Over the next few days, Fang Huo and Rocks gave Loki and Ida plenty of time to think.
They happened to be waiting for Harald's return.
The Rocks Pirates could take a proper tour of Elbaf.
Whether it was the Underworld or the sun-lit upper branches of the War-Tree.
Not only did the money-grubbing Smuggler Ganzi want to collect Adam lumber, even Fang Huo was stockpiling the ultra-hard wood.
Ganzi once again cursed his lack of a spatial ability.
He could only watch Fang Huo haul Adam wood into the Lost World.
If Ganzi wanted to store his own Adam wood inside Fang Huo's Lost World, Fang Huo charged him warehousing and shipping fees!
"Fang Huo, you shameless profiteer!!!"
Ganzi begrudgingly paid the fees, surrendering seventy percent of his profit on the Adam wood.
He was left with a paltry thirty percent.
Still, that was pure profit; all he'd invested was the labor of gathering and hauling.
"Heh, why do you think the underworld has emperors like the Storage King and the Shipping King?"
Fang Huo showed no mercy when fleecing greedy Executives like Ganzi.
Who told them to lack spatial powers?
"Hmph! Next time I'll find that Castle-Castle Fruit user and make him my private underling!"
Ganzi felt as though he were hemorrhaging money, but he didn't stop collecting.
After all, it was still cash.
A thirty-percent margin beat most trades.
"Besides the Castle-Castle Fruit, there's a Pocket-Pocket Fruit user in the New World!"
Whitebeard Newgate chimed in, having spotted a spatial ability in an intel report.
"Mamamama!! Castles, pockets—those can't hold much!"
"Mirror-Mirror and Book-Book Fruits, now those are top-tier spatial abilities!"
"Fang Huo, we must find those two Devil Fruits and let our children eat them!"
Charlotte Linlin had seen those fruits in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and excitedly pressed Fang Huo.
If Fang Huo's prophecy proved reliable, they could collect those spatial fruits early.
"…"
Fang Huo hadn't expected Newgate and Linlin to already brush shoulders with those abilities.
The future Pocket user would indeed join the Whitebeard Pirates.
The Mirror and Book Fruits would fall into the Charlotte Family's hands!
"Don't worry! Any fruit that's meant to be ours won't escape!"
Fang Huo smiled, bolstering Charlotte Linlin's confidence.
She doubled her efforts to gather intel on ability users and memorize the fruit catalog.
"With the first mate on the job, who could out-snatch you?"
"first mate, since Loki won't be your god-son, how about I become your sworn brother?"
"Or your godson—I want into your family, to follow you for life!"
Kiel Bastard floated in the air, shamelessly earnest.
He intended to cling to Fang Huo's coattails for good.
He figured Fang Huo would outlive Rocks and yield bigger spoils.
The Prophet might even dig up something that granted immortality.
Following first mate Fang Huo was the only truth.
"Kiel! Am I invisible to you?!"
"So eager to be Fang Huo's kid!!"
Rocks's forehead throbbed at Kiel Bastard's shameless plea.
These punks were getting out of hand!
"Gahahaha! Rocks, your first mate's word carries more weight than the Captain's now!!"
"I propose we oust Fang Huo and put me in charge!"
"Or demote the bastard into my squad if that suits you."
Golden Lion Shiki joined the taunting, openly coveting Fang Huo.
He didn't even hide his ambition.
"Shiki, you want the whole package—become first mate and keep Fang Huo as your underling!"
Whitebeard Newgate raised a brow, swigged from his gourd, and eyed the greedy rogue.
"Zahahaha! Shiki, you never quit! Watch Rocks lop off your dog-legs!"
"Then you could be a four-sword stylist—strap kogarashi and sakura jū to your stumps and grab two more blades!"
"Perfect!!"
Ganzi, munching grapes, joined the roast.
Fang Huo's mouth twitched at their banter.
Kiel Bastard wanted to be his godson?
Shiki proposed ousting him?
Ganzi prophesied Shiki's lost legs?
What kind of daily devil's jest was this?
—Ida, Loki, and Hajrudin wondered if these human pirates were imploding.
Threats of demotion and dismemberment, yet no blades drawn?
Loki swore that if he were Captain, he'd hammer any subordinate spouting such treason.
Show them tyrannical authority!
"Terrifying!!"
"Loki, don't mingle with them, don't become that man's godson, don't join the Rocks Pirates!"
Ida warned thrice; Harald would return soon.
She believed he'd drive these villains out of Elbaf.
Even if Harald alone couldn't, he was king—he could summon a giant army.
Olsto Castle alone boasted a hundred elite giant guards.
Deploy them overseas and they could erase nations.
Village warriors across Elbaf could form a thousand-strong giant legion.
One spit from each giant would drown the human pirate crew.
Such was the might of the world's strongest kingdom.
—"We've seen the Underworld and collected enough Adam wood; time to tour the sun-lit realm."
"Remember, we land as friends of Harald, Dorry, and Brogy."
Fang Huo ignored the rowdy crew; he wanted to see the colossal sword, the squirrel Ratatoskr, and learn whether the royal heirloom legendary fruit was the Black Dragon Nidhogg or the Wolf Fenrir.
If the Sun God Nika Fruit wasn't on Elbaf, where would that protagonist fruit surface?
And how would a sentient Sun God Nika Fruit end up with the World Government, escorted by CP9's Who's-Who?