A News Bird flapped its wings and flew over their heads, its newspaper bag now filled with brand new mobile phone boxes.
"Hey! News Bird!" Luffy suddenly stretched out his arm, his rubber fingers precisely hooking the News Bird's leg, "I want to buy a phone!"
The News Bird was yanked, stumbled, flapped its wings, and landed on the sand, chirping discontentedly.
It tilted its head, scrutinizing the group with a hint of vigilance in its eyes.
Nami and the others stared in disbelief at this sudden stroke of luck.
One had to know that News Birds were rarer than rare islands at sea now; many News Birds had their phones bought up as soon as they flew out of a few islands.
Some routes even went a month without seeing a single News Bird.
The News Bird unhurriedly pulled out a phone from its backpack and pointed its wingtip at the price tag hanging on its chest.
When everyone saw the numbers on it, they collectively gasped:
"50 Belli?!"
"This price is too outrageous!" Usopp's jaw almost dropped to the ground, "In Venice, it would cost at least fifty thousand Belli!"
Luffy was already excitedly waving his hands and feet: "Nami! Let's buy another one!"
Bang!
A large bump immediately appeared on Usopp's head as Nami angrily brandished her fist: "Why buy so many! Isn't one enough for you to play with!"
Usopp covered his head, tearfully explaining: "Even if we don't use them... we can hoard some... selling them to other islands could at least earn a hundredfold profit..."
Nami's eyes instantly turned into Berry symbols: "!!!"
She immediately put on her sweetest smile, gently rubbing the bump on Usopp's head: "Usopp-kun~ I'm so sorry just now~ You're simply a genius!"
She quickly pulled out a large stack of banknotes and, with a merchant's smile, said to the News Bird: "Dear Mr. News Bird~ I'll take all the phones in your bag~"
The News Bird calmly chirped, skillfully inverted its backpack, and with a thud, two phones dropped onto the sand.
"Just... just two?!" Nami's smile froze on her face.
The News Bird tilted its head, a hint of impatience in its eyes: Chirp chirp? (Are you buying or not?)
"Yes! Of course, yes!" Luffy impatiently pulled out 100 Belli and stuffed them into the News Bird's money pouch, grabbing both phones, "The little bird selling phones is the best!"
The News Bird contentedly patted its bulging money pouch, flapped its wings, and flew into the blue sky, leaving a group of people staring at each other in the desert.
Nami stared at the two phones in Luffy's hand, already calculating which island would yield the maximum profit...
Then, Nami's eyes widened, and she grabbed Luffy's collar: "Luffy! Where did you get 100 Belli?!"
She quickly rummaged through her wallet, finding that not a single Berry was missing.
"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head, his rubber cheeks stretched long by Nami, "It was that big crab I caught earlier~"
He gesticulated animatedly, "That old chef said this kind of desert crab was the most delicious, he'd never eaten it before, so he bought one leg for 100 Belli~"
Nami's pupils instantly turned into Berry symbols: "???!!!"
She lightning-fast pulled out a small notebook, furiously jotting something down, muttering to herself: "Desert specialty... rare ingredient... food streamer endorsement..." as if she already saw countless Belli waving at her.
On the other side, Luffy casually tossed a phone to Ace. "Catch!"
Ace caught it steadily, a smile playing on his lips: "How lucky..."
A cluster of flames suddenly shot out from his palm, the orange-red fire instantly engulfing the packaging box.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, the brand new phone slid perfectly intact from the ashes into his hand.
"Wow!" Usopp's eyes widened, "That's such a cool way to unbox!"
"Come on, come on, I'll Teach you how to register a TikTok account!" Luffy impatiently pulled Ace to sit in the shadow of a large rock.
The two brothers leaned shoulder to shoulder, Luffy's fingers clumsily swiping across the screen, occasionally shouting loudly due to operational errors.
Ace learned quickly, but occasionally still accidentally pressed the wrong button, making Luffy burst into laughter.
"I wonder if Marco and the others have phones..." Ace scrolled through the recommendation page, suddenly missing his companions from the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Just search for them~" Usopp interjected.
Just then, a black vortex suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of him, and a huge block of ice dropped with a "thud" onto the sand.
Usopp immediately pounced on it and hugged it tightly, letting out a comfortable groan in the scorching desert: "Ah—so refreshing!"
Ace's jaw almost dropped to the ground: "This... this this this..."
Although he had heard about the function of the shopping cart, witnessing it firsthand still left him deeply shocked.
Creating things out of thin air, teleporting items regardless of distance—this ability completely subverted his understanding.
"Hahaha, Ace, don't just stare at Usopp, hurry and try the search function!" Luffy excitedly patted Ace's back, his rubber palms making slapping sounds.
"Mm-hmm!"
Ace finally snapped out of his shock, a hint of longing flashing in his eyes.
He hadn't contacted the Whitebeard Pirates in too long; he wondered how Pops and his companions were doing now.
His fingers trembled slightly as he entered keywords like "Whitebeard Pirates," "Marco," and "Jozu" into the search bar.
"Found it!"
Ace's eyes suddenly widened; Marco's account appeared prominently on the screen!
That pineapple-headed avatar was all too familiar.
He impatiently clicked on the video call, his heart pounding.
The "beep... beep..." waiting tone was exceptionally clear in the desert.
Suddenly, the screen lit up, and Marco's sleepy face appeared on the screen.
"Yo, Ace..." Marco yawned, then suddenly widened his eyes, "Wait! Ace?!"
His voice instantly rose by an octave, and a commotion immediately erupted in the background.
"Marco! You guys are using phones too?" Ace was both surprised and delighted, looking at the familiar ship cabin background on the screen.
"After you left to chase Teach, this thing suddenly became popular."
Marco rubbed his eyes, the background already crowded with members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Jozu's big face suddenly leaned into the camera: "Ace! Where have you been, you brat!"
Ace's eyes felt a little warm: "I... I'm in Alabasta..."
"Listen, Ace." Marco suddenly said seriously, "No need to chase him anymore. Pops said, just take a picture of Teach and send it over, then hurry back!"
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