Arriving on the second floor, the area was divided into three sections from left to right: the freezer, the kitchen, and the dining hall.
The dining hall took up the most space. It was furnished just like a restaurant, giving Sanji an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, as if he had returned to the Baratie at first glance.
Hearing the ship dealer's introduction to the freezer, kitchen, and fully equipped facilities, Sanji ran over to take a look with an impatient expression.
Allen and the others continued upstairs.
The third floor had twelve rooms, mostly empty. Allen immediately claimed the most spacious room right in the middle to serve as the captain's lounge and meeting room.
Nami wanted a room to use as a workshop, which Allen approved right away. He then designated three adjacent rooms to be knocked through and converted into a medical bay.
The remaining empty rooms would be allocated as needed in the future, mostly to be used as various functional spaces.
Finally, Allen arrived on the fourth floor.
The layout here was no different from the third floor. Similarly, there was a spacious room in the center, which Allen naturally claimed as the captain's bedroom.
As for the other dozen or so rooms...
"Each division commander can pick one for themselves. From now on, the fourth floor will be the living quarters for the core officers," Allen said casually.
"Hehe, then I won't hold back."
Nami immediately ran off happily to make her selection.
Stepping out the door, Allen stood on the front balcony overlooking the entire ship.
The area above the bow deck and the central deck would serve as the open-air spaces for the crew's daily use.
The open-air stern deck would serve as the exclusive space for the captain and division commanders.
With that, the ship's spaces were roughly mapped out in his mind.
After a while, the ship sailed a lap around Loguetown. The shipwrights under his command also inspected it from top to bottom, and as expected, there were no issues.
Next, led by Nami, the Third and Fifth Divisions coordinated some final details with the shipyard workers.
They then arranged for the shipyard to come and collect their old ship the next day. After an appraisal, the other party haggled with Nami for a bit before finally offering a trade-in price of 120 million Berries.
Allen readily had someone bring the money over to complete the transaction.
By the time all this was done, it was already midnight. Gin, who had gone to handle the arms deal, and the crew members who had gone to town to enjoy themselves had all returned.
...
Early the next morning.
Members of the various divisions rolled up their sleeves and began a massive cleaning of the new ship. Even the idle commanders joined in on the work.
For a time, white suds flew everywhere along the coast.
When a heavily armed convoy of carriages arrived carrying crates of munitions, they almost mistook the crew for a cleaning company.
"Hey! Is Gin here? I brought everything you asked for!"
A bloated man in a suit shouted at the top of his lungs.
On the large ship, Gin, wearing an apron and cleaning gloves with a brush in his hand, looked up.
Recognizing the arrival, he called out to the figure drinking tea on the upstairs balcony,
"Captain, the goods are here."
"Ah, let's go."
Allen stood up and jumped down from the ship, bringing Gin along to meet with the contact.
The fat, middle-aged man in the suit gave Gin's outfit a strange look. He seemed to want to say something, but thought better of it.
Then, he pulled back the coarse cloth covering several wooden crates, revealing the munitions inside, and gestured:
"This batch is enough to arm three hundred men. I couldn't get you that many brand-new pieces on such short notice, so half of these are secondhand."
"But don't worry, we've maintained them perfectly. Feel free to inspect the goods."
Saying this, the suited man grinned and raised his hand, gesturing for them to test the merchandise. Behind him, a few perceptive subordinates stepped forward and pried open two crates of ammunition.
Gin also called over a dozen subordinates with relatively rich firearms experience to test them out. Although they weren't entirely familiar with these specific weapons, they had more or less seen them before.
Subsequently, under the arms dealer's guidance, the dozen pirates picked up submachine guns and shotguns, aiming them at a few reefs along the shore.
They took their stances and pulled the triggers.
Bang!! Bang!!
Rat-tat-tat-tat!!
Muzzle flashes erupted as a massive hail of bullets poured out like a tidal wave!
Under this ferocious firepower, the reefs opposite them suddenly blasted apart, sending crushed stone flying wildly.
Feeling the vibrating, shuddering firearms in their hands, the dozen pirates all wore expressions of sheer shock.
It wasn't until they heard the clicking sounds of empty magazines that they belatedly released the triggers.
"Hey, isn't this a bit too exaggerated?"
"Fifty rounds emptied in just a few seconds..."
"Hahaha, how about it? A fire rate of 600 rounds per minute. Even a 100-round drum magazine wouldn't last ten seconds."
The suited man laughed loudly. He picked up a submachine gun from a wooden crate and said,
"Known in the South Blue as the 'Typewriter,' it's a sharp weapon for urban warfare and highly popular among gangs. It's also incredibly suitable for boarding battles at sea."
"Not bad. Have them pull out a few more to test. Also, where are the rotary machine guns I asked for?"
Allen asked.
Hearing this, the man immediately waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to work together to carry over a rectangular wooden crate.
Prying open the wooden lid, several hand-cranked Gatling guns were impressively displayed inside.
"These things aren't easy to get, and they're hard to sell in the East Blue. After all, not everyone can afford that terrifying ammunition consumption. I exhausted all my connections last night and could only scrounge up these six for you."
The suited man grinned.
Soon, two of his subordinates lifted one up. After a simple adjustment, they inserted the ammunition belt and were just about to set up the tripod when Allen interrupted them.
"No need. Just hand it over."
Allen reached out and took the heavy machine gun from the two men, lifting it effortlessly. Aiming at a two-meter-tall rock in the distance, he cranked the handle.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!!!
The muzzle spat out tongues of fire! The bullets wove into a dense line of fire, and the giant rock opposite them frantically blasted into fragments!
Shell casings poured onto the ground, piling into a mountain in the blink of an eye. Allen bared his teeth in a grin. As his hand movements sped up, the six barrels rotated rapidly!
Boom!
Under the ferocious suppressive fire, the hard giant rock finally succumbed to the overwhelming force and exploded!
Allen slowly stopped his movements.
The crowd of pirates widened their eyes, shocked beyond measure by this terrifying firepower.
"This... the firepower of this gun is way too terrifying."
"Could we achieve this kind of power if we used it?"
Hearing this, Gin's expression couldn't help but turn solemn.
With such range and suppressive firepower, if two of them were set up and fired simultaneously, he might have a chance within thirty meters, but beyond thirty meters, his speed absolutely wouldn't be enough to break through.
If the crew members could also unleash this kind of firepower with it, the possibilities were simply unimaginable.
The suited man recovered from his shock and opportunely poured a bucket of cold water on them, saying slowly,
"Don't even think about it. Its firepower depends on the cranking speed. It's very difficult for an ordinary person to achieve this kind of effect."
"Of course, even if you can't reach such exaggerated results, its power is still formidable," the suited man added with a smile.
Allen didn't respond.
He knew this gun's flaws went far beyond that. The ammunition consumption was even more exaggerated. It could even be said that this kind of heavy machine gun was useless for anything other than raw firepower.
But none of that mattered. What he wanted was range and firepower. Although it demanded physical strength from the user, he could still pick out six people on the ship capable of handling it.
Soon, the firearms inspection was complete, and Gin began tallying the accounts with the other party.
Although the budget was 500 million Berries, some of the goods the dealer brought were secondhand, so the price was discounted.
In the end, the transaction was completed for 400 million Berries, and the money and goods were exchanged.
Before leaving, the suited man handed Allen a business card.
It wasn't his own personal card, but rather a letter of recommendation, claiming it could be used to contact reliable black market merchants anywhere in the world.
Taking the card, Allen understood the confidence behind the man's words with just one glance.
"Joker... I see..."
Allen smiled with interest, the figure of Doffy naturally surfacing in his mind.
The man wasn't a member of the Donquixote Family; he merely relied on their influence and used their transportation channels to do business.
Black market merchants like him existed all over the Four Blues, forming a massive black market network.
And this card was equivalent to a client introduction letter, allowing Allen to more conveniently contact the black market merchants within this network.
"In that case, I can also use you to post purchase requests on this black market network, right?"
Allen looked at him.
The suited man grinned and nodded. "Of course. Whatever you want to buy, someone can get it for you."
"Even if I want to buy a Devil Fruit?"
"Yes."
The suited man nodded resolutely and said, "An unidentified Devil Fruit, or a standard Zoan-type fruit, goes for around 300 million Berries. Rare species are priced separately."
"Every Paramecia-type fruit needs to be priced individually. Some have very useless effects and only end up adding a weakness to the user, making them cheaper than unidentified ones."
"As for Logia-types, don't even think about it. The moment one appears, the World Government buys it up at a high price. The chances of obtaining one through the black market are practically zero."
"So, are you interested?"
The suited man asked, raising an eyebrow.
Allen couldn't help but fall into thought.
300 million Berries could buy 300 Thompson submachine guns.
Would the boost from an unknown fruit be stronger, or would 300 submachine guns be stronger...
If he had to compare, it would depend on who ate it.
For people like the bird-man and the dog-man in Alabasta, Allen felt that setting up even a hundred guns would be overkill.
To be honest, the number of people on the entire sea who could survive a barrage from three hundred submachine guns after eating a fruit was less than one in ten thousand.
Why would such a powerhouse go out of their way to eat a fruit of unknown origin?
Of course, the conversion between money and strength wasn't that simple.
After thinking it over, Allen said to him,
"Post a request for me. I'm looking for Zoan-type fruits and Paramecia-type fruits with identification info."
"Alright, leave a Den Den Mushi number. If there's any news, someone will contact you."
The suited man added, "Let's get one thing straight first: this kind of thing depends on luck, so don't get your hopes up too high..."
"Then add a note to my purchase request: I'm willing to accept a bit of a premium."
Allen said generously.
The suited man grinned gladly. "That makes things much easier. How straightforward."
...
After the man left, Gin led the crew to carry the weapons onto the ship.
By this time, the new ship was mostly cleaned, and the crew members were in the middle of moving their belongings.
As noon approached, Sanji led the First Division to start cooking in the new ship's kitchen, just as the shipyard workers arrived to collect their old ship.
The Nyaban Brothers tearfully waved goodbye to the Bezan Black, crying so hard they were gasping for breath. Their wailing was incredibly unpleasant to hear.
As the original ship guards, the two still had a lot of affection for this old ship that had carried them for three years.
Seeing this made Allen feel a bit sympathetic, so he quietly took the 120 million Berries earned from the sale...
...and gave 20 million Berries of it to them.
"Hehehe, thanks, Boss."
Buchi and Sham immediately beamed with joy on the spot.
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