In the end, Murphy decided to go with Mori. He would be spending a lot of time on that endless sea for the foreseeable future, and he couldn't stay hungry all the time. Otherwise, he would collapse from exhaustion before the enemy could do anything.
It would be like he was walking into the hands of the enemy...
Luckily, the system was full of all sorts of stuff, and after trading it for a strange poison detector, he stopped worrying about someone slipping him poison or... an aphrodisiac.
However, as soon as he entered the dining room, Murphy noticed something was wrong - there was not a single crew member there, only Captain Nydam, confidently sitting at a table laden with food, as if expecting something.
"I'll go, and you have lunch with the captain," Mori stopped at the entrance and, hastily saying this phrase, as if he had some urgent matter, quickly left without even looking back.
Hearing his voice, Nydam turned to the door, and her eyes lit up at the sight of Murphy. She knocked on the table in front of her and, smiling broadly, said, "Come on, sit down!"
Murphy rubbed his forehead, a hint of resignation in his eyes. But he made no attempt to avoid it, and walked straight to the table.
- Did the captain want something? If it's just lunch, I could join the others.
Murphy chose a chair and sat down. In front of him was once again a large man - it seemed that people of such a build were especially common in this world. After all, compared to Murphy, Needham looked like a real giant.
- Hahaha, nothing special! I'm just interested in your story. Wanted to talk about life. It must have been hard being alone on an island without laws!
"Captain Nydam, please call me by my first name, Murphy," he replied indifferently. "And I've lived quite well, no need to worry."
Nydam glanced at Murphy's patched clothes, giggled, and dropped the subject, continuing, "Hahaha, I'm not worried. But the sea is such a dangerous place - where are you going? It's important to find a safe place."
Murphy's face was already showing impatience - this whole situation was starting to irritate him. If he had had a pleasant interlocutor in front of him, he might have kept up the conversation, but looking at this unattractive face in front of him, he did not feel the slightest interest. What was worse - he understood perfectly well the intentions of this captain, but she did not suspect that he already knew, and continued to make transparent hints.
Isn't that awkward? Maybe I should just give her a good spanking?
Murphy tilted his head at Nydam, finding the idea rather tempting.
He rubbed his fists, but suddenly noticed something new. In the captain's cabin, which he continued to observe, suddenly sounds were heard...
It was Mori, who tiptoed open the door, holding the key in his hand, and walked towards the chest. He moved very carefully, trying not to touch anything, but his expression was strikingly different from usual. His usual coldness was gone, now he could barely contain his excitement, muttering continuously: "Finally, I managed to steal the key! Soon I will have the power to defeat Nida, and then I will be free, we will all be free!"
Murphy glanced at Nydam, who was still waiting for an answer, but ignored her, pretending to think about something and focusing on watching Mori's actions.
Mori's face was distorted with anticipation, his right hand holding the key was shaking so much that he couldn't get it into the keyhole several times.
Noticing his unstable state, he adjusted his glasses, took a deep breath, and, gathering his courage, finally inserted the key.
With the turn of the key, the chest made a light click - the lock opened.
Mori lifted the lid slowly, very carefully, as if afraid to damage the contents with even the slightest force.
From Dan-Den-Mushi's position, Murphy couldn't see what was inside the chest, but he could see Mori very well. The excitement on his face gradually turned to numbness, and then distorted, as if he had seen something incomprehensible.
- How is this possible?! Why is there... another chest in the chest?
Mori pulled out a smaller object with trembling hands. When his hands reappeared, they contained a smaller chest.
He looked at the little chest with despair in his eyes. Unlike the big one, the little one didn't have a lock with a key, but a combination lock - like an insurmountable chasm, cruelly dividing hope and reality.
Shopping mall.
Murphy didn't know whether to laugh or not. The shifting expressions on Maury's face were funny, but he also felt some empathy, knowing that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
Murphy's attempts to suppress his laughter were obvious, and Needham noticed it immediately. She frowned, expressing displeasure, and was about to say something, but the next moment both Murphy and Needham jumped in surprise.
Murphy was shocked by Mori's words, who muttered in panic: "What should I do? I can't get the Devil Fruit! I need to put the key back in place immediately, otherwise there will be trouble!"
Devil Fruit?!
Murphy was naturally surprised. Devil Fruits were considered treasures of the sea, not just any ordinary items—they could instantly increase a person's strength. Even in his exchange system, the cheapest Zoan-type Devil Fruit cost over a hundred thousand points.
However, surprise turned to confusion - if this huge woman had a Devil Fruit, then why didn't she eat it herself?
The reason for Nidam's surprise was completely different. She could not hear Mori's muttering, but suddenly an alarm sounded from the captain's cabin, causing her to jump up.
She roared, ignoring Murphy and, despite her bulky frame, burst through the wall and ran away.
Murphy followed her. In the broadcast image, he saw a pale Mori turn over a small chest and find a tiny Den-Den-Mushi, designed for signaling, on the back.
"I'm lost! It's all over!" he wailed incessantly, as if he had lost all his strength, and fell limply to the floor.
In a moment...
Boom!
The door to the captain's cabin was knocked down with one blow, and Nidam walked inside gloomily, radiating an indescribable aura.
"Mori!!!" she roared, immediately noticing Mori sitting on the floor. With a furious cry, she extended her right hand, clenched her fingers tightly and grabbed Mori by the throat, lifting him into the air.
- Are you tired of living?! You dare to encroach on my Devil Fruit?!
With a careless throw, she threw Mori into the wall. Blood then began to flow across the surface of the wall.
One blow almost knocked Mori unconscious. The small chest fell from his hands and fell into the hands of the Nidas.
"What strength," Murphy muttered, watching from the sidelines. The strength hidden in that corpulent body was beyond his imagination of what would be worth a 32 million beli reward. It seemed to be as strong as Murphy himself.
The noise attracted the attention of everyone on the ship, and soon a large crowd had gathered around Murphy. He counted about ten people.
He noticed that all the crew members, no matter when they arrived, looked at Mori with sadness and compassion, but no one dared to say a word. Mori seemed to be respected by the crew, but they were all under the control of a cruel captain.
Murphy's gaze wandered around the stage, but most often stopped on the chest in Nydam's hands.
Devil Fruit.
It seemed like he was really interested!