I took out the Talaria camping car I had made in the MCU worldview from my inventory. Then I converted the vehicle's exterior and repair nano-particles entirely to adamantium using [Matter Manipulation] and boarded. There's an energy shield, but just in case there might be a strong opponent who could penetrate it, I prepared in advance.
First, I planned to go get the 'Dark-Dark Fruit' and the 'Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire'. Both were fruits I could obtain at this point in time.
"The 'Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire' should be on Trance Island, and the 'Dark-Dark Fruit' is probably in the New World, right?"
No matter how far, it would be quick if I went in the Talaria vehicle. Since the Talaria camping car version had plasma thrusters like Iron Man's, assuming the One Piece worldview is Earth-sized, I could circle it once in about a day.
"Good thing I made it in advance."
I took out [Jack Sparrow's Compass] from my inventory, set the direction for the location of the 'Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire', and departed. Of course, it's auto-pilot by AI. And to avoid troublesome things along the way, I activated the active camouflage panel (stealth) and departed.
After playing games in the vehicle for about 3 hours, I saw an island, stopped the game I was playing, and checked the compass. As I was flying above the island, the compass needle spun round and round.
"So Trance Island is here."
I landed the vehicle on the island and put it back in my inventory. Then, I started searching for the fruit using [Jack Sparrow's Compass] and the [Treasure Hunt] ability. I could find it easily before long.
"There's merit in preparing in advance."
I ate it without hesitation. As expected, it tasted bad. The thought of having to keep eating this stuff in the One Piece worldview was horrifying.
"No choice if I want to get stronger."
To get rid of the Devil Fruit taste lingering in my mouth, I took out a candy from my inventory, put it in my mouth, boarded the vehicle again, and this time departed to find the 'Dark-Dark Fruit'.
The 'Dark-Dark Fruit' must have been very far away as it took 5 hours. Asking the AI on the way, it seemed the One Piece worldview was a bit larger than Earth. The Dark-Dark Fruit was also on a small, nameless island, and I could find it easily.
"Ugh... damn, having to eat this disgusting thing again..."
I hesitated for a moment before starting to eat. I forced myself to hold back the urge to vomit midway and ate it all. After eating, I took out candy again and put it in my mouth. Having to eat two of these disgusting things in one day was truly an ordeal.
"Think of it as extremely potent medicine."
I was about to take out the vehicle again and move to a big city, but something flew toward the Talaria vehicle on the way. Zooming in, I saw a large bird wreathed in blue flames flying toward me.
"Huh? Isn't that Marco?"
This is a Yonko's territory, so there are many with absurd Observation Haki, so even in stealth mode, I got caught. I didn't mind, but I didn't think the vehicle would be caught. If I had known this would happen, I would have flown higher; seems like I made a mistake. I reduced the vehicle's speed and deactivated stealth mode. Still, since the Whitebeard Pirates are somewhat reasonable people, talking to them probably wouldn't be bad. I opened the Talaria's door and looked at Marco.
"Thought I'd miss you. Who are you, yoi?"
Marco's way of speaking really... Anyway, I greeted him first.
"I'm a merchant named Taejin. I sell goods."
"Hmm? I don't see any goods?"
I took out a piece of meat from my inventory and showed it. Since One Piece is full of strange abilities, it probably wouldn't matter.
"Wow! That's a fascinating ability. Wait a moment, yoi."
That damn 'yoi'... Anyway, when I said okay, Marco flew back in the direction he came from. I also drove the vehicle slowly following him, and saw an enormous ship. Seeing the white bow with a whale's face carved into it, it seemed to be the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, the Moby Dick.
"So that's the Moby Dick. It's huge."
Marco landed on the ship, went somewhere, and a few minutes later, Marco flew back again.
"He asks if you can sell some food ingredients since our ship's supplies are running low, yoi."
"I can sell, but since they're from a distant foreign country, they might be different from the usual ingredients."
"Doesn't matter, yoi."
"Then I'll sell."
No choice. They're ingredients brought from the modern era. I drove the vehicle and parked it next to the Moby Dick. Since it's over the sea, I had no choice but to let it float. The Whitebeard Pirates seemed fascinated by such a Talaria vehicle and gathered to look. As I waited, 'Thatch', wearing chef's attire with a leprechaun-like hairstyle, approached.
"You sell food ingredients too?"
"Yes, I do sell, but since they're from a foreign country, I'm worried if they'll suit your taste."
"Don't worry about that. I'll cook them well. So what do you have?"
I took out various food ingredients from my inventory and showed them. Thatch checked the ingredients one by one.
"This meat quality is good. Can I buy 50? And about 100 of those well-packaged jerky over there."
Thatch asked to buy whole packaged beef chunks and large quantities of jerky.
"The meat is possible, but I don't have that much jerky. About 50 would be possible."
If I sold all 100, I wouldn't have any left for myself.
"Hmm... no choice. And about the vegetables, this one and this one..."
Thatch bought loads of vegetables, fruits, and flour as well. Seems like there are many mouths to feed on the ship. I had other ingredients stored in enormous quantities, so it wasn't a big problem.
"So how much in total?"
"Since they're brought from a foreign country, they're not ingredients with established prices yet."
"Really? Then how about this much?"
Thatch handed over 10 million Berries. Though not official, I've heard that 1 Berry is about 1 yen or 10 won, so that's 100 million in Korean money.
"Hmm... that's too much. I'll take half."
"Oh~ selling quite reasonably. If you come nearby next time, stop by and I'll buy a lot."
"Understood. And this is on the house."
I gave him a few bags of candy.
"What's this?"
"Candy."
"Looking at the fancy packaging, it seems expensive?"
It was candy bought from a supermarket, not that expensive. The brightly printed wrapper must have looked fancy.
"Since you bought a lot, it's a gift."
"Thanks. Have a meal before you go. I'll make something delicious for you."
"Then I'll trouble you for one meal."
Guided by Thatch, I moved to the dining room on the Moby Dick. Inside the dining room, several people were sitting, eating snacks, drinking beverages, and chatting. I found an empty seat, sat down, and waited for the meal Thatch would make. Looking at the Whitebeard crew's good expressions, I thought this must be the ease of a strong pirate crew.
After sitting and waiting a while, Thatch brought out various dishes. The quantity was a bit much for one person.
"Looks delicious. I'll enjoy it."
"Honestly, if it weren't for you, we would have had to go around for a few days due to lack of supplies. This level of hospitality is only natural."
I enjoyed the food. Makino's cooking skills were good too, but this was a step higher, perhaps? It was really delicious.
"It's delicious."
"Right? I put some effort into it."
Then, the dining room door opened and a strange laugh was heard.
Ze-hahahaha
'They say if you think of a tiger, the tiger comes.'
A person who looked exactly like Blackbeard 'Marshall D. Teach' entered the dining room and sat in front of me.
"This friend. The merchant who came on a strange ship."
Just like in the original, he had black hair, an O-shaped torso, and was missing a few teeth.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Taejin. I sell various things."
"I'm Marshall D. Teach. Call me Teach. Do you like cherry pie by any chance?"
"I've never tried it, so I don't really know."
"Eh tsk tsk... you've been living at a loss. Thatch! Two cherry pies, please."
"Got it."
Thatch got up from his seat and went into the kitchen.
"By the way, you're really handsome. Must make a lot of girls cry."
"You flatter me."
"It's true. You're the most handsome person I've seen so far. Envious."
"Thank you."
Starting with Teach's compliments, we talked about various things. Talking like this, he didn't seem like such a bad person.
"And do you sell Devil Fruits too?"
"I sell them occasionally. I don't have any right now, though."
"If you happen to get Devil Fruits, let me know. If it's a decent fruit, I'll pay a bit more."
"Alright. Let's do that."
Teach seemed to be doing this in case I might obtain the fruit he wants and sell it to someone else. Though I already ate the Dark-Dark Fruit. Meanwhile, Thatch brought two cherry pies.
"Here, here, made them."
"Friend, you said Taejin, right? Try this."
Teach took one for himself and offered the other to me. I took the cherry pie from Teach and tried it.
"Oh~ it's good."
"Ze-hahaha, knew you'd like it. You're a friend with something in common."
In the original, Luffy found it really disgusting, but when I tried it, it was quite good. Not sure if it's because Thatch's cooking skills are good. Seeing me enjoy it, Thatch said.
"I'll make a few more for you to take when you leave."
"Sounds good."
As we were chatting in the dining room like that, Marco came looking for me.
"Hey merchant! Father is calling you, yoi."
'Oh~ finally going to see Whitebeard?'
I followed Marco out of the dining room and entered the captain's quarters. In the captain's quarters, Whitebeard was sitting, filling out some documents. Even sitting, he was bigger than me. He's said to be 666 cm tall, so over three times taller. The intimidating presence coming from his large stature was extraordinary. Moreover, perhaps because it's 10 years before the original, he didn't seem frail yet.
"So you're the merchant."
"It's an honor to meet the world's strongest man."
"Thank you. Thanks to you, the voyage is shortened. Do you have any means to contact when needed?"
"Not yet, but I plan to get a Den Den Mushi soon."
"I see. Then let me know then. Marco, if there's a son who made a Vivre Card, give it to him. To make it easier to come."
Marco said, flustered.
"Father, he's a friend we met just today, is it okay to give him a Vivre Card..."
"From what I see, he's not the type to stab in the back."
A Vivre Card, also known as a Life Paper, is made from fingernails and can tell the general direction and life force of the person who made it. It's a really good item for finding people, but since it can also be used for tracking, it's a card hard to give without trust. So, it can be said my first impression was somewhat good.
"Then I'll visit again once I get a Den Den Mushi."
"Yes, we'll use it a lot too."
Marco and I left the captain's quarters and went up to the deck.
"Those with Vivre Cards here, raise your hands, yoi!"
Then Thatch approached and said to Marco.
"Giving it to this friend? Then I'll give mine. Since I'll see his face the most."
"Got it, yoi."
"And this is cherry pie."
I received the Vivre Card and cherry pie from Thatch.
"Thank you. I'll eat it as a snack on the way."
"Have a good journey."
Thatch was a good person. Since I ate the [Dark-Dark Fruit], I hoped he would survive. As I moved to leave in the Talaria vehicle, everyone waved. I also waved, boarded the vehicle, and left.