needed Gear Fourth to smash them apart.
It was outrageous.
Deadpool and Vanessa both sucked in a sharp breath.
A biscuit that could survive a missile?
Was that even still a biscuit anymore?
"The marshmallow produced by the Marshmallow Fruit obviously isn't ordinary marshmallow," Rorschach continued. "In fact, its toughness isn't any lower than the outfits created by the Outfit Fruit."
"And once you factor in its structure, the Marshmallow Fruit's defensive ability is actually better."
"On top of that, the Marshmallow Fruit isn't just for self-defense. It can also be used to bind enemies. And if you develop it far enough, you can even create marshmallow clouds and glide through the air with them."
"So overall, it's a very strong fruit."
Wade and Vanessa both clicked their tongues in amazement.
Who would've thought something as simple as marshmallow could have so many uses?
It could protect the user.
Restrain enemies.
Even help with mobility and escape.
From a purely functional standpoint, the Marshmallow Fruit really was more versatile than the Outfit Fruit.
But for Vanessa, the answer was still the same.
She chose the Outfit Fruit.
She was an ordinary woman, not a warrior. What did she need all those fancy extra functions for?
Beauty mattered more.
Always.
"It's a very good fruit," Vanessa said honestly. "And it's just as magical. But boss, I still choose the Outfit Fruit."
Then she turned to Wade without the slightest hesitation.
"Wade, buy me the Outfit Fruit."