— — — — — — — —
Joey smiled and said, "Alright! No need to dwell on it too much. If you're not satisfied, then just get stronger."
"Yeah!" Everyone nodded again.
That was the truth.
Not satisfied?
Then get stronger!
On this vast ocean. In this world. In the boundless multiverse.
Strength is the most important thing.
Snap!
Everyone clenched their fists firmly, their eyes flashing with determination.
Joey glanced briefly at Daifuku but didn't say much.
Then, turning his gaze to Katakuri, he asked, "Katakuri, how do you feel? Have you gained control over your Stand's abilities?"
Katakuri replied, "Big brother! I'm getting more and more used to my Stand, but if you ask about its abilities…"
He shook his head.
After some thought, he said, "I have some ideas, but they're just rough guesses. I can't say for sure what the full extent of its power is."
Joey reassured him, "No need to rush. You have plenty of time to figure it out. Abilities… you'll master them step by step."
Then, he turned to the four younger ones. "How's the learning going?"
They blinked at each other.
One looked at the other. The other looked back.
Learning?
Didn't they just have a fight?
What was there to learn from that?
Daifuku asked in confusion, "Oven, what does he mean?"
Oven rolled his eyes. "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I don't know either! How would I know what's going on?!"
The others also shook their heads blankly.
Except for Katakuri. The rest of them just looked on curiously.
After all, aside from Katakuri being both intelligent and courageous...
The others...
Well—Joey figured there was no changing them. They were the type to charge forward without thinking, believing brute strength could solve everything.
But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Their family already had enough smart people.
When it came to Joey's question, Nusstorte answered outright:
"I don't know anything."
"I don't understand. I don't get it. Don't ask me."
His expression was one of pure cluelessness, and he seemed oddly proud of it.
"Hahahaha!"
The older siblings couldn't help but laugh.
Joey glared at them and scolded, "What right do you have to laugh at Nusstorte? Aren't you all the same?"
"Uh…" Their laughter stopped instantly.
Their personalities were almost identical. None of them were any better than the others.
All in all…they were all just as clueless.
Of course, Joey hadn't expected Nusstorte to come up with anything useful anyway.
After all, he was just a brat.
Joey's attention shifted to Custard and Moscato.
"Umm…"
Custard, the little girl, spoke up cutely. "Big brother! Actually, I think… letting the Whitebeard Pirates go would be more beneficial for us! A tiger with attachments is different from a tiger with nothing to lose."
Joey nodded in satisfaction and turned to Moscato.
Moscato scratched his head and added, "Also! Big brother, I think these pirates shouldn't necessarily be wiped out. Since they're crazy, who knows what kind of chaos they'll cause? In the end, we could just sit back and reap the rewards."
"Uh… that's what teacher Zhuge Liang taught us, right?"
The two siblings had clearly put some thought into this.
Of course, it wasn't a deep analysis, nor was it an overly important one.
After all, anyone with just a bitof awareness could see this. And they could tell what Joey was thinking.
"Hmm!" Joey nodded approvingly. "Not bad at all. Keep thinking. Strength and ability should develop together."
"But for you kids, thinking is even more important."
Joey was genuinely pleased with them.
They were a talented bunch!
Abilities! They were something you were born with.
Whether it was fighting skills…Or leadership skills…Some things were simply innate.
Sure, you could learn them later.
But the truth?
That's just a dream! Success is said to be 99% effort and 1% talent.
But without that 1% talent, that 99% effort is nothing but wasted effort. That 1% was the limit of their potential after all.
Joey was feeling satisfied with Custard and Moscato. He had found four capable ministers.
Amande, Broye, Custard, and Moscato were all promising.
At that moment—
"I found it! I found it!"
"Hahaha! 1 billion berries are mine!"
A man's crazed laughter echoed through the air.
He ran toward them, carefully cradling a Devil Fruit.
"Stop right there!" Daifuku stepped in front of him, his gaze icy.
The man trembled in fear. After all, he was just an ordinary person.
Faced with someone like Daifuku, who had walked a bloody path since childhood…
A single glare was enough to terrify him.
But his desire for riches overcame his fear. "Sir! Sir! I found the Devil Fruit! I found it!"
Clearly, his hunger for wealth had numbed his terror.
"Hmm?"
Daifuku glanced at the fruit and said, "Hand it over. Let me see."
"Y-Yes!" The man carefully handed over the fruit.
Daifuku examined it and said, "Big brother, this isn't the Shining Fruit. It's the Pocket Fruit that we also were looking for."
"Oh?"
Joey raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. "Well, this is an unexpected bonus! Not bad at all. Give him the promised amount—1 billion berries."
"Big brother! No problem!"
Soon, an enormous treasure chest was placed before the man.
1 billion berries! A fortune beyond imagination.
For an ordinary person, they could work for ten lifetimes and never earn that much.
The man bowed respectfully then he grabbed the treasure and hurried away.
Watching him run off, the others smirked.
They didn't care much.
As Joey always said—there's no need to resort to violence all the time.
Money! That most trivial of things—wasn't it the easiest way to solve problems?
If money alone could resolve 99% of troubles, why bother fighting?
That would be completely pointless.
Everyone wholeheartedly agreed with their big bro's reasoning.
That was just common sense.
"Hmm—"
Joey toyed with the Pocket Fruit, contemplating. "Pocket-Pocket Fruit, Book-Book Fruit, Heal-Heal Fruit... Right now, we have three Devil Fruits, all of which are support-type! This is quite tricky. None of them seem suited for Compote."
Three Devil Fruits! All of them were excellent in their own privilege.
The Book-Book Fruit, in particular, was downright broken.
First off! Its development and usage had limitless potential.
From activation to application. Every aspect was top-tier.
However, the Book-Book Fruit leaned more towards support.
The Healing Fruit and Pocket Fruit were similar.
They just weren't unsuitable for Compote.
Compote, understanding the situation, casually said, "Big bro! I'm not in a rush to get a Devil Fruit. Right now, I'm more interested in awakening my Stand ability."
Joey pondered. "If that's the case, we'll take our time finding a Devil Fruit for you! If I had to pick, there is one that would suit you perfectly, but... someone has already eaten it."
"Now..."
He shook his head, dismissing the thought. "We haven't figured out how to extract Devil Fruits yet. Or maybe we could get our hands on the Dark-Dark Fruit? Sigh! Finding these things is never easy!"
It was frustrating.
Joey thought for a moment and asked, "System! Can a Devil Fruit be swapped for another for a family member?"
[Clan Leader! This would require 3000 Achievement Points.]
Joey fell silent.
"Never mind!" He remained calm, but inwardly, he was cursing the system.
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
"3,000 Achievement Points?!"
"It takes 3,000 points just to enhance a single technique?!"
But then again, it was fair! Devil Fruits were essentially the embryonic forms of laws. Altering a fundamental law wasn't exactly an easy feat.
— — —
"Found it!"
"I found it!"
A similarly excited voice rang out as a woman rushed over in a frenzy.
She was practically losing her mind with excitement.
Clutching a Devil Fruit tightly in her hands. She was trembling with joy.
Joey narrowed his eyes and said, "This time, there's no mistake. It's definitely the Shining Fruit. Call everyone back! We've got the Devil Fruit. No need to keep searching."
"Understood!"
"Big bro!"
Mondée immediately left to handle it.
Before long Mondée returned with the Shining Fruit in hand.
The person who had brought it was also sent off with the reward.
Hachée and Effilée also returned.
The two girls awkwardly scratched their heads.
Hachée apologized. "Big bro! Sorry about that. We didn't find a single Devil Fruit. We wasted 2 billion Berries."
Joey simply laughed. "That's nothing. Whether it's the Shining Fruit or the Pocket Fruit, they're worth far more than 2 billion Berries. We got them so easily—this is a win."
"Remember what I told you? If money can solve the problem, it's a small problem."
Toying with the Shining Fruit in his hand, Joey casually tossed it to Nusstorte and said, "Brat! This Devil Fruit is yours."
Nusstorte beamed. "Big bro! Don't worry, I won't waste this Devil Fruit's potential!"
Crunch!
Without hesitation…Nusstorte took huge bites, scarfing it down.
Everyone smiled as they watched the scene unfold.
Joey reached into the family's insignia and pulled out a weapon, handing it to Nusstorte. "A sword! A large cutlass!"
"You brat, isn't this your preferred weapon style? This one's yours!"
"Hehehe—"
Nusstorte was ecstatic.
Even though the taste of the Devil Fruit had twisted his face in disgust, his smile soon returned.
For a warrior…Nothing was more exciting than having their own weapon.
Pure hand-to-hand combatants were actually quite rare.
After all, Slashing someone with a blade versus engaging in bare-fisted combat were two completely different concepts!
In the Charlotte family, almost everyone had their own weapon.
All of them crafted by Dwarves that Joey got from another world.
Seeing Nusstorte's happiness, Joey simply smiled in silence.
.
.
.