Chapter 102: Holy Crap, a Digimon!
The sun was shining, and The Curtain Call sailed smoothly on the Grand Line.
Shane had just finished his morning training. He leaned against the ship's railing, holding a steaming cup of coffee, enjoying a rare moment of peace as he admired the sea.
Someone tiptoed up behind him, a small hand reaching out from under his armpit to snatch the coffee cup.
But the moment it touched the cup, Shane slapped it away without hesitation.
"Ow, that hurts!"
"What are you doing? Are you trying to steal my unsweetened, bitter coffee?" Shane said, exasperated. "Uncle Zeff made a whole pot this morning. If you want some, go pour it yourself."
"The kitchen is too far…" Nami whined, emerging from under his arm and looking up at him pitifully.
"You're just lazy."
Shane was long immune to her antics and ignored her.
He then noticed that Nami was holding a newspaper. He raised an eyebrow. "The News Coo came this early today? Still no news about Crocodile?"
"I've read it from front to back, and there's nothing," Nami said, rolling the newspaper into a tube and tapping it against the railing. "It's been a whole week! The World Economic Journal is so inefficient!"
Honestly, what was that Morgans doing?!
Her brother might not be in a hurry, but she certainly was!
More than anyone, she wanted to see her brother's bounty skyrocket again and shake the entire Grand Line.
But such a major event had barely caused a ripple?
"Has it been a week already?"
Shane took a slow sip of his black coffee, letting the bitterness spread across his tongue. "In that case, it has nothing to do with Morgans' efficiency. It's obvious that someone higher up is deliberately suppressing the news."
"He's dead. Can they really keep it under wraps?" Nami pursed her lips.
"For a while, yes," Shane said thoughtfully. "It seems Marine Headquarters wants to buy some time to save face before the news gets out."
Crocodile's criminal conspiracy hadn't been exposed yet, so in the eyes of the Marines, he was a model Warlord, practically one of their own.
Moreover, he had died while following their orders to arrest Shane. Even the most ruthless company would have to consider that a work-related death. They couldn't just let it go.
So, the most pressing matter for Marine Headquarters right now was to arrest Shane as soon as possible.
Then, they could announce the Sand Crocodile's death, and it would be a more palatable story, one that wouldn't completely tarnish their reputation.
"Oh…" Nami responded listlessly, not really listening.
She draped herself over the railing like a wilted piece of seaweed, even her orange hair seeming to lose its luster.
Without a new wanted poster, life had lost all its fun.
The thought that no one knew about her brother's awesome feat of defeating a Warlord… ugh, it was just so annoying!
"Where's your sister?" Shane asked. "I saw her get up and go to the training room at four this morning. It's breakfast time now, and she's still not out?"
"Nope," Nami said, propping her chin on her hand. "She's been training harder and harder every day. She doesn't stop until ten at night. I guess she'll be like this until she masters Armament Haki."
Shane didn't say anything. He understood Nojiko.
She was just like him back in the day: strong-willed and competitive. Unlike the shameless and carefree Nami, she couldn't stand the fact that everyone else on the crew had already mastered Haki, one by one, while she was still struggling.
That's right.
With the buff from the eagle statue, the Curtain Call Adventurers had basically achieved the status of an all-Haki crew.
Smoker, needless to say, had it from the start.
He was one of Z-Sensei's prize students and had mastered two types of Haki long before he had even graduated from the elite training camp at Headquarters.
Among the rest of the crew, the first to master Armament Haki was Kuina.
The young swordswoman's talent was enviable. On the third day after leaving Twin Cape, she could already use the basic abilities of Coating and Hardening. She was now trying to master the more advanced techniques of Emission and integrating it with her sword slashes, and she was making excellent progress.
Next was Zeff, who had mastered it after they left Whiskey Peak.
As for Gin…
His talent was a complete mystery. As he grew older, his physical abilities seemed to improve on their own, as if by magic. He didn't even need to train.
And Armament Haki… it was as if he had just picked it up because everyone else was doing it, and he would have been embarrassed not to.
"Tell her to come for breakfast," Shane sighed and instructed, "If she doesn't come out, that's fine. Just bring her meals to her. Don't forget."
"Okay," Nami nodded. She was used to this. Back in the day, she and Nojiko had often brought meals to their brother, who had been training tirelessly on the mountaintop.
After Nami had disappeared from view, Shane took a sip of his coffee and opened the System panel.
It had been a month since the marketplace had last refreshed. He had planned to browse while drinking his coffee, and if Nami hadn't interrupted him, he would have already placed his order.
—A pale blue screen of light unfolded before his eyes.
Shane was completely uninterested in the first six items and swiped past them one by one, a slight frown on his face. He had a bad feeling.
There were only ten items in total, and he hadn't wanted to buy more than half of them. Was he going to come away empty-handed this time?
Luckily, the seventh item made his frown instantly disappear.
[Advanced Pet Egg]
Type: Special Item
Price: 4,000 Points
Description: Upon purchase, this egg will hatch into a random, high-tier pet. Lower-tier bloodlines are excluded. The minimum rating is A-rank. The pet's initial loyalty will be determined by its species and its first impression of its master.
Seller's Note: None. Sold directly by the System.
…
Another pet egg? And it's an advanced one… Shane was tempted. This was a super gacha pool with a guaranteed SSR.
Back in Cocoyasi Village, getting an A+-rank Gin from a regular pet egg had used up all his luck.
So, if this had been another regular pet egg, he probably would have gotten something useless, and he would have had to think twice about buying it.
But with a guaranteed A-rank…
Buy!
Shane bought it on the spot. Four thousand points would have been a huge sum back in the day, but now it was manageable.
If he was unlucky and it was a small loss, he could accept it. But if he could hatch another partner and combatant on par with Gin, then it would be a huge win.
He couldn't contain his curiosity. He didn't even add it to his cart; he just bought it outright. He would check the remaining items after the egg had hatched.
Four thousand points were spent, and the advanced pet egg was in his inventory. Without a second thought, Shane chose to open it.
[Randomizing… Please wait.]
[You have obtained a new pet: SnowBotamon!]
[Hatching…]
The die vanished, and a silver-white pet egg appeared, cracks spreading from the top.
In just a few seconds, the top of the eggshell shattered, and a fluffy white ball of fur hopped out. It looked around curiously with its big, black, beady eyes.
"That's it?"
Shane stared at the little thing in his hand, stunned.
Was it cute?
Of course it was cute. It was like a little rice cake, round and soft and fluffy.
Even Gin, in his Samoyed-pig stage, had been less cute. Any girl would have doted on a pet like this.
But how could this thing possibly be an A-rank or higher? And how could it possibly be worth four thousand points?!
This is a scam!
As if in response to his complaint, the pet egg faded from the system panel, and a new set of notifications appeared.
[Bloodline Rating: S+]
[Initial Loyalty: 80]
[Description: A Baby Digimon covered in fluffy white fuzz. It is considered a type of Botamon and was named SnowBotamon because of its white body. As long as its master forms a strong enough bond with it, this exceptionally talented individual will naturally evolve to its final form.]
[Evolution Line: SnowBotamon → Nyaromon → Salamon → Gatomon → Angewomon]
Shane's expression froze.
Wait, what-mon?
Angewomon?!!!
"So it was you!"
Shane's face changed in an instant, a transformation worthy of a master actor. He beamed as he picked up the little SnowBotamon and gave it a big snuggle.
"Well, hello there! Why didn't you say so earlier? What an adorable little baby! Welcome to the world!"
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