Time flew by. Three days passed in a blur.
Three days earlier, the Iron Hammer Pirates had robbed that merchant ship and made a fat haul.
They celebrated for three days and nights.
Everyone was in high spirits, so for three days no one bothered Lister.
In those three days, he familiarized himself with the Quick-Quick Fruit's power.
By now he no longer crashed into walls from losing control at speed.
He was confident that once he ran, no one in the Iron Hammer Pirates could catch him.
In just three days he had been remade.
Night.
Lister stood atop the ship, staring at the bright moon.
He took a hard swig of liquor.
"Time to move."
Whoosh—
The instant the words fell, Lister vanished from where he stood.
He slipped along in silence until he reached the Iron Hammer Pirates' treasure storeroom.
Half of the crew's wealth was kept in the captain's quarters and belonged to him alone.
The other half was stored in a warehouse and counted as the crew's common wealth, though how it was used still depended on the captain.
A warehouse guard was posted there.
He was no weakling, ranked at least among the elite of the crew.
Lister had decided to make him the first to shed blood.
But as Lister drew near, he found the guard had already been knocked out cold.
"So I'm not the only one eyeing this stash."
His interest in the intruder's identity was piqued.
Ten days with the Iron Hammer Pirates had taught him how much the crew feared Bloodhammer Henry.
Even Madman Andre did not defy Henry's orders.
Stealing the treasure was unthinkable.
Whoever this was had guts.
Lister slipped into the warehouse.
He quickly spotted a girl with orange hair busy sweeping Beli and gold into bags.
He blinked.
He had been a One Piece fan. The moment he saw that figure he knew who she was.
Nami the Cat Burglar.
"Interesting. Three days ago the Iron Hammer Pirates hit that merchant ship hard, fattened their purse, bumped Bloodhammer Henry's bounty from five million to seven million Beli, and made a splash across the East Blue. Looks like Cat Burglar Nami caught the scent and snuck aboard to steal the loot."
Murmuring, Lister crept up behind her and grinned. "Bloodhammer Henry likes to keep half in his cabin. Not going to steal that too?"
"Half?" Nami's eyes lit up for a heartbeat.
She recovered fast.
She spun around, stepped back, and fixed Lister with a wary stare.
"Who are you?"
"I should be asking you. Who dares steal my money from the Iron Hammer Pirates?" Lister snorted.
"Your money? Bloodhammer Henry?" Nami's pupils shrank, then doubt flickered.
"No, you're not Henry. I've seen Henry's bounty poster. He's thick and burly with a full beard. You're a pretty-faced weakling. You look nothing like him."
The more she spoke, the more confident she sounded.
She gave him a once-over and added, "You're the same as me. You came to steal the stash."
"Quick on the uptake. You saw through it fast." Lister smiled. "But this take is still mine, because I've claimed it."
"Claimed it? That nasty habit again." Nami's face flashed with disgust.
Lister's wording made her think of Arlong.
Arlong had set his sights on Cocoyasi Village, took the island for himself, and her foster mother died resisting him.
"Right. I've set my sights on it. Any objections?" Lister nodded.
He drew a katana he had picked up from the merchant ship three days ago, a blade no one else cared for.
Cold light flashed across Nami's face.
Her pupils shrank. "Wait."
"What is it?" Lister asked.
"We're both here to steal. No need to draw blades. And I'm not some frail girl. If we fight here it'll make a racket, then the pirates will come check. Neither of us gets out." She paused.
She bit her lip. "Fine. We split it half and half."
"No. I want it all," Lister said.
"Who does that? I got here first, I'm willing to split half, that's already bleeding for you. I've never seen anyone try to rob even my half."
"You've seen one now." Lister didn't budge.
"In that case, I'll burn it all and walk." Nami's face hardened.
She whipped out her staff.
"Interesting."
Lister chuckled at the sight.
He slid the katana back into its sheath.
"All right. We split. The Beli goes to me, the gold goes to you."
"That's not how to split it. The Beli here is clearly more than the gold. I'd be taking a loss." Relief flickered in Nami's eyes when he sheathed the blade, but she immediately shot down his terms.
Nami never yielded on profit.
"Taking a small loss is a blessing," Lister said lightly.
"Then you enjoy that blessing," Nami scoffed.
"Sorry. I don't take losses."
The moment the words left his mouth, Lister disappeared before Nami's eyes.
He reappeared behind her.
A knifehand chop slammed into the back of her neck.
Her eyes rolled white and she dropped unconscious.
"Sleep here for a while. When you wake up, things will be different." Lister glanced at Nami.
Then he turned to the mountain of Beli.
"Goldfinger, cash in."
His left index finger turned gold.
Every stack of Beli within three meters was devoured in an instant.
A panel blinked open before Lister's eyes.
[Host: Lister]
[Physique: 0.4. Baseline: an average pirate is 1]
[Spirit: 1.2. Baseline: an average pirate is 1]
[Midas Index: 0.7]
As a transmigrator, Lister did not know why he could understand the language and read the script of this world.
But compared with people in the pirate world, his body truly was weak.
His mental strength was not far off.
"Zero point seven. So the Goldfinger just absorbed seven million Beli," Lister thought.
"Goldfinger, allocate the entire Midas Index to Physique."
[Allocation complete]
[Host: Lister]
[Physique: 1.1]
[Spirit: 1.2]
[Midas Index: 0]
Lister quietly felt the change in his body.
A Physique of 1.1 was still ordinary by this world's standards, the kind any normal man could possess.
Even so, he felt much stronger.
With the Quick-Quick Fruit on top, he had greater confidence in taking down Bloodhammer Henry.
"Time to pay Henry a visit."