Chapter 39 The Player's First Mount (2K...)
"Kuzan!"
Kuzan, who was secretly sleeping during the meeting, was startled. He quickly removed his blindfold and saw Sengoku's eyes, which were practically spitting fire.
Kuzan: "..."
Kuzan snatched Borsalino's hot tea from beside him and handed it to Sengoku: "Ara, the weather has been quite hot lately, Sengoku-san, you should be careful not to get too hot."
Borsalino: "Pfft!"
Warring States Period: "Damn it, who's the reason I'm so angry? It's all because of you bunch of bastards!"
He angrily pointed at Garp, who was happily munching on a senbei: "Your good student!"
Garp's eyes widened. He pointed to himself and then to Zephyr, who was sitting upright. "Kuzan is also his student. Why don't you mention Zephyr and only refer to me, Sengoku?"
Zephyr: "...Why don't you mention that there are other lieutenant generals who are also my students?"
Only Kuzan is like this, so it must be Garp's fault.
Garp: "...That's because the task Tsuru gave me was too unreasonable."
Crane revealed a quirky smile: "What did you say, Garp? I didn't hear you clearly. Do you want more missions?"
"Is this the time to shift the blame?!" Sengoku gulped down a mouthful of tea. "Kuzan, you just stood by and watched as the World Government's people were taken away by the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Kuzan: "...Actually, I stole one too."
Garp: "Pfft! What's the point of stealing that kind of trash?"
Kuzan brushed the scallop bits that Garp had sprayed on his head.
Ah, that's true, but when he saw Marco and Namur snatch two CPs and run away, he got excited and followed them to snatch some too.
Kuzan: "Then I'll go release them in a bit."
Borsalino changed to a new cup, brewed himself a fresh cup of tea, took a sip, and then slowly said, "That should be considered an invasive species, right? Don't damage Marineford's ecosystem."
Garp and Tsuru: "Pfft!"
Borsalino's words are as sarcastic as ever.
Sengoku couldn't help but show a look of disgust: "Don't bring everything to Marineford."
Kuzan: "..."
Even the most composed Sengoku-sensei said so, which shows how much the Navy disdains the World Government.
Several mid- to high-ranking naval officers gave the World Government a thorough dressing-down behind closed doors, but once the doors opened, they still had to diligently clean up the mess.
There's no way around it; you can't be indebted to someone who pays your bills. The Navy's main source of funding is grants from the World Government.
Sengoku: "What exactly is the Whitebeard Pirates up to?"
For a great pirate like Edward Newgate, unless the Navy is determined to wipe them out in one fell swoop, the two sides have always kept to themselves.
But the fact that even Marco left the main ship this time shows that this matter is very important to the Whitebeard Pirates.
Crane analyzed: "Is it for that child?"
Thanks to the World Economic News's promotion, not only did Vale's value (bounty) increase, but she also caught the eye of several naval admirals and vice admirals.
Sengoku looked at Kuzan, who was "present at the scene": "Is that 'Shadow of the Demon' really that child?"
“This…” Kuzan sighed hesitantly, “I haven’t seen her use a similar ability.”
Borsalino: "So that means she has other abilities?"
Kuzan sometimes really struggled to understand his senior's keen perception: "Ah, yes, back then, Namuel came out of one of the buildings she built."
Crane: "Controlling demonic hands, creating things out of thin air, summoning and teleporting... Is this really a Devil Fruit that can possess all these abilities at the same time?"
Zephyr, however, was more concerned with something else: "What does the Whitebeard Pirates want with her? Do they want to recruit her as a crew member?"
Borsalino said sarcastically, "Hey, Whitebeard's finally tired of raising sons, so he's planning to raise a daughter now?"
Kuzan: "...Isn't the Ice Witch Whiteybe a woman?"
Borsalino: "That's just reminiscing about the past."
Sakazuki: "Enough! The most important issue now is that the Whitebeard Pirates' attack on the warship has broken the tacit agreement between the Navy and them. We should respond immediately!"
Borsalino: "Declare war on the Whitebeard Pirates? Are you kidding me, Sakazuki, at this time?"
Sengoku took a deep breath: "Boltarino is right. Now is not the time to declare war on Whitebeard, but we cannot ignore the Whitebeard Pirates' provocations against the Navy."
"Many maps of the new world have been redrawn after the earthquake, right?"
Who knows, the evil Whitebeard Pirates might just claim an island that originally belonged to the Navy as their own. What, you say it was originally your island? Would it respond if you called out to it?
"It's time for this batch of new recruits in the Navy to go out and gain some experience... Zephyr, you will take them to 'our Navy's' island for training."
——
"Chopper, Chopper, Chopper..."
Ah, it's calling it!
Chopper opened his eyes and saw Violet standing by the door, surrounded by a warm ray of sunlight.
"Vill...Vill." Chopper wasn't very fluent in speaking yet, but Vill's name was the first one he learned, even more so than his own.
Violet rushed over and stroked Chopper's head to check on its condition.
[Chopper]
[HP: 200]
[Accustomedness: 50%]
[Hunger level: 150/200]
The mounts in the game will have three taming outcomes based on the various attributes acquired during the taming process: combat mounts, speed mounts, and decorative mounts.
Combat mounts can increase a player's damage by 10%, speed mounts can increase a player's movement speed by 20%, and decorative mounts can restore 6 sanity points per minute while the player is riding them.
After much deliberation, Violet decided to ask Chopper Benlu for his opinion.
Chopper: "Ah, this, this..."
Having only recently eaten the Human-Human Fruit and gained intelligence, Chopper couldn't quite understand what Violet meant. Only after Violet explained it several times did he finally comprehend the player's incomprehensible game terminology.
Chopper still remembers why Violet invited him to her island—because he had a special blue nose.
Chopper still can't believe that the blue-nosed creature that caused him to be ostracized by the reindeer herd would actually win Violet's favor.
But Chopper didn't dare to refute Violet. He was afraid that the companion he had finally gained would disappear. So even if it was a lie or a prank, he wanted to continue to indulge in this beautiful dream.
Chopper: "For show...is that okay?"
Vera: "Okay."
For ornamental mounts, the mount's satiety level must be kept above 50% during the training process, and it must be fed at least one dessert every day.
Violet placed a few toffee candies in Chopper's hand.
The brightly colored candies were wrapped in transparent candy wrappers, emitting an enticing aroma that Chopper had never smelled before.
Vera: "Want to try some?"
Chopper carefully peeled off the candy wrapper and put the candy in his mouth.
It was the smell of red berries fallen to the ground in summer. Chopper had watched countless times with envy as the reindeer herd gave those beautiful berries to the little reindeer, while he could only follow behind, carefully licking the leaves that were stained with the berry juice.
Vera: "Is it sweet?"
Chopper tasted a bitter liquid and raised his hand to cover his eyes: "Ugh!"
When Chopper and Wilt stepped out of the room, the adults outside seemed to have just finished an extraordinary conversation.
Kureha looked at Chopper, who was following closely behind Violet, and said, "What did I tell you?"
Hiluluk's shoulders slumped. After learning that Chopper was a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit, Hiluluk had considered adopting Chopper.
After all, Chopper already possessed human-like intelligence at that time, so it wouldn't be appropriate for him to be taken away as a mount...
But Chopper seemed to be getting along very well with Violet, and Hiluluk, seeing Chopper still holding a piece of candy in his hand, finally gave up.
Long said solemnly, "Don't worry, from any perspective, that island is perfect for him."
Even without them, Violet is capable enough to protect the little reindeer.
Besides, on Monster Island, where little monsters live, any strange creatures would feel perfectly normal after spending a few days there.
Hiruluk: "Wait."
Hiluluk ran home and found a red hat with a white X-shaped decoration on the front.
Hiluluk squatted down in front of Chopper: "I'm sorry for everything you've been through, but don't feel inferior because you're different. You'll always meet someone who truly loves you."
Hiluluk puts the hat on Chopper's head: "You're always welcome back to Drum Kingdom."
Chopper put a piece of candy in his mouth, and that sour, bitter feeling returned.
"See you sometime, Chopper."
——
[Build a magic disintegrator?]
[[whether]
[Consumes Nightmare Dye*, Live Rabbit*, Wooden Plank*3, Magician's Hat*1]
An upside-down top hat, mechanically connected by brass planks, was placed in an open area of the base. As Violet approached, the top hat emitted a white, rabbit-shaped phantom.
[You have unlocked level 1 magic item crafting.]
[Your understanding of the Shadow World has increased!]
As if sensing something, Violet took out the [Fragile Rose] from her backpack. In her vision, the still vibrant rose was now entwined with black phantoms.
The Shadow World.
Violet memorized the word; her player intuition told her that she needed to gather more clues about that world before she could truly unravel the secret behind the rose.
Have players finally reached the true main storyline of this game?
Although it's just a farming game, any ambitious development team will give the game a plausible backstory for players to interpret.
Violet carefully put away the roses she had initially disliked, and then took out the materials to make the [Life Amulet] one by one.
A large ruby was cut into a shimmering polygonal mirror shape and set in a pure gold necklace.
Violet made two pairs in one go and put them on Ginny and Bonnie respectively.
After being able to check Bonnie's condition, Val discovered that Bonnie also had a [Blue Scale Disease] debuff, but Bonnie's debuff was grayed out and had a countdown timer.
Vera calculated that it had been less than five years.
It's unclear whether this condition is hereditary or caused by mother-to-child transmission.
Ginny stroked Bonnie's soft hair as she slept: "Thank you, Violet."
Vera stared wide-eyed at Bonnie, who was sleeping soundly in her swaddling clothes: "Your appetites will increase dramatically from now on."
Ginny: "This is nothing compared to being tormented by leprosy."
After putting on the ruby necklace, Ginny could clearly feel that her body, which could never fill the void inside, was being injected with new and enormous energy.
The weakness, pain, and helplessness that had tormented her for so long suddenly disappeared.
The spirited and fearless revolutionary army intelligence chief has finally returned.
Ginny: "If you ever need anything from me in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
[Relations with the Revolutionary Army have escalated to allies!]
Chopper rubbed his nose against the necklace hanging on Bonnie's swaddling clothes. The baby opened her eyes and looked at him with pure and innocent curiosity.
Bonnie reached out and tapped Chopper's blue nose.
She giggled.
Violet is right, R'lyeh is home to all the little monsters.
——
Slap! Slap!
The stone slab that Violet had previously commanded the dragon to carve out made another appearance. Violet tapped it twice with a twig, and after everyone looked over, she pushed up the frameless glasses ornament that she had snatched from the bear.
Violet: "Ahem, for the better development of R'lyeh Island, I will formulate five-year, twenty-year, and one-hundred-year plans for the next development path."
Ginny: "Twenty years...Bonnie would have grown into a young woman by then."
Big Bear's eyes widened in disbelief: "A hundred years... Oh my god, Bonnie will be an old lady by then."
With a slap, Bonnie, who was full of energy and strong since putting on the [Life Amulet], kicked the bear in the face.
Dragon: "...Actually, I think we should start with small-scale time planning."
So raising a child is really this difficult? Dad, I misunderstood you. But since Dad managed to raise him to be upright, brave, and kind, it's definitely the best thing to leave Luffy with Dad.
Long Wucibei secretly praised himself.
Dragon: "For example, how do we get through this rainy season?"
According to Violet, the rainy season will last for three months, which is typical of the Grand Line's planning.
Five years, twenty years, a hundred years—on this ever-changing sea, no one would bother making such a long-term plan, which is thankless and exhausting.
Vera looked at Luo.
Luo unconditionally supported Vieil emotionally, but reason told him that let alone a hundred years, there were very few people in the world who could plan for twenty years.
Luo Muyi: "Well, actually... it wouldn't hurt to make a plan, would it?"
Isn't this basically saying that as long as Vil is happy?
Long snorted coldly.
Despite Luo's support, Vera could clearly see that everyone was not really accepting of the Centennial Plan.
Violet: "..."
We can't understand your kind of maritime civilization.
"Then let's make a three-month plan first." Good subordinates are all trained and mentored step by step by the user.
Forget about Dragon and those temporary workers, Law and Chopper are R'lyeh's true hope!
Vil wrote the words "Deeply understand and formulate an action plan for the development of the R'lyeh rainy season" in large characters on the stone slab using charcoal.
Upon seeing these words, everyone couldn't help but straighten their backs and become serious.
Violet: "First, there's the issue of flood prevention during the rainy season. We need to replace the base and at least three blocks of land around it with brick and stone floors."
"This matter will be handled entirely by Big Bear."
Big Bear: "Ah, yes!"
Vera: "Secondly, there is the plan to further collect supplies for the rainy season. This includes transplanting basic materials such as berry bushes, bamboo, and vines, planting rainy season crops, and collecting honey."
Vera: "Leave this to Law and Chopper."
Chopper excitedly raised his hands: "Great!"
Luo: "Okay, I understand."
Violet: "Finally, there's the work of preventing and controlling the disasters of the rainy season. This includes the decrease in sanity caused by excessive humidity, the proactive attacks by animals during the spring restlessness period, and more hunting dogs and a more terrifying seasonal boss."
The dragon boss is temporarily stuck in our faction due to a bug with Vilka, but Vil doesn't think the game is so kind as to let her succeed every time.
Vera: "Leave this to me and Long."
Violet: "But speaking of which, how many days until the full moon?"
——
"It's such a rare sunny day, even the moon in the sky is so clear, yoi."
A few days ago, Marco and Namuel, who were searching for Vera, wandered into some unknown place, where torrential rain had been pouring down from morning till night.
If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. For Marco, who had been making a living at sea since he was very young, being soaking wet was the norm.
However, the rain here can cause dizziness, vomiting, auditory hallucinations, and visual hallucinations!
When did the weather conditions on the Grand Line become so harsh?!
"Ha, finally we can change players."
Namur laughed gleefully as he watched Marco's pineapple leaves droop.
Yes, it's absurd that this rain has no effect on that Muir.
Marco and Namur switched positions to steer the ship, glancing back at the two World Government members who were tightly bound inside the cabin.
Marco: "Why do you keep bringing them along?"
Although the attacking warships failed to bring them directly to Violet, they were fortunate enough to capture two World Government members who were tracking her.
After a frank exchange, Marco and the two men fully shared their opinions, enhancing their mutual understanding. The two sides reached a beneficial outcome—the two World Government members unconditionally handed over all the information about Violet to Marco and his men in exchange for the great friendship of the two great pirates.
...Although the pirates' so-called friendship meant not throwing them into the sea, but sparing their lives, giving them a dagger, and leaving them to fend for themselves on a deserted island.
Namuel scratched his head: "Uh, this counts as our first formal meeting... I can't go empty-handed."
"Just consider it a local specialty?"
Marco: "..."
Although he had never met Vera, he figured most people wouldn't like this kind of local specialty; they'd be better off buying two cases of milk and two bags of fruit.
While Marco and Namur were talking, Lucci and Kaku, who had been carelessly left in a corner and tied up tightly like crabs deliberately weighed at a seafood market, exchanged a glance.
Lucci: The Whitebeard Pirates are also going to find that girl... It's so easy. They'll just pretend to be tied up, find out her exact location, and then contact the World Government.
Kaku: These unpredictable pirates might kill us at any time to silence us. We need to find a way to escape as soon as possible.
The two, who showed absolutely no chemistry, exchanged a glance and nodded solemnly to each other.
“Hey you two,” Namur turned around, “Don’t even think about doing anything sneaky.”
Marco couldn't get wet in the rain, and Namur, who had been piloting the boat for several days, had dark circles under his eyes. He tilted his head slightly and looked at them with a cold gaze.
"Otherwise, we'll drag you all behind the dragon bones."
Drag the keel was a form of punishment on pirate ships, usually inflicted only on pirates who defected. During the punishment, the offending pirate would be thrown into the water, his hands and feet bound, the other end of a rope tied to the mast, and the ship would set sail. The pirate's body would repeatedly collide between the keel and the seabed, causing him to bleed profusely and even die in extreme pain.
“Well,” Marco frowned in disapproval, “that would frighten the children.”
Marco felt it was necessary to pay attention to children's mental health, thinking that if they misbehaved, they should just be thrown into the sea.
In particular, the child who might become her new sister in the future.
Children should be lively and innocent. As for the cruel adult world... hey, don't we still have our older brothers?
Marco: "So it's definitely better to bring a reliable gift, yoi."
Marco: "Does Violet have any favorite things?"
Plush toys, brightly colored toys, pretty little dresses... Oh dear, he hasn't had much experience with little girls, what a sweet dilemma!
Namur recalled his two encounters with Vera and asked uncertainly, "Gold...gold nuggets?"
Marco, the Whitebeard Pirates' doctor and treasurer: "...The World Government's CP Department is pretty good. It's novel, unique, and interactive."
Most importantly, it's completely free, making it an essential gift for visiting relatives and friends, haha.
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Author's Note: I've made up for the extra chapters I owed, so please praise me! [Let me see!]
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