Buying daily packs, spending big.
Still, it's something he had to do every day.
In the real world...
Klein's powerful physique made him a bottomless pit. Of course, he could remove his "defense talent" and go back to a normal appetite, but…
Without his "defensive talent," he felt unsafe!
Why do we top-up?
For safety!
Do you even understand how important safety is!?
You only get one life — treasure it!
Who knows if he'd get a second chance at transmigration?
It's not like this world had some magical "Lucky Truck."
The bloodstained lessons of his "predecessors" were clear: sneak attacks are deadly. Like... Whitebeard getting stabbed in the chest by his "good son."
Garp getting impaled by Shiryu. Kyros slapped into a toy by Sugar...
The Spring Festival event had a long runtime. Klein looked at the promo and fell into deep thought.
"I've been earning a lot recently. Should I keep spending?"
He'd just made over 300 million today. Add that to the 300 million still left from his school earnings, and he had more than 600 million Beli.
That's a fortune!
Unless you're one of those Celestial Dragons born with a golden spoon in your mouth, that's a ridiculous amount of money for anyone.
"I make money to spend it! Top-up!"
"Only a loser doesn't spend when they've got the cash!"
"Spending to grow stronger is way faster than training! If there's a shortcut and I don't take it, what am I, stupid!?"
Klein only hesitated for two and a half seconds. One more would've been disrespectful to his big bro.
Still, a bit of a shame… His Marine academy training had only lasted a year...
But.
Before topping up, Klein decided to do some "map clearing." With a full reset, he crushed the slicked-back bastard "Crocodile" with ease.
"Eh, it's just a numbers game. Even if you're running some 'fair play' cheats, you still lose!"
"As for the Devil Fruit feature... I can start trying to challenge Crocodile and aim for the Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit."
"The day I collect all the Logia Fruits is just around the corner."
Klein knew that next in the story was the so-called "invincible" Logia-type: the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
With the Flame-Flame Fruit and Darkness Fruit already in hand, it wouldn't be long before he had a full set of high-tier Logia abilities.
Games sometimes scratch that collector's itch. Sure, not every power had a stage to shine on...
But a collector's obsession? Hard to change!
Just like hoarding figures and cards — it's etched into his DNA.
You might not use it, but you still gotta have it!
He kept clearing stages and soon triggered a special event.
[Light vs. Dark: Showdown!]
[Limited-Time Invasion!]
The left side of the screen burned like a radiant sun. The right side was cloaked in darkness, devouring everything.
"Fire Fist" Ace VS "Blackbeard" Teach.
The splash art showed both characters standing off.
"Oh, finally another special event. Two characters at once this time."
Klein knew what was up: a premium event had dropped.
Flame-Flame Fruit...
He wasn't planning to spend for it. Want fire powers? That's easy.
It was, after all, known as the "Fruit even a dog wouldn't eat."
But the Darkness Fruit? Hailed as the most vicious Devil Fruit in history.
That one? Worth spending for!
It needed upgrades — only then could it unlock its full power.
Klein knew, in this "Super Old Era," his future enemies would be monsters like Rocks D. Xebec and his brutal crew.
That guy... was even worse than the Four Emperors.
If you're not strong enough...
You'll die!
You come to the One Piece world, and who doesn't wanna punch an Emperor and kick an Admiral? It's a thrilling idea — but it all depends on one thing: strength.
Otherwise... a beautiful dream becomes a tragic tale.
Klein opened the event reward tracker.
Compared to the Spring Festival event, this one required way less spending to max out.
[Challenge 10,000 times – unlock: Character Marshall D. Teach]
[Challenge 30,000 times – unlock: Logia-type Darkness Fruit]
[Challenge 50,000 times – unlock: Devil Fruit Upgrade Scroll ×1]
Every challenge gave a random drop.
You got 3 free tries a day. VIP levels gave you +1 challenge per level.
"Damn, compared to the Spring Festival rewards, this is stingy as hell." Klein grumbled.
But that's always been the way these games roll — outside of events, upgrading or earning stuff always costs more.
They just want players to feel like events are a bargain — that's how they train you through PUA-style manipulation.
He knew these "special events" were all preset templates.
Push your build toward this route — Seven Warlords, Four Emperors.
Turn into Blackbeard, surpass Blackbeard...
As long as he didn't lose teeth, it was all good.
Klein felt like he'd already been molded into the shape of a "greedy dev."
Spend!
Nothing to hesitate over.
Hesitation leads to defeat!
For the sake of power, I, Klein, will stop at nothing!
He dumped in 500 million Beli. Maxed out challenges. Claimed all milestone rewards.
Each challenge also awarded a "Blackbeard Teach Treasure Chest."
Open!
Open them all!
Mouse-clicking frenzy — time to test his APM. In just two and a half minutes, all the boxes were popped.
Then—
Klein started upgrading everything.
Character: Marshall D. Teach ★★★
Logia-type: Darkness Fruit LV.1 → LV.5
Talent: Sleepless Nights LV.1 → LV.4
Armament Haki: LV.5 → LV.6
Observation Haki: LV.5 → LV.6
…
"Not bad. At least both types of Haki leveled up. Darkness Fruit hit Level 5 straight away — I wonder when I'll unlock the awakened state. Can't wait!"
As a unique Logia-type, it could even counter other Devil Fruit users.
This power…
Absolutely one of the best permanent main skills!
The higher the level, the stronger it gets. Klein couldn't help but beam.
Teacher Kaido always said, "Haki reigns supreme."
But can you really just ignore Devil Fruit powers?
You yourself are a Mythical Zoan: Azure Dragon!
Let's not forget, Kaido-sensei, you were defeated by a Fruit ability.
Without Luffy's Nika form, he'd have been killed by Kaido a dozen times over.
Of course...
A lot of that stuff is just toxic motivational garbage. Believe it and you're done for.
People can't be compared. And Devil Fruits can't be compared either.
Blackbeard endured decades for the Darkness Fruit. Luffy speedran the game thanks to the Nika form.
Look across the One Piece world — how many top-tier fighters don't have a Devil Fruit?
Talk is cheap.
Next up...
"Imu's Dad" kept pushing through stages.
Skypiea's Enel? Just a roadside chump!
Enel
The good news was, he'd unlocked the Rumble-Rumble Fruit challenge.
"That's one of the most coveted Logia Fruits for transmigrators. Luckily, Enel didn't benefit from any version buffs..."
"Otherwise, he'd be a real pain to deal with!"
Klein knew — tons of people believed Enel's true potential and combat power were way higher than what was shown.
Same with Crocodile losing to Luffy in Alabasta — both were nerfed by early appearances.
But Crocodile caught up with the meta.
Went from Warlord... to "Daddy of the Emperors"!
"Next stop: leave Sabaody Archipelago and head to Skypiea. Gotta find the Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
Gold and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit — the most valuable things on Skypiea.
He kept grinding.
Water 7 CP9? Also just cannon fodder!
With his full loadout of premium gear, talents, and buffs, CP9 was a breeze.
Thriller Bark…
Another great map for unlocking loads of Devil Fruit powers.
It had the Invisible Fruit that Sanji dreamed about.
The super-strong — but underutilized — Rev-Rev Fruit.
The Shadow-Shadow Fruit — a top-tier Paramecia ability!
Also, Brook's "Yomi-Yomi Fruit."
Except for the Invisible Fruit, the others — when mastered or awakened — were all terrifyingly powerful.
Seeing the Shadow-Shadow Fruit…
Klein couldn't help but picture the moment when a person and their shadow swapped places.
That power — some "Shadow Monarch" had it too. And better.
His shadows could even fight independently.
Rise!
"The only drawback is... if you steal someone's shadow, they can't die. Isn't that perfect for the prisoners in Impel Down?"
"Jieh jieh jieh jieh—"
He instantly thought of those inmates. Steal their shadows?
No one escapes!
Even if Golden Lion cuts off his legs — one flash of sunlight, and he's toast!
Want to be 'King of Breakouts'?
Did I give you permission?
"Once I get the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, I'm gonna play warden in Impel Down." Klein began forming a plan.
Doing so would give him one hell of a trump card.
But in the One Piece world, shadows are like a second soul. He wondered — could Linlin's "Soul-Soul Fruit" even implant a soul into a shadow, make a Homie?
He planned to try that out later.
With Devil Fruit slots from the game, he had infinite combos and possibilities.
As long as he spent to unlock the powers!
Upon seeing Brook in-game, Klein thought:
"Looks like the Rumbar Pirates aren't even founded yet. So…"
"Roger isn't even a rookie right now!?"
He remembered Brook once saying, "I think there was some rookie named Roger back then."
WTF!?
Looks like Roger still had a long way to go before making a name for himself.
That meant—
Charlotte Linlin wasn't just Roger's "senior." She was Rocks's senior too.
What a mess!!
By this count, Klein figured:
"I'm technically a 'Strongman of the Pre-Pre-Era?'"
His seniority just kept climbing!
Klein exited the game, grinning from ear to ear.
"Progress is good. No progress? Then screw you, devs!"
He slept like a baby.
Next morning.
When Klein woke up, his ears were filled with a chorus of sharp, unified voices:
"Hey!" "Hah!" "Hee!"
He scanned with Observation Haki — and froze.
"WTF!? Is this a world where everyone trains in the womb!?"
On deck.
Under Os's lead, the Marines on the ship were lined up in formation, training hard.
Focused. Intense.
You guys weren't like this a few days ago.
Klein got dressed and walked to the deck. Everyone saluted in sync:
"Good morning, Rear Admiral Klein!"
"Good morning!"
He walked up to Os. "Yo, Os. Why are you all training this early?"
"Sir Klein, as your subordinates, we can't just let you do all the work — defeating pirates while we just mop up after."
"We want to help you catch pirates too! We're Marines of Justice!" Os said, voice firm and resolute.
The rest of the crew stared at Klein with glowing eyes — full of… loyal orange?
Klein waved it off and praised them,
"Not bad. Real spirit there."
Let them be. Being motivated and hardworking is a good thing.
"Sir Klein, here's today's newspaper — there's an article about you!" Os handed over a fresh, inky paper.
"Oh? About me?" Klein's eyes lit up.
He wanted to see just how over-the-top the journalists had hyped him.
Time to feed that vanity!