No Money, No Way Forward

Werther happily bade farewell to Sword Intent Hall and slowly made his way back. He had finally found a path to becoming stronger. Though he still did not know what results it would bring, the important thing was that he had made a start. Could the rest be far behind?

By the time he returned to the shop, it was nearly noon. After grabbing a quick bite at the restaurant next door, he went straight to the workshop. Werther had not forgotten that he still had work to do today.

He slowly operated the machines, processing one simple part after another. It was faster than he had expected. In less than an hour, he had finished the day's work. After greeting Red, he returned to his room.

What should he do so early? Werther thought about it. He could probably begin some basic training. First, he should check his stamina.

He started doing push-ups on the floor of his room. One, two, three...

Before long, sweat began to bead on his forehead. He kept going for a while longer, but eventually he could not move at all.

"How could this be? I haven't even done that many. This is the world of One Piece, yet this body is unbelievably weak. I expected it to be bad, but I never thought it would be this bad."

He got up and went downstairs. Red was sitting bored behind the counter, so Werther walked over. After hesitating for a moment, he said,

"Boss, I signed up to learn swordsmanship at Sword Intent Hall today."

Red looked up in surprise. "Not bad, Werther. You signed up for a Sword Hall on your first day here. What is it? Are you having some difficulty?"

"Yes, Boss. The registration fee cost me over 10,000 Beli today, and I have no money left. So I was wondering whether I could get part of this month's wages in advance. I know it's not good to ask for wages on my first day of work, but I really have no other choice." Werther lowered his voice, clearly embarrassed.

Red thought for a moment and said,

"Hmm, all right. How about this? Here are 50,000 Beli. Take them and use them for now."

Werther sighed inwardly, but he still looked delighted as he said,

"Thank you very much, Boss." He accepted the 50,000 Beli, greeted Red, and left the shop.

As he walked, Werther thought. He still needed far too much money. Fifty thousand Beli might indeed be enough for an ordinary person to get through a month, but for someone trying to become stronger, it was far too little.

Training required a great deal of exercise, which meant he would need a great deal of food. And not just ordinary food—meat of all kinds would be best. There were also training weights and weapons. He did not need them yet, but he would soon enough.

As he slowly walked down the street, he kept thinking. How could he make money? Robbery? Theft? Impossible. Werther still needed to stay in Loguetown for a long time. Why would he do something so stupid? What if he got caught? Who knew how criminals underage were dealt with in the world of One Piece? If he ended up as a slave, that would be the end of it.

Even if he wanted to rob someone now, he could only rob people for lollipops. Robbing adults was impossible.

There was also selling information, but that was too dangerous. What if the buyer refused to pay and then silenced him? That would be a joke. He still lacked strength.

Strength? Right, hadn't he gone to Sword Intent Hall today? The hall master was out of the question, but that senior brother named Kahn should have some ability, right?

If he really sold information, what should he sell? That Roger had turned himself in? That Whitebeard's health was terrible and he relied on medicine to stay alive? The Revolutionary Army's detailed roster? What the Five Elders looked like? No, while all of that was valuable information, it was also asking for death.

Sky Island. The location of Sky Island would be a good choice. Most people did not even know Sky Island existed and thought it was merely a legend.

In any case, he should find Kahn and discuss it first. He did not know Kahn's attitude yet.

Before long, he arrived at Sword Intent Hall again. This time, he was more familiar with the place and walked straight in. He did not find Kahn in the courtyard, so he went to one of the inner rooms and lightly knocked on the door. "Master, I'm Werther, the new apprentice. May I come in?"

"Come in," Nisse's steady voice came from inside.

Werther entered and saw Nisse still sitting inside. He asked,

"Master, where did Senior Brother Kahn go? I have something I want to discuss with him. I just arrived at the Sword Hall and am not familiar with the others, so I took the liberty of disturbing you."

Nisse looked at Werther and said, "Kahn should have gone to the back mountain to practice his swordsmanship. Go out through the dojo's back door, and you'll reach the outskirts of Loguetown. Your Senior Brother Kahn should be there."

"Thank you, Master. Sorry to disturb you. I'll take my leave first." Werther glanced at Nisse. Nisse nodded, and Werther turned and left the room.

After leaving the room, Werther smiled happily. He found the back door and headed through it.

The back mountain behind Sword Intent Hall was a large clearing, with a forest beyond it. Kahn was in the clearing, wielding a blade. Since Werther had not yet learned swordsmanship, he could not judge Kahn's skill, but it probably was not too bad. After all, Kahn was the senior disciple.

Werther walked over and called out, "Senior Brother Kahn, practicing your swordsmanship?"

"Oh, Werther. Why did you come here? Training doesn't start until tomorrow. What, can't wait to learn swordsmanship already?" Kahn laughed and teased him.

Werther smiled as well and said,

"Senior Brother Kahn, I came to discuss a business deal with you. A big one. If it succeeds, we could earn several hundred thousand Beli."

Naturally, Kahn did not believe him. He shook his head. "What kind of big deal pays several hundred thousand Beli? Does it involve doing anything dangerous?"

Hearing that, Werther felt there was hope and continued,

"Senior Brother Kahn, I only came to Loguetown after surviving a shipwreck. My family used to live in Water 7, and we were a powerful family there. Later, my family came to East Blue to visit one of my father's close friends. On the way, we were attacked by powerful pirates. I was the only one lucky enough to survive."

"Oh? Then why didn't you go rely on your father's close friend? Why are you working in Loguetown instead?" Kahn asked skeptically.

Werther gave a bitter smile. "When people are gone, so is their influence, Senior Brother. Since I was young, my father taught me not to place too much hope in anything."

Kahn was shocked by those words. Could an ordinary nine-year-old really say something like that? Absolutely not. What ordinary child could be so composed and mature, with such clear reasoning? It seemed this kid had quite a background.

Kahn was tempted. "Then what is this business worth several hundred thousand Beli that you mentioned?"

"Information. Information on the exact location of Sky Island. The City of Gold really exists." Seeing Kahn's reaction, Werther increased the bait.

"Sky Island? Sky Island really exists? Isn't that just a legend?" Kahn's eyes widened as he stared at Werther in disbelief.

Werther smiled and explained to Kahn.

"Of course not. Sky Island is not a legend. There is even a race up there that differs from us. My father went to Sky Island when he was young."

Kahn fell silent for a while. After thinking it over, he said,

"If you know the exact location, then that information really is valuable, and it should be easy to sell. Wait here." With that, he headed toward the Sword Hall.

Before long, Kahn came back carrying two bags. He walked up to Werther, tossed one to him, and said,

"Come with me later. I'll take you to Loguetown's black market. Before we get there, put on the clothes in the bag. Don't wear them yet. Also, how are we splitting the money after we sell the information? I'll be acting as your bodyguard."

"Senior Brother Kahn, a fifty-fifty split. You won't be losing out, right?" Werther replied.

Kahn silently considered it, then answered, "Fifty-fifty is acceptable. Let's go."

Following Kahn through countless twists and turns around Loguetown, Werther finally arrived at a bar that looked as though it had been abandoned for years. Outside, he and Kahn put on two oversized black hooded robes. What left Werther speechless was that the robe was so huge it made him look as though he were wearing a wedding dress. The hood did not fit either, but he could only make do.

When they entered the bar, a masked man was sitting behind the worn-out counter. He asked in a gloomy voice, "Guests, do you need help?"

"We're here to sell information." Werther tugged at his hood. This lousy thing was too uncomfortable to wear.

"What information?" The masked man found Werther's behavior strange as well. After buying and selling information for so long, he had seen people who liked to eat the whole time and people who liked to smoke, but this was the first time he had seen someone enter and immediately start fussing with the rag on his head.

"The exact location of Sky Island." Werther would have been better off leaving the hood alone. The more he moved it, the more uncomfortable it became. The poor material rubbed against his face and blocked his mouth, making it hard to speak. He could only use both hands to straighten the hood, as though he were afraid his head might fall off.

"What proof do you have that the information is real?" The masked man could no longer maintain his gloomy tone, and his shoulders kept trembling.

"The Shandia Tribe. The Golden Bell. The Giant Snake. God, Gan Fall. Giant Jack. The City of Gold. The Poneglyph." Having finally fixed the lousy hood, Werther seemed to let out a relieved breath.

"Not bad. Those are all matters related to Sky Island, and some are highly confidential information. There are even things I don't know. How much are you willing to sell this information for?" Once the conversation turned serious, the masked man's shoulders stopped trembling.

Werther thought carefully, named a price of 100,000 Beli, and told the masked man that there might be a great deal of gold there.

The masked man shook his head.

"One hundred thousand is impossible. Even if there is a lot of gold, you're only selling information. Fifty thousand at most," the masked man replied quietly, returning to his gloomy voice.

Werther said nothing more. He only said one sentence: "Sixty thousand."

"Deal. If the information is inaccurate, the two of you know the consequences." As he spoke, he took out a box, opened it, removed some money, then shut it and placed it in front of him.

"White Sea, seven thousand meters above the ground. Above that is the White-White Sea, ten thousand meters above the ground. The air there is very thin." After speaking, Werther picked up the box and walked out without looking back.

Werther's first information transaction in the underground world was complete.

It had only been ruined by a lousy hood that had destroyed the solemn atmosphere.