Chapter 90: Keep Buying, Keep Feeling Good

No, no, it's still not a good idea to recklessly switch to Sabo.

If something really goes wrong and he can't come back, Ace would be devastated.

Shano shifted his gaze and looked at his own left hand.

Hmm... just to be safe, it's better to start testing from the pinky finger later.

…

[Tifa's Mythril Gloves]

[Type: Equipment]

[Price: 500 points]

[Description: One of the gloves compatible with Tifa from the Final Fantasy world. Made by Shinra Technology from mythril. The hardness at the knuckle area and the overall toughness far exceed that of ordinary metals.]

[Seller's Note: You said I could become Cloud, but why did I wake up as a Chocobo?!]

"Mythril gloves?"

Shano muttered.

He definitely wouldn't use something like this, but it would be perfect for Noki Gao.

The metal gloves she's using now were made by a blacksmith from a neighboring town a few years ago. The quality was just barely passable—only suitable for actual combat.

In every aspect, it certainly couldn't compare with a product from Shinra Technology.

Add to cart. Next!

…

[Henry's Secret Manual of Stealing Techniques]

[Type: Training Manual]

[Price: 600 points]

[Description: A secret manual written personally by Henry after maxing out his stealing skills in the world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Mastering the various techniques in it might take your pickpocketing skills to the next level—or even perfection.]

[Seller's Note: It's time, brothers—start prying!]

"The world's going downhill fast! Unbelievable!"

Shano clutched his heart in pain. How could someone sell something like this? Where's your conscience? Your bottom line? …Where's the buy button?

Oh… there it is.

Next!

…

[Cassandra's Falcon Statue]

[Type: Buff Item]

[Price: 5000 points]

[Description: A statue of the hawk Ikaros, which blesses the crew before voyages in the world of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. Install it on your ship, and crew members will receive double efficiency when training their bodies onboard. Can be stacked with other buff items.]

[Seller's Note: Damn, bro, I turned into Pythagoras!]

A divine item!

Shano's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he added it to the cart.

He remembered clearly that the first buff item he ever bought was the statue of Heracles.

It cost 2,000 points and gave him a 3x boost in physical training efficiency.

And now this falcon statue was priced at more than double that. It may only provide a 2x efficiency buff, but it's an area-wide aura effect!

For a lone wolf, maybe it's not that useful.

But for a captain of an entire ship, the cost-performance ratio was actually higher.

…

The rest of the items in the trading market were quickly browsed through, but none managed to spark Shano's buying impulse.

Time to check out.

This time, he bought a total of four items:

The serum, the gloves, the falcon statue, and the thievery manual.

Altogether, he spent 13,100 points, leaving him with 35,500. With Roger's execution platform as backup, his point balance was still quite solid.

After closing the status panel, Shano looked around.

Kuina had already gone to the second-floor balcony's open-air dojo to train, and Nami was still tirelessly tormenting the silver wolf statue like a husky on steroids.

Come on, it's just an 8,000-Berry bounty—was it really that bad?

Look at Chopper and Bepo, they never complain!

Shano shook his head, got up from the deck, and entered the cabin.

He first went to the mini orange grove and handed the mythril gloves to Noki Gao, who was watering the trees.

The blue-haired girl was overjoyed. Like she had received a treasure, she immediately put them on, then carefully stored away her old metal gloves in her locker, before running excitedly to her training room to test them out.

Shano smiled as he watched her happy figure, then began looking around for a suitable place to put the falcon statue.

After some deliberation, he finally decided to hang it on the wall of the library.

Kuina was usually the only one who came here, so there was no risk of accidents. And the ancient-looking falcon statue matched the overall decor of the library quite well.

Leaving the library, he walked to the end of the hallway toward the training room. Around the corner was the kitchen door.

Shano poked his head in, wanting to see what was for dinner.

And happened to catch Zeff with his butt sticking out, fiddling around at the kitchen vent with a groan.

"What's wrong, Uncle Zeff?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, it's the captain."

Zeff turned his head and looked a little troubled. "Something seems off with the exhaust fan. Lately, there's been way too much smoke while cooking. The ventilation duct seems clogged. Do you know how to fix it?"

Too much smoke?

"Let me take a look." Shano leaned over to study it with him.

He had repaired range hoods in his past life, so a more primitive exhaust fan should be no problem.

But… the tech tree in the pirate world was completely twisted—you never knew when some bizarre black-tech would show up.

Just like this exhaust fan.

From the outside, it looked primitive and crude. But the internal structure was way more complicated than he expected. The most ridiculous part… it actually ran on detergent power!

Who the hell could even explain the science behind that?!

The more Shano examined it, the more question marks filled his mind. Before his brain could fully crash, he suddenly realized—

—I'm just a musclehead who knows how to fight. This kind of thing is not something I can figure out!

"We need to find a professional as soon as possible," Shano offered a solution. "We really need a shipwright on board."

"Yeah," Zeff sighed. "I guess we'll have to make do for now. Once we reach the next town, we'll see if there's anyone who can fix it."

This really needed to be prioritized.

The exhaust fan and ventilation system were minor problems. But once they entered the Grand Line, who knew which would come first: enemies or storms?

The ship would definitely take damage at some point, so they had to have someone onboard who could provide technical support at any time.

Now that the key positions of chef and navigator were covered, what they needed most were a doctor and a shipwright.

"Hope we run into the right crewmates soon…"

After leaving the kitchen, he walked down the corridor and entered his personal training room.

He closed the door and took out the serum from his inventory, then used the built-in syringe to inject it into his body.

A slightly itchy feeling spread across his body, as if a warm current was flowing under his skin.

Shano waited quietly.

Until the words "Regeneration" appeared in his skill panel, he then pulled out the "Masamune" on his back and slashed at his pinky finger.

Clang!

The blade didn't cut…

Shano looked at his pinky in disbelief. There was only a faint white mark—not even a drop of blood.

Even a sword of Great Grade like Masamune couldn't break through. A normal blade would probably have chipped instantly.

At this point—

He had collected four volumes of the "Flesh Furnace Manual," namely: "Bronze Head," "Iron Bones," "Thick Skin," and the "Steel Muscle" he acquired last year.

"Steel Muscle" greatly enhanced the strength of his muscle fibers, boosting his overall bodily defense to a new level.

As for the final volume, it still hadn't appeared yet. Shano was really looking forward to the bonus from completing the full set.

But still, it all came down to the fact that he was a fake swordsman.

If it were Kuina, who had truly grasped the breath of all things, and if he didn't resist on purpose, she'd easily chop it off.

Looks like this is the only way.

Buzz—!

In an instant, the sharp blade was coated in jet-black Armament Haki. Shano also reversed the use of "Iron Body" to soften the root of his pinky finger as much as possible.

With a single slash, the pinky was finally cut off.

"One, two… five—huh?"

Just as Shano silently counted to the fifth second, something happened.

With an itchy sensation, the blood flowing from the wound suddenly reversed course, pulling back into the stump. The exposed finger bone rapidly extended, muscle fibers regrew swiftly—

Then, like a bamboo shoot sprouting from the soil, new white skin grew rapidly over the wound.

In less than ten seconds, the finger was completely restored.

He waved it in front of his eyes. Aside from a slightly paler tone, it was indistinguishable from the original.

Honestly, it looked kind of creepy.

But knowing that this terrifying regeneration ability now belonged to him brought only joy and reassurance.

He closed his eyes and sensed carefully.

The regeneration process had consumed some energy. Not much—less than 2%.

Which meant that losing a pinky was now pretty much negligible for him.

"Let's try something bigger!"

Shano immediately turned his attention to his thigh.

Today, he had to run several controlled experiments.

He wanted to know how long it took for different body parts to regenerate, and how much energy each one cost—just to have a clear idea.

After all, he had "Life Return" as backup.

No matter how much energy his body used up, he could just eat a few slabs of grilled meat, stuff himself full, burp, and pick his teeth—and it'd all be replenished.

…

While Shano was hidden away in his training room, gleefully experimenting on his own limbs—

Outside, the bounty posters of the "Twilight Adventurer Crew" had already begun fluttering across the seas like snowflakes, causing widespread attention across the world—like stones dropped into a still lake, silently sending ripples outward...