One Piece: Infinite Treasure Chest System.

"Congratulations! You have obtained Goblin Saliva. Origin: Goblin Slayer. Completely useless."

"Congratulations! You have obtained a salted fish. Origin: One Piece. Edible."

…Was his luck running dry again? What the hell were these rewards?

"System, what exactly is Charm Points?" Ben asked, hoping for an explanation.

…

Silence.

"Fine, be that way. Use Tomorrow's Star."

Since the system wasn't answering, he might as well use it. Even if it turned out to be useless, it had to be better than a dried-up fish.

The glowing, star-like item disappeared from his hand… but he didn't feel any different.

Whatever. He'd worry about it later.

"Open the Random Chest."

"Congratulations! You have obtained an Observation Haki Training Manual. Origin: One Piece, from a top-tier master."

"Observation Haki?! Hell yeah!"

Riding the wave of luck, Ben immediately opened the Special Chest… only to receive the apple that fell on Newton's head.

…

After organizing his inventory, he checked his Observation Haki progress bar—1/100.

Not bad. Even the weakest version of Kenbunshoku Haki would give him an edge in battle.

Out on Deck

Ben stepped onto the deck, stretching as he took in the tranquil, endless blue of the ocean.

Moments like this were rare. Only now, standing Beneath the vast sky and surrounded by the gentle waves, could he truly appreciate the beauty of the sea.

…That is, until he noticed the ship in the distance.

A pirate ship.

The skull-and-crossbones flag was still too far to make out, but Ben was already excited.

Where there were pirates, there were treasure chests.

This was the East Blue—unless he ran into Shanks or Mihawk, there shouldn't be any opponents too overwhelming.

"Pirates! Pirates are coming!!"

The ship's lookout finally spotted them, shouting at the top of his lungs.

In an instant, the merchants and nobles who had been leisurely enjoying the sea scattered, rushing below deck in terror.

"Young man, you should head inside too," a swordsman approached Ben, noticing that he hadn't moved. "Our ship's guards will handle this, but we can't afford to split our focus protecting you."

Ben chuckled. "No need to worry about me. Believe it or not, I'm a pirate hunter."

The swordsman raised an eyebrow but didn't question him further, turning to usher more people below deck.

"Are you really a pirate hunter, sir?"

A middle-aged man with a well-fed belly and fine clothing stepped forward, studying Ben carefully.

"And if I am? Does your ship not welcome pirate hunters?" Ben asked, slightly narrowing his eyes.

The man quickly waved his hands. "Not at all! Please don't misunderstand. My name is Ericus Miali, the captain of this merchant vessel. I was actually hoping to hire you. If you help us drive away the pirates, I will ensure you're handsomely rewarded."

Ah, so that's what this was about.

"Well, when you put it like that… how could I say no?" Ben smirked, unsheathing Senbonzakura.

The moment his blade appeared, Miali and the swordsman beside him looked visibly startled.

For Miali, it was the fact that Ben had seemingly pulled the blade from thin air—only true experts could store weapons like that.

For the swordsman, however, it was something else entirely.

He could feel that this was no ordinary blade.

"My name is Neil Pomux," the swordsman finally introduced himself. "And you are…?"

"Ben."

Pomux nodded. "Are you a master swordsman?"

"Master? Not quite. But against the average pirate with a bounty, I'll manage just fine. I can't take on Shanks or Mihawk yet, so I'm hardly at that level."

…

Pomux fell silent.

He didn't know who Shanks was, but Mihawk? Dracule Mihawk, the world's strongest swordsman?!

This kid was speaking way too casually about legendary figures.

Pomux had initially assumed Ben was a serious swordsman dedicated to honing his blade. But now…

Now he was just mourning for Senbonzakura.

A fine blade, in the hands of a reckless fool. What a tragedy.

As they spoke, cannon fire erupted in the distance.

"Here we go…" Ben muttered, looking up just in time to see over a dozen cannonballs soaring toward them.

"Damn, if the ship gets wrecked, I won't make it to Orange Town!"

"Soaring Flight—Withering Feathers!"

Wings unfurled from Ben's back as he shot into the air, unleashing a storm of razor-sharp feathers.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The cannonballs exploded mid-air, shredded before they could reach the ship.

Ben smirked, preparing to strike a cool pose…

…only to get blasted off-balance by the cannon fire's shockwave.

For a brief, horrifying moment, he flailed in midair.

Shit! If I don't stabilize, I'm gonna end up in the water!

After an awkward second of struggle, he managed to stay airborne. But now he was annoyed.

How the hell does Zoro make cutting cannonballs look so damn cool?

"You've pissed me off now!" Ben growled, spreading his wings wide.

Then, without hesitation, he launched himself straight toward Buggy's pirate ship.

Ben landed lightly on the deck of the pirate ship, his gaze locking onto the infamous blue-haired, red-nosed captain—Buggy the Clown.

Seeing him in person, Ben realized something strange.

For some reason… he wasn't as pissed off anymore.

Was this Buggy's secret Conqueror's Haki at work?

"Yo, Captain Buggy! Where are you headed?" Ben greeted him casually.

Buggy's eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you, brat?! You think you can just drop onto my ship and interfere with Captain Buggy's business?" His Bara Bara no Mi powers activated, his hands and head floating freely.

Ben sighed. "Come on, knock it off with the fruit ability. And you over there—stay put, little kitty." He shot a glance at a certain acrobat preparing to strike. "Buggy, let's talk."

Buggy froze.

This guy… knew about his Devil Fruit powers?

And he could fly?

Wait a minute… wasn't there a guy recently who'd made headlines? Someone very dangerous?

Buggy quickly pulled out a bounty poster.

"The Criminal Who Injured a Celestial Dragon—Ben!

Bounty: 1,000,000,000 Berries!"

The second Buggy read the number out loud, his entire crew fell silent.

One by one, they quietly shuffled behind Buggy for protection.

Buggy gulped.

Even in the East Blue, everyone knew—messing with someone who had openly attacked a Celestial Dragon was a death sentence.

"Captain, maybe we should at least hear him out?" Cabaji, Buggy's strategist, whispered in his ear. "If it's too outrageous, we can just refuse."

Buggy nodded rapidly. "Ahem! Ben, state your business! If your request isn't too unreasonable, then the great Captain Buggy might consider it!"

Ben rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Uh… I wanna check out your treasure hoard."

Silence.

Buggy's face instantly turned red—an impressive feat considering his nose was already permanently crimson.

"NO WAY IN HELL!" Buggy roared, brandishing a dagger. "If you want Captain Buggy's treasure, you'll have to take it over my dead body!"

Ben raised a hand. "Whoa, whoa, hold up, Great Captain Buggy! You misunderstood me. I don't want your treasure—I just want to see what you've collected."

He almost cringed at his own words. Even I wouldn't believe that excuse…

Buggy squinted at him.

To be fair, this guy was crazy enough to attack a Celestial Dragon… but why would he just want to look at the treasure?

Ben pressed on. "Listen, if you've heard about me, then you should know—I have a habit of checking out treasure collections. Ask around in the Goa Kingdom. I raided their royal treasury, but I didn't touch a single coin from regular citizens."

Buggy had heard about that.

As someone who once sailed with Roger, he knew the value of information. And Ben's bounty-over-a-billion had put him on Buggy's radar.

"...Fine," Buggy muttered, clearly struggling with the decision. "I'll let you look. But if you so much as breathe on my treasure, we'll be enemies for life!"

Buggy definitely didn't want to fight this guy. The Celestial Dragons had elite guards with advanced Armament Haki—and this lunatic still managed to take them down.

"Deal," Ben said with a grin.

Inside Buggy's Treasure Hoard

Ben followed Buggy into the storage room. The rest of the crew was forced to wait outside—Buggy's treasure-hoarding instincts wouldn't let anyone else near his stash.

And there they were—two treasure chests sitting atop the pile of gold.

Classic Buggy. Of course he'd keep the chests themselves.

"Treasure detected. Collect/Open?"

"Open."

[Congratulations! You have obtained:]

Crown of the Void (Origin: Guilty Crown)Grants the King's Authority—the ability to extract and wield void-based weapons.Requirement: Must have Inori Yuzuriha's love.Diamond Greatsword (Origin: Treasure Hunter)A beautifully crafted blade, but mostly for display.

Ben's excitement faded instantly.

The Crown of the Void… sounded insanely powerful. But where the hell was he supposed to find Inori Yuzuriha?

Even if he did find her, she was madly in love with Shu. No way he could just slot himself in.

As for the Diamond Greatsword? Purely decorative.

"Recycle Crown of the Void."

[Recycled. 2,000 Exchange Points obtained.]

Holy crap!

That thing was valuable!

Not surprising, considering it granted protagonist-tier abilities.

Ben took a deep breath, calming his excitement.

Meanwhile, Buggy had been watching him closely.

This guy had just stood there, cycling through a million different facial expressions.

First, he looked shocked.

Then delighted.

Then frustrated.

Then annoyed.

Buggy was sweating. What the hell is he planning?!

Suddenly, Ben pulled out the Diamond Greatsword.

Buggy screeched.

"THAT'S MY TREASURE! PUT IT BACK!!"

His hands detached, zooming toward Ben to snatch the sword back.

But Ben wasn't worried. Even though his Observation Haki was still weak, Buggy's speed was nothing special.

Easily dodging, he smirked. "Relax, I'm not keeping it."

He tossed the sword back onto the pile.

Buggy snatched it up protectively, cradling it like a child.

"...Hmph! At least you know to respect Captain Buggy's property!"

Ben just chuckled.

This clown was way too easy to mess with.