Seeing the room full of people struck dumb with shock, a smirk played on Alex's lips. "Hirahira~rahaha! Well, if it's too much to swallow, just settle up for the Senzu Bean I gave you," he said, already turning to Marco. "Then you can just send me back where you found me, Marco!" Alex wasn't about to waste his precious time haggling.
"Hold on!" Whitebeard interjected, his voice urgent, cutting Marco off before he could reply. "I agree to your conditions! No problem at all!" The old captain declared, his decision firm.
Everyone else in the cabin stared, utterly astounded. Such outrageous demands, and their captain had actually agreed?!
"Pops—" Diamond Jozu started, stepping forward anxiously, clearly intending to dissuade Whitebeard.
"Silence!" Flower Sword Vista sharply cut him off, pulling Jozu back. "Have you still not grasped the value of young brother Alex here?"
Marco nodded in agreement. "If every one of us had a Senzu Bean, these conditions are more than worth it. Extremely worth it, yoi."
Alex remained exceptionally calm as he watched Whitebeard nod his assent. This, too, was within his calculations. In the eyes of these powerful, influential figures, his value was practically immeasurable.
"Rest assured, Alex! My word is my bond!" Whitebeard boomed, thumping his chest, misinterpreting Alex's silence as lingering anger. "A true man never goes back on his word!"
"Captain Newgate's integrity? Of course, I trust it," Alex said with a slight smile and a nod.
"Then welcome! Welcome to my pirate crew!" Whitebeard roared with laughter, seeing Alex finally nod in full agreement.
At that, the division commanders – at least, the ones with brains – erupted in cheers! With Alex and his Senzu Beans, the Whitebeard Pirates' strength was set to practically double!
"Marco, show Alex around, get him acquainted with the ship, and prepare a top-notch room for him!" Whitebeard then turned to the rest of the crew. "And listen up, my sons! Tonight, we feast! A grand banquet to welcome Alex!"
The cabin exploded with deafening cheers!
Marco nodded and began to lead Alex on a tour of the massive Moby Dick.
Night fell quickly, and the deck of the Moby Dick was ablaze with lights, overflowing with boisterous revelry. By now, every member of the Whitebeard Pirates knew they had recruited a most peculiar new member, one who could create miraculous beans that instantly healed the injured.
Alex, surrounded by a throng of curious and grateful pirates, found himself downing cup after cup of whatever strong grog they were serving. He swirled the reddish liquid in his cup, a nostalgic pang hitting him for the potent white spirits of his past life. These two aren't even in the same league! he thought.
Still, Alex's willingness to drink with everyone, never refusing a cup, quickly won him a lot of goodwill. Even Diamond Jozu, who had been rather disgruntled with Alex earlier in the day, found himself, after some coaxing from his crewmates, slowly warming up to the newcomer. Soon, the two were slinging arms over each other's shoulders, downing drink after drink. Hirahira~rahaha! This was the life!
Well after midnight, the deck of the Moby Dick was littered with pirates sprawled out in various states of inebriation. Alex, letting out a hearty belch, made his way back to his new room.
Locking the door securely, he sat cross-legged on his bed and called forth the interface of his Cross-Dimensional Invention System.
[Current Item for Creation: Senzu Bean]
[Already Created: 3 (Basic Grade)]
[Reward: 3 Creation Points]
[Next Item Unlock Progress: 30/100,000]
Alex scratched his head, looking at the system display. Looks like I've got a long road ahead of me, Hirahira~rahaha! One basic Senzu Bean only awarded a single creation point, and only added 10 to the unlock progress for the next item. He'd have to seriously ramp up production of basic Senzu Beans and get to work on researching intermediate and advanced versions!
After all, the real treasure of this system wasn't just the items themselves. It was the lottery! That's right – creation points were used for the prize draw! The Senzu Beans themselves had been his reward from the system's initial, complimentary lottery spin! And that was just a purple-tier draw. He could only imagine what kind of insane stuff the gold and orange-tier draws would yield! The thought alone made Alex itch to try his luck. Too bad he was fresh out of points!
The next morning, well after the sun had climbed high into the sky, Alex finally, groggily, awoke. Stepping out of his room, he blinked at the bright sunlight and immediately began planning the setup for his Senzu Bean production.
"Quite the drinker, aren't you, Alex!" Whitebeard rumbled, seated at the bow of the ship, basking in the sun.
"Hirahira~rahaha! Still got a long way to go to match you, Pops!" Alex replied modestly. "Say, Captain," he continued, getting straight to business, "is there a decently sized space on this ship I could use? For my Senzu Bean factory, you see."
Hearing Alex cut straight to the chase, Whitebeard's interest was instantly piqued. "Yes! Absolutely!" he boomed. "And if there isn't, this old man will tear down these brats' rooms to make one for you!" He nodded decisively.
Marco, standing nearby, rolled his eyes at that.
"Excellent! Get a few of your fighting men to help me clear out a room then!" Alex said. "Oh, and Marco," he added, "go procure these items for me." He handed Marco a list he'd scribbled down the previous night. "The more, the better. And the ratio for each item is one-to-one."
Marco blinked, taken aback. Is he really entrusting me with something this confidential?
"What are you waiting for? Get to it!" Alex said, looking perplexed at Marco's hesitation. "The sooner you get these supplies, the sooner our Senzu Bean factory can start production, Hirahira~rahaha!"
That snapped Marco out of it. With a slightly trembling hand, he took the list.
"Oh," Alex said, noticing Marco's expression. "You're not thinking I'm worried you'll learn the recipe and then stab me in the back or something, are you? Hirahira~rahaha! Don't worry! I know what kind of man you and Captain Whitebeard are. Besides," he added with a knowing grin, "just having the recipe isn't enough to actually make Senzu Beans!"
With that, Alex left Marco and Whitebeard and went off with a few crewmen to prepare his new workspace.
Marco, though his face was a little flushed, couldn't resist the allure of the Senzu Bean recipe. As a doctor, the temptation was too great. He quickly lowered his head and began to scrutinize the list.
After a long moment, Marco slowly looked up.
"Well, Marco?" Whitebeard asked eagerly. "What do you make of it?"
"Pops," Marco said, a dazed look on his face. "This Alex… he's an absolute prodigy! Every single ingredient on this list is one of the most common medicinal herbs! Some of them are literally just common weeds and foxtail grass you could find growing by the roadside! I… I simply cannot fathom how these things, when combined, could possibly create those miraculous Senzu Beans!"