Eating Devil Fruit!*

Inside the office:

"How was your training?." She asked as she noticed that Victor looked more taller, stronger and more well-built from the last time she had seen him. His body was still bandaged and in his black coat and suit, he looked more intimidating than before.

"It went better than I expected!! Do you know about Haki?" Victor took a sip of his wine and sat on the sofa beside Robin.

"I have read about it somewhere. Tell me more about it!" Robin tried to remember and said thoughtfully.

Victor then continued to speak about Haki, the ultimate power source in this world. Even though she had read the basics about Haki, she didn't have any mentor from whom she could learn Haki. Even during the Alabasta arc, Crocodile one of the seven warlords didn't awaken any Haki. This proves how elusive the knowledge to awaken was and how important it was to have someone to guide one on this path.

"Victor!! Teach me how to train Haki." Robin exclaimed eagerly with starry eyes as she looked at Victor's blue eyes. After hearing about the formidable power that anyone could gain after training she was very interested in this skill. Now that she has the chance to take control of her own destiny, she won't be a fool and let go of this chance.

Victor's heart skipped a beat when Robin suddenly came so close to his face. Her starry wide eyes were too cute in contrast to her usually stoic cold face. He was momentarily stunned as he looked at her beautiful face.

"It's not like I want to learn it for free, you can ask anything of equal value." She said when she saw Victor was quietly staring at her. She was also a little flustered when she realized she was acting out of character but she really wants to learn Haki.

 "Sure Robin!! Don't worry I'll teach you Haki after this is over. As for my wish, why don't you let me take you out for an outing?" Victor said after controlling his chaotic emotions and looking away shyly.

"Are you sure that's all you want?" Robin looked at him weirdly and noticed his ears were a little pink.

"Yes!"

"Okay, let's go out sometimes. Just the two of us." She said with a playful smirk. "What's in that briefcase, Victor? You even needed a whole unit to guard it."

"Let me show you!!" Victor suddenly grew a little excited as he took out the pitch-black briefcase with a golden accent with the silver Moriaty Family insignia on it.

He slowly opened the briefcase on the table and from inside it emerged an alluring and mysterious fruit. Robin realized at a chance that it was a Devil Fruit with a dark midnight blue appearance and spirals that looked like an exquisite peach.

"Are you sure about this? You will be getting the curse of the sea!!" Robin said as she looked at Victor.

"I'll tell you if it was worth it or not when we turn 60." He didn't hesitate any more and took a small bite from the peach-shaped devil fruit. He can't be like God Luffy who munched the whole thing like a friking samosa. He experienced the most disgusting taste in the whole world which can not be described by any human language. Vague knowledge about the devil's fruit powers appeared in his mind.

Name: Kuron Kuron no Mi Model: Shadow(Clone Clone Fruit Model: Shadow)

He sighed in relief that the information in the devil fruit encyclopedia was correct. If his theory is right then It'll be complete hacks for him combined with his quirks. He casually picked a 100 Belli note out of his pocket and activated his powers, and with a plop, another appeared on the table. Both of them were stunned and as they looked at each other they saw the same Belli symbol in each other's beautiful eyes.

"Victor!! What are your superpowers again?" She asked with a little hesitation mixed with curiosity.

"I'm rich," Victor confirmed.

"..." Robin raised her eyebrows when she heard this ridiculous answer.

"Well according to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia:

Clone Clone Fruit Model: Shadow

Skills: A special paramecia fruit that allows its user to clone any non-living things but drains energy at base stats.

[Shadow Clone: Create clones of himself with 65% of his stats, he also shares the visions and experiences of his hivemind. The clones require energy during creation but they can completely sustain themselves independently as long they get proper nutrition. All clones will be dismissed if the main body is knocked out or dead.]

[Shadow Leap: Teleport to his clones and anyone with his shadow mark, to mark someone else user must exchange bodily fluids like blood or saliva]

[Shadow Bind: Trap someone using their shadow as binding.]

[Shadow Pouch: A limited spatial storage]"

As if to demonstrate his powers his shadow started to extend and materialize into four humanoid visages around him. They swiftly transformed into Victor with identical looks as if they were extensions of his mind. Victor could feel like he was losing energy, but he would regain it after eating food and good rest. 

He looked at his clones with curiosity, it was as if he unlocked different POVs but it didn't hinder his thoughts. The clones are just extensions of him, but he has the kill switch to turn them off just like a hivemind. The clones do not transfer any physical pain to the main body but the number of clones one can create depends heavily on mental prowess to handle multitasking. He can create another clone instantly as long as the original body is safe.

"Amazing!! So you are a Clone Man" Nico Robin was amazed, it was not every day she could watch someone eat devil fruit live and get interesting powers.

Victor's clones lifted their hands in a synchronized manner, and with a swish multiple pairs of biomechanical wings appeared on their backs. The clones had also gained the powers of his Lunarian Physique. 

"Technically a 'Pyrokinetic Clone Man with Wings', I had to spend 600 million for this baby in the Black Market, quite cheap if I say so myself. I was looking for any illusion type of devil fruits when I discovered this one in the auction catalog." If it was a normal human then this devil fruit would have been mediocre but imagine if eaten by giants or oni. This was a good devil fruit, even more so in his hands. He has seen Naruto spam his clones to defeat tougher opponents. 'I accept that I can't beat you alone, but can you beat my multiple clones alone without getting beaten black and blue good sir?'

"Wait! You had the option to select your devil fruit?" Robin had her worldview changed when she heard this. Is this the power of money?

****

Vito and Gotti stood before Bege Capone who was focused on his lavish dinner.

"Boss!! We will reach the Sanchez territory in a few hours, our spy has informed us that Victor is also present there." Vito informed.

"Good! Let's kill two birds with one shot. Order Daz Bones to take action when the war begins." Bege said as he swallowed a leg piece. "Can he become a variable?"

"Don't worry, I can claim that I know more about that prodigal than his family. He was lucky that he survived my last attack but this time I'll kill him myself." Vito said confidently.

"I'm sorry father! I made sure he was fatally wounded but somehow he survived." Gotti said embarrassedly. Vitto, the advisor couldn't help but worry that something about this event really feels odd. How did that brat survive?

In the Sanchez Tower:

Victor, Robin, and Captain Smith were in a meeting room with Sofia and her men as they exchanged intel and planned the counterattack. Robin sat beside Victor while wearing a masquerade mask for obvious reasons.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've gathered here today for a very specific purpose - the elimination of the pirate captain Bege Capone. He's a thorn in our side, encroaching on our territory and interfering with our operations. Everyone will follow the plan so that we can have as minimal loss as possible." Sofia started her speech with confidence and passion.

"I would like to dedicate this drink in honor of the Moriarty Family who has provided us with large amounts of arms and ammunition on such short notice. He has also gifted us with a couple of crates of sea stone bullets so let's put them to good use and drill some holes in our enemy's head." Sofia ended her pre-war speech which was followed by enthusiastic cheers of her subordinates in the Sanchez Family.

Victor meanwhile focused solely on the plates of snacks on the table as he swiftly emptied many plates one after another with a spoon. Cloning everything drained a lot of energy, and he discovered more features of his powers during his experiments. He cannot clone sea trone directly but if he clones a container, its contents also get cloned. For example, if he clones a revolver with sea stone bullets then the whole thing gets cloned. The amount of energy drained varies on the quality of the item, he cannot just clone a warship without exchanging equal levels of energy though this requirement will decrease with practice. After most of the subordinates left after the dinner, Sofia looked at Victor and his masked female companion.

"Victor! I didn't know you'd even bring your girlfriend to the battle!" She questioned with worry, she had learned about his training in the Chinjao family but she was still doubtful of his prodigal tendencies.

"Thanks for your concern Miss Sanchez but I can handle my enemies, plus Victor is here to protect me anytime," Robin replied with confidence as she held Victor's hand and intertwined fingers with him. She also had a playful smirk under her mask when she noticed Victor trying to remain calm but his hands were a little sweaty.

"So be it! The more help the better, thanks for coming with the reinforcements Mrs Moriarty. I have prepared a lodging for your stay so Maria will escort both of you to the room." Sofia didn't care much as long as she won the war.

'We'll be staying in the same room?' Robin thought in her heart as various bad thoughts appeared in her mind. Victor clenched his hands and reminded her not to break her appearance right now.

"Sofia, I think Bege will attempt to do a sneak attack so I hope you stay alert at all times. Your devil fruit isn't the best in firepower right now." Victor warned seriously before he left the room with Robin who was still holding his hands. Meanwhile, Captain Smith and Zala along with the 20 reinforcements prepared to sail on a small but fast warship to execute their part of the plan.

---

AN: I took the idea from a Reddit post and tweaked it a little bit. It takes inspiration directly from the OG(Pain and Naruto). 

[Why this was an optimal OP fruit for him? (For Readers)

1. He can clone precious items and hence get infinite money hacks.

2. His superhuman brain can handle many clones simultaneously

3. Imagine fighting multiple Lunarian(65% of main body) who can fly and control pyrokinesis.]