Morning came like nothing had happened. The shop opened, people walked, the city breathed, but inside Roma something had shifted.
Roma was sitting in the inner room, staring at his hands when the door creaked open. Arun walked in first, stretching like he had just woken up from a good sleep. Riz followed behind him, calm as always, wiping his hands with a cloth.
"…Where were you?"
Arun yawned. "Behind the river."
"Which river?"
Riz answered plainly, "The small one inside the city. East side."
Roma paused, eyes narrowing. "…You disposed of them?"
Arun scratched his head. "Yeah. Broke the bodies, tied stones, deep section. No one will find them unless the river dries."
Riz added, "We went early. Before sunrise. No witnesses."
Roma just looked at them. No tension. No fear. No hesitation. Like they were talking about throwing garbage.
A chill crept up his spine.
These two… they were adapting faster than him.
For the first time, Roma felt slightly uneasy around his own teammates.
He exhaled slowly. "Come inside. Both of you."
The door shut behind them. Roma didn't waste time. He took out two fruits. They looked wrong, the skin lined with faint dark veins, the aura around them unstable, almost breathing.
Arun leaned forward. "Whoa… these aren't normal."
Riz's eyes narrowed slightly. "…This is the enhanced version?"
Roma nodded. "Devil fruits."
Silence fell.
"Listen carefully. This isn't free power." His voice stayed steady. "They're overloaded with chakra. He forced it in. If the body can't handle it… it won't just fail. It will break."
Arun grinned. "Sounds fun."
"I'm serious."
Riz stepped forward, calm as ever. "What are the risks?"
"Three things. Internal damage—organs, veins, bones. Chakra overflow—your system may collapse. And mutation instability."
Arun blinked. "Mutation?"
"If the body rejects the energy midway… it might not stay human."
Silence returned, heavier this time.
Riz closed his eyes briefly, then opened them. "I'll take it."
No hesitation.
Arun smirked. "If he's doing it, I'm not staying behind."
Roma stared at both of them. "…You're really deciding this easily?"
Arun shrugged. "We're already in deep, boss."
Riz added quietly, "If we stay weak, we die next time."
That settled it.
"…Fine."
"Sit down."
They sat on the floor, one fruit each in their hands.
"Eat slowly. Don't rush. Guide the energy. Don't fight it blindly."
Riz nodded. Arun cracked his neck. "Let's go."
They bit.
The moment the fruit entered their bodies, everything changed.
Riz's expression tightened instantly, but his breathing slowed, controlled. His body trembled slightly as chakra surged inside him, but he didn't panic. Instead, he guided it, like a doctor treating himself.
Roma's eyes sharpened. He was stabilizing it… already.
The energy spread through Riz's body—organs, veins, bones—every part reinforced, expanded, pushed. His aura rose steadily, not explosive, not chaotic, but deep.
Stage 7… and it didn't stop.
Roma's heartbeat quickened.
The energy condensed, refined, perfectly controlled.
Stage 8.
Riz exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. Calm. Stable. No injury.
Roma stared. "…You monster."
Riz replied quietly, "It hurts. But manageable."
Then Arun screamed.
"AAARGHHHH—!!"
He collapsed to the side, body twisting violently. Veins bulged, skin cracked in places, blood seeping from his mouth.
"Arun!"
No response. His body was rejecting it—or rather, fighting it.
The chakra inside him was wild, uncontrolled, exploding in different directions.
Roma clenched his fists. He wasn't stabilizing it—he was forcing through it.
Arun roared again. Bones cracked. His arm bent unnaturally, then snapped back.
Riz moved instantly. "I'll stabilize—"
"NO!"
He froze.
"If anyone interferes now, the energy balance will break completely. He has to survive this himself."
Arun's breathing turned ragged. Blood pooled beneath him.
Then something shifted.
Instead of resisting, he started absorbing.
His ability… Food Maker—no, chakra manipulation.
Instinctively, he began pulling the scattered energy and forcing it inward. Crude, painful, inefficient, but working.
Roma's eyes widened. He was adapting mid-process.
The chaotic energy slowly gathered. Still violent, still damaging, but no longer completely out of control.
Arun let out one final roar, then everything went silent.
His body dropped flat, unmoving.
Roma's heart skipped. "…Arun?"
One second. Two.
Then a breath.
Heavy. Alive.
Roma exhaled. "…Idiot."
Arun slowly opened one eye. "…Did I win?"
"You almost died."
He grinned weakly. "Same thing."
Roma checked him quickly. Internal damage—severe, but stable.
His aura flickered, unsteady, then settled.
Stage 7.
Roma sat back, looking at both of them. One reached 8. One barely survived to 7.
Different paths. Different results. Same risk.
Silence filled the room.
Roma muttered quietly, "…This is just the beginning."
Dinner that night was quieter than usual.
No one mentioned the fight. No one mentioned the bodies. The food was simple, the air heavy, the kind of silence that came after crossing a line you couldn't step back from.
Roma sat with Arun and Riz in the inner room once it was over. A single lamp burned between them.
"…We can't stay blind anymore."
Arun leaned back against the wall. "We're already in trouble, aren't we?"
Roma didn't deny it. "We were attacked by people hired by Vardhan Alchem Hall. That means two things—one, they're suspicious. Two, they don't have full information yet."
Riz nodded slightly. "If they had, they wouldn't send just one wave."
"Exactly." Roma's eyes sharpened. "Which means we still have time."
Arun frowned. "So what's the plan? Fight them?"
"No." Roma shook his head. "We learn first."
Silence.
Then he continued, voice steady. "Tomorrow, we go out. Not together. Not obviously. We gather information."
"About what?" Arun asked.
"Everything," Roma replied. "The Hall, their supply chain, their clients, how the city actually works—who controls what, which areas are watched, which aren't."
Riz added quietly, "Information decides survival."
Arun exhaled. "…Fine. What do I do?"
Roma looked at him. "Act normal. That's your strength."
Arun blinked. "That's an insult."
"It's not." Roma replied calmly. "You blend easily. Talk to people. Vendors, transporters, laborers. Especially the ones who complain—they always know the most."
Riz looked at Roma. "And me?"
"Clinics. Small ones. Not the big names. Offer help if needed, observe how medicine flows here. Who supplies them. Who they fear."
Riz nodded once.
"And Roma?" Arun asked.
Roma's gaze turned colder. "The Hall."
The next day, the city looked the same.
But it wasn't.
Not anymore.
Arun moved through the market streets like he belonged there. Loud, casual, complaining about prices within minutes.
"Oi, why's this so expensive? Yesterday it was cheaper!"
The vegetable seller scoffed. "Then buy yesterday's vegetables."
Arun laughed, leaning on the stall. "Nah, I'll just complain today."
A few nearby vendors chuckled. Just like that, he slipped in.
He didn't ask direct questions. He listened.
Two merchants arguing over delayed deliveries.
A porter cursing about increased "inspection fees."
A cart driver mentioning that certain routes near the west district were now "restricted after dark."
Arun scratched his head, pretending boredom, but every word stuck.
Later, he shared cheap tea with a group of laborers behind a storage yard.
"Work's getting worse," one of them muttered.
"Tell me about it," another replied. "Ever since that Alchem Hall tightened control."
Arun leaned in just enough. "Control?"
"They're buying everything upstream. Herbs, fruits, even low-grade materials. Small guys like us? Either sell to them cheap or get pushed out."
Another spat on the ground. "And if you don't listen, gangs start visiting."
Arun didn't ask more.
He didn't need to.
Riz moved differently.
Quiet. Observant.
He visited two small clinics in the poorer district. Not as a customer—but as help.
A young assistant struggled to bandage a deep cut. Riz stepped in without asking.
"Hold pressure here. Not there."
The assistant hesitated. "You're—?"
"Just helping."
His hands were precise, efficient. The bleeding slowed almost instantly.
The clinic owner watched from the side, eyes narrowing, then softening.
"…You've done this before."
Riz didn't answer directly. "Where do you get your supplies?"
The man snorted. "Where else? Through middle traders. And they all answer to the same people now."
"The Hall?"
A pause.
Then a quiet nod.
"They don't sell directly. They control indirectly. Prices go up, quality goes down, and we still have to buy."
Riz's eyes flickered slightly.
Later, in another clinic, he heard something else.
Riz didn't react outwardly.
But he remembered.
Roma chose a different path.
He didn't enter the Hall.
He watched it.
From a tea stall across the street.
From a rooftop two blocks away.
From the reflection of a glass window while pretending to browse.
The building itself was quiet. Too quiet.
But the movement around it told a different story.
Carriages arriving at irregular intervals.
Not marked—but consistent.
People entering weren't random customers. Most were intermediaries. Brokers. Runners.
Roma noticed something else.
No one lingered near the entrance.
Even the street vendors kept a slight distance, as if by habit.
Fear.
Subtle, but real.
At one point, a man argued with a guard near the side entrance.
"I delivered what was agreed!"
The guard didn't raise his voice. "…And you were paid what was agreed."
"That wasn't the deal—"
The man stopped mid-sentence.
Not because of the guard.
Because someone else had stepped out.
A well-dressed figure. Calm. Smiling.
The man's anger disappeared instantly.
"…I understand."
He left.
Just like that.
Roma's eyes narrowed.
No shouting. No violence.
Control.
Absolute control.
By evening, the three regrouped.
Same room. Same lamp.
Different understanding.
Arun dropped onto the floor. "Yeah… we're in deeper than I thought."
Riz spoke calmly. "They control supply chains. Indirectly. Through pressure."
Roma nodded slowly.
"They don't just sell. They own the flow and why do I feel like they want to destroy the local market they want to fully monopolize this market, its not war between the halls and I fell like this Vardhan alchemy hall is not a hall at all"
Silence settled.
Then Roma said quietly,
"…You know this afternoon while collecting their info I met a guy, at first I thought I was discovered but later I came to know that he is also on the opposite of Vardhan Hall, a member from shi alchemy hall."
To be continued..