One Piece: Investing In Whitebeard At The Start.

It was night. The sky twinkled as the stars and moon reflected off each other.

But beneath the waves, the deep sea was pitch black.

All the meat aboard the ship had been devoured by Vane. People in this world tended to eat a lot, and those who wielded special powers burned through even more energy. Lately, Vane's appetite had grown substantially, and all the food he consumed was quickly converted into energy for his body.

Now, Vane was deep underwater. He wasn't afraid of the ocean. As for how long he could stay submerged—he hadn't tested his limit yet. It had been nearly twenty minutes, and still, he felt no discomfort. He simply held his breath and kept diving.

He was hunting a Sea King. Honestly, he had never tasted Sea King meat before.

Given the ship's limited capacity, he didn't need to catch a massive one—just a limb or a tail would do.

It was nearly pitch dark in the depths, even worse because it was night.

But Vane had Observation Haki. He could sense every living thing around him.

Many Sea Kings lived in deeper waters. Vane had spotted quite a few already—enormous creatures ranging from hundreds to even thousands of meters in length.

Compared to them, humans were like insects. Of course, size wasn't everything.

Five minutes later, Vane found one. This Sea King resembled a dinosaur and was about the size of three of the smaller Sea Kings seen near shore. The Sea King that bit off Shanks' arm back in Windmill Village? This one had a head just as massive.

Vane knocked it out cold using his Conqueror's Haki, then blew its head off with a single strike. Simple. Brutal.

[Ding! Special fluctuations detected.]

Just as Vane was about to leave, the system's voice rang out.

[Continue diving fifty meters, then move eighty meters in the direction you're currently facing.]

"A Devil Fruit?" he muttered, intrigued.

Vane followed the path as the system instructed. After diving deeper and swimming forward, he discovered a sunken ship. Around it swam glowing fish, lighting the area like an undersea reef.

"Fish like that this deep?" Vane was surprised.

The ship wasn't very large, smaller than his own. It was broken and clearly had been resting here for a long time.

Shipwrecks were common in this world—victims of pirates, storms, Sea Kings, or all three. The seafloor was littered with them.

Since the system detected special fluctuations here, that meant either a Devil Fruit or some valuable treasure. Vane dropped the Sea King's corpse outside and swam inside the ship.

Inside, tattered clothing and skeletal remains lay scattered about. When touched, the bones crumbled to ash—they'd clearly been there for many years.

[End of trace.]

Vane stared down the long hallway in the ship. At its end was a door, half-hanging off its hinges. He pushed it open.

A treasure room.

The space glittered with gold, silver, and jewels. It sparkled even more than the bioluminescent fish outside.

Anyone who discovered it would lose their mind with excitement. But it was a thousand meters below the surface—almost no one could reach it.

Vane, however, felt nothing. He casually collected all the gold, silver, and jewels and sent them into his inventory.

"System, how much investment time can this amount buy me?"

[Thirty-nine years and seven months.]

"Call it forty. Not bad."

[Special fluctuations detected.]

The signal was coming from the treasure pile. Vane rummaged through it as the system beeped repeatedly.

Eventually, he found a box—solid gold.

[Ding! Special fluctuation confirmed. Devil Fruit located.]

It really was a Devil Fruit.

Vane had the system store the entire treasure trove in the system's storage, then left the wreck.

Fifteen minutes later, he surfaced.

"Sir!" Kalifa shouted with relief. Her face was filled with worry. Vane was a Devil Fruit user, and yet he could enter the sea. This was something he had made her promise to keep secret. He also told her not to fear seawater or Sea-Prism Stone.

But even so, it had to remain hidden.

Vane had been underwater for over half an hour. Kalifa had been worried sick. She'd originally planned to continue developing her Rumble-Rumble Fruit powers.

Looking up at her, Vane said, "Go get me a kitchen knife."

"Huh?"

"Hurry up. The water's cold."

"O-oh! Right!"

A minute later, she handed him a knife. Thankfully, Vane's swordsmanship was excellent. He used his blade to butcher the Sea King with skill and precision, slicing open its belly and tossing unwanted parts back into the sea. The surrounding waters turned red with blood.

Killing it at sea was far better than making a mess on the ship.

Vane's sword skills were exceptional, as though he were a chef masterfully breaking down an ox. He even thought of an old saying.

Then, he began tossing pieces of Sea King meat onto the ship.

His clothes were soaked, stained with seawater and blood—but he didn't care. He was focused on the feast ahead.

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