Weiss had a habit—he never pinned his hopes on a single option. He preferred to make multiple preparations. Even though he'd already asked for Shakky's help, that didn't mean he could just sit back and do nothing.
And in all of Sabaody, there was no place where information flowed more freely than the lawless zone.
News from the seas—whether it was the appearance of a new Super Rookie or rumors of a Devil Fruit—could often be heard here first.
Weiss chose a bar and walked straight in. Pirates, gangsters, and human traffickers frequently gathered in places like this.
You could see things like this: a drunk pirate collapses, and almost immediately, someone comes to carry them off—regardless of whether they're a man or a woman.
But don't misunderstand—it's not about corpse-looting.
The ones carrying them off worked for the so-called "Talent Employment Agency." These drunkards couldn't resist, making them perfect targets for capture.
Even the bartender turned a blind eye.
Anyone who had been in Sabaody for a while knew not to get blackout drunk in a bar. Only outsiders, or those who'd failed in the New World and returned in disgrace, made that mistake.
And for people like that, whether there was one more or one less made no difference to anyone.
…
…
Weiss happened to witness one such scene but paid it no mind. He wasn't a bleeding heart. If these people knew this was the lawless zone of Sabaody, then they should've stayed alert.
However…
The two people carrying off the drunk man froze when they saw Weiss walk in. After exchanging a glance, they dropped the drunk and left immediately.
The previously noisy pirates—those shouting, cursing, and egging each other on to drink—fell into silence the moment they saw Weiss. They instinctively shut their mouths.
Some of them stared at their drinks like there were flowers blooming in the cups.
But this wasn't the reaction Weiss was looking for.
He came here to pick up on the stray bits of gossip and rumors people blurted out without thinking—not to sit in a room full of people too scared to talk.
If that was all, there was no point in coming here.
What, did they think he came just to act cool?
Weiss wasn't that bored.
"What are you staring at? Keep drinking, keep talking. I'm not gonna eat you," Weiss said with a frown.
"Uh—yeah, yeah, drink up! What are you spacing out for? You just lost at finger-guessing!" one pirate said to his companion, awkwardly picking up the conversation again.
"What? Your sow gave birth and the kid belongs to Old Randy next door? You'd better go check that out!"
With that, the group of pirates at the table hoisted their dazed comrade and left. One of them looked back at Weiss with a confused expression, as if saying: I never said any of that…
And it wasn't an isolated case—one after another, the drinkers found excuses to leave the bar, until only a handful of braver souls remained—those who figured Weiss wasn't the type to kill people indiscriminately.
The bar manager stood behind the counter. Watching the patrons leave, he didn't stop them. After all, they had already paid. And whatever was left in the glasses could be mixed together and sold to the next batch of customers.
Most small-fry pirates didn't know the difference anyway.
But this man in front of him…
"Sir Sword Demon, may I ask what brings you to our humble bar?" the manager asked with a forced smile.
After all, on the Grand Line, Weiss wasn't just known as the "Sword Demon." He also had another nickname—The Island-Destroying Madman.
He'd only had three battles since his debut. Two islands were shattered into archipelagos, and one was completely erased from the map.
If he decided to destroy the bar, the manager couldn't stop him even if he cried blood.
"I came to drink. What, you think I'm here for fun?" Weiss snapped. It was like asking a coating craftsman what he did for a living—completely pointless.
"Right! Of course, no problem!"
The manager froze for a second. He thought Weiss was here for intelligence. Turns out he really was just here to drink?
"Why are you standing there like a statue? Bring out our finest wine for the Sword Demon! Use your eyes for once!" the manager barked at the waitress.
The waitress looked a little aggrieved. You're yelling at me?!
Of course, she didn't dare say it out loud. Her life was more important.
A glass of deep crimson wine was brought over. Weiss didn't stand on ceremony—he poured himself a drink and started sipping at the bar.
"You the one in charge here?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm currently responsible for everything in the bar," the manager replied carefully, not wanting to provoke him.
"Then tell me—what kind of rumors are circulating around this island right now?"
"I'm not sure what kind of information you're looking for, sir Sword Demon?"
So it was about intel in the end. The manager felt a cold sweat. He had almost relaxed—thought Weiss was really just here to drink. If he didn't like the wine, he might level the whole bar!
"Hm… News about Devil Fruits. Where on Sabaody are there fruits that haven't been eaten yet?"
"Ah, that kind of thing? Sir Sword Demon, you underestimate us! One moment please!"
The manager vanished behind the counter with a confident grin. About ten minutes later, he returned with a thick file folder in hand.
Seeing the stack of documents, Weiss raised an eyebrow. Could this guy actually be better informed than Shakky? She'd been in the intel game for decades, after all.
"Sir Sword Demon, as of now, there are four uneaten Devil Fruits on Sabaody. Lord Doflamingo has two—an Animal-type Cat-Cat Fruit (Raccoon Dog form), and a Paramecia-type Scent Fruit. Another is in the hands of the Blood Beast Pirates—it's a Paramecia-type… uh… Poop-Poop Fruit."
"The last one is actually the Earthworm Fruit… which is currently in your possession."
After hearing this, Weiss realized he had misunderstood Shakky earlier. She had listed fruits suitable for escape. Here, the information covered all uneaten fruits, regardless of usefulness.
Of the ones mentioned, only the Raccoon Dog Fruit might be somewhat useful for escaping. The Poop Fruit? That thing hurt the user almost as much as the enemy.
If your opponent didn't touch it, their combat power would drop by 50%. If they did, their combat power would shoot up by 200%.
"Are these fruits not to your liking, sir?" the manager asked, reading Weiss's expression.
"That's not the issue. With our network, if the Devil Fruit you want exists in this world, we can find it."
"If all else fails… here."
The manager pulled out a stack of bounty posters from under the counter.
"These are all wanted criminals known to have Devil Fruit powers. If any catch your eye, and the price is right, we'll act immediately to eliminate them."
"We'll retrieve the Devil Fruit before anyone else gets to it. And if someone eats it… well…"
"Ahem, ahem!"
Weiss choked slightly, staring at the manager like he'd seen a ghost.
What the hell kind of genius is this?! This guy's thought process had broken through the stratosphere even by pirate world standards.
Weiss picked up the bounty posters and flipped through them. "Hey, how come there's no Whitebeard, Kaido, or Big Mom in here?" he joked.
"Ahaha, please don't tease me, sir. We don't even dare to look at those bounty posters. If their crews got the wrong idea, we'd be done for," the manager replied awkwardly.
The posters ranged from tens of millions to several hundred million in bounty, with the highest at just 300 million Berries.
Judging from this manager's methods…
This might actually be quite an interesting bar.