CHAPTER 179- Add Money, Open the Platinum Box!
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
Their eyes landed on the final line of Sengoku's report.
In that instant, all doubt vanished.
They knew—anything Luo Yu asked extra payment for, he must have already done it.And if he had the nerve to ask Sengoku himself for more money, then this matter was already as good as done.
No one doubted it anymore.
Even Akainu's face darkened. His fists clenched tightly, but for once, he didn't say a word.
The nickname "Add-Money Admiral" clearly carried so much weight that even Akainu had to acknowledge it.
Sengoku glanced at Akainu and secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Akainu had already gone out of his way to swallow his pride and step in to ask Aramaki to stand down—for him, that was an immense gesture of goodwill.
But now, because of Aramaki's sudden "loyalty offering"—even going so far as to kidnap a Celestial Dragon—Akainu might feel that he'd lost face in front of Luo Yu.
That would not bode well.
However, when Sengoku looked again at the photo of the Celestial Dragon trussed up like a rice dumpling, he couldn't help the twitch in his cheek… and suddenly remembered something important.
He turned sharply and asked, "Lilan, you said earlier that Hina only reported Luo Yu sent the Celestial Dragon back—but he hasn't confirmed his return to headquarters?"
"I remember… his ship currently has six and a half special combatants onboard. Don't tell me he's actually planning to recruit a full eight to ten, just for the bonus?"
He groaned.
"I'm starting to feel like not even our retirement funds will cover this!"
"…Tsuru, can I borrow some money?"
"Scram."
Tsuru gave him a death glare and turned to leave.
But whether it was her or Sengoku, the tightly furrowed brows they'd worn for days had visibly relaxed.
Ten Days Later — Calm Belt, Unnamed Sea
A warship cut through the waves.
Wherever it passed, enormous Sea Kings lurking in the Calm Belt—waiting to prey—would rear their heads toward the surface, only to catch sight of a lone figure standing atop the deck.
And then—as if seeing a ghost—they fled in a frenzy.
It had already been ten days since the Sabaody clash.
Yet for those who had witnessed it, the memories remained vivid and impossible to forget.
To think that Aramaki, someone whom even the Fleet Admiral acknowledged as an admiral-class combatant and who was considered impossible to deal with, had not only surrendered… but boarded Luo Yu's ship while offering up a bound Celestial Dragon.
Still seemed like a fantasy.
"Oi, oi, Admiral! You're scaring off all the Sea Kings like this! How the hell am I supposed to replenish my nutrients?! Are you planning to starve me out so I can't recover and challenge you again?!"
Aramaki, chewing a leaf between his lips, grumbled loudly as he watched another Sea King flee in terror.
For ten days now, they'd been drifting across the sea without touching land once.
Which meant Aramaki couldn't root into the earth and absorb nutrients to recover from his injuries from that fateful battle.
But being too prideful to eat actual food, all he could do was sit there, dry-eyed and grumpy.
"Heh… Aramaki old pal, you really do like sticking close to Admiral Luo Yu," Fujitora chuckled as he walked over, leaning on his sword cane.
"You wanted to stand up for the Celestial Dragons, right? Luo Yu let you do it. So why are you still grumbling? Eat something, recover your strength, then challenge him properly next time."
"But, as your old friend, let me give you some advice—don't underestimate Admiral Luo Yu."
"He gathered so many unpredictable characters aboard his ship. That alone says a lot. I'm just worried you'll suffer another loss."
"Me? Suffer?" Aramaki scowled. "Tch… Brother Fujitora, I only lost because he blindsided me with some weird move that temporarily severed my connection to my Devil Fruit."
"I was caught off guard. That's the only reason I lost. That slash? Pfft. Looked fancy, but who said I couldn't block it?"
His non-stop rant echoed across the deck like a woodpecker on espresso.
But Luo Yu didn't pay it much attention.
To him, it didn't matter whether the cat was black or white—as long as it brought money, it was a lucky cat.
And for lucky cats, Luo Yu had a lot of patience.
What Aramaki said wasn't entirely wrong either. His Forest-Forest Fruit was incredibly troublesome, and the only reason Luo Yu had managed to suppress him was because of the spell 'Dark Moon' from Yomi Keita's dark magic.
In small range, the spell nullified all negative effects.
In a large area, it could instantly sever a Devil Fruit user's connection to their powers.
The effect lasted only a moment—but in the heat of battle, that moment was enough to flip the entire tide.
It was a technique eerily similar to Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit.
Except unlike Blackbeard, who had to use his hands to activate his ability…
Luo Yu didn't even need to lift a finger. Now that was class.
Still, such battles were nothing more than appetizers.
Luo Yu knew full well—the coming storm would involve the Emperors.
And his current arsenal wasn't enough.
Ding! Congratulations, host! You've received a bounty reward of 180 million berries!
The system's crisp, ethereal notification rang out.
Luo Yu's brows lifted, and his hand almost crushed the gourd of wine in excitement.
This payout was generous!
His bounty fund, previously sitting at 40 million, had now skyrocketed to 220 million.
With numbers like that, a smile crept across Luo Yu's face.
He wondered… what face was Sengoku making right now?
To earn 180 million in just ten short days—Luo Yu was glad he had accepted the special combat unit task.
It also helped that he'd squeezed a nice 30 million out of Doflamingo…
And then fished another 10 million out of the Celestial Dragon.
And with six and a half special combatants on board already, reaching the goal to upgrade the Platinum Chest was suddenly within reach.
Aramaki's recruitment had originally just been a gamble.
Luo Yu never expected Sengoku to suddenly act so generous and round up the payment to count it as seven combatants—paying out a total of 140 million berries in one go!
Now, staring at his plump little war chest, Luo Yu couldn't help turning his eyes toward the gleaming Platinum Chest interface.
Facing an Emperor soon, he hoped this would be the "king bomb" that armed him to the teeth in advance.
At the very least, he wanted to be off work on time.
"System, upgrade my Gold Chest to Platinum immediately!"
Ding! Please wait, host…
Ding! Congratulations, host. One hundred million berries deducted. Gold Chest successfully upgraded to Platinum.
Ding! Congratulations, host. You've received a Platinum Chest — Trial Edition. Would you like to open it now?