Amon watched Yosaku in full husky form and had to fight a laugh, but a proper merchant never breaks composure. He kept it together, barely.
"Yes. Congratulations, Yosaku. You are now a Devil Fruit user."
"No, no, I should be thanking you. Mr. Amon, you're too good to me. Right, what's this last pile of little crystals? Can I bite them?"
Once Yosaku became a husky, he felt an itch to bite something to feel satisfied.
"Funny you mention it. These are called Colorless Small Crystals. See how they're almost transparent. They're a potent resource said to fuel certain special moves. Best not to chew them. If you learn the right technique later, you'll be glad you saved them. Besides, I doubt you can bite through them."
Amon smiled and handed over the remaining crystals.
"Items for releasing special skills? Then I should definitely taste one."
Yosaku, being a bit of a goof, popped one between his teeth.
"So hard. I really can't bite it."
After several tries, he accepted that no matter how he chewed, it would not break. He tucked the crystals away like treasure.
At his side, Johnny's envy showed plain as day. He regretted not buying earlier.
"Mr. Amon, my turn. I want to open a jar too."
Now that his partner had claimed his haul, Johnny could not hold back. He pulled out his berries.
"Welcome, welcome."
Amon grinned as he accepted the money. At this pace, he would hit ten sales soon, then he could open his second exclusive jar. Lovely.
"Which one, handsome?"
"I want the green one on the right." Johnny felt the color suited him.
Amon lifted it out. "You opening it, or should I help?"
"I'll do it myself."
"Alright. Here's the mallet."
Clang. Johnny could not wait and smashed the lid. He wanted to be as strong as his partner.
But when the shards fell away, the inside was empty.
"Empty?"
It was the first time Amon had seen that. Typically, the jars held three items. How cursed did someone have to be to pull an empty can.
Johnny stared, stunned. "Mr. Amon, how can it be empty! You just said there are never blanks."
Amon managed a cough. "A rare empty is understandable."
"I promise, the next one will be great."
He had not expected that, but his mind moved quickly. Time to offer another dream.
"Really? What if the next one is empty too?"
Johnny was suspicious now.
"How could it be. I am an honest merchant. Jars are almost always stocked. Sometimes stuff happens."
"And I guarantee, the next one, the next one will absolutely have good stuff."
Amon spoke with confidence while querying the system in his head. "What was that. Why did it come up empty. You did not slip me fake stock, did you."
[Ahem. A rare empty is understandable. The system probably forgot to load it. Everyone makes mistakes.]
[I guarantee the next one will not be empty.]
Emmmmm. The lines sounded awfully familiar. Wasn't that exactly what he had just said.
"To apologize, I will count that empty toward your sales quota. Sell six more and you will still receive your exclusive reward."
"Now we're talking."
The jar belonged to the buyer, so whether empty or not mattered less to him than the sales count.
"Fine, I'll try one more."
They had three hundred thousand berries between them. Johnny was not ready to quit after one dud.
"Good choice. I guarantee the next jar will pop something big."
Johnny nodded and pointed to the pale green can in the middle. "That light green one, please."
Green meant hope in his mind.
"Got it."
Clang. He hammered the lid.
The jar split, and three items bounced into the light.
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