Krieg, who styled himself as "Admiral," "Overlord of the East Blue," and "Master Tactician," truly had the resources to back up those titles. After all, without considerable wealth, he couldn't have maintained such a large pirate fleet.
Following a thorough sweep of Krieg's treasure vault, they discovered that just the cash alone amounted to a staggering 150 million Berries.
And that didn't even include the heaps of gold, silver, and gems piled high treasures whose value was beyond estimation.
But among it all, nothing surpassed the worth of a Devil Fruit.
In this world, even an ordinary Devil Fruit could easily fetch over a hundred million Berries. Rarer ones, like the Op-Op Fruit, could sell for as high as five billion, assuming you could even find a seller. It was more valuable than the head of a Yonko.
Despite how much he wanted to eat it, Ethan Chen refrained from impulsively consuming the fruit he'd found.
He needed to first understand its ability. Recklessly eating it without knowing could ruin his potential.
After all, while it's said there are no useless fruits only useless users you only get one shot. If the fruit turned out to be unimpressive or didn't suit his style, he'd be stuck with it for life.
Better to return to the ship and check the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia first.
And of course, the treasure needed to be brought back too.
"These treasures... they must've been stolen from civilians, right?" Mona hesitated before finally voicing her concern. "Is it really okay for us to take all of it?"
Snapped out of his daze by her words, Ethan lowered his gaze and said, "You're right. Technically, this is all stolen loot. By law, we shouldn't keep any of it. It should be returned to the victims through the proper authorities."
He paused, then added with a bitter smile, "But do you really think the Navy would do that? If they 'can't locate' the victims, what do you think they'll do with this treasure? Do you believe they'll be fair?"
Mona opened her mouth but said nothing. She knew all too well the nature of the Navy in this world.
Her instincts told her that treasure in the Navy's hands would be no different from treasure in the hands of pirates. Either way, it would vanish without a trace.
When even bounty posters display pre-tax amounts, it's hard to place any trust in the system.
"This is just how this world works," Ethan said, gently ruffling Mona's hair. "If you're worried about the people in this town, I can donate a portion of the money to help them rebuild."
Mona nodded silently. Once again, she was confronted with the harsh reality of this world and the struggles of ordinary people.
Tifa felt it too. Her expression had grown heavy.
As for Ada Wong, she still hadn't fully processed the fact that she was stranded in another world, with no way home.
"Help move the treasure onto our ship," Ethan said. "Ada, can we borrow your speedboat?"
"Huh?" Ada blinked, returning to her senses. "My speedboat? Sure... though I think the engine's dead."
"Oars will do just fine," Ethan replied casually as he began hauling the treasure from the vault.
There was a lot so much that they had to make two trips to transfer it all.
Even Krieg's cold, lifeless corpse wasn't overlooked. His head alone carried a bounty of 17 million Berries. Turning it in would earn them a hefty sum.
Not to mention, it would boost the team's reputation a double win.
No one wanted to be a nameless lackey forever.
Rather than playing the meek underdog, Ethan would rather be a tiger feared, respected, untouchable.
He didn't move Krieg's corpse onto the Lexington. In fact, he didn't even touch it. Instead, Mona used her sealing arts to isolate the body in a barrier of suspended air. Then they secured the small sailboat it rested on to the rear of the Lexington with ropes, planning to tow it along when they set sail.
By the time everything was settled, evening had fallen, and the growling of their stomachs reminded them it was time to eat and rest.
In the ship's galley, Tifa busied herself preparing dinner. Now that Ethan had a moment to relax, he finally had time to sit and talk properly with Ada Wong.
Looking at the most iconic heroine of the Resident Evil franchise, Ethan asked, "I assume you've realized you're no longer in your original world. Have you figured out what you want to do?"
Leaning back in her chair, arms folded beneath her ample chest, Ada replied, "I plan to continue my original mission."
"To protect me?"
"That's right," Ada nodded. "There must be a reason why my very first assignment was to protect you. Rather than stumbling around this world on my own, I figure it's safer sticking with you."
After spending time with them, Ada had already begun to understand just how dangerous this world could be. The few bodies she had seen on that military ship paled in comparison to the square, where thousands of corpses still lay in grim silence.
Scenes like that were ones she'd only encountered in impoverished, war-torn regions.
And even there, large-scale deaths usually stemmed from viral outbreaks accidents.
What happened in this town, however, had been deliberate.
Even for someone like her, it was difficult to imagine anyone using poison gas on a densely populated civilian area.
The pirates in this world were nothing short of insane. Monsters devoid of all humanity.
Worse than the warlords who massacred innocents in the name of power.
Ethan extended a hand toward her. "Then welcome aboard."
Ada met his eyes with a faint smile and reached out, gently brushing her fingers against his palm before teasingly tickling his hand.
Ethan's body tensed ever so slightly.
Was that flirtation?
Was she hinting at something more?
Knowing Ada's personality, it wouldn't be like her to hide her feelings.
. . .
A beautiful face can be unexpectedly effective especially against someone who's into looks.
New Mission: Recruit a Sniper
Status: Completed
Reward: +1 Mastery Point
. . .
Ada withdrew her hand and gave him a nod. "I'll be in your care from now on, Captain."
Ethan snapped back to his senses. "We're crewmates now. That's only natural."
With Ada's role decided, the next order of business was identifying the Devil Fruit.
He opened the treasure chest and turned toward the support drone, which was curled up on 2B's thigh in standby mode, enjoying her gentle strokes.
"Support unit, can you scan this fruit and tell me what it is?"
"Affirmative," the drone replied as it floated up and scanned the Devil Fruit inside the chest.
After comparing the data with the Devil Fruit database in its archives, it reported:
"This fruit is not officially recorded in the database. However, based on comparative analysis, its features are 80% consistent with the Snake-Snake Fruit, 40% with the Lizard-Lizard Fruit, and 10% with the Fish-Fish Fruit."
The support unit projected images from the archive, displaying various types of recorded Snake-Snake Fruits:
The Mythical Zoan Eight-Headed Serpent. The regular Anaconda. The Cobra. And more.
While their colors, leaf shapes, and patterns varied, they all shared the same distinctive serpentine texture. Just one look was enough to confirm they belonged to the same family.
There was little doubt now this was a type of Snake-Snake Fruit.
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