About half an hour later, aboard the Red Force,
the Red Hair Pirates saw their captain, Red-Haired Shanks, return through the air. His clothes were in tatters, but the straw hat hanging behind his neck was completely unscathed.
"Shanks, how did it go?" Ben Beckman asked with concern.
"Hahaha, that mysterious guy got away. He had an ability like teleportation, so I couldn't hold him. But what a thrilling fight!" Shanks's heart raced as he recalled the battle. "Still, he didn't seem like a World Government agent," he mused.
"Shanks, here's your stuff." Beckman handed him the treasure chest Shanks had entrusted to him earlier.
Shanks took the chest and opened it at once. A strange, pineapple-shaped purple fruit came into view, its surface covered in black spiral patterns and exuding a mysterious aura...
"So this Paramecia Devil Fruit was your target, Captain?"
"Exactly. This is the Devil Fruit that turns whoever eats it into rubber." Red-Haired Shanks gently stroked the fruit, remembering something his captain had told him after returning from Laugh Tale:
"Shanks, we came too early. Only that fruit can unlock the true One Piece!"
Knowing he didn't have much time left, Pirate King Roger had told Red-Haired Shanks some of what he knew about the final island, Laugh Tale.
Not long afterward, Roger surrendered to the Marines. Before his execution, he left behind those famous final words:
"Do you want my treasure? If you do, you can have it all. Go find it! I left everything I own in one place." From then on, the world went into a frenzy, ushering in the Great Pirate Era...
"Captain, Captain!" The voice of the chubby cook, Lucky Roux, brought Shanks back to his senses.
"Hahaha, I was thinking about my captain," Shanks said, rubbing his head sheepishly.
"Hehe, you mean Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King? Our captain was once a crewmate of the famous Pirate King Roger!"
"Whoa!" ×N
"That's a long story. All hands, we're heading back! Let's have a banquet!" Shanks announced with a grand wave, brimming with confidence.
"Drink up!"
"Bring on the meat!"
"Squeak, squeak!"
On an island not far from the Red Force, Minato Namikaze rested and recovered his strength.
He had fought Red-Haired Shanks for several hours, burning through too much stamina and energy, so he had retreated.
Thanks to the convenience of Space-Time Ninjutsu, Minato could attack whenever he wanted and leave whenever he wanted. He sensed the Flying Thunder God Mark he had left on Shanks in the distance and calmly continued resting, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Late the following night, after a day and a night of feasting, the Red Hair Pirates were utterly exhausted and had all fallen asleep. Only Snake, the navigator, remained on watch, slightly tipsy as he surveyed the sea and slowly steered the ship onward.
In the captain's cabin, Red-Haired Shanks was already snoring loudly. A huge bubble on his nose swelled and shrank with each breath, making him look ridiculous.
A barely perceptible ripple in space flashed, and a figure appeared in the cabin.
The bubble on Shanks's nose popped. He rolled over, cracked open an eyelid, and mumbled, "Beckman, don't call me. I'm asleep, I'm asleep!" Then he went right back to snoring without a care.
"Beckman" didn't dare breathe too loudly. Seeing that Shanks hadn't woken, he quickly fixed his gaze on a chest beside Shanks's bed. The chest stood half-open, revealing half of the Devil Fruit, which radiated a tempting aura...
[Quest item detected: Mysterious Devil Fruit!] The notification in his mind made Minato, disguised as "Beckman," feel a rush of excitement. Holding his breath, he reached for the treasure chest...
Just as his hand was about to touch it, the chest shook violently, as if resisting him. At the same time, a large hand clamped around his wrist.
"You're not Beckman. Who are you?" Shanks suddenly struck, his gaze sharp as a blade.
Minato had already prepared for the possibility of being exposed. With his other hand, he swiftly threw out a scroll and released the genjutsu sealed inside.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
The illusion of a tree appeared behind Shanks and bound him tightly. But Shanks's will was extraordinarily strong. Against a mere genjutsu that distorted the senses, he only needed to resist with his mind for a moment before the conjured tree shattered and fell apart.
But by the time he recovered, there was no sign of the enemy in the cabin. Seeing that the space beside his bed was empty, Shanks's face turned livid. Enraged, he spread his Observation Haki to sense everything around him... but there wasn't even a trace of the enemy within dozens of miles!
"Teleportation! Damn it!" Shanks fumed.
On a deserted island in the distance, Minato Namikaze had successfully stolen the Nika Fruit and returned. The quest notification appeared in his mind right on cue:
[Main Quest 1: "Mysterious Fruit": Steal the mysterious Devil Fruit from the Heavenly Tribute. Status: Complete
Reward: One B-rank side-quest reward, 10,000 points.
Main Quest 2: "Legacy of the Pirate King" unlocked: Give the Devil Fruit to Monkey D. Luffy of Foosha Village in East Blue, and become his guide. Time limit: three months
Reward: One C-rank side quest, 5,000 points]
Quest complete! Watching 10,000 points hit his account, along with the long-awaited B-rank side-quest reward, Minato felt as though he was one step closer to bringing his beloved back to life. Stay calm. There's still another quest. Let's see what it involves. Minato steadied himself and began analyzing the next task.
The quest was called "Legacy of the Pirate King." Did that mean the objective was connected to the Pirate King? The specific task was to give the Devil Fruit to Monkey D. Luffy and become his guide.
The task had two parts. The first was easy to understand: find Monkey D. Luffy and give him the Devil Fruit. The second required some thought: become his guide.
What did it mean to be someone's guide? Literally, it meant leading someone into a particular field. Clearly, he was supposed to guide Luffy onto the path to becoming the Pirate King. He would need to think carefully about how to do that in a way that truly qualified him as Luffy's guide.
Still, Monkey D. Luffy probably wasn't very strong, given that the quest was only worth a C-rank side quest. But the 5,000 points were more than the usual reward for a C-rank side quest. Minato thought it over quietly, deciding to take things one step at a time and start by heading to the quest target's location. Once he had made up his mind, he left the deserted island and set out for Foosha Village in East Blue.
Inside Main God Space, Zhu Shen's spirit watched the system notification as a large number of points poured in. He was in an excellent mood.
"The sheer amount of fortune contained in this Destiny Devil Fruit is astonishing. I gained 30,000 points outright. No, some of that fortune must belong to Red-Haired Shanks. As the original story's protagonist's mentor, he must have a huge share of the fortune. Now that I've arranged for a Reincarnator to take his place, I've effectively stolen his fortune."
Zhu Shen considered the matter carefully. He had also noticed that after Shanks lost the Nika Fruit, his fortune had indeed decreased a little, and the number of points needed to mark him as a Reincarnator had been cut in half. Zhu Shen promptly marked him as a Reincarnator, but he didn't have a suitable quest for Shanks yet, so he held off on assigning one and decided to watch him for a while.
Three days later, at the Cocoyasi Village dock in East Blue, Minato Namikaze stepped off a ship.
Minato looked around. Seeing a fierce-looking man in a town guard's uniform with a windmill perched on his head, he went over to ask for directions.
"Hello. Do you know someone named Nami who lives nearby?" Minato asked gently.
He had asked because the Reincarnator Assistant had suddenly issued a quest:
[Hidden quest detected nearby: "Taste the oranges Nami planted herself." Reward: 500 points]
Minato accepted immediately without a second thought, then followed the map in his mind to Cocoyasi Village.
By the way, activating the map feature had cost him 100 points. It could record maps of places he had visited and automatically create laser surveys. It also supported uploading local maps. During the journey, he had found and uploaded several maps of East Blue, so he knew the locations of Cocoyasi Village and Foosha Village very well.
Minato planned to complete the hidden quest here, then head straight to Foosha Village for the main quest. It was right on the way!
"Who are you? Why are you asking about her?" The guard with the windmill on his head answered warily.
Minato smiled. "I mean no harm. I'm just a traveling merchant. I heard the oranges from Cocoyasi Village are famous, so I came to buy some."
But Genzo, who considered himself one of Nami's elders, remained wary. "Then how do you know little Nami's name? What are you after?"
Minato immediately realized this man knew his quest target, but was surprisingly suspicious. After a brief hesitation, he said, "I really am only here to buy oranges. I mean no harm."
Genzo's eyes glazed over. Suddenly, he felt certain he knew the man. Minato's words seemed so convincing.
"Ah, you're here to buy oranges from Nami's family? I'll take you there!" Genzo said with a hearty laugh, leading Minato into the village. Minato silently apologized, then followed him.
Cocoyasi Village was a typical seaside town, with neat rows of Western-style houses and tropical trees scattered throughout. It was as charming as a sunny, carefree coast.
"This orchard belongs to little Nami's family," Genzo said as he led Minato into an orange grove.
"Bell-mère!" Genzo called, walking into the orchard as if he owned the place.
"Who is it? Genzo?" A tall woman with a pink ponytail leaned out from behind an orange tree. When she saw her visitors, she climbed down the ladder. This was Nami's adoptive mother, Bell-mère.
A moment later, Bell-mère looked at the handsome, sunny-faced blond man in surprise. "You're only here to buy our oranges?"
"Yeah. Genzo said your oranges are delicious, and that little Nami planted a few herself. I was hoping I might be lucky enough to try them."
Bell-mère glanced at Genzo. Seeing him just grin foolishly without correcting Minato, she said, "Buying our oranges is no problem, but I'm afraid I can't help you with the ones little Nami planted."
"What?" Minato was astonished. Bell-mère explained, and he finally understood. Nami was only eight years old. Although she had planted an orange tree herself, she'd only done it a few months ago. It would take at least three to five years before it bore fruit... Minato felt a wave of disappointment. This is the first time I've run into a situation like this. Looks like I can't complete the hidden quest for now.
Minato expressed his regret and was about to leave when someone from the village shouted, "Pirates are coming!"
Bell-mère was alarmed. "Nami's playing at the harbor!" She immediately jumped up and hurried toward the port.
At Cocoyasi Village's harbor, Captain Dick of the Steel Fang Pirates, known as "Steel Fang," stepped onto the village grounds with brass knuckles in hand and his underlings crowding around him.
"Men, go take our treasure and women! Hahaha!"
"Long live the captain!"
Nami, who was eight years old, was playing near the harbor. When she saw a group of vicious pirates arrive in the village, she quickly turned and ran.
"I have to warn everyone!"
"Captain, someone spotted us!"
"Hahaha! So what? They can't escape!"
Although Nami had spotted the pirates early, she was young and had short legs. She was soon caught. They took her to a square in front of the village, where several hundred villagers were already crouched down under the watch of dozens of pirates armed with swords and guns.
"Steel Fang" Dick looked down at the villagers with satisfaction and laughed arrogantly. "Everyone in this village has to pay 200,000 Beli to buy their life. If you can't pay, don't blame us for showing no mercy. Hehehehe..."
The villagers were furious at his arrogant words, but with the pirates' weapons bearing down on them, their sporadic resistance was ruthlessly crushed.
"What, no one wants to be the first?" Dick sat in a chair on the raised platform in the square, looking down at the villagers. Seeing how angry but afraid to speak they were, he gave a cold laugh. "Looks like you need a little motivation!" He scanned the crowd and spotted little Nami. "Bring that little girl up here!" Several pirates roughly shoved aside the villagers protecting Nami and dragged the young girl in front of Dick.
"What a cute little girl," Dick said admiringly, looking at Nami as she stood defiant, holding back her tears. "But it's a shame. Because you people won't cooperate, your short life is about to end!" As he spoke, his brass-knuckled fist swung toward little Nami's head.
"Stop! I'll pay!"
"I'll cooperate!"
Seeing Nami, their little angel, about to wither like a flower, the villagers' resolve crumbled. They shouted that they would cooperate.
But Captain Dick paid no attention to their cries. He showed no mercy to the adorable girl on the verge of tears, already imagining the beauty of her vibrant life being snuffed out.
Am I going to die? Little Nami was filled with fear and regret. Bell-mère, Nojiko, where are you? I'm so scared! Drip, drip—the tears she had held back slowly rolled down her cheeks as death drew near.
Little Nami closed her eyes in despair, but the expected blow never came. Just as she began to wonder why, a warm voice sounded beside her.
"I can't just stand by while someone attacks an innocent child!"
Before you continue