Ace was silent for a moment.
Then, he looked up, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes.
"You're right."
"When I return to the New Amazon Lily, I'll get the blade."
Ace had come to terms with the fact that his hatred for Roger didn't conflict with using his things. Wasn't it even more satisfying to use the enemy's blade to kill?
Makoto smiled but said nothing.
Regarding the Flame-Flame Fruit, he felt that Ace didn't need to eat it either.
To be honest, the Flame-Flame Fruit wasn't really weak... it was definitely above average among Logia types.
Even though many readers in the past life joked that 'even a dog wouldn't eat the Flame-Flame Fruit' because many users and even non-users in the One Piece World could use fire techniques without it…
But the power of their flames couldn't compare to the Flame-Flame Fruit's.
This was like everyone knowing Fire Release. Could your Great Fireball compare to Madara Uchiha's Great Fire Annihilation?
But considering Ace had inherited Roger's strength and talent, the Flame-Flame Fruit indeed wasn't good enough for him.
Makoto's gaze quickly swept over the faces of girls like Nino, Itsuki, and Yui… those with some talent, but not exceptionally high.
This kind of above-average Devil Fruit was more suitable for them.
However, Makoto hadn't decided which girl to give it to yet, so he stored the Flame-Flame Fruit in his item inventory.
Finally, it was Don Krieg's turn to offer tribute.
This pirate, known as the [East Blue Ruler], didn't produce a rare treasure like a Devil Fruit, but rather a large amount of wealth.
Gold, silver, and jewels piled up into a small mountain.
But in Yu's eyes, these things were no different from trash.
"That's it?"
Yu's face darkened.
His right arm had already transformed into a gun barrel, aimed at Don Krieg's forehead.
Don Krieg's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling.
The tavern fell into dead silence.
However, just as Yu was about to shoot, a tall, thin man stepped forward.
"Commander!"
He knelt on the ground, head bowed, his voice firm.
"Failing to find treasures is the fault of us subordinates. I am willing to die in my captain's place."
The speaker was Gin, the vice-captain of the Don Krieg Pirates.
Seeing Gin, Makoto couldn't help but want to laugh.
Because when Gin said goodbye to Sanji, he once said, "Let's meet again in the Grand Line."
So while following the original manga, whenever a new character appeared, readers would instinctively guess 'It's Gin', leading to the [Everything is Gin] meme.
That said, Gin was incredibly loyal to Don Krieg… even though Krieg himself was quite a terrible person.
Unfortunately, Yu did not accept Gin's offer.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
Don Krieg's head exploded, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
His body convulsed twice, then fell to the ground with a 'thud', motionless.
Yu put away his gun barrel and looked at Gin.
"Collect his body."
He had some respect for someone with such a backbone.
Thus, of the three major East Blue pirates, only Arlong remained alive.
Because his tribute, the Flame-Flame Fruit, had barely met Yu's standards, he was spared.
Yu waved his hand dismissively.
Arlong and his crew, as if granted amnesty, scrambled and crawled out of the tavern.
Watching Arlong's group leave, Nami's eyes were filled with despair.
'Why had the other two major pirates died, but Arlong survived?'
She was deeply saddened, feeling it was simply the cruelty of the fate… why did Arlong have to be the one to find a rare Logia fruit?
Before leaving completely, Arlong and his crew couldn't help but glance at Nami, cuffed in the corner.
From the moment they were captured until now, they had pretended not to know Nami.
They had also seen Nami in shackles, assuming she had offended Yu's group and come to this state.
Fearing that Yu would take his anger out on them if he knew they knew her, they had kept up the act.
But before leaving, they still couldn't help glancing at that girl.
It was then that Makoto noticed Nami in the corner, along with Carina beside her.
He couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh ho, isn't this Sister-Forgiving?"
Hearing Makoto's address, Nami looked confused.
'Sister-Forgiving?'
'What did that mean?'
She strained her memory but couldn't recall any impression of Makoto.
After all, this was her first time seeing the legendary King of the World.
Nevertheless, suppressing her nervousness, she forced a smile and greeted him.
"N-Nishikawa-sama..."
Yu stepped up at that moment, pointing to Nami and Carina, explaining to Makoto why they were handcuffed there.
"Senpai, these two little thieves were bold enough to try and steal from our ship."
"Oh?"
Makoto raised an eyebrow.
"They certainly have guts."
He looked at Nami and Carina, his smile deepening.
He knew the Straw Hat crew were abnormal, but not this abnormal.
They had clearly recognized his flag and still dared to do this.
"Your audacity is greater than I imagined."
Nami's face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling.
She knew she had messed with someone she shouldn't have.
But she gritted her teeth, looked up, and met Makoto's eyes.
"Nishikawa-sama... the reason I did this is that I desperately need money."
"I needed to save my village, so I had to do this."
She paused and glanced at Carina beside her.
"All of this was my idea. She has nothing to do with it. If you want to punish someone, punish only me."
Carina was stunned.
She looked at Nami's profile, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.
Hearing this, Makoto couldn't help but laugh even more.
With his god's-eye view, he knew that Carina, currently handcuffed to Nami, had actually betrayed Nami in the original work.
Originally, Nami and Carina had partnered for a while.
One time, during a heist, they targeted a big-shot pirate's treasure, boarded the ship, but were discovered.
Carina suggested they give up all the treasures they had collected so far in exchange for their freedom.
The pirate held Nami hostage and sent Carina to fetch the treasures.
Carina never returned.
Later, after Nami joined the Straw Hats and reached the New World, she learned Carina had joined Tesoro's organization and they were reunited.
Regarding this incident, Carina's explanation was… she hadn't betrayed Nami. She had chosen to run away to draw all their pursuers' hatred onto herself.
That way, they would come after her and ignore Nami.
When Makoto read that reasoning, he was dumbfounded.
Holy crap, what kind of reasoning is that? Couldn't those people just kill Nami first and then come after you?
And Nami actually believed it.
When Makoto saw that part, he was utterly speechless.
That's why he called Nami 'Sister-Forgiving'.
She could forgive Carina, who betrayed her.
She could also forgive Hatchan, one of her mother's murderers.
Damn, her forgiving nature rivals Naruto's forgiving of Obito.
And Naruto forgiving Obito might be somewhat explainable by the fact that Minato and Kushina died when he was too young for a strong bond.
But you, Nami, lived with your foster mother Bell-mère for ten years, and you can still forgive them?
If it were Makoto, he wouldn't dare call himself a human unless he turned Arlong and his crew into sashimi.