Gan Fall's brow furrowed tightly as his fingers tapped unconsciously on the reins of his Pegasus. His tone was polite but hesitant.
"Sir Shiro, you know well that Skypiea has long cut ties with the Blue Sea below. The Poneglyph we once guarded was already entrusted to the Roger Pirates years ago. I'm afraid there's nothing more we can help you with."
Shiro quickly waved his hands, shaking his head.
"No, no, you misunderstand, Lord Gan Fall."
He hesitated a moment, rubbing his hands awkwardly, as if embarrassed to speak.
"The Roger Pirates have long since disbanded. I've been sailing on my own… but, well—let's just say I've run into a little problem. Funds are getting tight, and I was hoping you might spare a little help."
Gan Fall blinked, then stared at him in disbelief.
"So… you came all the way up here because you're broke?"
The old knight's jaw twitched. Of all the reasons he'd imagined, this was the last. The once–legendary pirate crewman of Gol D. Roger—begging for pocket change?
He sighed and waved a hand.
"Fine. Take whatever gold you want from the City of Gold. But the Golden Bell—our symbol of Skypiea—must stay where it is."
"Thank you so much, Lord Gan Fall!"
Shiro bowed deeply, relief and joy flooding his face. The embarrassment was gone in an instant.
He couldn't help thinking to himself:
Money isn't everything… but without it, you're dead in the water.
Gan Fall led him to Shandora, the fabled Golden City.
Everywhere Shiro looked, the sunlight reflected off heaps of gold — statues, walls, even the ground dusted with golden powder.
Gan Fall gestured broadly.
"Go on then. Take what you need."
But he didn't expect Shiro to take him so literally.
The white glow of the Paw Paw Fruit bloomed in Shiro's palms as he pressed a hand to one of the gold bricks.
A faint blue ripple spread across the surface—
—and the solid block of gold shot straight into the sky, vanishing into the clouds.
He kept going, rhythmically slapping one bar after another.
Each hit sent another chunk of treasure soaring away like it had wings.
At first, Gan Fall wasn't worried.
"Even with his strength, one man can't take that much gold."
But as the minutes passed, his expression turned pale.
The mountains of treasure were literally shrinking before his eyes!
This man's Devil Fruit… can it even teleport matter across worlds?!
Gan Fall's jaw tightened. His knights shifted uneasily behind him, glancing at the rapidly disappearing fortune. But he had given his word—so he bit his tongue and endured.
Then, finally—
"Ah, crap! I can't take any more!"
Shiro suddenly slapped his thigh and froze.
Gan Fall exhaled in relief, wiping the sweat from his brow. His men did the same.
"If I send any more gold to the Virtue, the ship will sink straight to the bottom!"
Shiro said it perfectly straight-faced, bowed again, and vanished in a soft flash of light—returning to his crew below.
Gan Fall and the priests just stared blankly at the empty plains of Shandora, the piles of gold half their former size.
Only after a long silence did the old knight sigh in exhausted relief.
Meanwhile, back aboard the Virtue, chaos reigned.
It started when a block of gold the size of a boulder dropped from the sky and smashed into the deck with a clang. Then another. And another.
"WAAAH! It's raining gold!" shouted Hachi, grabbing two chunks and holding them over his head, his big round eyes gleaming like coins.
"We're rich! The heavens are blessing us!"
Zeff, already stuffing gold bars into his apron pockets, rolled his eyes.
"Idiot octopus! You think gold just falls outta the sky for free? This is obviously the captain's doing!"
Jinbe crossed his arms in silence, his expression unreadable.
Issho leaned on his cane, his Observation Haki calmly sweeping the deck, utterly uninterested in the treasure. Hawk-Eye Mihawk stood against the railing, arms folded, cold and aloof as ever.
Only Moria's eyes gleamed with greed.
He stared at the growing pile like a starving man at a banquet.
If I could just keep this for myself… I could rebuild my crew, start again…
But the gold kept coming—until it formed a literal mountain mid-deck. The ship groaned under the weight, the planks creaking.
"This isn't good!" Jinbe barked, his sharp eyes scanning the hull.
"Another few loads and the ship's going under!"
Issho tensed.
"Then what do we do?"
"Throw some of it overboard before we all drown," Jinbe decided grimly.
Mihawk gave a curt nod and moved to lift a bar of gold.
Moria's heart nearly burst. He clenched his teeth, torn between greed and survival.
Then—
A burst of light.
Shiro reappeared on deck.
"Captain!" Hachi shouted, waving a lump of gold over his head.
Everyone turned to him instantly—except Issho, who kept his calm smile.
"Mihawk," Shiro said, frowning, "why are you standing there holding our money?"
Jinbe stepped forward, explaining quickly:
"We feared the ship might sink, Captain, so we were about to throw some overboard."
"PUT. IT. BACK!"
Shiro's face darkened, eyes wide in disbelief.
"That's not junk you're tossing—those bars are our entire operating budget! You throw even one piece away, and I'll personally smack you into the Calm Belt!"
T/N: If you would like to read up to 20 chapters ahead for all my works, check out my P@treon: patreon.com/GhidorahWriter
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