Chapter 89: Regeneration Serum

Morgans?

Sounds like the president of the World Economic News Agency?

Guina looked thoughtful. She had always found it a bit curious—why did Lord Shano often seem to know far more about this world than she did?

Even though she had read extensively since childhood, and had a wise teacher like her father Koushirou who was well-versed in world affairs...

"Oh, right."

Guina suddenly remembered something and pulled a particular bounty poster from the stack. "This one's kind of strange too. For some reason, it looks like Marine Headquarters has classified this guy as one of our crew."

"Smoker?"

Shano frowned slightly.

Now that was interesting. After publicly executing Onigumo, the marines on the island had shown two completely opposite reactions.

Those directly under Onigumo's command had looked like they couldn't run fast enough, fleeing in panic like rats.

But the marines from Loguetown's local base were full of gratitude toward them. In the end, they had even cooperated to help treat the injured in the buildings around the square.

And yet—

They had never once seen Smoker, the base commander.

The man had seemingly vanished into thin air the entire time.

It wasn't until later, from the news reports, that Shano learned someone named Altai had been on Onigumo's battleship—killed on the spot by Smoker.

For the Marines, that certainly qualified as an unforgivable act of betrayal.

But to be labeled as part of his crew?

Most likely it was due to the fact that both incidents—Onigumo's execution and Altai's death—happened in the same place and time, making the connection seem obvious.

And then Smoker left Loguetown right after.

So, Marine HQ must've mistakenly assumed he had joined Shano's crew.

"No need to worry about him."

Shano shook his head. Once they show up in separate locations, Marine HQ would realize they're not allied. The bounties would naturally be reissued correctly.

That said...

From what he remembered, Smoker did have a short temper and liked to act on his own—but he always held strong faith and loyalty toward the Marines.

To push someone like that to not only leave the Marines but also strike down a royal ally... something serious must have happened on that warship.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

From the front of the Silver Wolf ship came the dull sound of fists banging on something.

"Hey, Nami," Shano looked over, speechless. "You're still at it? It's been several minutes—haven't you vented enough yet?"

"Marine Headquarters! Marine Headquarters!!!" Nami gritted her teeth, hammering her fists down repeatedly on a statue head that resembled A-Gin. "Aaaaagh! Damn it, A-Gin! I'm so pissed!!!"

Even A-Gin, their pet, had an 80-million-Berry bounty.

And her, the ship captain's sister, only got eight thousand!!!

Exactly one ten-thousandth of A-Gin's bounty. Absolutely outrageous. Who could endure that?!

Was the Marines' intelligence division staffed by a bunch of idiots?

Didn't they realize she had been secretly helping out during the Loguetown incident?

Plenty of the officers sent in as reinforcements were blocked off by her flame powers—and yet they didn't even notice she was a Devil Fruit user!

"Let her be."

Shano chose to ignore it and casually asked, "How long until we reach Reverse Mountain?"

"Very soon."

Guina looked into the distance. The towering Red Line was already faintly visible. "If all goes well, we'll be ready to climb it by early tomorrow morning."

So they were finally about to enter the Grand Line...

Her expression turned a little nostalgic. When she first set out to sea, she never imagined that even before reaching Reverse Mountain, she would already be a "great pirate" with a bounty over 70 million Berries.

As for the captain...

Tch. She was secretly looking forward to it. She couldn't help but wonder—when some pirate crew on the Grand Line tries to surround them, thinking they're just rookies, what kind of expression will they make when they learn her captain's bounty is 180 million?

Shano, of course, had no idea what she was thinking. After scanning the newspaper and confirming there was no useful intel, he casually opened his system panel.

Displayed right at the top was the latest offering record from a few days ago:

[You sacrificed Roger's execution platform, gained 18,000 points]

[You sacrificed Hound's severed arm, gained 300 points]

[You sacrificed Onigumo's flying dragon helmet, gained 1,000 points]

[Current point balance: 48,600]

...

Roger's execution platform had provided a full 18,000 points—second only to Luffy's original straw hat.

It was definitely worth the half hour Shano had spent underwater salvaging it that night they set sail.

As for the Hound's severed arm—that came from those four rear admirals who were captured and tied up.

Since they dared attack him, they should've been prepared to pay the price.

None of them were spared—he had severed one arm from each as a warning, and also to see if any could be looted for useful offerings.

Unfortunately, only the Hound was a named character from the manga.

Shano had a vague memory of him:

A Dog-Dog Fruit user in the Hound form—six years later, in the original timeline, he was one of eight Marine vice admirals who accompanied Saint Saturn to Egghead Island to eliminate Vegapunk and the Straw Hats.

As for those lower-ranked marines, they'd fled fast enough, and Shano hadn't bothered chasing them.

The pirates knocked out in the plaza had all been arrested by the Loguetown base.

"Almost 50,000 points already…"

Looking at his point balance, Shano downed his cocktail in one gulp, feeling quite pleased.

He immediately opened the trading market. After all, when you've got money, you've got to spend it. If he remembered right, the store's listings had just refreshed a few days ago—perfect time to see if there was anything useful.

[Hokage Rock]

[Type: Wonder]

[Price: 5,000 points]

[Description: The massive mountain behind the Hidden Leaf Village, carved with the faces of all the Hokage up to the Sixth.]

[Seller's Note: Just dug it out—if your house is big enough, it'll look great in your living room. Anyone interested?]

Shano scrolled right past it.

He could afford the 5,000 points, sure.

But it made zero sense in terms of practicality...

Who the hell spends their early-game resources on landmarks?!

...

[Piccolo's Regeneration Serum]

[Type: Special Item]

[Price: 7,000 points]

[Description: A special serum from the second-generation Piccolo of the Dragon Ball world. When injected, grants the ability "Regeneration." Any bodily injury—except to the head—can be rapidly repaired using the user's own energy. The energy cost scales with the mass of the body part being regenerated.]

[Seller's Note: This thing was a pain to steal... huh? A round metal ball just dropped up ahead. I'm gonna go check it out.]

Regeneration serum?

Shano blinked, eyes flashing with desire—he added it to his cart on the spot.

Hesitating for even one second would be an insult to Demon King Piccolo!

With the support of the Flesh Furnace technique, his physical strength and endurance were already monstrous.

But even someone as powerful as Aokiji had his leg broken. Even Whitebeard got half his head blown off. Who could guarantee that in a future life-or-death battle, he wouldn't lose a limb or two?

"So I just need to use up a bit of my energy, and I can heal any part of my body except the head?"

Shano stroked his chin thoughtfully. He'd test it out in the training room later to see how it worked in practice.

Just… where should he try it first?

He glanced down at Sabo, instinctively.