Bon Clay's curiosity had been well and truly hooked by what Amon said. After years at sea, this was the first time anyone had ever tried to sell him something like a Jar. What could possibly be worth selling inside a jar?
"That's right, just Jars. Very special ones. Why not try your luck with one?"
Amon pressed the advantage while the interest was still warm. He had a mission to complete here in Rainbase, three Jars to sell, and running into Bon Clay like this was a stroke of good fortune. One down if he played it right.
"Buying one sounds fine to me. How much are we talking?"
Bon Clay turned the Jar over in his hands with curiosity. If he was being honest with himself, his main motivation was gratitude. Amon had done him a good turn, and buying one of his Jars felt like a decent way to return the favour.
"Not expensive at all. A hundred thousand Berries each."
"A hundred thousand is reasonable enough. But what's actually the point of them? What do you do with a Jar?"
For someone who spent their life on the open sea, a hundred thousand was hardly anything. What puzzled him was the purpose.
"You open them, obviously. Some of them have incredible things inside. If you're lucky, you might pull out something like an Okama Kenpo technique."
"Okama Kenpo!"
Bon Clay practically levitated. He rose onto his toes and launched into a spontaneous Swan Lake right there on the spot, which, to his credit, had a certain undeniable flair to it.
"Boss, you follow the Okama Way too?"
"No, no. Not personally. But I do know someone who lives and breathes it. Goes by the name Ivankov."
The name came to Amon naturally. He thought back to the round, enormous face of young Ivankov, whom he had encountered back in Shimotsuki Village. If he recalled correctly, Ivankov was also the king of the Kamabakka Kingdom.
"I... Ivankov!"
Bon Clay seized up. His whole body trembled with barely contained excitement. "Boss, you actually know Ivankov?!"
Ivankov was the Queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom and the single greatest idol in Bon Clay's life. The idea that Amon knew him personally was almost too much to process.
"Of course. He even opened one of my Jars, as it happens. If you're interested, once we're done here I can put in a good word for you."
"Yes! Absolutely yes! Without question!"
Reaching the Kamabakka Kingdom had been Bon Clay's dream for as long as he could remember. Nobody around him had ever understood the Okama Way, and he had always felt that the Kingdom was the one place in the world where he might finally belong.
"Ha! Alright then. Once we've opened your Jar, I'll write you a letter of introduction. Take it to Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue and find a man named Koushirou. He'll arrange the rest."
Amon was genuinely happy to help. More connections, more doors. It cost him nothing and was worth quite a lot.
"Thank you! Then let's open the Jar right now!"
Bon Clay could barely stand still. The Jar, the letter, Ivankov, it was all lined up perfectly and he wanted to get moving.
"Go ahead. Pick whichever one you like."
Amon gestured at the selection and let him choose.
"That pink one. Give me the pink one."
Bon Clay's relationship with the colour pink bordered on devotion.
"Pink it is." Amon handed it over. "Just smash it open."
"Right!"
Bon Clay still didn't fully understand what made the Jars special. At this point he mostly just wanted to get through the opening so he could chase down Ivankov. He brought it down with a sharp crack, and the Jar split apart cleanly. Two items tumbled out onto the ground.
"Wait, there's actually something inside?"
He crouched down and picked them up, genuinely surprised. He had gone along with the whole thing out of goodwill, not expecting much. But there really was something in there. And one of the items, he noticed, appeared to be a shoe. Specifically an elegant, pointed shoe worn for a certain style of dance he happened to love very much.
"Here, let me take a look at what came out."
Amon stepped over, amused by the expression on Bon Clay's face. He was well used to that particular mixture of surprise and dawning wonder by now.
"Yes please!"
Bon Clay handed the items over.
Amon ran them through the system.
"Swan Lake Ballet: A complete dance tutorial adapted from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Embedded within it is a set of Okama Kenpo techniques, accessible to those with the right affinity."
Swan Lake Ballet. That was almost too perfect. Bon Clay already danced ballet with genuine enthusiasm. How he would measure up against an actual classical choreography was anyone's guess, but paired with Okama Kenpo hidden inside it, this was a far more significant find than it appeared on the surface.
He set the tutorial aside and checked the second item.
"Ballet Shoes: Footwear designed specifically for ballet performance. When worn, they grant the dancer exceptional lightness and elegance of movement. In addition to their use in dance, they function as a weapon of considerable hardness."
Ballet shoes that doubled as weapons. For Bon Clay specifically, this was almost comically ideal. The lightness would elevate his movement, the aesthetics suited him completely, and paired with Okama Kenpo, they would function beautifully in a fight.
"Well? What came out?"
Bon Clay had been eyeing the shoes since they fell out of the Jar.
"Bon Clay, both items are rare finds. You have some nice luck."
"Really?!" He immediately burst into another impromptu ballet sequence, sweeping his arms wide.
"Really. One is a pair of ballet shoes made specifically for dance. The other is a complete Swan Lake ballet tutorial." Amon smiled.
"Ballet shoes? And a Swan Lake tutorial? Let me see, let me see!"
Bon Clay's love of ballet ran deeper than most people's love of anything. The idea that he had pulled out two items tied directly to his passion had him practically vibrating.
"Easy now, one at a time. Let's start with the shoes."
Amon held them out. "They're purpose-built for ballet. Put them on and your form gets better automatically, your movement lighter, your posture more refined. Try them."
He didn't have the expertise to explain it in technical terms. Better to just let Bon Clay experience it himself.
"Okay!"
The moment Bon Clay saw the shoes up close, he was already in love with them. He sat down on the spot and pulled them on.
"These fit perfectly. Not a single tight spot anywhere." He stood, shifted his weight experimentally, then broke into movement. The difference was mesmerizing.