The Terror of the Pirates

During the day, the sound of celebratory gunfire echoed throughout Mad Hatter Town.

It wasn't until evening that the noise finally began to die down.

Soon after, the sun set, and the town lit up with lanterns.

After dinner, Thor prepared to head out to the auction with a bag full of cash.

Although he didn't possess the talent to become a great swordsman, he had a deep love for collecting famous blades.

The Skillful Sword from the auction tonight was his target.

Before leaving, he turned to Sunny and Alex and said in a slightly warning tone:

"You two, if you don't have anything to do tonight, go to bed early."

"Got it."

"Understood."

Sunny and Alex nodded.

Seeing this, Thor opened the shop door and left.

After watching Thor leave, Alex quickly closed the door and bolted it.

"Sunny, I'm going to bed then."

"Oh, so you're planning to sneak out this early?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying, as soon as Thor leaves, you're already thinking about sneaking out to join the excitement?"

"What are you talking about? It's so dangerous out there. How could I dare to go out?"

Caught by Sunny, Alex chuckled awkwardly.

Sunny snorted coldly. "Do you think I don't know what you've been up to these past few days?"

"What have I been up to?"

Alex blinked, playing dumb.

Seeing Alex feign ignorance, Sunny didn't bother to argue and instead warned him:

"Tonight is different from usual, so you'd better not go out. I don't want to open the shop tomorrow and find Arthur delivering your corpse with your eyeballs popped out, your ears and nose cut off, your body chopped into a dozen pieces, and half a pound of your internal organs missing."

"Sunny, you... you're ruthless!"

Alex's eye twitched, unable to handle Sunny's well-meaning but graphic warning.

Sunny's expression was serious. "I'm being serious."

"I can tell."

"Then stay in bed tonight."

"..."

Alex fell silent.

Seeing this, Sunny frowned and also fell silent.

She knew that when Alex stopped joking around, it meant his decision was set in stone.

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

After a long while, Sunny suddenly walked over to the counter and pulled out a yellowed notebook from the depths of a drawer.

"Take this."

She tossed the notebook to Alex.

Alex caught it and asked, "What's this?"

"My notebook of intelligence I've gathered over the years."

"Intelligence notebook?"

Alex's eyes widened as he quickly flipped through the notebook.

"This is..."

After skimming a few pages, Alex's expression turned excited.

In this not-too-thick notebook, there were detailed records of pirates with mid-to-high bounties.

This was exactly what he needed most right now.

He had initially thought that Sunny had only looked into the backgrounds of their "neighbors" as a precaution.

But now it seemed the real reason was that Sunny had been doing this kind of thing all along.

"Sunny, is... is this your hobby?"

Suppressing his excitement, Alex almost stuffed the notebook into his chest.

Sunny didn't understand why Alex was so excited, but she didn't press the matter and simply shook her head. "Not entirely a hobby. It's more of a preparation for the future."

"Preparation for the future?"

"Yeah. Thor's getting old. One day he might not wake up, or he might pass away next month. It's not impossible."

Sunny first casually described the potential future Thor, as an old man, might face, then continued:

"When that happens, I'll have to shoulder certain pressures alone. And since my own strength is limited, I can only reduce the pressure by preparing intelligence in advance."

"You've already thought that far ahead?"

Alex was surprised, but he thought Thor still had a good few years left, given how he still had the energy to go to the red-light district for morning exercises.

Unintentionally, he seemed to have adapted to Sunny's occasional sharp tongue.

"Because I'm not like you. I don't have talent."

Sunny glanced at Alex's lower body.

She was looking at the weights on his legs.

"Uh..."

Alex didn't know how to respond.

"Thor didn't save you out of kindness, nor just to have an extra pair of hands in the shop. It was more so that I wouldn't be left alone to handle everything in the future."

"Before you, there were several others, but none of them could adapt to Mad Hatter Town, and they all died horribly."

At this point, Sunny stared directly at Alex's face.

"But even Thor didn't expect that the guy he brought back this time, though sometimes a bit of a smooth talker, had such astonishing talent that he even broke his own rule and offered to take you as a disciple."

Alex fell silent upon hearing this.

He had always wondered why Thor had saved him.

Now he finally understood.

Seeing Alex's silence, Sunny's tone grew heavier. "I don't dislike you, which is why I'm giving you the notebook. And I don't want you to die too soon."

"Thank you."

Alex suddenly smiled warmly.

Even if I don't say I like you, I don't dislike you either.

He thought to himself.

Sunny snorted. "What you do after this is up to you, but you have to return the notebook to me tomorrow night."

"Huh? I have to return it?"

"Of course! That's something I worked hard to compile!"

"Can't I keep it?"

"No, but you can copy it down yourself."

"Fair enough."

Alex chuckled.

With that, Sunny said no more and headed upstairs.

She had given Alex the notebook in hopes that he would stay away from dangerous people and not get himself killed for no reason.

"Sunny."

Alex suddenly called out to her.

Sunny stopped and turned to look at him quietly.

"What kind of Devil Fruit do you want? I'll get you one in the future."

"..."

Seeing Sunny remain silent, Alex counted on his fingers and smiled:

"Let's not go for a Logia type. They're too hard to get. Zoan types are good—durable and tough—but their lower limits are too low, and there are too many varieties. Unless it's an Ancient Zoan, it's not worth considering."

"After thinking about it, Paramecia types are the best. But Paramecia types are all over the place, with several broad categories like Body Alteration, Creation, and Manipulation."

"So it depends on what you need most. I remember there's a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit called the Smooth-Smooth Fruit. I think that one would suit you well."

Listening to Alex's sudden ramble, Sunny said expressionlessly, "You seem to know a lot about Devil Fruits."

Alex quickly explained, "I read about them in a book."

"Oh."

Sunny thought for a moment, then suddenly turned back toward the counter.

Alex was puzzled. "What are you doing?"

"Writing it down."

Sunny took out a pen and paper and began meticulously recording everything Alex had just said about Devil Fruits.

Alex was speechless.

Wasn't it more important to decide on a direction first rather than taking notes?

He silently watched Sunny, who was now hunched over the counter, diligently writing in her notebook, and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

Despite her sharp appearance, there were moments when she gave off a somewhat naive vibe.

Devil Fruits...

In his mind, he recalled the look on Sunny's face when she saw the auction catalog.

"Even if I can't do it now, I'll definitely get you a Devil Fruit in the future."

Alex thought to himself.