Stock with Potential

A sudden "Mom!" made Sunny freeze in place.

It wasn't because of being called Mom, but because Belly spoke human words.

"Devil Fruit user?"

That was Sunny's first thought.

Upon determining that Belly had most likely eaten a Devil Fruit, their mood became instantly complicated.

The Devil Fruit they had dreamed of was eaten by a skunk?

Maud's reaction wasn't as strong as Sunny's, nor did he make an immediate judgment.

Animals speaking human words didn't necessarily mean they had eaten a Devil Fruit.

Saul watched Belly, whose survival instincts were off the charts, with a blank expression. He slowly retracted his hand and turned his head to look at the two people standing by the restroom door.

"Who brought this little guy here?"

Sunny directly pointed at Maud.

Maud: "..."

Ten minutes later, everyone was seated at the dining table.

Belly, whose upper body was bound like a rice dumpling, was sprawled on the floor beside the table.

In front of him were two meat patties and a side of vegetables.

A humane dinner, which offered a small measure of comfort to his wounded heart.

Saul stuffed a chicken leg into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed. He then glanced at Belly, who was gnawing on a meat patty.

"He's quite well-hidden, this little guy."

Belly, as one of the auction items, was recognized by Saul immediately.

The reason he had almost crushed Belly's head earlier was because he sensed a faint malice from the skunk.

He was very sensitive to malice, and his action was almost a reflex.

If Belly hadn't spoken human words at the brink of death, Saul definitely wouldn't have stopped in time.

It was fortunate that Saul was a skilled martial artist, quick to act and quick to stop, otherwise Belly would have already become a headless corpse.

"Belly didn't eat a Devil Fruit, but why can he talk?"

Sunny looked at Belly, puzzled.

Earlier, the question of whether Belly had eaten a Devil Fruit had already been answered by Saul using an extremely rare Seastone bullet.

But that only led to another question.

Maud suppressed the urge to voice his opinion and ate in silence.

Given his current status, it was not appropriate for him to educate Sunny in this setting.

Saul knew what was going on and explained:

"In the Grand Line, there is an isolated race called the Mink Tribe. This little guy is likely related to the Mink Tribe, but clearly, the inherited bloodline is not complete, or even thin, which is why he's like this."

"Mink Tribe? What kind of race is that?"

Sunny's expression shifted.

Meanwhile, Belly by the dining table also slowed down his gnawing of the meat patty, his ears perked up, listening to Saul's explanation.

He had been different since birth, so he had left his tribe early on.

He had once been troubled by his own uniqueness, and to understand it, he had even risked contacting human society.

It was also because of this that he was eventually caught by humans.

Saul, too lazy to explain further, gave a perfunctory answer: "Just think of the Mink Tribe as humans who ate Zoan fruits."

Beside him, Maud almost choked on his food because of Saul's explanation.

But upon closer thought, it did make some sense.

Sunny nodded in realization, instantly picturing the image of the Mink Tribe.

Saul took a few more bites of meat and then sighed:

"Maud, you've struck gold. A Mink Tribe member with such a thin bloodline like this little guy isn't common. I've only seen a few in my life. If the auction house knew his true background, how could they have possibly put him up for auction right here?"

"I don't think so, he's just worth some money."

Maud didn't think Belly could be considered a treasure.

If Saul were willing to trade the Chidori for Belly, then Maud would gladly eat his words.

"Whether he's a treasure depends on how you utilize him."

Saul took a large gulp of wine, his eyes twinkling.

"Decades ago in the Grand Line, a pirate rising star appeared. He was accompanied by a sleek black hunting cat, just like this little guy, also a Mink Tribe member with a thin bloodline."

"Although its form was no different from ordinary animals, it could understand human speech and speak human words."

"Anyone who doesn't know that black hunting cat would just assume it can talk because it ate a Devil Fruit, but they wouldn't be wrong. That cat did indeed eat a Devil Fruit."

"It's just that the cat didn't eat a Human-Human Fruit, nor a fruit related to language, but rather... the Weapon-Weapon Fruit."

"Because of this hunting cat that ate the Weapon-Weapon Fruit, many long-established, famous pirates at the time accidentally fell to this rookie pirate. I myself was young and impetuous back then and was almost tricked by him."

"To this day, the fact that I've made it this far is thanks to him giving me a good lesson back then."

Saul said, recounting his past experiences with a hint of nostalgia, then took a few more gulps of his drink.

Listening to Saul's narration, Maud's mind conjured the image of a cunning schemer, and he couldn't help but glance at Belly.

He knew there was a technique to make weapons eat Zoan-type Devil Fruits, but he never expected someone to make an animal eat a Weapon-Weapon Fruit.

Thinking about it, it wasn't impossible, but an animal is still an animal.

There were too many drawbacks...

However, for a Mink Tribe member like Belly, whose bloodline was diluted, eating a Devil Fruit was no different than for a human. Besides, the Weapon-Weapon Fruit wasn't the only functional Devil Fruit.

This kind of operation had the potential for a low-tier dual Devil Fruit ability.

But whether it was worth investing a Devil Fruit into a pet was another matter entirely.

Still, it was a potential asset.

With this thought, Maud's gaze towards Belly changed immediately. He picked up a chicken leg and placed it before Belly's eyes.

Belly: "..."

After hearing Saul's words, Sunny was also looking at Belly.

However, her thoughts were different from Maud's.

She still held her original idea.

"What a waste."

Sunny shook her head.

If it were her, how could she possibly let a pet eat a Devil Fruit?

Those things weren't exactly commonplace; encountering just one in a lifetime was already quite fortunate.

This was really a difference in perspective.

To ordinary people, Devil Fruits were indeed rare treasures.

But Maud knew very well that pirate crews like Doflamingo's or the Four Emperors had Devil Fruit users among their executives, not to mention that a small number of people would casually waste Devil Fruits.

It could only be said that as long as one's strength was sufficient, the rare items in the eyes of ordinary people would eventually become commonplace.

"Therefore, it's better to sell Belly."

From Sunny's values, she couldn't waste a Devil Fruit on Belly, so her focus naturally remained on selling Belly for money.

"Belly already called you Mom, so selling him wouldn't be good, right?"

Although he didn't have the Weapon-Weapon Fruit, Maud already considered Belly a potential asset and naturally had no intention of selling him.

As soon as he finished speaking, a chicken bone flew towards him, accompanied by Sunny's icy expression.

Belly suddenly calling her Mom.

She herself was baffled.

How could she know that Belly called her Mom because she had given him a name?