The base price of a Devil Fruit is 100 million berries.
Depending on its abilities and classification, the price can multiply several times over.
Even so, Devil Fruits remain scarce and highly sought after.
The most common venues where Devil Fruits appear are elite auctions, hosted by powerful organizations with deep connections.
However, due to the intense demand, auction prices are often pushed beyond what an average person can afford.
Arthur had managed to tap into certain underground channels to find sellers unwilling to auction their Devil Fruits.
Unfortunately, whether due to sheer bad luck or some inexplicable resistance, he had never once succeeded in obtaining a Devil Fruit, despite years of effort.
Now, standing before him was none other than Maude, a "renowned collector" of Devil Fruits. Arthur couldn't help but wonder if this was the closest he would ever get to acquiring one.
Determined not to let this chance slip away, he waited at the port in advance, hoping to catch Maude's arrival and make his request.
But Maude knew Arthur was short on funds.
While Maude currently possessed five Devil Fruits, he wasn't about to give them away cheaply.
More importantly, he had no need for money.
So, when Arthur made his plea, Maude simply responded, "Do you have the money?"—a blunt rejection.
Arthur's excitement cooled instantly. But his desire for a Devil Fruit remained overpowering; he couldn't afford to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.
He even considered offering Maude an IOU, but quickly dismissed the idea.
"No money... but I still want a Devil Fruit from Maude. What can I do..."
Arthur's mind raced.
There weren't many options available in his current situation.
And the only viable solution he could think of was one he found difficult to accept.
But ultimately, his desperation for a Devil Fruit won out.
Within seconds, Arthur lifted his gaze to Maude and solemnly declared, "I have no money—but I can sell you my life!"
"Your life?"
Maude shook his head slightly. It wasn't that he looked down on Arthur, but Arthur was far from meeting the standards Maude set for his crew.
To put it bluntly, Maude had no need for Arthur's life.
He was about to refuse outright when he suddenly recalled how he had "appropriated" a Log Pose from Arthur back at the Leviathan Island bar.
Arthur's expertise in wire techniques also came to mind.
That gave him pause.
Seeing Maude shake his head, Arthur felt his heart sink.
Selling his life to Maude—becoming his slave, even—was the only way Arthur could think of to obtain a Devil Fruit.
And yet, it still wasn't enough.
Recalling all his past failures, Arthur felt the weight of despair creeping in.
"Get on board. I'll give you a chance to prove your worth."
Just as Arthur was drowning in hopelessness, Maude's words cut through like a beacon of light in the darkness.
Arthur's heart ignited with renewed determination.
Suppressing his excitement, his eyes gleamed with hope.
"Boss, I won't let you down!"
A veteran of the underworld, Arthur immediately shifted his address to "Boss."
Maude, expressionless, replied, "I haven't acknowledged your 'worth' yet, so don't call me that. And don't get too excited just yet."
"If you fail to meet my expectations, I won't hesitate to kick you off the ship. On the other hand, if you prove yourself, then giving you a Devil Fruit won't be an issue."
Hearing this, Arthur's enthusiasm dimmed slightly, but he nodded firmly.
The rest of the Maude Pirates, though skeptical of Arthur's abilities, voiced no objections to Maude's decision.
"Get on board."
Maude strode toward the Underworld Ferry.
Back on Leviathan Island, Maude had been short on funds while building his ship.
Arthur had coincidentally handed him a Log Pose to Little Garden.
At the time, due to his financial constraints, Maude had used some tricks to "acquire" the Log Pose from Arthur.
Later, on Little Garden, Maude gained two rounds of combat experience and even mastered the crucial Hakoku technique.
These events made Maude willing to give Arthur a chance.
If Arthur could prove himself, Maude wouldn't hesitate to grant him the String-String Fruit.
Watching Maude's retreating figure, Arthur's fighting spirit burned like a roaring flame.
"I won't let this chance slip away!" he vowed inwardly.
Under the watchful gaze of King Neptune and the Fish-Man Island citizens, Maude and his crew boarded the Underworld Ferry one by one.
Moments later, the sails unfurled, and the Maude Pirates' jolly roger billowed proudly in the wind.
Standing at the railing, Maude silently gazed back at Neptune and the others at the port.
From this day forward, he had yet another promise to fulfill.
For that, he needed to become stronger—strong enough to uphold every promise he had made.
Be it to Fish-Man Island, to Kuma, or to Sunny…
The Underworld Ferry gradually left the port, heading into the deep sea beyond Fish-Man Island.
As the ship ascended, Fish-Man Island shrank into a tiny glowing speck below.
Lafitte and Jim remained on high alert.
As the navigator and helmsman, the crew's safety was their responsibility.
Even though they had successfully reached Fish-Man Island before, they weren't about to lower their guard in the perilous 10,000-meter depths of the ocean.
In contrast, the rest of the crew was more relaxed, drinking and admiring the deep-sea scenery beyond the ship's protective bubble.
The Underworld Ferry rose steadily, until it finally caught the rising current, accelerating its ascent dramatically.
"That should do it."
With the ship secured in the upward current, Lafitte felt a wave of relief.
Riding the current, their journey went smoothly.
Eventually, the Underworld Ferry shot out of the sea like a flying fish before crashing back down, sending waves surging in all directions.
As soon as they breached the surface, they were met with torrential rain, violent winds, and raging seas.
Thunder rumbled through the dark, churning clouds, illuminating the sky with streaks of lightning.
"What nasty weather."
Maude stepped to the bow, gazing up at the stormy heavens.
His calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to the bustling crew behind him.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Maude's gaze sharpened.
Directly ahead, a swirling vortex formed on the ocean's surface.
He had seen such whirlpools before—they were precursors to waterspouts.
Just as he was about to warn Lafitte, the vortex expanded at an unnatural speed, growing several times larger within seconds, churning up massive volumes of seawater.
"Damn…"
A glint of surprise flashed in Maude's eyes.
Even after witnessing countless waterspouts in the Grand Line, he had never seen one grow this rapidly.
This was the New World, after all…
Perhaps it was best to stick to aerial routes from now on.
Meanwhile, high above in the clear skies…
The Thriller Bark floated silently amid the clouds.
Due to its massive size, it couldn't be coated for an underwater journey.
Thus, it had remained in the New World, awaiting Maude's return.
Guarding the ship was Gaya, along with the crews of the Mad Monk Pirates, the Heart Pirates, and the Hawkins Pirates.
During Maude and his crew's journey to Fish-Man Island, Gaya continued embedding the black stones from Raijin Island into the hollow sections of the Thriller Bark's ship body, refining her mastery of the Float-Float Fruit in the process.
Meanwhile, the other crew members were tasked with improving Thriller Bark's overall aesthetic. Their first priority was to clear out the eerie, meaningless forests that blanketed vast sections of the island. Next on the list was leveling the glaringly ominous graveyard and the ruins of abandoned structures.
Their immediate goal was to flatten these areas so that, upon Maude's return, they could begin reconstruction on the freed-up land. Thanks to their hard work, the island's landscape was gradually transforming.
On the castle's balcony, Gaya stood quietly, her long hair and dress billowing in the wind. In her grasp was a Vivre Card.
"Did something unexpected happen to Maude?"
Shielding her hand from the incoming gusts, Gaya noticed the Vivre Card's direction suddenly shifting. Though its condition remained unchanged, the abrupt movement unsettled her.
"Could it have been swallowed or carried off by a Sea King?"
She murmured her concerns aloud before quickly adjusting the Thriller Bark's course in response to the Vivre Card's guidance. Her primary mission was to reunite with Maude's crew as soon as they surfaced.
With the Vivre Card pointing the way, the rendezvous should have been simple—
However, this was the New World, a far more treacherous sea where disaster could strike at any moment.
Five days later, somewhere in the New World—
The sky was clear, and seagulls circled above a modest harbor. The heavily damaged Underworld Ferry was docked there, its main mast broken, a large section of its left hull torn open, and varying degrees of damage visible on its outer shell. Both the main and auxiliary sails were in tatters.
"Tch, the entire ship's frame is practically built from Treasure Tree Adam… Damn, you guys must be rolling in wealth."
On the wooden pier, a short, elderly man with a pipe in his mouth reached out to touch the ship's hull, muttering a curse under his breath.
The sheer luxury of the ship's materials was simply absurd.
"Just what the hell did you run into to leave such a 'sturdy' ship in this state?"
"Can you fix it?"
Maude stood behind the old man, not bothering to explain their predicament and instead getting straight to the point.
The old man turned to glance at Maude before nodding. "As long as you're not picky about the materials, fixing it won't be a problem."
"Then please, get it repaired as soon as possible."
"Money talks. You've got the funds, I've got the hands."
The old man withdrew his gaze, though internally, he was somewhat surprised. He recognized Maude but never expected that the infamous great pirate from the rumors would treat an old shipwright like him with such courtesy.
Truly a rare sight in his long years.
As Maude nodded in acknowledgment and turned toward a nearby building, memories of five days prior surfaced in his mind.
Back then, they had encountered an unreasonably massive tornado amid raging seas—a force of nature so devastating that it nearly spelled their demise.
Fortunately, the Underworld Ferry was incredibly sturdy, sparing them from being outright destroyed at sea. However, while the crew had survived, the ship had sustained severe damage.
With no other options, Maude led his crew to the nearest island for temporary respite.
Their current priorities were twofold: repairing the Underworld Ferry and awaiting Gaya's arrival aboard Thriller Bark.
The island itself was relatively small, its harbor facilities crude and outdated. Just beyond the port was a sparse settlement with only twenty or thirty buildings at most. Maude's first impression upon setting foot on the island was that it was barren.
Of course, this wasn't surprising.
Compared to the first half of the Grand Line, the New World was far harsher, making it difficult to establish stable trade routes. Islands with naturally poor conditions struggled to develop, and even those that managed some level of prosperity often found themselves targeted by the Four Emperors.
After all, controlling territory meant collecting protection fees.
This particular island, however, was clearly not valuable enough to catch the eye of the Four Emperors.
Maude followed the dusty road to a tavern just a hundred paces from the port.
Outside the tavern—
Law leaned against the wooden wall, arms crossed, the cursed blade Kikoku resting in his grasp. His sharp eyes met Maude's as he approached.
"That old man reliable?"
"He talks big, so he must have some skill."
Maude chuckled. Regardless of the old man's true capabilities, they had no alternatives in their current situation.
Law pulled a newspaper from his coat, his expression somewhat grim. "I got this from the tavern. It's yesterday's issue."
"Oh?" Maude raised a brow. "What, did something major happen while we were busy almost dying at sea?"
Law tossed the paper toward Maude. "See for yourself."
Maude caught it and unfolded it, his gaze immediately locking onto a bold headline about the Marines.
"Sengoku stepped down…"
His eyes skimmed over the article's details.
Having knowledge of future events, Maude wasn't particularly surprised by Sengoku's resignation. However, the reasoning behind it wasn't due to the Marineford War's outcome—it was because Maude had stormed Mary Geoise, kidnapped a Celestial Dragon, and killed two others in the process.
"So Akainu took over as Fleet Admiral, Aokiji left the Marines, and Fujitora took his place as an Admiral…"
Though the newspaper was dated yesterday, these changes had occurred a week ago.
The fact that the Marines had suppressed such explosive news for an entire week before suddenly releasing it in full was telling.
Maude let out a thoughtful hum.
While some events had deviated from what he knew, others had quietly fallen back into place.
Shaking off his musings, he continued scanning the paper, his eyes soon landing on another prominent headline.
"Oh?"
His gaze focused on a photograph—
The image depicted Marine Vice Admiral Vergo.
But Maude knew the truth: Vergo was Doflamingo's planted spy within the Marines.
"So the Gura Gura no Mi… ended up in this guy's hands, huh?"
Maude's eyes narrowed slightly.
The long-sought-after Tremor-Tremor Fruit had finally reappeared—
But the circumstances of its reemergence were far from ideal.
Law watched Maude closely and spoke in a calm tone. "Of all people, he's the one who ate it. Maude, what are you planning to do?"
Maude didn't immediately answer. Instead, he kept his eyes on the paper.
Aside from the Marine upheaval and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's appearance, the newspaper contained several other explosive reports…
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