One Piece: The Arm of Fate

The desert's way of hospitality—was it really like this? Shano wasn't sure.

But his way of hospitality had never changed—still as simple and honest as ever.

[You sacrificed Igaram's curling iron. You received 80 points.]

[You sacrificed Vivi's bracelet. You received 320 points.]

Only 400 total?

Shano's gaze shifted and landed on the duck curiously staring at him nearby.

Hmm?

This must be Vivi's pet, right? The one that always got lost and ran in the wrong direction. Its name was... Karoo, if he remembered correctly.

Speaking of which, since this guy counts as Vivi's pet, could he just sacrifice the whole thing?

"Quack! Quack-quack!"

Karoo suddenly felt a mysterious chill run down his spine. All his feathers stood on end as he panicked and shoved his head into the sand—but his butt stuck up high in the air.

Are you an ostrich or a duck?!

Shano smacked its chubby duck butt with a frown. Honestly, it felt kind of nice.

Too much paranoia! Coward!

Like he'd really lay a hand on such a cute little animal.

[You sacrificed Karoo's sunglasses. You received 100 points.]

Alright, finally reached 500 points. Not bad.

Shano glanced at his system panel.

Tomorrow, the store would refresh, and now his remaining points had reached a solid 52,200.

That included the contribution from Hanazawa just now.

Though honestly, even after cutting off Hanazawa's right arm and sacrificing it, he only gave about a thousand points.

Guess that's the price of being a background SBS-only character. His value paled compared to a mainstream Warlord like Crocodile.

Oh right, and there was also that dopey Jack.

Shano called over Kuina to ask what had become of Hanazawa's subordinates.

The answer: the high-bounty officers had all been taken out by Smoker.

As for the rest of the regular pirates, they'd been frozen into ice sculptures by Nojiko and handed over to the Alabasta royal guards.

As for Jack—who, upon showing up, had immediately broken through the ice and sank to the bottom of the river...

Nobody knew where he'd drifted off to.

Shano even used Observation Haki to search the harbor area but didn't see a trace.

So he gave up.

By the banks of the Sandora River, peace had returned under the coordination of the royal guards.

Merchant ships resumed their passage.

Igaram, representing the bedridden King Cobra, extended an invitation to Shano and his crew for a grand banquet at the palace.

This was right up Shano's alley—he'd been eyeing that poneglyph in the capital for a while now.

Meeting Cobra was also the perfect chance to clear his name and fully expose Crocodile's schemes.

Still, it wasn't wise to linger too long.

Once he secured the poneglyph, Shano planned to leave this desert kingdom immediately.

After all, the battle at the river mouth had been too public. With the total collapse of Hanazawa's pirate crew, news would spread quickly—even reaching Marine HQ.

If he stuck around, there was no telling when that grudge-holding mad dog might come sniffing around again.

The next morning.

The Falling Curtain unfurled its sails and sped up the Sandora River, heading for the inland capital.

Igaram had already gone ahead with Vivi to prepare the banquet.

So the ship's deck was left to the core crew—but it was still noisy.

Or more accurately…

Nami alone was loud enough to give everyone a headache.

"Ahhh! What's taking the news bird so long?!"

Nami leaned over the railing, craning her neck to look skyward. The sticky rice ball on her orange head shook with every anxious bounce of her legs.

"It's already eleven! Does the World Economic News have no sense of urgency?!"

"You've asked fifteen times since this morning. One more and I'll lose it."

Kuina leaned against the mast, polishing both her Wado Ichimonji and the floral sword Robin had gifted her. Without even lifting her head, she muttered:

"Can't you chill for once? Even if Morgans' crew works fast, it still takes time for the Hanazawa battle report to reach them."

"One night is enough! This was my big moment!"

Nami huffed, fists flailing. "Big bro took down a Warlord solo—but I did better! Nojiko, Smoker, and I cleaned up the whole crew in under thirty minutes! That deserves a front-page headline!"

"But even if the paper comes out, bounty increases need approval from Marine HQ."

Robin strolled over with two cups of black coffee, smiling.

"So even if you buy an express edition, your bounty won't change. It's still 80,000 berries."

"I don't care!"

Nami suddenly lunged at Gin, grabbing his fluffy ears.

"This is your fault, Gin! Last time, you stole the spotlight, and the Marines mistook my flames as part of your power! That's why I'm still stuck at 80,000!"

"…"

Gin didn't even bother responding. He yawned lazily, basking in the sun as Nami twisted his ears into braids.

"Eighty thousand?"

Shano, who had been dozing under a parasol, lifted his sunglasses with surprise.

"I thought it was eighty million?"

"…You!"

Nami flushed bright red. But seeing that Shano looked genuinely confused and not teasing her, she couldn't vent her anger—just stomped her foot in frustration.

Stupid big bro! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

If it really was 80 million, she'd already be ahead of Nojiko. She wouldn't even be stressing about the news bird!

"It really is 80,000," Robin said with a laugh, settling under the parasol and placing a coffee by Shano. "You had just woken up then and were talking to me while reading the paper. Must've misread it."

"Thanks."

Shano took a sip of coffee, chuckling at Nami's puffy cheeks.

"Alright, alright, I misremembered. Don't take it to heart. Don't worry, it'll skyrocket this time."

After all, Gin hadn't even left the ship.

Nami, on the other hand, had gone all out—casting flashy, large-scale techniques the whole way, drawing gasps from the crowds on the shore.

If Marine Intelligence still screwed this up, then they really were nothing but glorified office workers with PowerPoint presentations.

"…I hope so." Nami slumped over the railing, still listless.

Shano shrugged and ignored her, sipping his coffee as he opened the system shop.

The market had refreshed.

Now came his second favorite activity after fighting—shopping spree time!

It had been a while.

Last time was before they went to Little Garden.

That market refresh wasn't great—ten items, most of them junk. He only ended up buying two.

But this time—

It seemed Lady Luck was finally smiling his way.

As soon as the page loaded, the first item had him sitting up, intrigued.

[Sleight-of-Hand Card Pack]

Type: Consumable

Price: 2000 points

Description: Grants five "Sleight-of-Hand" cards. Each card allows you to steal a random item from any person within your line of sight, regardless of distance. Includes one free trial.

Seller's note: "Yoink!"

The note was weird, but the effect was solid.

Stealing anything from anyone in view, regardless of distance?

Tailor-made for him!

There'd be times when he'd face top-tier enemies but couldn't get close to steal—this was perfect.

Five uses for just 2000 points. That's only 400 points per shot.

An absolute bargain.

Bought! Next!

[Wand of Knock]

Type: Permanent Item

Price: 3000 points

Description: A magical wand. Just having it in your inventory grants the "Knock" spell. Instantly unlocks any locked object—doors, chests, cuffs, mechanisms—just give it a gentle tap.

Seller's note: "I'm stuck in the Baldur's Gate bank vault. No knock spell. Please send help."

Unlock anything?

That's way too useful. Shano didn't hesitate—straight to cart.

A great tool, no doubt.

But still… why did it feel like his journey to become Pirate King had completely derailed?

With tools like these, his stealing game would reach literal god-tier.

Raftel, here I come!

[Wish Spell Scroll]

Type: Consumable

Price: 15,000 points

Description: A spell blessed by the Children of the Stars. Can be cast by anyone. Requires one uninterrupted hour of chanting. Heals all injuries and diseases, dispels all debuffs.

Affects up to five people at once. Each use consumes an additional 5,000 points.

Seller's note: "As long as I live, no harm shall come to my friends!"

A god-tier spell!

Shano nearly spilled his coffee, sitting up in excitement.

Sure, it was pricey—15,000 points—and it couldn't be used mid-battle like a senzu bean.

But that effect…

Five people, fully healed and cleansed for just 5000 points per use?

With this, who even needs a ship doctor?!

Wait no, bad thought.

Shano quickly chugged his coffee to calm down.

A doctor was still essential. Can't waste 5k every time someone gets the sniffles.

Still—add to cart. Next!

[Ultraman Statue in the Pyramid]

Type: Wonder

Price: 12,000 points

Description: An ancient statue beside the Tiga statue. In the original timeline, it was shattered by Golza and Melba. Cannot be activated without the Light's approval.

Seller's note: "Like sunlight breaking through the night…"

Yep, spoke too soon. Time for the useless junk.

Who buys this kind of stuff?

Shano shook his head. He was still in his growth phase—no wasting points.

Skip!

[Yasuo's Swordsmanship Secrets]

Type: Training Manual

Price: 2000 points

Description: The final sword manual written by the elderly swordmaster Yasuo after returning to his homeland. Deeply profound. The benefit you gain depends on your natural talent.

Seller's note: "Death is like the wind—always by my side."

"…"

Shano paused, eyes gleaming.

This one… was tempting.

Shano squinted slightly.

The last two sentences of that item's description… weren't they just a bit too malicious?

Damn it, can't a swordsmanship idiot have some gains too!?

He didn't understand a thing about the Way of the Sword, and yet now he had become a true dual-wielding great swordsman!

Sigh… but still, he had to grit his teeth and buy it.

He couldn't use it himself—just watching it for a while would probably put him to sleep—but on his ship, there was someone who would be thrilled to have it.

—Kuina.

This girl, whom he had officially appointed as vice-captain, was destined to become his left-hand assistant in the future, standing with him at the peak of this vast sea.

As the captain, he would give her a little support toward her dream—becoming the world's greatest swordsman!

Next item!

…

[Cart Titan Transformation Card]

[Type: Consumable]

[Price: 3000 points]

[Description: Upon use, transform into the Cart Titan, becoming one of the Nine Intelligent Titans. Transformation can last up to one month and can be canceled early.]

[Seller's Note: "Beyond the sea… are pirates… sob sob I want to go to the pirate world! Why did I get assigned here instead… The Rumbling is almost here already."]

Poor kid.

Shano sincerely wished that person could survive the Rumbling.

Such a pity. If they had sent him over there instead, even if the Rumbling stomped on his head, the one getting hurt would still be the titan.

So… someone who doesn't even take the Colossal Titan seriously would have to be out of his mind to spend 3000 points to turn into a Cart Titan.

Skip this one too!

…

[Prism Tower]

[Type: Defensive Structure]

[Price: 1500 points]

[Description: A core defense structure of the Allied faction from Red Alert. Once placed at base, it will enter stealth mode. If a hostile stranger is detected entering the base area, it will automatically stun them with a prism beam.]

[Maximum Alert Range: 50 meters radius]

[Seller's Note: "I'm gonna steal another one of these today. Twist neck to the right, charge!"]

"Oh?"

Shano raised an eyebrow. A defensive structure?

This was the first time he'd seen this type of item. It actually seemed quite practical, making him a bit tempted.

He just didn't know if it could be installed on a ship. The Duskfall was 60 meters long—if it could be placed at the ship's center, then it would provide seamless protection for the entire vessel with no blind spots.

That way, after anchoring, there'd be no need to assign someone to guard the ship.

Even during regular voyages, he wouldn't have to worry about someone sneaking aboard by bypassing his Observation Haki with some weird Devil Fruit ability.