To be honest, while Diarmuid had a hunch the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was on Birka, he had no way of knowing for sure. He couldn't fully relax until he saw the fruit with his own eyes.
It was unbelievable. This was way too easy!
He landed on Birka, and within five minutes, he found a random old man, whose name he didn't even know. He proposed a deal worth 200 million Berries, and the man just brazenly took him into the town to look for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
The most absurd part was that this ridiculously easy search actually worked!
After being sought by countless people for decades without a single sighting, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was in his hands just like that?
Diarmuid still felt like he was in a dream. If he had known it was this simple, he would have mustered the courage to brave the Knock Up Stream at Jaya Island years ago…
'No, on second thought, I don't have Luffy's luck. I probably would have died.'
This was much better. He might have been a little jealous of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, but his Gravity-Gravity Fruit was just as good. Besides, he was giving this fruit to Gion, and she worked for him.
He would never betray the Marines, and Gion had no reason to, either. If he became an Admiral or a Fleet Admiral, Gion would be his staunch right-hand man. Giving the fruit to her was practically like eating it himself.
After reassuring himself, Diarmuid took a deep breath and stepped forward to take the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. But the old man grabbed his arm with surprising speed, startling Diarmuid.
'A master?!'
He turned, only to see the old man smiling slyly, wiggling his eyebrows and rubbing his fingers together.
'A master my ass… he's a hustler!'
But with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit right there, Diarmuid wasn't going to back out of the two-hundred-million-Berry deal. In fact, he had no intention of going back on his word. Everything had gone too smoothly for him to believe. With the simple-minded people of Birka, he couldn't bring himself to show them the cruel reality of the outside world.
He was a Marine of justice, after all. What were two hundred million Berries? He was about to get the City of Gold anyway, so he wasn't lacking money.
"Don't worry. Come back to the port with me, and I'll give you every single one of those two hundred million Berries," Diarmuid said firmly.
The old man smiled and nodded. "Good."
Diarmuid picked up the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and weighed it in his hand. "Is it okay for us to take this Cursed Fruit? Won't your Sky God get angry?"
The old man shook his head. "With two hundred million Berries, the Sky God will definitely not be mad."
'What the hell? Are you for real? Are you guys simple or just greedy?'
As if sensing Diarmuid's confusion, the old man quickly added, "Besides, a Cursed Fruit is a bad omen. If it stays in our town, something bad could happen. If you take it to the Blue Sea, we can all rest easy… So the Sky God will definitely not hold a grudge."
Diarmuid reluctantly accepted that explanation. "And what about the other people? Won't they be upset?"
"No. I'm the most important person here," the old man said with a smile.
'What?'
"You're the God of Birka?" Diarmuid asked, stunned.
"Oh? Did I not mention that?" the old man said, surprised.
'No, you didn't… I don't even know your name!'
"Even if I didn't, if I hadn't brought you here, would you have been able to just walk into this temple?" the old man said curiously.
"Heh." Diarmuid chuckled awkwardly. "I thought the people of Birka were just simple."
'I thought you were all simple… turns out you're the freaking God?'
'Well, that made everything a lot more logical. Damn it!'
He pocketed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and pointed to the two remaining Devil Fruits. "Can I have those two as well? They're bad omens for you, so it's better if I take them to the Blue Sea. I know a living Buddha there. He's incredibly powerful, and when he gets going, his entire body glows gold. It's absolutely divine. If I take these Cursed Fruits back and keep them with him, his daily prayers will eventually wash away their curses and restore peace to the world…"
He wasn't lying, was he? Admiral Sengoku was a living Buddha, wasn't he? As for whether he knew how to pray… he'd probably learn to if it meant getting two more Devil Fruits.
The old man looked at Diarmuid with a mix of surprise and awe. "There's really a man with such profound spiritual power? A living Buddha whose whole body glows gold?"
Sky Islanders were spiritual, believing in their Sky God, but they also revered other deities and philosophies. Mad Monk Urouge, for example, came from a sky island, so the old man was probably aware of Buddhism. People who dabbled in the arcane often knew about their peers.
Diarmuid's face was completely serious. "Yes, he really glows gold. I swear on my honor!"
"I can't believe there's such a powerful master in the Blue Sea. I truly regret not being able to see him," the old man said with a sigh.
Seeing the old man's regret, Diarmuid felt like he had him. "So what do you think? My proposal? Does it sound reasonable?"
The old man nodded seriously. Just as Diarmuid was about to smile in triumph, the old man's voice became incredibly firm. "You gotta pay more!"
"..."
"I thought you were a man of the heavens! What do you care about money so much for?" Diarmuid said exasperatedly. "Can't you just focus on your spiritual journey? Don't let yourself be led astray by earthly things like money and Berries! It'll affect your cultivation!"
"You still gotta pay more," the God said seriously. "Otherwise, the Sky God will be angry."
Diarmuid looked at him, then at the statue. 'The only reason your Sky God hasn't struck you with lightning yet is that he's waiting for Enel to come and collect your sorry soul…'
After a moment, Diarmuid spoke again. "I actually came to the sky islands to do a good deed. I'm a diviner. Have you ever heard of divination?"
"I have. In the Blue Sea, there's a country called the Kano Country. They have a religion called Taoism, and Taoism has a divination technique called fortune-telling," the old man said with a smile.
"Uh, yeah… You're pretty knowledgeable, aren't you?" Diarmuid said, a bit flustered. 'Holy crap, I didn't even know the Kano Country was Taoist! How do you, a guy on a sky island, know that?'
"Right, right, as long as you know. I'm a Taoist, and I have some of those abilities. I foresaw that if I didn't come here and take these Cursed Fruits, Birka would be destroyed within twenty years. To put it simply, I came here to save your lives. Do you understand? If you give me these two fruits, you can escape this calamity…" Diarmuid said sincerely.
If he thought about it, he wasn't really lying. If he hadn't come here, Enel would have destroyed Birka within twenty years. Now that he had the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he didn't know what the other two fruits were.
What if Enel ate them anyway? What if Enel still went on a rampage without the Rumble-Rumble Fruit? The people of Birka would all be wiped out.
In a way, he, as a Marine of justice, was saving Birka! It was an exciting thought! I truly am an agent of justice!
"That's a possibility, but you still gotta pay more!" the old man insisted.
Diarmuid stared at him for a moment. "Fine. I'll add another two hundred million for those two. They're all mine."
"It's a deal!" the old man said, grabbing Diarmuid's hand with that lightning-fast speed. Diarmuid was almost too slow to react. 'Man, you get fast when it comes to money!'
"Done!" Diarmuid said.
"Double happiness! Hahaha!" the old man of Birka burst out laughing. And it was a double victory for him. This Blue Sea man was taking all of his Cursed Fruits away, which, according to the man himself, would save Birka from a catastrophe. And he was walking away with a net profit of four hundred million Berries! What could be happier than that?
Diarmuid had just spent four hundred million Berries and smoothly secured three Devil Fruits, including the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
It should have been a huge win. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit alone would fetch a sky-high price at auction in the Blue Sea. Four hundred million was like a drop in the ocean. But now, looking at the laughing old man, Diarmuid felt like he had been fleeced.
What the hell is this 'It's a deal, double happiness' crap?
'Whatever. I'm not going to argue with these sky island natives…' Diarmuid told himself, then turned and took the other two Devil Fruits.
With three Devil Fruits in his arms, his mood finally improved.
"Shall we go settle up?" the old man of Birka asked eagerly.
Diarmuid gave him a look of disgust. "I, Diarmuid, am a man of my word. Let's go. I'll pay you."
They walked together, chatting.
"Is there really a Buddha whose body glows gold?"
"Of course! Not only a Buddha, but I've also seen a giant dragon that can fly in the sky and breathe fire. It's so long!"
"Really?"
"Of course! And he also breathes fire! And phoenixes, you know? Like the one that rises from the ashes! Next time I come, I'll bring you one to see."
"Thank you! I look forward to it!"
"If you find any more Cursed Fruits in the future, save them for me. I'll come up and take them all."
"That's no problem. But you gotta pay more."
"Damn it… Fine, you'll get more money!"
Just like that, with three Devil Fruits in his arms, Diarmuid made the four-hundred-million-Berry exchange with the "Cash-Demanding God" of Birka while Gion and the other Marines at the port watched in stunned silence.
After the warship left the port, Gion finally snapped out of her shock. "Four hundred million Berries? For three Devil Fruits?! Including the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?!"
Diarmuid, you should have been a merchant!
"So this is the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?!" Gion said excitedly, looking at the fruit in her hand.
Diarmuid smiled. "That's right, the so-called invincible Rumble-Rumble…"
Before he could finish, Gion, either overcome with excitement or having been planning this all along, wrapped her arms around Diarmuid's head and planted a big kiss on his lips. She then slapped him on the shoulder. "Hahaha, Diarmuid! From now on, your problems are my problems! Don't worry, I've got your back in the Marines!"
"I'm a damn Admiral candidate! And I need a Rear Admiral like you to protect me?" Diarmuid said, wiping his mouth with a look of disgust.
'But her lips were kind of sweet. I see you as a subordinate, and you want to be my wife?'
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