“You first!” “No, no, no, you first!”
Xia Wen tapped the table with his finger, already irritated by the two men’s endless excuses and exaggerated “polite deference,” a behavior that felt completely out of place in a world where pirates usually settled things with fists or swords.
“Although opening jars is all about luck.”
“You can also open them together.”
Joseph and Johnny paused, then instinctively glanced at the four jars sitting in front of them, their eyes reflecting both greed and nervous excitement.
“Then one of us opens one, and we open the last two together!”
“That’s what I was thinking too!”
“Jie ha ha ha!”
Joseph was the first to move, striking what he believed to be an impressively cool pose one that clearly drew inspiration from their idol, Roronoa Zoro before throwing a punch at the nearest jar.
“Sword God Fist!!!”
*Clang!*
The jar shattered instantly.
A long cylindrical object dropped out, causing Xia Wen’s expression to subtly change as he recognized the strange item something that clearly did not belong to the technological level of the East Blue, where even firearms were mostly limited to flintlock pistols like those used by Marines or pirates.
[RPG-7: A classic among classics, comes with ten rounds of ammunition!]
[Note: Single shot, aimable, devastating power far beyond ordinary weapons!]
Good heavens… he actually pulled something like this.
“What’s this?”
Joseph curiously picked up the long green tube, turning it over repeatedly, completely baffled.
“There are ten cone-shaped things on the ground too!
I get it this must be some kind of oversized flintlock weapon!” Johnny slapped his forehead, speaking with absolute confidence, as if he had just uncovered the truth of the world.
Xia Wen didn’t bother correcting him too harshly.
“This is called an RPG.
Thinking of it as a large-caliber flintlock isn’t entirely wrong.”
“However, its power is immense.
One shot is enough to destroy a wooden house… even ships like the standard pirate vessels in East Blue wouldn’t withstand it easily.”
“It can even penetrate thick steel far beyond what normal cannons can achieve.”
“That powerful?!” “Unbelievable, unbelievable!”
After hearing this, Joseph and Johnny immediately became wildly excited, jumping up and down like children who had just been promised treasure from the Grand Line.
“With this… whatever G, we can definitely become the second strongest bounty hunters in the East Blue!”
“Big Brother Zoro will definitely be shocked when he sees this!”
Joseph casually stuffed the ten spare rounds into his waistband.
That careless movement made Xia Wen’s eyelids twitch slightly.
Given their usual clumsiness, he was honestly worried they might blow themselves up before ever using it on a Sea King or pirate ship.
“My turn, my turn!
This jar is amazing 100,000 berries is totally worth it!” Johnny shouted, already unable to contain himself.
*Bang!*
His jar shattered as well.
A dark-colored drink rolled out completely unbranded, looking utterly ordinary in a world where beverages were usually things like rum or simple fruit juice.
[Cola: Just an ordinary bottle of cola]
[Note: Guess why there’s no label?]
Xia Wen glanced at it and spoke plainly:
“It’s a drink.
No special effects.
I recommend drinking it in one go.”
“Huh…?”
Johnny froze.
It felt as if lightning had struck him.
His entire body stiffened, and the excitement on his face shattered just like the jar, replaced by despair and trembling lips.
Wasn’t this supposed to be some kind of liquid Devil Fruit?!
Joseph clutched his head as well, immediately joining the emotional collapse.
“100,000 berries… gone!”
“Oh no!
We’re going bankrupt!”
Their wailing echoed loudly throughout the shop, sounding more exaggerated than any dramatic reaction Usopp had ever put on.
Xia Wen: “…”
If he hadn’t maintained professional composure, he might have physically thrown them out already.
Their voices were simply too loud.
If there really existed a Devil Fruit that amplified sound, these two would definitely reach the level of infamous pirates just by shouting alone.
“There are still two jars.
Maybe your miracle hasn’t appeared yet.”
Seeing that they were about to continue crying endlessly, Xia Wen quickly interrupted them.
“Oh right!
Two jars left!”
Their sorrow vanished instantly.
Joseph and Johnny inhaled deeply, staring at the third jar with extreme tension, as if their entire future depended on it.
Bang!
The jar shattered.
A white orb of light floated out, glowing softly.
At the same time, the two immediately started arguing again.
“Why did you open it first?
We said we’d do it together!”
“You were too slow how is that my fault?!”
Xia Wen ignored the two clowns and focused on the light.
[Mastery of Cooking: A complete set of culinary knowledge and experience.
After use, the user becomes a top chef!]
[Note: On the sea, the one you must never offend… is the cook!]
Another ability-type reward.
And just like in the Straw Hat crew, where Sanji’s importance went far beyond fighting, this kind of skill could be extremely valuable especially for people constantly traveling across the sea.
Xia Wen spoke calmly:
“This is a consumable ability.
Absorb it, and you’ll gain top-tier cooking skills.”
“Whoever wants it just press it against your chest.”
Joseph and Johnny immediately stroked their chins, thinking seriously.
“You can even get skills like this… Boss, how do you even make these jars?”
“A chef, huh… not bad.
That way we won’t have to rely on terrible cooking anymore.”
In the end, Johnny stepped forward and pressed the orb to his chest.
The light merged into him.
When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with shock.
“I… I actually understand all kinds of cooking techniques now?”
“I could open a restaurant right now even something better than Baratie’s basic dishes!”
The miraculous nature of the jars once again exceeded his expectations.
Joseph, meanwhile, grabbed Johnny’s arm, and the two smashed the final jar together.
A green light flashed.
Inside was a small red-and-white sphere.
[Poké Ball: Originating from a world centered around creatures called Pokémon]
[After system modification, it can capture Sea Beasts and small Sea Kings]
[Note: Don’t abuse captured creatures or they might rebel]
“Boss, what is this?”
Xia Wen smiled slightly.
“This is called a Poké Ball.”
“It can capture Sea Beasts or even smaller Sea Kings.”
“If successful, you can command them to a certain degree… similar to how some pirates tame creatures, but far more efficient.”
Although there were no Pokémon in this world, the vast number of Sea Kings in the Calm Belt made for a perfect substitute.
“Control them?!”
“You can capture Sea Kings?!”
Joseph’s eyes widened to the extreme as he examined the small sphere.
“But it’s so small… how does something that size fit a Sea King inside?!”
Even the smallest Sea Kings were massive enough to overturn ships.
If they captured one…
They wouldn’t even need a ship anymore.
“This… this really came from a 100,000 berry jar?”
“Boss, aren’t you going to lose money?!”
“Yeah!
You’re the most generous person we’ve ever met!”
The two cheered loudly.
Spending 400,000 berries for this kind of return…
They had made an unbelievable profit.
Xia Wen only smiled faintly.
…Arlong Park.
“Why is Kuroobi taking so long?”
Arlong sat on his throne, his sharp teeth slightly exposed as irritation grew.
His fingers tapped heavily against the armrest, each sound echoing through the hall like a warning.
The atmosphere turned suffocating.
Aside from Hatchan and Chew, the other Fish-Men didn’t even dare breathe loudly.
Then “Buruburu!”
The transponder snail rang.
Arlong grabbed it impatiently.
Soon, the voice of his greedy and cowardly human collaborator came through:
“Arlong… my men just reported that Nami is heading toward your base… alone!”