The Paramecia Storyboard Fruit

Doflamingo, one of the Shichibukai, was known as "Joker" in the Underworld. He was secretly in league with Kaido, one of the Four Emperors.

Wano Country, where Kaido had his headquarters, was now filled with weapons factories.

"Add it up. How much is it altogether?"

"Certainly. One moment, please."

The old man counted on his fingers, then opened the crates to check the condition of the shells. Finally, he quoted a price. "That comes to 63 million Beli in total."

Dimon wasn't sure whether the price was reasonable. In any case, it was secondhand stuff he'd gotten for free. He was putting unwanted goods to use, and whatever they fetched was money in his pocket.

"Too low."

After some haggling, they settled on a price of 70 million Beli.

The old appraiser took out a Den Den Mushi and contacted his men to collect the goods and bring the cash.

Before long, the goods and money had changed hands.

Watching the black-market merchants leave, Dimon couldn't help grumbling to himself:

If I remember right, the average market price for a mermaid is 70 million. A small shipment of weapons isn't even worth as much as one mermaid.

No wonder Merfolk were captured and sold. The business was far too profitable.

Dimon counted his funds. Including some money he already had, he now had around 120 million Beli.

It seemed like a lot, but it obviously wasn't enough to buy a Devil Fruit at auction.

There are a lot of pirates gathered here. Should I catch a few unlucky ones and collect their bounties?

Pirates from the four seas braved countless dangers to reach the Sabaody Archipelago. If they wanted to continue their voyage, they had to pass through Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters beneath the sea.

To do that, they had to get their ships coated in the Sabaody Archipelago. Only then could sailing ships dive that deep.

Yet even with every preparation in place, their chances of safely reaching Fish-Man Island and entering the New World were still a mere ten percent.

In other words, for every ten pirate crews that went down, only one survived on average.

That was also a major reason the Marines stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago couldn't be bothered dealing with these pirates. After all, they would go off and get themselves killed.

They're all going to die sooner or later anyway. They might as well turn into some nice, warm bounty money and help me buy the Devil Fruit.

Hmm, I'll leave that until tomorrow. First, I should use the Animations I haven't used today.

After thinking for two seconds, Dimon had a good idea.

His uses of Animation refreshed every day and didn't accumulate. Not using them would be a waste.

He left the shore and, under cover of darkness, quietly made his way to a Yarukiman Mangrove marked "14GR."

Standing beneath the giant tree, Dimon looked up at its crown. By his estimate, it was over a thousand meters tall, and its trunk was more than two hundred meters in diameter.

There were seventy-nine giant trees like it across the archipelago.

Dimon pressed a hand against the bark. The surface of this kind of tree secreted an oil that formed soap bubbles when it came into contact with seawater. A person could stand on one, and its buoyancy could lift them as high as a thousand meters into the air.

As a result, the archipelago also had a strong soap-bubble culture, with things like soap-bubble parks and soap-bubble bicycles.

As he pondered, Dimon activated his ability without hesitation.

Animation!

In an instant, a mysterious power flowed into the trunk, and a hazy golden light spread across the entire surface of the giant tree.

The light stood out in the darkness, instantly drawing the attention of people in several nearby areas.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Is the Yarukiman Mangrove glowing?"

"Has anything like this happened before?"

The strange sight drew countless people toward the area. As soon as Ain noticed what was happening, she informed Dimon.

"It's fine. It's already done."

Dimon studied the newly born giant tree before him. A human face gradually appeared on the side of its trunk facing him.

"Mas...ter."

"From now on, your name is 14," Dimon said with a light chuckle, picking a name at random. "People will be here soon, so I'll keep this short."

"Master, please give me your orders." No. 14 spoke respectfully.

"Have you noticed a ship by the shore? If anyone attacks it in the future, protect it."

"Yes!"

After giving his orders, Dimon left at once. Rather than returning to the ship to rest, he found an inn to stay at.

He wouldn't be returning to the Wave-Breaking Warrior for a while. He didn't want to run into anyone Big Mom sent.

The next day.

After getting up and washing, Dimon took 100 million Beli in cash to a local exchange and converted it into a "bearer black-gold note."

It was a transaction voucher commonly used on the black market.

It contained no information about its holder and could be used for transactions in any black market. It was a financial instrument commonly used in the Underworld.

Its advantages and disadvantages were both pronounced.

The advantage was that even the World Government couldn't freeze this black gold. The disadvantage was that anyone who got hold of a black-gold note could exchange it for money. There wasn't even a password.

"They don't even charge a fee for this thing. Is it really reliable?"

Dimon left with the note, a little curious about how the exchange made a profit and what power was running it from behind the scenes.

The Underworld seemed complicated too, with all sorts of powers tangled together.

"Forget it. First, I'll find a few unlucky ones and make some money." Dimon put the note away and spoke softly to the air. "Ain, how's the investigation going?"

"Master, at present, on the island there are... Wait, Master, there's a message from Mammon."

The next moment, Mammon's voice sounded in his mind.

[Master, Mammon sends you his greetings.]

[Yesterday, I successfully joined the Marines and became a captain at Marine Headquarters. I am currently accompanying Ed.]

[Ed was transferred away from a frontline unit because of his earlier failure. He has now been given an easy assignment: escorting a sum of money to the Sabaody Archipelago.]

[I obtained intelligence suggesting that the money is intended to purchase a Devil Fruit on the black market.]

[I kept your orders in mind and reported the situation to you immediately.]

[Please give me your instructions!]

Chapter 31: The Paramecia Storyboard Fruit

After hearing Mammon's report, Dimon couldn't help marveling at how small the world was.

He had only learned about the Devil Fruit on the black market yesterday, yet Mammon had also obtained information about it through another channel.

"I already know about it. How much money have the Marines prepared?"

[500 million Beli.]

"500 million? Is this fruit powerful?"

[I don't know. I only know that it is a Paramecia fruit.]

Hearing that, Dimon fell into thought.

The Marines had prepared 500 million, and the black-market auction would begin in two days. No matter how quickly he worked, it would be hard to make up the 400-million-Beli shortfall in two days.

This wasn't the year when the protagonist Luffy set sail and became a Supernova, when the eleven members of the Worst Generation caused a sensation.

It was now three years before the story, in the year 1536 of the Sea Circle Calendar. So far this year, there hadn't been a single rookie with a 300-million-Beli bounty, or even one with a 200-million bounty.

The real Supernova this year was Ace, and he was still in the East Blue.

"Looks like it'll be hard to buy it."

Dimon pondered for a moment and immediately had a good idea.

If he couldn't buy it, the Marines could. Then he could have Mammon work with him from the inside and provide intelligence... and just steal it!

But if he did that, he would probably be wanted from then on and gloriously become a "pirate."

That was how the World Government worked. It didn't care what you were; if it didn't like you, you were a pirate.

With that in mind, Dimon gave his instructions. "I know. Do this, then do that..."

After giving Mammon his instructions, he cut off communications.

Over the next two days, Dimon didn't go after pirates for their bounties. He simply trained and waited quietly.

Big Mom's people still hadn't come, but he wasn't in a hurry. Samael was guarding Lola, so there wouldn't be any problems.

Besides that, late each night, he quietly animated a Yarukiman Mangrove.

Now, in addition to No. 14, the two neighboring giant trees, No. 13 and No. 15, had also been animated.

The three giant trees formed a triangle, enough to keep a full watch over activity in the three areas. If Big Mom's people dared to come, he would know immediately.

That evening, Dimon disguised himself, changing into a black cloak. The cloak covered half his face, and he also wore a mask to make sure no one could remember his face.

Once ready, he went alone to the agreed meeting, heading for Area 3.

The Rose Flower House.

Azshara was taken aback when she saw Dimon dressed like that. Was his identity so mysterious that he had to dress this way?

She was a little curious about the face beneath the mask.

Dimon simply handed her a black-gold note with a face value of five million.

"As agreed, this is the information fee."

"Thank you for your patronage~"

Azshara tucked the note into the neckline of her clothes and smiled faintly. "Follow me. I'll take you to the auction. Would you like me to tell you the identities of your main competitors?"

"No need."

"It's cheap. Just one million per person."

Seeing that Dimon was unmoved, Azshara reluctantly gave up. It really wasn't easy to make a little money off this guy.

The two left the Rose Flower House and soon entered the auction venue.

It was inside a towering building next to a street in the red-light district. Visitors had to take a bubble elevator to the top floor, and ordinary people couldn't get in without an invitation or someone to escort them.

When they entered the auction, quite a few bidders were already seated in the spacious hall.

Dimon glanced around. Some, like him, wore masks and were unwilling to reveal their identities.

But the vast majority made no attempt to hide, openly displaying who they were.

Azshara said quietly, "See those people in the third row? They're the Bad Kid Pirates. Their captain is a child."

Dimon noticed the people she meant. Several burly men surrounded an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy, treating him like the center of attention.

The Bad Kid Pirates. Their captain, Knox the "Evil Child," had a bounty of 175 million Beli and was one of this year's Supernovas.

The information about him flashed through Dimon's mind. He gave Knox a glance, then paid him no further attention.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that he's a child. He's actually an ability user. His real age is anyone's guess." Azshara chuckled. "Well? Are you sure you don't want to buy some information about the others?"

"Why are you still here?"

"!?"

A cross-shaped vein appeared on Azshara's forehead. Her words caught in her throat, and for a long moment she couldn't say a thing.

"Hmph. Can't I be a bidder too?"

Dimon ignored her, picked a seat in the back row, and quietly waited for the auction to begin.