Roy hadn't expected the old guy to actually have something valuable on him—a Devil Fruit, no less.
"One hundred million Beries."
"Why don't you take it to the auction house? You could probably sell it for more there."
After all, this was Sabaody Archipelago, a place with illegal zones where offloading dirty goods was far from difficult.
Here, pirates could easily clean up stolen loot, contraband, anything that couldn't be sold through legitimate channels could be laundered here.
Devil Fruits were even easier, they were always in demand but hard to come by.
They were said to be worth a hundred million Beri each, but the actual price was often much higher, especially at auction houses.
"If he's selling it to you," Whitebeard said flatly, "it means that even the black market here in Sabaody wouldn't dare touch it."
"If even Sabaody's black market won't take it… did you steal this from a Celestial Dragon?" Roy asked, shocked.
"I hate smart people the most," Blue grunted. "You want it or not? If not, I'm putting it away."
"Let's talk price. I'm not paying anywhere near what you're asking," Roy said.
"Eighty million Berries."
"Are you robbing me now?!"
Blue jumped up in disbelief, pointing at Roy.
"Stolen goods have stolen prices. Right now, that fruit is a hot potato. Anyone who touches it or even eats it will have the World Government on their tail. So eight million is more than fair. Either eat it yourself or sell it to someone else."
"Like you said, if it's good merchandise, it'll sell easily. Since it's not selling, the price should reflect that. I'm not here to waste time. Eight million, take it or leave it."
"No way, that's too low. Seventy million. Any less, and I'm not selling," Blue said, pulling the fruit back while sneaking a glance at Roy.
But Roy showed no interest. Not even a flicker of hesitation.
After a long silence, Blue finally cracked. "Eight million is too little… How about sixty million? I risked a lot stealing this."
"I'll throw in two million more. Ten million flat."
"I'm dropping ten million at a time, and you're only adding one?! Are you kidding me?!"
"Eleven million is still not bad. That's enough to buy five high-quality slaves. You think money's easy to earn? We're pirates, not merchants. Every Beri we have was earned through fighting and bloodshed.:
"Look at our crew, just a bunch of kids. Our captain has to fight alone to feed all of us. You think that's easy? And we just bought a new ship, we're broke!" Roy spread his hands.
"How much do you even have? Eleven million is too low."
"What I have is none of your business. This fruit was obtained through shady means; no one legitimate will buy it. The moment it surfaces, you'll be the first one they come for. You stole from the gods. Final offer: twelve million. Take it or leave it."
"Fine! Here, but you're giving me twenty million total."
Without another word, Blue tossed the fruit to Roy like it was a scalding potato, eager to get rid of it.
Whitebeard had already seen Roy's haggling skills in action. To the Whitebeard Pirates, Roy was indispensable. He managed the crew's finances, and with their numbers growing, having Roy meant their lives could stay stable.
For just twelve million Berries, Roy had secured the fruit. He went to the ship's cabin, handed over the money, and Blue vanished to stash it away.
"What fruit is that?" Roy asked Blue when he returned.
"The 'Pouch-Pouch Fruit.' Once eaten, the body becomes like a pouch; you can store all kinds of stuff inside. The Celestial Dragons were planning to feed it to a pet. I just happened to get my hands on it."
"I'm not interested in where it came from. The Pouch-Pouch Fruit, huh?" Roy nodded.
"Blamenco!" Roy called toward the ship.
A chubby figure soon hopped down and trotted over.
"Big Bro, what's up?"
"Wha—A DEVIL FRUIT?!" Blamenco cried out in shock.
"It's the Pouch-Pouch Fruit. Eat it, and your body turns into a storage pouch. You love hoarding stuff, right? This is perfect for you." Roy handed it to him.
"Big bro, are you… Are you really giving it to me?" Blamenco stammered, eyes wide in disbelief.
He was a collector. He even had a small room on the Moby Dick filled with things he'd picked up, treating them like treasures. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩
Marco and the others often teased him by stealing his stuff just to see him get mad when he couldn't find it.
Now with the Pouch-Pouch Fruit, he could store everything on himself.
"Go ahead. Take it," Roy tossed the fruit to him.
"THANK YOU, BIG BRO!"
He gobbled it down in one bite. Soon after, two pouch-like openings appeared on his chin. One was for storing, the other for retrieving, he explained.
But living things couldn't be stored inside—like the Float-Float Fruit, it didn't work on biological matter.
"Big bro, you can store money in me from now on," Blamenco said with ambition. He clearly wanted to be Roy's personal bank, and he wasn't even hiding it.
Before Roy could react, Whitebeard bonked Blamenco on the head.
"Ow! Okay, Pops!" He scampered off, probably to stash his belongings first.
"Why didn't you eat it yourself?" Blue asked. "Even if he's a crewmate, you didn't have to give it away."
"I already have a Devil Fruit power. Why would I eat another one?" Roy replied.
"Ah, I see… You're already a Devil Fruit user." Blue finally understood. If they hadn't bonded over the last few days, he wouldn't have brought the fruit out at all.
The Whitebeard Pirates were heading to Fish-Man Island. It was safer to hand the fruit over to them. If it stayed in Sabaody, it would surely catch the government's attention.
Selling it to other pirates was risky; they could betray you. And pirates rarely had that kind of money. People think pirates are rich, but most are dead broke.
They spend money as soon as they get it, because who knows if they'll live to see tomorrow?
Most pirates only stash away a bit of treasure. The rest? They blow it on expansion or indulgence. That's just how it is.
Blue had seen that the Whitebeard Pirates had someone managing their finances, that's why he was willing to part with the fruit. He thought Roy was loaded.
What he didn't expect was Roy's insane haggling skills, cutting a fruit worth over 100 million Berries down to just twelve million.
"You're so clever… why'd you become a pirate?" Blue asked.