Nami’s gaze wavered between the jars and the money pouch at her waist.
Reason told her this was definitely a scam.
But what if?
What if it really could grant her the power to defeat Arlong… wouldn’t the nightmare that began the day Bellemere died finally come to an end?
But 100,000 berries was too expensive!
She had just barely managed to gather that amount today.
This was the hard-earned money meant to buy back Cocoyasi Village how could she casually throw it away on a gamble?
If she lost, it would mean all her efforts over the years every theft, every risk would be wasted!
Just as Nami hesitated, Xia Wen spoke calmly:
“Only ten jars are available today.
Once they’re sold, that’s it.”
“I don’t stay in one place either.
Opportunities to change your fate… don’t come often.”
Those words struck deep.
Nami remembered Arlong’s cruel grin, the helplessness of the villagers, and the weight of the 100 million berries she had been forced to shoulder alone.
And… her childhood dream.
To draw a map of the entire world.
If she didn’t have strength…
Even if she redeemed the village, would she really be free?
Nami bit her lip hard.
That faint hope fragile yet irresistible finally overwhelmed her suspicion.
“Smack!”
With trembling hands, she slammed 100,000 berries onto the counter.
With a voice tinged with stubbornness and a hint of tears, she shouted:
“Fine!
I’ll open one!”
At that moment, her heart ached as if it were bleeding.
Why had she done this?
Why spend 100,000 berries on a broken jar!?
Wouldn’t it have been safer to just continue saving toward 100 million?
But it was too late.
The bait had been taken.
Xia Wen’s lips curved slightly as he gestured toward the jars.
Nami forced herself not to look at him taking her money.
Instead, she focused on the ten identical jars before her.
After a moment of hesitation
She chose the third jar from the left.
Carefully lifting it, she was surprised.
It was light.
Far lighter than something worth 100,000 berries should be.
“Can this really contain anything?” she muttered doubtfully.
Even if it held gold, enough to buy a village, it shouldn’t weigh this little.
Unless…
Her eyes lit up.
A treasure map!?
If it was a map leading to hidden riches, she could accept it!
Xia Wen chuckled softly.
“The jars in this shop can contain anything.”
“Devil Fruits… methods to master Haki…”
“Even famous-grade weapons, or powers related to the Sea Kings.”
“Everything depends on your luck.”
Nami frowned slightly.
She had heard of Devil Fruits rare treasures that granted strange abilities at the cost of losing the ability to swim.
But Haki?
She had never heard that term before.
Yet the Shop Owner spoke of it as if it were just as significant.
“Then why sell them?” Nami asked, staring at him.
“If they’re really that valuable… why not keep them?”
If it were her, she would never sell such things.
Not for 100,000 berries.
At least one million… no ten million!
Xia Wen smiled faintly.
“Because it’s interesting.”
“Pirates, Marines, even ordinary people anyone can buy jars here.”
“I want to see what happens when those who obtain them rise on the seas.”
“When their names spread… more people will come.”
His goal was simple.
Sell jars.
Sell more jars.
Let the entire world be drawn in.
Nami stared at him, unable to understand.
What kind of strange person was this?
But she shook her head.
No matter.
She had already paid.
“Shop Owner, how do I open it?”
“Just smash it.”
Nami took a deep breath.
Then
“Bang!”
The jar shattered.
A burst of brilliant golden light erupted, filling the shop with a thunderous hum!
As the glow faded nami held her breath and looked down.
Inside the broken jar lay a strange fruit.
Golden-yellow, covered in swirling patterns like lightning.
“This is…?”
She picked it up.
It felt cold, with a faint tingling sensation.
It wasn’t gold.
It didn’t look like a weapon.
Her expectations collapsed instantly.
That’s it?
She clenched her fists.
Was she really fooled?
At that moment Information flooded Xia Wen’s mind.
[Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit]
[Grants the power of lightning transformation, speed, destructive force!]
[Capable of enhancing perception, wide-range sensing, and even restarting the heart!]
[This is the power of a “god”!]
[Ding!
The customer has obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Host acquires the same ability!]
Xia Wen’s eyes flickered.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit!
One of the strongest Logia abilities.
Even in the Grand Line, it was considered near-invincible.
At this point in time…
Shouldn’t this power already belong to Enel, the self-proclaimed god of Skypiea?
So the jars could replicate even existing Devil Fruits?
His expression turned slightly strange.
What if… multiple identical powers appeared in the sea?
Nami, however, knew none of this.
To her, this was just a strange fruit.
She forced a pitiful expression, her eyes shimmering.
“Kind and handsome Shop Owner… can I return this and get my 100,000 berries back?”
“Oh?”
Xia Wen looked at her calmly.
“Are you sure?”
“Your luck… is something many on the sea would envy.”
“That is a Devil Fruit.”
“The Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit.”
“Eat it, and you gain the power of lightning.”
He paused deliberately.
“Normally, items cannot be returned.”
“But this time… I can make an exception.”
As he spoke, he casually picked up the 100,000 berries
As if ready to take the fruit back.
Nami froze.
Devil Fruit?
Lightning?
And now… he wanted it back?
Her instincts screamed.
Without hesitation
“Thump!
Thump!
Thump!”
She hugged the fruit tightly and jumped back several steps.
“No!
I’m not returning it!”
She didn’t fully understand its value.
But she wasn’t stupid.
If he wanted it back
Then it had to be priceless.
Had she really… won the gamble?
Clutching the fruit tightly, Nami finally smiled.
A real, genuine smile.