In a dilapidated wooden house in the West Blue slums, a damp smell permeated the air.
Aunt Martha sat before a rickety wooden table, clumsily operating a mobile phone with her calloused fingers; her movements seemed labored, but her eyes held a hint of concentration.
She had bought the phone at a discount while selling newspapers, originally intending it to entertain her grandson because she couldn't afford toys, not even the cheapest ones, which cost a thousand Belli!
Yet, the phone was only a hundred Belli.
But today, her grandson wanted to watch a live stream, so she accompanied him.
Just then, the phone suddenly vibrated, and a message popped up on the screen: "Congratulations! You've won a lucky bag, receiving 500,000 Belli!"
Aunt Martha's cloudy old eyes suddenly widened, and her chapped lips trembled: "Five... five hundred thousand?" Her voice quivered, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.
When the phone's notification sound rang, she nearly dropped it into the vegetable washing basin.
Her grandson, a scrawny little boy, was gnawing on a piece of black bread nearby, looking at his grandmother's reaction with confusion. He was puzzled: "Grandma, what's wrong?"
Aunt Martha looked at the message on the screen, tears welling up in her eyes, finally flowing down.
With trembling fingers, she gently touched the screen, confirming it wasn't a dream. Looking at her grandson, her voice choked with emotion: "Child... we... we finally won't have to starve anymore..."
The little grandson saw his grandmother in tears, a flicker of confusion in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by joy.
He put down the black bread he was holding and threw himself into his grandmother's arms, excitedly saying: "Grandma, we finally won't have to starve anymore? Is it true?"
Aunt Martha hugged her grandson tightly and nodded, her tears soaking her clothes: "Yes, child, we have money now. We won't have to eat black bread anymore. We can buy delicious food, new clothes, and live a good life..."
A long-lost warmth and hope permeated the small house.
These 500,000 Belli, for them, were not just money but a lifeline, a beginning to change their lives.
Aunt Martha was secretly grateful; this small phone had brought such a huge turning point.
"Thank you, phone, thank you to the people who made the phone. Thank you all."
....
The live stream was bustling, with bullet comments scrolling rapidly across the screen, lively and boisterous.
Many people had won lucky bags; the money won could be withdrawn immediately or kept as a balance on the phone, allowing them to place orders from other people's carts when they needed to buy things.
This convenient feature made the live stream even more popular!
"Hello, uncles and aunties, big brothers and sisters, I'm blind. Are you all grabbing lucky bags? I didn't get one. Can a kind person send me one? I haven't eaten for three days."
Suddenly, a message appeared in the bullet comments, immediately catching many people's attention.
"Again? I saw you in Luffy's live stream yesterday too!"
"Poor Miss Nami, she just recovered from her illness and was tricked out of 1,000 Belli by a swindler."
"You damn swindler, give me back my 1,000 Belli!"
"I can vouch for it, two days ago I saw him pretending to be disabled at the Marine Base entrance!"
In the bullet comments, various accusations and taunts rose and fell; clearly, this "blind man" was not appearing for the first time, and his actions had caused general resentment.
Queen glanced at the bickering bullet comments, curling his lip in disdain. He adjusted his microphone, and the spotlight shone on his head as he began to get excited:
"Next..." He bellowed with his raspy voice, "Let me sing 'The Greatest Pirate' for you!"
The moment the music started, gift effects flew across the live stream, and the bullet comments scrolled non-stop.
However, in a corner of the banquet, King silently turned off the sound, his mouth twitching under his mask: "This idiot..."
He watched Queen perform energetically in front of the camera, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes.
Although he disdained Queen's behavior, he had to admit that Queen had indeed boosted the live stream's popularity.
...
The bonfire in the center of Onigashima suddenly flared up, flames soaring into the sky, illuminating the entire plaza.
A dragon's roar shook the heavens and earth; a hundred-zhang-long giant dragon roared past in mid-air, its powerful airflow scattering the surrounding flames.
Immediately after, Kaido's massive figure descended from the sky!
His millstone-sized eyes swept over the live stream camera, and Kaido grinned, his voice like thunder: "Worororo... My little ones, drink up!"
His wild roar shook the entire plaza.
The scene immediately erupted; the small fry roared, grabbing bottles and downing them on the spot!
Wine splattered everywhere, and laughter and cheers rose and fell.
The Tobi Roppo appeared shortly after; Black Maria exhaled a puff of smoke from her pipe, throwing a Wink at the camera, her eyes showing a hint of laziness and charm. Fuz Fo, Sasaki, and others also appeared in the live stream.
Suddenly, Orochi, who was invited to the banquet, also arrived.
His sedan chair slowly entered, and the surrounding small fry made way for him.
Orochi lifted the curtain and suddenly saw the entire plaza of pirates grinning foolishly at small squares, causing him to rub his eyes in confusion.
"What... what is that?" Orochi's voice held a hint of confusion, and his eyes showed a bit of bewilderment.
"I don't know, but judging by their expressions, they are very obsessed, even crazy, about this small square!" A subordinate next to him said, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity.
"Hmph!" Orochi casually grabbed a phone from a minion's hand, and a heavily filtered image of himself suddenly popped up on the screen, scaring him so much that he shrieked and threw the phone away, "An illu... illusion!"
"Is it some kind of ninjutsu?"
"Everyone's under ninjutsu? That shouldn't be."
The surrounding pirates burst into laughter at Orochi's reaction, and Kaido couldn't help but laugh heartily, his voice shaking the entire plaza: "Worororo! Orochi, what's wrong with you?"
"Hmph! Nothing."
Orochi skillfully concealed the confusion in his eyes and became even more curious about the square boxes in everyone's hands.
He remembered that these things weren't here the last time he visited. How did everyone suddenly have one?
Thinking this, he ascended to the high platform, watching this banquet performance that he didn't particularly enjoy. If it weren't for Kaido's invitation, he wouldn't have come at all!
"Komurasaki, who do you think sings better, me or Queen?"
Orochi looked at Komurasaki beside him, his expression changing back to a lecherous grin.
"Ah? Of course... it's..."
"Of course... they both sound terrible, trash!"
Before Komurasaki could answer, she was interrupted by King from the corner. Orochi was bewildered, watching King leave his side with a gloomy face.
Only after King had completely walked away did he snap back to reality, "Did I provoke you?"
Orochi suddenly felt very aggrieved, feeling that the entire banquet was out of place with him, full of hostility.
...
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