Staring at the experience bar that was just one-quarter short of hitting Level 10, Marcus was at a bit of a loss. So damn close! Part of him was tempted to head straight to the animal storage area and clear out all the livestock he'd been breeding just to push past that final threshold.
In the end, he resisted the urge. Finding replacement cows, sheep, and chickens would be a pain in the ass, and more importantly, even if he slaughtered every animal he currently had, it probably still wouldn't be enough to fill that last quarter of Level 9.
After all, in Minecraft, the experience requirements increased exponentially with each level, and ever since he had arrived in this world, the experience gaps between levels had been far more demanding than in the game.
He forced himself to stop obsessing over his level progression and looked at Kira, gently ruffling her hair. "Good. I like that fighting spirit."
Alvida, seeing that Marcus had successfully convinced Kira to stay with them, was also quite pleased. At the same time, she realized this gave her yet another reason to stick by this man's side.
Ever since learning that she wasn't as strong as she'd thought, she had been actively considering ways to grow stronger. Naturally, her first thought had been Devil Fruit development, after all, these were the legendary treasures of the sea. While physical attacks were now ineffective against her thanks to the Slip-Slip Fruit, that was still a passive ability. She wanted to figure out how to actively develop and expand her powers.
As for improving her physical conditioning through training?
She had to admit that a woman's stamina had certain biological limitations, and building it up wasn't something that could be accomplished overnight, no matter how hard she worked.
But now things were different.
Even an ordinary person following Marcus would have incredible potential for growth, that much was becoming clear.
The three of them had made their decision about their future together.
---
Meanwhile, on the right side of the small island, near the sea cliffs in a recessed cave that had served as a hideout, Jango walked out backward from his hiding place of the past few days.
"In that case, I'll return to the Black Cat Pirates now. Captain Kuro, we'll arrive at dawn tomorrow as planned."
"How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me by that name anymore," Kuro said, stepping out of the shadows and adjusting his glasses with the palm of his hand. "I'm Klahadore now, Miss Kaya's devoted butler. I look forward to tomorrow's... arrival."
Jango pulled the brim of his hat down low without responding and departed in his small boat.
Perhaps because of Marcus' presence on the island, none of this had been discovered by Usopp, who was normally quite skilled at stumbling onto trouble. At that very moment, he was sitting high up in a tree near Kaya's mansion, telling her amusing stories about the day's events while throwing in some outrageous boasts about a giant goldfish whose droppings were supposedly the size of continents.
---
Meanwhile, Luffy and his crew were gathered at the village entrance discussing plans.
"Luffy, if you really want to reach the Grand Line, you're going to need a proper ship, a big one," Nami said. "But don't forget! Those three million berries you had are already gone, you gave them all to the villagers of Orange Town! You're completely broke now!"
Luffy leaned back with his hands behind his head.
"Even if I still had those three million, it wouldn't be enough to buy a decent ship anyway," he mused aloud.
"Hmm... that's true."
"What if we asked that rich girl over there? Think she'd give us a ship?" Luffy suggested with a grin.
Nami could only massage her temples helplessly. Even though they'd only met in Orange Town recently, she could tell that he was kindhearted, which was one of the main reasons she felt comfortable traveling with him. If he'd been an ordinary pirate, she would've stolen whatever treasure he had and disappeared long ago.
Zoro, after hearing Luffy's suggestion, laughed heartily. "Might actually work. Usopp's in there right now getting cozy with her, and seeing how close they are, she'd probably agree to help us out."
"Want to go take a look?" Luffy asked.
Zoro stood up, ready for action. Nami rolled her eyes at them.
"Do you two have any concept of courtesy or shame? You can't just walk up to someone and demand they give you a ship!"
"You got a better idea?"
"I do," Nami replied. "That Alvida used to be a pirate, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, since they've decided to stop being pirates, why don't we just buy their ship?" Her eyes gleamed with a merchant's shrewdness. When it came to bargaining and deal-making, she was confident in her abilities. And judging from what she'd observed of those three travelers, aside from Alvida, the others looked easy to manipulate, especially that Marcus guy, who was obviously loaded with cash. After all, he'd paid for everything so readily without even waiting for change from the shopkeepers. He had to be swimming in money!
With Alvida's relationship with Luffy, maybe a little emotional persuasion combined with a reasonable offer would be enough to close the deal.
"Of course, let's make this clear up front!" she added with a smile. "I can front the money for now, but you have to pay me back once you've got the cash."
Luffy thought about it for a moment, looking somewhat hesitant. "Wouldn't that be... kind of wrong?"
Seeing Luffy's hesitation, Nami was baffled. You've got no problem shamelessly asking a stranger for a ship, but now that there's an existing connection, you're suddenly embarrassed?!
What kind of backwards logic was that?
Zoro, as if he and Luffy were sharing the same brain wavelength, nodded in agreement. "Yeah... doesn't feel right to me either."
"What?! They've already decided to quit being pirates, what do they need a pirate ship for anyway?" Nami protested, convinced she was making perfect sense. "And if I'm not mistaken, they're planning to head to the 153rd Branch to find Koby afterward. We'd just be helping them out along the way!"
She was right that in the East Blue selling a pirate ship was actually quite problematic, not because there weren't potential buyers, but because it was nearly impossible to find legitimate pirate buyers.
If a non-pirate bought it, the price would drop significantly due to the stigma and legal risks.
If it was sold to an ordinary ship dealer, once they learned it used to be a pirate vessel, they'd slash the price even further. And if the dealer was particularly unscrupulous, they might just report it directly to the Marines, then you'd lose both the ship and your freedom.
In the East Blue, unfortunate situations like this happened all the time to former pirates trying to go legitimate.
"Besides," she continued her argument, "they only said they might stop being pirates, what if they were just talking? And didn't Marcus mention wanting to visit Loguetown? If we buy their ship, how exactly are they supposed to sail there? I don't mind giving them our two small boats in exchange."
"So, what do you say, Luffy?" Zoro asked, looking to their captain for the final decision.
"Then let's go find Marcus and the others first," Luffy decided. "Usopp's here, so he's not going anywhere anyway."
Clearly, the pressing need for a proper ship capable of long ocean voyages was what finally pushed him to make up his mind.
"I saw them heading in that direction earlier," Zoro said, pointing toward what he believed was the correct path.
Luffy didn't doubt him for a second, and while Nami hadn't known Zoro long enough to fully understand his legendary directional challenges, she only felt a slight sense of unease, not enough to voice any real suspicion. With such confident directions from someone who seemed so sure of himself, there couldn't be a problem... right?
---
Two frustrating hours later, the three of them found themselves back at the exact same village entrance where they'd started their search.
Nami rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't fall out of her head. "If you don't know the way, why the hell were you giving directions?!"
Zoro scratched his head sheepishly and remained silent.
Luffy burst into laughter, holding his stomach and nearly falling over.
Just then, Usopp walked down the street looking utterly dejected.
Seeing this change in their friend's demeanor, Luffy asked, "What's wrong? Did you have a fight with the lady?"
Usopp shook his head, then nodded, then shook his head again before finally explaining what had happened.
Since Luffy and the others hadn't caused any commotion this time around, he had planned to run the moment he sensed Kuro's presence, it was a habit he'd developed over the years of sneaking around the mansion. But this time, Kuro had acted completely differently than usual. Normally, at most, he'd just scold Usopp sternly and tell him not to bother Kaya with his nonsense. But earlier today, it was as if he had completely lost his mind. He'd chased after Usopp aggressively, shouting that he was a well-known liar and troublemaker. But the worst part, the part that had pushed Usopp over the edge, was when Kuro had insulted his late mother and father.
That was a line he simply couldn't let anyone cross.
They'd ended up in a heated argument, and he had even thrown a punch at Kuro right in front of Kaya, unable to contain his rage any longer.
The result? Kaya had kicked him out of the mansion and told him never to come back.
Which explained why he looked so utterly miserable now.
As he finished recounting his tale of woe, his shoulders sagged even further. There were few things in the world worse than being driven away by the girl you were desperately in love with.
Well, there was one thing worse, being driven away because of another man.