A lot of readers have been saying the Devil Fruits are priced too cheaply—especially the ones selling for a million. Some people are worried that forces like major organizations could just sweep in and buy them all up, so let me clear this up once and for all.
First of all, Devil Fruits are not all priced the same.
Some cost a few million.
Some cost tens of millions.
Some cost hundreds of millions.
Some cost billions, or even tens of billions.
Just because the first fruit was sold for one million doesn't mean every Devil Fruit in the story is worth one million.
I already made that clear in the novel itself. The Dark-Dark Fruit, for example, is priced at ten small targets. The reason the prices seem low right now is simply because the early-stage fruits are mostly ordinary ones. The truly expensive fruits haven't appeared yet. We're building up step by step.
That said, I understand why some readers still feel that even the weaker or more useless fruits are too cheap at one million.
And honestly, that's true.
But this book is a large ensemble story. What I want to write about is how Devil Fruits change the entire Marvel world—not just how they empower a few rich people.
That means the lower price limit can't be too high.
If I set the entry price too high, then Devil Fruits would basically become exclusive luxury items for the wealthy elite. And if that happens, what's the point? That would be boring.
After all, how many well-known Marvel characters are actually Tony Stark?
Deadpool.
Spider-Man.
The Punisher.
War Machine.
Happy.
Jane Foster.
Captain America.
Black Widow.
Even someone from the upper class like Doctor Strange.
Most of these familiar characters would already be stretching it just to afford a million-level fruit.
So yes, the upper price ceiling can be very high.
But the lower threshold absolutely cannot be too high.
Otherwise, the characters everyone actually knows and cares about wouldn't be able to buy anything, while the only people who could afford Devil Fruits would be the wealthy original characters I made up myself. If it turns into that, then the story really is finished.
Second, some readers are worried that organizations like the Federal Reserve or S.H.I.E.L.D. might just buy out all the fruits.
I've already thought about that too.
Any form of bulk manipulation purchase is prohibited by the system, so you don't need to worry about that. That kind of thing won't happen.
Let me explain what I mean by that.
The "bulk manipulation" I'm talking about here isn't the same kind of fake order boosting people use in online shops. I just couldn't think of a better term, so I used this one.
For example, if a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent discovers a Devil Fruit on their own and decides to buy it willingly, that's completely normal. That counts as a regular transaction.
But if Fury wants to create a few more super soldiers for S.H.I.E.L.D., and he gives agents money so they can go buy fruits on behalf of the organization, then that counts as bulk manipulation.
That's just a simple example.
In short, if a person or an organization uses any method with the goal of obtaining large quantities of Devil Fruits, that counts as prohibited behavior.
Also, this washed-up author is planning to adopt a suggestion from readers. After the system is upgraded, transactions will no longer be settled in U.S. dollars. They'll be settled in gold instead.
These are probably the main issues people have been criticizing so far. If I think of anything else, I'll add more later.
And of course, if you have your own thoughts, feel free to leave a comment.
You're all welcome to discuss it.