Those Who Suffer the Same Illness Can Band Together for Warmth, But Cannot Offer Salvation (Seeking Reads! Seeking Reads!)

Bang, bang, bang.

Bang, bang, bang!

In the middle of the training ground, Gladius stood in place, firing his dual pistols into the air nonstop.

Buffalo, flying overhead, was dodging in an utterly sorry state, letting out one shriek after another.

If Gladius hadn't been holding back so much, Buffalo would've been riddled with bullets by now.

"Buffalo can actually fly? Is he a Devil Fruit User too?"

After watching Buffalo's aerial dodging practice for a while, Luo finally couldn't help asking.

Baby-5 immediately nodded and replied matter-of-factly, "Buffalo ate the Paramecia-type Spin-Spin Fruit. He can fly freely through the sky."

"Being able to fly through the sky is great."

Luo had to admit that at that moment, he was jealous—extremely jealous.

Only Abel was unfazed. It was just a Devil Fruit with limited potential. If someone gave it to him—well, if someone gave it to him, he'd still take it. He could sell it for a fortune, after all, and he was practically going crazy trying to get his hands on money.

A new search opportunity had become available, but he hadn't used it right away. He wanted to play it safe.

He was desperate to see what a five-star rating looked like!

At lunchtime, Abel channeled his energy into his appetite. As if he were dealing with an enemy, he desperately stuffed all kinds of food into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, then swallowed it down. His Purple Talent quickly digested and absorbed it, storing it in his body as energy.

After training all morning, Luo had barely managed to finish the huge platter of roast meat in front of him. He was so full he couldn't even speak.

He seriously suspected that he and Abel might not even be the same species.

Why else was he slow at learning everything and unable to eat as much as Abel?

Even the chubby Buffalo had to admit defeat when it came to Abel's appetite. It was just ridiculous!

Watching the food on the table disappear at a visible rate, Jora finally couldn't take it anymore. She hadn't even finished half the steak on her plate.

"That's incredibly rude!"

"Fufufufufu, it's only food. What's there to get angry about? Tell the kitchen to make another table just like this one, and from now on, prepare twice as much."

"Yes, Young Master."

Since Doflamingo didn't mind, Jora had no grounds to complain. She could only glare at Abel in frustration.

But Abel pretended not to notice and kept his head down, eating away!

Nothing could stop him from eating!

He already had a heavy training schedule every day, and he was secretly doing extra training on top of that. He couldn't afford to skimp on nutrition.

Besides, to keep the Gourmet Cells in his body active, he had to eat a lot every day—and it all had to be high-calorie food.

If he hadn't found the Donquixote Family and its endless supply of meals, he might've starved to death!

"Since I'm eating so much meat at your place, I'll make sure you get a dignified end someday!"

Abel gave Doflamingo a simpleminded smile.

Just look at him! What a good kid!

A tiny bit of kindness was all it took to win him over.

Doflamingo was extremely pleased. It never occurred to him that the "good kid" in his eyes was already planning how to replace him.

Day after day passed, and Abel kept himself busy.

Whenever they weren't away on business, Diamante, Lao G, and Gladius took time to teach him and Luo swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and firearms.

On top of that, Doflamingo himself occasionally set aside time to teach him and Luo tactical knowledge.

Even Baby-5 and Buffalo, who had joined the family before them, hadn't received that kind of treatment!

Now Abel finally understood how Luo had gone from a "reckless fool" to "Clever Luo."

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.

All this time, Abel had worked hard to shore up his foundations and steadily improve his strength.

He didn't know why Diamante had suddenly changed his tune and stopped picking on him and Luo, but it was undoubtedly good news.

As for his cheat, he hadn't gotten much out of it.

With Baby-5's help, he'd barely managed to complete six Wish Orders, earning four two-star ratings and two three-star ratings. Altogether, he'd received 520 Trading Points and a few useless odds and ends.

This made Abel realize that if he wanted to get good stuff, he had to find a way to earn four-star or even five-star ratings!

But four- and five-star ratings weren't easy to get.

Not even now that he'd gotten aboard the Donquixote Family's ship.

There was nothing he could do about it. He was just an ordinary member, with no say in anything and no way to mobilize the family's resources. All he could do was small-time stuff.

Besides, the System Shop had refreshed twice more.

Most of the items were useless, so he'd only bought one.

Item: [Salamander Poison] (Blue)

Single-use consumable

Description: Poison extracted from the venom sac of a black salamander.

Effect: Deadly poison

Price: 300 Trading Points

Quantity: 1 (10 ml)

P.S.: Want to try some? You might be the next demigod of the ninja world!

Abel had never forgotten that his [Ghoul Heart] talent needed at least three kinds of deadly poison to evolve.

Clearly, [Salamander Poison] was a perfect fit.

But right now, he didn't dare inject the stuff into his heart on a whim.

If anything went wrong, he'd be completely done for. There'd probably be no one who could save him.

So he'd only bought it to be prepared, planning to use it once the time was right.

Besides, the next shop refresh was coming up soon. If he remembered correctly, it should bring the limited-time discounts for the start of the month.

He could hardly wait to spend the Trading Points he'd been saving up.

But before the shop refreshed, Baby-5 came running over in a panic.

"Abel, something's wrong! Lord Corra took Luo away."

"Don't panic. Tell me slowly."

It didn't take long for Abel to understand what had happened.

It had started with the three of them chatting. They'd been together for more than half a month, were around the same age, had no deep grudges against one another, and trained together every day. Naturally, they'd grown closer.

Even Luo and Buffalo, who hadn't liked each other at first, had warmed up to one another.

As it happened, Buffalo had also helped keep one of Luo's secrets.

That was why the three of them had started talking about their backgrounds and, after Buffalo pressed them, revealed their full names.

Corazon happened to overhear them as he was passing by. Without a word, he took Luo away, then wrote a note warning Baby-5 and Buffalo not to mention the full name Luo had just revealed.

"I understand. Don't worry, Luo will be fine."

After hearing the story, Abel immediately relaxed. He told Baby-5 and Buffalo to do as Corazon had said and act as if they knew nothing.

He had initially wanted to use Luo to establish himself in this world, but by now he also hoped Luo could find the freedom and redemption he'd received in the original story.

That was precisely what Abel, someone who'd suffered alongside him, couldn't give him!

"It's up to you, Corazon. Don't let me down."