Late at night, while most of the lights in Loguetown had been extinguished, the restaurant on the first floor of the Infinite Dream was still brightly lit.
Considering Meowth’s sudden appearance might seem odd to Smoker and the other Marines, Icey didn’t throw a grand welcoming party like before. Instead, he made a simple late-night snack.
The trio—a man, a goddess, and a cat—sat around a small table, the light above casting their elongated shadows.
“The world of the Great Pirate Era must have tons of treasure, right, Meowth?”
Having understood the brutality and danger of the pirate world, Meowth wasn’t too fearful. Instead, he was highly intrigued by the legendary One Piece treasure.
“If I can take that super treasure back to our world, Musashi and Kojiro won’t have to live as petty thieves anymore,” Meowth thought, a smile forming on his face as he envisioned this future.
Meowth held a wine glass in his paw, imitating human behavior. He swirled it a few times before tilting his head back to take a sip.
The rich, aromatic taste flowed down his throat, relaxing his tensed nerves as he adjusted to this new world.
—To welcome this cute creature, Aqua had generously brought out a bottle of wine she had treasured for a long time!
“Tasty, right? This is premium wine Magino gave me—it’s amazing!” Aqua, equally enraptured, took a sip from her glass.
“The One Piece treasure is still a bit out of our reach for now,” Icey said, relieved to see Meowth’s normal reaction.
Speaking of treasure maps, he suddenly thought of the Buggy Pirates he had personally sent to prison. He wondered if the incredibly lucky Buggy had managed to escape and if he had set out with renewed ambition using the naval base map Icey had given him.
“I’d love to see their faces when they dig a tunnel only to find themselves inside a Marine base,” Icey chuckled darkly.
He, too, had a glass of wine before him. Although Aqua treasured the wine Magino had given her, she wasn’t stingy enough to keep it all for herself. She poured a small amount for both Icey and King, showing a bit of generosity, but not too much.
“Meowth, your technological skills should be pretty advanced, right? Can you create high-powered, controllable robots?” Icey asked, looking at Meowth.
If he remembered correctly, most of Team Rocket’s advanced technology was developed and maintained by Meowth. Even if it wasn’t on par with the Pacifista, a robot equipped with basic cannons and steel bodies could significantly enhance King’s combat abilities!
After all, King had already shown a knack for operating cannons. Handling a robot should be a natural progression!
Hearing this, Meowth put down the steamed fish he was eating and casually replied, “With the right tools and materials, it shouldn’t be too difficult, meow.”
Seeing Meowth’s confident demeanor, Icey felt reassured. “No problem. Tomorrow, I’ll take you into town to gather supplies. Money isn’t an issue.”
At the mention of money and shopping, Aqua’s ears perked up, and she eagerly raised her hand. “Icey, Icey! I need money too! Even the Water Goddess has things to buy!”
“You don’t have to be so subtle. Just say you want to buy booze,” Icey retorted, exposing the goddess’s well-known fondness for alcohol. “We still have plenty of wine on the ship, so no need to buy more.”
“There are other important necessities besides wine!” Aqua protested, her eyes darting left and right.
“Like what?”
“Like, um… like…” With her mind full of thoughts about wine, Aqua struggled to come up with an excuse.
“I don’t care! I helped catch a lot of bounty pirates, so that money is rightfully mine!”
Unable to come up with a plausible excuse, Aqua decided to be direct and ask for money.
“Fine, I’ll give you a million,” Icey said, sounding like a stingy boss reluctantly paying his workers.
“What? That’s too little!”
Knowing the value of money in the pirate world, Aqua protested loudly.
“Then how about five hundred thousand?”
“On second thought, a million doesn’t seem that bad,” Aqua quickly backtracked, choosing to submit to capitalist oppression.
Icey smirked. He had her right where he wanted her.
Considering Aqua’s contribution to defeating the Creek Pirates, she deserved more than 60% of the earnings. But giving her too much would be a waste, as the excess would somehow disappear into the world due to her lack of financial acumen.
“Tomorrow, I’ll buy her a better bottle of wine in town,” Icey decided, proving he wasn’t entirely heartless.
“I’d like to buy some things in town too,” King, who rarely spoke, suddenly said.
As a dedicated gamer, King hoped to find some gaming consoles or related items in town, considering Loguetown’s proximity to the Grand Line might bring in rare items from other seas.
Seeing King’s interest in shopping, Icey was initially surprised but quickly agreed, “No problem.”
Their plans for the next day were set.
“Oh, Aqua, stand still for a moment. I want to test something,” Icey suddenly said, recalling Meowth’s earlier claw attack that left only minor scratches on Aqua’s face. He wanted to test her physical defense abilities.
Thinking back, she hadn’t really taken any serious damage since being summoned. Even when hiding and crying during the bandit attack, she was more afraid of the pain than actually hurt. Against Kuro and Creek, she mostly picked up the slack.
“What?” Aqua tilted her head, covering her mouth with one hand and giving Icey a strange look. “Icey, I never thought you’d be into such strange play.”
“While I admit I’m incredibly attractive and you’ve promised money, making such an indecent request suddenly puts me in a tough spot.”
(Refer to the book cover for specific expressions)
Meowth: “…”
King: “…”
“What are you thinking? I just want to test your physical defense!” Icey exclaimed, his expression shifting dramatically, his teeth becoming jagged in frustration.
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