Shanu pondered for a moment. In the end, he still added the item to his cart.
The only reason he hesitated was because he wasn't sure whether this thing could treat a ship as a "base."
If it could be installed on a ship, then it was absolutely worth the price.
If not… well, whatever. Worst case, it would just collect dust for a while. One day, it would definitely come in handy.
A mere fifteen hundred points as trial-and-error cost, he could afford that easily.
…
The next few items were things he had no interest in at first glance. Shanu quickly skipped over them. After swiping several times, the final item refreshed onto the screen, and instantly grabbed his attention again.
[Deep Sea Breathing Technique]
[Type: Training Secret Art]
[Price: 5500 Points]
[Description: A special muscular control art. Requires high physical strength to begin training. Once mastered, your skin pores can briefly mimic the function of Fish-Man gills, allowing your muscles to deliver oxygen and granting you underwater breathing. Duration depends on your mastery and physical strength.]
[Seller's Note: "Damn it, I transmigrated into that stupid female octopus!!"]
Shanu: "?"
What kind of deep sea is this from?!
Forget it. Whatever miserable situations other transmigrators suffer in their own worlds had nothing to do with him. Shanu refocused on the description, his eyes narrowing.
A technique that allowed underwater breathing, like the Fish-Men… yeah, it was expensive, but in this world, that was a BIG deal.
Because this was the world of One Piece!
A world without continents, where the ocean covered more than 95% of the map!
Forget 5500 points, he wouldn't skip it even if it were ten thousand.
As for the requirement of high physical strength…
Shanu was confident he met that condition easily. In terms of physique alone, he was already standing at the very front of the world's second tier, only behind the true monsters at the top.
He decisively added it to the cart.
…
He finished browsing the new batch of items. Time to check out. This time, he bought a total of six items, costing 29,000 points, leaving him with 23,200. It was his biggest expense in years, but the harvest was undeniably worth it.
Unable to contain his excitement, Shanu closed his system panel, grabbed his cup of coffee, and headed into the cabin to test everything one by one.
He started with the Knock Spell. Just as the description said, as long as the Knock Wand was in his inventory, the spell's usage would be instinctively imprinted in his mind.
He walked down the corridor and reached the kitchen. Beside it was the food storage room, locked up with a big iron padlock courtesy of Zeff, to stop that little menace Gin from sneaking out at night and drinking all the strawberry milk.
Shanu silently recited the incantation and touched the lock with his finger,
Click.
It popped open instantly.
Heh. Fun.
Not even half a second, it really was instant lockpicking. With this skill, he'd never have to worry about food or drink anywhere again.
Like a kid with a new toy, he ran around the ship happily testing every lock. After a long while, satisfied, he left the cabin and stepped onto the empty aft deck.
He looked at the remaining items in his pack.
He took out Yasuo's Sword Art Manual and flipped through it.
As expected, completely incomprehensible. Looks like he was fated never to become a real swordsman. He'd just give it to Kuina later.
Don't ask. It "dropped" from the corpse of Hanafuda. Being the brother of Kaido in Wano, it made sense he'd have some swordsman-style manuals.
Next, Shanu tried unfolding the Prism Tower.
Surprisingly, it deployed smoothly and automatically merged with the main mast. No wonder it was said to be invisible, he couldn't sense anything about it even with Observation Haki.
Convenient. If the crew ever saw beams of light shooting from the mast, they'd probably think it was some high-tech feature from the Whale Shipyard.
He looked at the remaining three items.
"Wish" wasn't needed for now, and "Deep Sea Breathing Technique" needed real training to show results.
So only Steal Card Set remained.
This card set came with a free trial use, but whatever he stole during the trial would automatically return. Basically, just a practice round so he wouldn't waste the real one later by misusing it.
Conveniently, a News Coo was flying far overhead, at least twenty kilometers away, just a tiny white speck in the distance.
Perfect test subject.
Shanu drew the six light-gold cards. Five were real, and the trial card was a translucent projection. He locked onto the News Coo and activated it. The trial card dissolved into a streak of light.
Shanu waited patiently for something to appear in his hand. It should be something the bird carried. Probably a hat or a newspaper…
PLOP!
A warm, sticky mass landed in his palm.
Shanu looked down, bird poop.
Fresh.
It disappeared a second later, returned to its "original location," but the warm sensation and disgusting smell still lingered…
"…"
Shanu stood silent for two seconds, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
Straight-bowel animals… and of course it chose THIS moment to drop a load from the sky!
Free trial, huh? Free experience, huh?
Free things were never trustworthy!
Pissed, he looked up at the News Coo.
The News Coo noticed the speeding ship and happily angled toward them.
Moments later, a bruised, battered, tearful News Coo flapped away pitifully.
Mm. That felt good.
Shanu clapped his hands in satisfaction. Birds without manners deserved a beating. But as compensation, he had wrapped all the newspapers neatly into a bundle for the poor delivery bird.
Sword manual and newspapers in hand, Shanu headed toward the bow.
Time to hand them to Kuina and to Nami, who was practically dying waiting for the news. On the way, he glanced at the paper.
As expected, the destruction of the Hanafuda Pirates hadn't reached the World Economy News yet. But it should by tomorrow.
Not that this issue had nothing to do with them…
Quite the opposite, actually.
This front-page headline might as well have been created by Shanu himself:
"Enies Lobby Falls! Blue Ogre and Red Ogre, Two Giants from a Century Ago Return to the Seas!"
Bolded, enlarged, dramatic. Half the page was a massive photo. The entire island in ruins, collapsed buildings and unconscious guards everywhere. Even the famed Tower of Justice had fallen, along with the World Government flag that once flew proudly.
In the rubble, four gigantic figures embraced each other in tears, covered in blood, clearly after an intense battle.
Below, the article was pure Morgans-style sensationalism.
"Shocking! One of the Three Power Pillars, the Judicial Island, has suffered catastrophic destruction!"
"Eyewitnesses claim the legendary Giant Warriors, Dorry the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre, led two other giants and crushed all resistance!"
"The Marine reinforcements from the of the Gate of Justice were also destroyed! Two Vice Admirals gravely injured!"
"The Tower of Justice falls! The Gate of Justice shattered!"
"The symbol of Government authority, the sacred flag, was torn apart and trampled by the legendary warriors of Elbaf!"
"Where did these giants return from? And WHO set free the century-old monsters?!"
"This will be lively," Shanu chuckled, closing the paper.
Looked like he had unintentionally caused the Marines another huge headache.
Well, giants were straightforward and hot-blooded by nature. Judging from the timing, after reading his letter, the two uncles couldn't hold back anymore, they ended their hundred-year duel and returned to the seas.
Their first stop? Straight to Enies Lobby.
Creating a massive tidal wave. For him, this was great.
Two extremely powerful allies now roamed the seas. If he ever went to Elbaf, he'd have people to connect with.
More importantly, the bigger the Enies Lobby chaos became, the more distracted the World Government and Marines would be.
They wouldn't have time to bother with him for a while.
.......
The Curtainfall ship continued sailing along the Sandora River. At nightfall, they reached Alabasta's capital, Alubarna.
The palace was brightly lit. The banquet had been prepared long in advance. Though Alabasta was poor, most of its land swallowed by desert, the royal family spared no expense to thank the Curtainfall Adventure Crew.
In the grand hall, silver candelabras flickered warmly over tables filled with luxurious dishes. Golden roasted ribs, fragrant date-braised lamb, piles of rare fruits…
Even the kingdom's treasured wines were brought out without hesitation. Even King Cobra, still seriously ill, attended personally.
The atmosphere was warm and celebratory. In such circumstances, even real pirates would hesitate to cause trouble, let alone Shanu's crew.
By the banquet's end, night was deep. The drunken crew were escorted to rest by palace maids, while underage Nami was dragged to Princess Vivi's room to hang out.
Shanu and Robin, who stayed mostly sober, left the hall together. They went to the palace's side chamber to meet King Cobra and discuss Crocodile and the Poneglyphs.
…
Pangaea Castle.
The Five Elders gathered in the top conference chamber. The air was so heavy one could wring water out of it.
Papers and intelligence reports were scattered across the table. On top was today's World Economy News headline.
"Enies Lobby destroyed. Gate of Justice collapsed…"
The blond Elder in a crimson suit slammed the paper on the table, voice icy:
"In just one month, first a Shichibukai, Crocodile, is killed. Then the operation on Tor Island fails. And now this sudden catastrophe. The prestige of the World Government has been trampled into the mud."
His name was Shepherd Ju Peter, Warrior God of Agriculture.
"Dorry and Brogy…"
The kimono-wearing Elder holding a demon blade narrowed his eyes.
"Weren't those two giants dueling on Little Garden for a hundred years? Why did they suddenly leave, and why strike Enies Lobby so precisely?"
Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, Warrior God of Finance.
"Someone intervened."
The curly-haired Elder with the round hat read through CP's intelligence calmly:
"According to wounded witnesses, the giants were crying and celebrating together, mentioning someone named Shanu. Apparently, thanks to him, they discovered the truth, that their giant comrade guarding the Gate of Justice had been deceived by us."
Jaygarcia Saturn, Warrior God of Science & Defense.
"Shanu?!"
The blond Elder snapped his head around.
"Again?! It's that brat AGAIN?!"
The previous two incidents were also caused by him!
"From Loguetown to Tor Island, barely two months into the Grand Line, and he's already caused so many major incidents. And now even Enies Lobby is connected to him?! This brat is like a plague! Wherever he goes, something..."
"Turns upside down."
The elderly, long-bearded Elder, who had been silent, interrupted coldly.
"By the way, before attending this meeting, I received an urgent update from CP0. Another Shichibukai, Hanafuda, was killed yesterday in Alabasta. The culprit… is also this Shanu."
"What?!!!"