"What level of strength would I be at after eating it?" Kane asked the key question. If it still required development, then it wasn't worth it.
System: "Admiral level."
Kane immediately began thinking.
"That's acceptable… but Mythical Zoans have multiple forms. The Fire Dragon form should just be one of them."
"Is there a detailed description of this fruit?"
System: "Yes. 100,000 Beli."
"Bloodsucker…" Kane cursed under his breath.
But he still paid.
System: "The Mythical Zoan: Dragon-Dragon Fruit possesses seven forms. Additional forms can be unlocked by spending Beli. The initial form is Fire Dragon. Each form also has a burst mode, which requires further payment to unlock."
"…That's it?" Kane waited for a moment before asking.
System: "That's all."
Kane's blood pressure shot up. He nearly lost control.
One hundred thousand Beli—for a single sentence?!
What a rip-off!
In the end, he forced himself to calm down.
He began seriously considering it.
In this world, Devil Fruits had a market price—normally around 100 million Beli.
Even something like Ope Ope no Mi was only worth about five billion.
And this one?
One hundred billion.
Outrageously expensive.
But—
No need for development.
A god-tier Mythical Zoan.
Instant Admiral-level strength upon consumption.
It didn't seem unacceptable.
Right now, Kane might be considered strong among Vice Admirals—but compared to Admirals, the gap was heaven and earth.
Eating it would save an enormous amount of time.
And what he lacked most right now…
Was time.
He was practically at death's door already—what was there to hesitate about?
"System, do you have storage space?"
System: "Yes. Requires Beli to unlock."
Kane didn't even bother complaining anymore.
He had already confirmed it—
This was a capitalist, bloodsucking system.
He spent another ten million Beli to unlock a small storage space. The daily maintenance fee increased by ten thousand Beli.
"Small," it claimed—
But it was over a thousand meters in length and width.
At least it still had some conscience.
Then Kane fell into deep thought.
This system was simple:
Everything revolved around money.
If he were to buy everything he had just asked about—
He roughly calculated:
Top-tier three types of Haki: 75 billion
Top-tier swordsmanship: 300 billion
Eternal Water: 500 billion
God-tier Devil Fruit: 100 billion
Total: 615 billion Beli.
And maintaining all of that?
Roughly ten million Beli per day.
Over a year—that was more than three billion.
Of course, if he could buy out the abilities permanently, the maintenance cost would decrease.
On top of that—
Kane already possessed top-tier Observation Haki, advanced Armament Haki, and had just stepped into the realm of a great swordsman.
That could save him roughly 300 billion.
Even so—
He still needed nearly 600 billion Beli to obtain everything.
And he'd need to keep hundreds of billions on hand just to sustain it.
Right now?
He didn't even have 100 billion.
Not even one-sixtieth of what he needed.
But—
The New World was full of pirates.
Not impossible.
Just take Whitebeard's territory—the "protection fees" alone were astronomical every year.
And then there was Tesoro.
That guy's wealth exceeded 500 billion Beli.
It sounded impossible—
But if he really thought about it, as long as he was willing to "work," it could be done.
Cough…
As long as the plan was good, there shouldn't be any problem.
Six hundred billion?
Round it up—
Set a small goal.
First, earn one trillion!
Then retire.
The moment he set this retirement goal, Kane suddenly felt motivated again—like when he had first arrived in this world.
After all—
Even immortality was now within reach.
No one who had tasted aging could resist that temptation.
Kane felt that even with his old bones, he had to give it one last shot.
Better than waiting to die.
At the very least—
He wouldn't feel so powerless when facing Hancock.
The last bit of pride of a man.
Just then—
A commotion broke out outside.
Kane frowned and walked out.
On the deck of the warship stood the captured pirates.
At the front was the female pirate Alvida, already shackled, fear filling her eyes.
She had never imagined that robbing a passenger ship would lead her to encounter two powerful figures in succession—
First, a Devil Fruit user who defeated them.
Then, the Marines.
And now—
Seeing Kane, she nearly fainted.
She recognized him.
He was the one who had split their ship in half with a single slash.
"Vice Admiral Kane!"
The Marines saluted immediately.
Hearing this, the pirates were stunned.
A Marine Vice Admiral?!
Since when did the East Blue have someone like that?!
The one who caused the disturbance—
Was Luffy.
Kane paused, glancing at the short boy nearby.
That future Marine…
And also Monkey D. Luffy.
Both had somehow ended up here.
…Very Luffy-like, honestly.
But—
Shouldn't they have left already?
This was a Marine warship.
"Why are they here?" Kane asked.
"Reporting to Vice Admiral Kane! They said this kid wants to join the Marines. We refused, but he followed us anyway."
Hearing Bogey's explanation, Kane understood.
It was probably because of what he had said earlier—making the Marines think they weren't pirates, so they didn't arrest them.
That kind of thinking…
Was very Luffy.
"You're the old man who split the pirate ship just now?! You're amazing! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King! This is Koby—he wants to join the Marines, so I brought him here. Alright then, see you!"
After saying that, Luffy turned to leave.
"Ridiculous. Talking about becoming Pirate King—he's just a kid. And we don't take children," Bogey said, glancing at the timid Koby.
Luffy stopped.
"Aren't you Marines? He wants to join the Marines!"
"The Marines aren't so desperate that we take children. If he wants to join, he can go to a branch base. Not here. And if you want to be a pirate—then we'll arrest you."
Bogey spoke bluntly.
As for Luffy's claim about becoming Pirate King—
He didn't take it seriously at all.
If this kid could become Pirate King, then he, Bogey, would be the next Admiral.
Luffy looked confused.
"You're Marines too, right?"
Bogey felt a headache coming on, completely speechless.
He was about to continue—
But Kane stopped him.
"Vice Admiral Kane?"
The next moment—
Kane vanished from where he stood.
Soru!
He reappeared above Luffy in an instant.
His fist, coated in Haki, slammed down onto Luffy's head.
As a rubber man, Luffy's eyes nearly popped out.
Clutching his head, he cried out in pain:
"What the heck?! Why does that hurt so much?! I'm made of rubber!"
Kane didn't answer.
He simply kept hitting him.
The poor Luffy didn't even have time to react before he was beaten senseless—completely unable to resist.
His miserable screams echoed across the deck.
"Ow—ow—ow—AAAH!"
In the end, Kane kicked him flying to the far end of the deck.
Seeing Luffy's swollen, bruised face, everyone present fell silent like cicadas in winter.
Koby was completely dumbfounded.
Kane, however, burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahahaha! That feels much better!"
After venting on Luffy, the frustration caused by the system finally dissipated.
Everyone else was utterly confused.
After laughing, Kane looked at Luffy again.
"By the way… what did you say you wanted to become?"
Everyone was stunned.
Luffy, still in pain, immediately turned serious.
"Pirate King! I'm going to become the Pirate King!"
"I see. Not a bad dream."
Kane waved his hand.
"Alright, get lost. Consider that my welcome gift. And take it as me disciplining you on behalf of your old man of a grandfather."
Luffy's swollen eyes widened, fear flashing across his face.
"You know my grandpa?!"
"Is it strange that I know him? Now scram, before I change my mind. And take that kid with you—this ship isn't a place for him."
Kane said calmly.
A future Marine like Koby—
Better to leave him to Garp.
If Kane handled him himself…
He might end up breaking the boy completely.