The day after the bounty posters were issued—
Arthur and the others returned to the Rocks Pirates.
"Hnn!"
With a grin tugging at the corner of his lips, Rocks chuckled with interest, "Arthur brat, you did pretty damn well! You really destroyed the G-1 Branch."
Arthur replied with a smile, "Captain Rocks, it's only because you pay well enough."
"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!"
Rocks burst into hearty laughter. "Kid! You've got a good sense of humor. I don't dislike people like you—in fact, I quite like greedy folks like you. Because people like you… will always do the job, as long as the price is right."
As if Rocks didn't know the situation within his own crew?
Of course he did.
Most of the members had been forced into joining the Rocks Pirates through his sheer dominance. Getting them to obey was never an easy task.
In this kind of environment, Rocks knew all too well—many of them put in minimal effort. But he didn't mind. As long as the rewards were tempting enough, people would act. Compared to the overly ambitious ones, Arthur was exactly the kind of person Rocks preferred.
Give him enough profit, and the man would move. He'd take action.
That was what Rocks liked most.
He didn't care about Arthur's greed. On the contrary—he thought greed wasn't a flaw, but a strength.
Because if a person is greedy enough...
Then satisfying that greed is the key to controlling them.
"Well!"
Arthur responded nonchalantly, "Captain Rocks, I joined the Rocks Pirates because here, I can get enough treasure. Otherwise? You think I'm here just for the sake of being a pirate?"
He shook his head, clearly stating his point:
If not for the treasure, why would I choose to be a pirate?
Hell nah.
If I wanted, I could've joined the Marines. With my talent, rising through the ranks wouldn't have been an issue. Becoming an admiral? Not out of the question. I'd have fame and a good reputation across the world.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!"
Rocks laughed even more gleefully. "You're a real one, kid. Not bad! Not bad at all! These—are your rewards for the recent job. Work hard!"
Smack! Smack!
Rocks patted Arthur on the shoulder, and at that moment, a low voice rang in Arthur's ears:
"If you're still alive in half a month, come find me on the main ship."
With that, Rocks turned and walked away.
Arthur was momentarily surprised by the words but quickly understood what they meant.
By his calculations...
The infamous God Valley Incident was now less than a year away.
During this period, Rocks was clearly trying to boost the strength of his crew as quickly as possible.
Naturally, talents like Arthur and Kaido were included in that plan.
But—
That depended on whether the two of them could survive. With so much treasure in hand, the next half month was going to be… very interesting.
"Hm~"
Arthur's grin widened as he looked at the large treasure chest before him. Without saying a word, he hoisted the chest and jumped—
Whoosh!
Landing cleanly back on his ship, he turned to Shakky and said, "Shakky, help me prepare some dinner."
"Phew..."
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Shakky replied, "No problem."
With that—
Arthur headed back to his room.
"Arthur!"
"Arthur!"
Loud calls came from Kaido, who shouted, "If there are any Zoan-type Devil Fruits, I'll trade with you at a 1:2 ratio!"
"Sure."
Arthur nodded and asked, "Have you ever seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia?"
"Uh…"
Kaido was dumbfounded.
To be honest, he'd never even laid eyes on such a precious item.
People shouldn't assume the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia is common. Quite the opposite—it's an extremely rare treasure. Only a handful of top powers across the seas have the qualifications and means to acquire one.
And even if you've seen one, there's no guarantee it's complete. Most people think they've seen the whole thing, when in reality, it's often just a fragment.
"Phew..."
Just then, leaning lazily against the railing of the deck, Shakky blew out a puff of smoke and said, "Arthur, Kaido… I've seen a nearly complete version of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. If you're interested, I'm willing to trade."
"No problem."
"Sounds good."
Arthur and Kaido agreed without hesitation.
Kaido had no reason to refuse—he was solely interested in Zoan-type Devil Fruits.
And Arthur? He'd be retarded to refuse. Robbing and killing wasn't a viable option, and trading at a 1:2 ratio was a bargain no matter how you looked at it.
The three of them made their way to Shakky's cabin.
Inside—
Shakky opened the treasure chests given to Arthur and Kaido by Rocks.
"Hmm..."
Opening the chests, Shakky fell silent.
What could she even say?
Arthur had been given a total of 15 Devil Fruits, and Kaido had 8.
What kind of concept was that?
Just by looking at them, you could tell—
A total of 23 Devil Fruits… easily worth close to 5 billion Berries on the open seas!
And yet—
All this treasure and wealth had simply been handed over to them. Rocks didn't even blink.
"Hahaha…"
Arthur chuckled and shook his head. "As expected of Captain Rocks. Lavish beyond imagination huh?"
"Mm."
The other two nodded in agreement.
Truly extravagant.
~~~
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