Chapter 20
That afternoon, after smoothly collecting the bounty and sea chart from Smoker, I wander the lively streets of Loguetown. One hand’s busy buying supplies for the voyage, while my mind’s on the Hunter’s Shop interface, refreshing the item catalog.
The Shop’s rules are clear: the more bounty hunter points you spend, the better your odds of rolling something good. So far, I’ve only burned 1,000 points, and the results are dismal—mostly white-tier junk, the occasional green-tier item. Blue items? Rare as a devil fruit in a desert.
I scowl at the interface, packed with useless “blue skies, white clouds, green hills, and clear waters,” and slam the refresh button again, dropping another 100 points.
“Damn it! This is worse!” I groan. The new grid’s a sea of twelve white and green items—no blue skies, just clouds and hills now. My patience is fried.
“White item… Old Rope? Says it’s ‘rough and heavy, good for tying cargo.’ 77 points? Who’d buy this trash?!” I scoff. “White item… Water 7 Rations, a Water 7 specialty fed to ‘Blue’ fish. Edible for humans. 60 points. Food? Useless!”
Then I spot a green item. “Portable Ration Pack, classic flavor, a satisfying travel meal! 250 points!”
“250 points for some lousy rations? What am I, a moron?” I mutter. “Only an idiot would buy this junk.”
…Five minutes later…
Crunch, crunch! I’m chowing down on a portable ration, savoring the taste. Burp! I finish, satisfied, and toss the wrapper into a nearby trash bin. “Well, damn… that’s actually pretty good. Gotta hand it to the Shop for throwing in free rations.” The law of “true bliss” strikes again.
I keep shopping for voyage supplies while refreshing the Shop’s inventory. Excluding the 250 points for the rations, I’ve blown 1,500 points on refreshes alone—ten tries—and still no luck on anything useful.
“My luck’s absolute garbage,” I sigh, spending another 100 points to hit refresh. No other way to cycle the Shop’s stock. If I don’t keep burning points, I’m stuck with this trash forever. Points are useless if I don’t cash them in for something worthwhile.
Then, as I tap refresh, a purple glow flashes across my vision. Among the sea of blue skies and green hills, a single purple item stands out in the new twelve-item grid!
“A gun?” I stare at a short firearm and some kind of accessory in the item slot, pulling up the description.
Purple Item: Whisper and Its Matching Gun Mount
Origin: The weapon of Jhin, the Virtuoso, from League of Legends. A powerful short gun that auto-reloads four bullets, with the fourth bullet dealing five times the damage. Infinite ammo capacity, auto-refilling after four shots. (Custom bullets can also be loaded.)
Attached Ability—Curtain Call: Equip the gun mount to transform Whisper into a long rifle, granting enhanced vision and four super bullets, each with warship-destroying power. The fourth super bullet deals double the damage of the others.
Note: After firing four super bullets, the gun mount overheats and requires a cooldown period.
Cost: 15,000 Points
“Holy hell, that’s a game-changer,” I mutter, my interest piqued. Sure, I’m a sword guy at heart, but years as a bounty hunter have made my marksmanship damn solid—second only to my swordplay. It’s why I carry a gun on missions when I don’t have a good blade.
After some thought, I pull the trigger on the purchase. With my current spending rate, waiting for something better could take forever. I confirm the exchange, and Whisper’s mine.
My eyes drift to a blue item in the grid. Primary Body Enhancement Potion: Slightly boosts the user’s current physical stats. Can be used repeatedly, but effects diminish with each use. Cost: 1,000 Points.
“Not bad. I’ll take it,” I say, snapping it up.
From a fat 18,000 points, I’m down to a measly few hundred after the spree. But the haul’s worth it—a killer gun and a body boost.
“Uh, sir? You still want this meat?” The shopkeeper’s voice snaps me out of my daze. I’ve been standing here, lost in thought, post-ration bliss.
“Oh, yeah, pack it all up and send it to the docks,” I say, feeling generous.
“You got it, sir!” The shopkeeper’s eyes light up at my order, and he scrambles to bag the meat twice as fast as before.
With the meat sorted, I hit up other stalls, sparing no expense on supplies. Voyages aren’t cheap, and I’m not one to skimp.
Two hours later, I’ve got everything I need for the trip from East Blue to South Blue—a hefty pile of goods. I direct the merchants and two hired sailors to haul it all onto my ship, then head to the cabin to study the South Blue chart Smoker gave me.
“Ugh…” After fifteen minutes of staring, my head’s pounding. Look, I’ve been sailing solo for years, so I know a bit of navigation—enough to follow set routes with a compass and chart without getting lost. But that’s it. Plotting a precise course to Half Crescent Island in the South Blue? That’s way above my paygrade.
Just thinking about navigating the chart’s routes, dodging reefs, and calculating currents—never mind the whirlpools at Reverse Mountain—makes my brain hurt. “Kill me now,” I groan, tossing the chart onto the table and rubbing my forehead. “I need a real navigator. My half-assed skills won’t cut it for South Blue.”
“Maybe I could borrow one from Smoker? The Marines have plenty of good ones, right?” I tap the table, mulling it over. Then a familiar face pops into my mind, and my finger freezes. A smirk creeps across my lips. “Or… maybe I’ll try my luck and see if that little thief, Miss Nami, is up for a trip.”