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A news bird flapped its wings and flew over their heads. The backpack that used to hold newspapers was now filled with brand new mobile phone boxes.
"Hey! News bird!" Luffy suddenly stretched out his arm, and his rubber fingers accurately hooked the news bird's leg. "I want to buy a phone!"
The news bird was yanked and stumbled, flapping its wings and landing on the sand, letting out an unhappy "coo" sound.
It tilted its head and looked at the group of people, a hint of caution in its eyes.
Nami and the others stared in disbelief at this sudden stroke of luck.
You know, news birds are rarer than rare islands at sea now. Many news birds have their phones bought up as soon as they fly out of a few islands.
Some news birds on certain routes aren't even seen for a month.
The news bird slowly took out a mobile phone from its backpack and pointed at the price tag hanging on its chest with the tip of its wing.
When everyone saw the number on it, they collectively gasped.
"50 Berry?!"
"That price is outrageous!" Usopp's jaw almost dropped to the ground. "It costs at least 50,000 Berry in Water Seven!"
Luffy was already dancing with excitement. "Nami! Let's buy another one!"
Bang!
A large bump immediately appeared on Usopp's head. Nami furiously waved her fists. "What do you need so many for! Isn't one enough for you to play with!"
Usopp covered his head and argued tearfully. "Even if we don't use them... we can stock up on some... Selling them to other islands can at least make a hundred times the profit..."
Nami's eyes instantly turned into Berry symbols. "!!!"
She immediately put on her sweetest smile and gently rubbed the bump on Usopp's head. "Usopp-kun~ I'm so sorry just now~ You're simply a genius!"
She quickly took out a large stack of banknotes and smiled at the news bird like a merchant. "Dear Mr. News Bird~ I'll take all the phones in your bag~"
The news bird calmly let out a "coo" and skillfully turned its backpack upside down. Thump, thump, two mobile phones fell onto the sand.
"Only... only two?!" Nami's smile froze on her face.
The news bird tilted its head, with a hint of impatience in its eyes: Coo coo? (Are you going to buy them or not?)
"Yes! Of course!" Luffy couldn't wait to take out 100 Berry and stuff them into the news bird's money pouch. He grabbed the two phones. "The little bird that sells phones is the best!"
The news bird patted its bulging money pouch with satisfaction, flapped its wings, and flew into the blue sky, leaving a group of people looking at each other in the desert.
Nami stared at the two mobile phones in Luffy's hand, already calculating which island to sell them to for maximum profit...
Then, Nami's eyes widened suddenly, and she grabbed Luffy by the collar. "Luffy! Where did you get 100 Berry?!"
She quickly flipped through her wallet and found that the money inside was not missing a single cent.
"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head, his rubber cheeks stretched long by Nami. "It's the big crab I caught before~"
He moved his hands excitedly. "That old chef said this kind of desert crab is the most delicious, he's never eaten it before, so he bought a leg for 100 Berry~"
Nami's eyes instantly turned into Berry symbols. "???!!!"
She flashed out a small notebook and frantically wrote something down, muttering to herself. "Desert specialty... rare ingredients... food vlogger product placement..." as if she had already seen countless Berry waving at her.
On the other side, Luffy casually tossed a phone to Ace. "Catch!"
Ace caught it steadily, a smile on his lips. "How lucky..."
A cluster of flames suddenly shot out from his palm, and the orange-red flames instantly covered the packaging box.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, the brand new mobile phone slid out of the ashes into his hand, completely unharmed.
"Wow!" Usopp's eyes were wide. "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 shade of a large rock.
The two brothers leaned against each other shoulder to shoulder. Luffy's fingers awkwardly swiped across the screen, sometimes shouting out due to operational errors.
Ace learned quickly, but sometimes he would accidentally press the wrong button, making Luffy laugh heartily.
"I wonder if Marco and the others are using phones..." Ace was scrolling through the recommended page and suddenly missed his companions in the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Just search and you'll know~" Usopp chimed in.
Just then, a black whirlpool suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of him, and a huge block of ice "plop" dropped onto the sand.
Usopp immediately pounced on it and hugged it tightly, letting out a comfortable groan in the scorching desert. "Ah—that feels so good!"
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 with his own eyes still shocked him.
Creating things out of thin air, teleporting items regardless of distance, this kind of ability completely changed his understanding.
"Hahaha, Ace, don't just look at Usopp, hurry up and try the search function!" Luffy excitedly patted Ace's back, his rubber palm making slapping sounds.
"Mhm mhm!"
Ace finally recovered from his shock, a hint of longing flashing in his eyes.
It had been too long since he had contacted the Whitebeard Pirates. He wondered how Pops and his companions were doing now.
His fingers shook slightly as he typed keywords like "Whitebeard Pirates," "Marco," and "Jozu" into the search bar.
"Found it!"
Ace's eyes suddenly widened. Marco's account appeared on the screen!
That pineapple-headed avatar was all too familiar.
He couldn't wait to click on the video call, his heart pounding.
The "beep... beep..." waiting sound was particularly clear in the desert.
Suddenly, the screen lit up, and Marco's sleepy face appeared on the screen.
"Yo, Ace..." Marco yawned, then his eyes widened suddenly. "Wait! Ace?!"
His voice instantly rose higher, and a commotion immediately erupted in the background.
"Marco! Are you guys 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, and the background was already crowded with members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Jozu's large face suddenly came close to the camera. "Ace! Where did you run off to!"
Ace's eyes were a little red. "I... I'm in Alabasta..."
"Listen, Ace." Marco suddenly said seriously. "Don't chase him anymore. Pops said, just take a picture of Teach and send it over, then hurry back!"