Chapter Ten: Each According to Their Own Abilities

Qiu Bai rested one hand on the long sword case, hefting the luxurious item with all the familiarity of someone slinging a bamboo shoulder pole, utterly unconcerned that he was carrying an object worth a hundred thousand. In his other hand, he carried a rather substantial money pouch, containing another eight hundred thousand Berries.

Because he insisted on cash and refused all forms of payment slips, the weapons shop owner had been forced to scrounge up the sum from every nook and cranny of the shop, likely even dipping into his private stash before finally making up the amount. As a result, the pouch was filled with both banknotes and gold coins, clinking loudly with every step—practically advertising themselves to any would-be thief.

Having left the vendor’s stall behind, the two of them were now headed to buy a ship… hoping, at least, to find a good one.

“Qiu Bai, are you sure what you did back there was really alright?” Ain, walking beside him, suddenly spoke up.

Though one might say that proximity to darkness brings its own stain, Ain still possessed a strong sense of right and wrong—or perhaps, compared to Qiu Bai, her conscience was simply less dulled.

“A problem? What problem?” Qiu Bai asked, entirely lacking any sense of wrongdoing.

In fact, what he’d just done was not so much sword dealing as outright fraud.

“Ain, let me explain…” he began, the tone of someone about to deliver a heartfelt lecture. Ain immediately realized she’d said the wrong thing, and perhaps she’d have been better off not speaking at all—because once she did, Qiu Bai was always ready with a “lesson.”

“Suppose that shop owner was a villainous merchant—preying on customers, forcing sales, passing off fakes as genuine, peeping at the young girls in the shop across the street, or even colluding with pirates to traffic women and children—who’s to say such things are impossible? So, if I swindle him out of eight hundred thousand Berries, am I not delivering just retribution?”

Of course—eight hundred thousand would hardly be enough, considering spying on little girls and the rest are unforgivable offenses.

“On the other hand, if the store is honest, fair in price, beloved by new and old customers alike, then swindling him out of eighty thousand won’t be ruinous—at worst, it’s just a painful loss, but he’ll recover quickly.”

“That’s the power of reputation.”

“And if the store is somewhere in between, not especially good or bad, well, shops like that are always getting scammed and scamming others. One more or less makes no difference.”

“In the end, the takeaway is this: you’re overthinking things. I’ll say no more.”

“This way—it’s closer to the shipyard.” As he spoke, Qiu Bai turned down a side path, winking at Ain.

But she was still baffled by his slippery logic and didn’t notice the gesture. Qiu Bai’s words seemed reasonable, even logical, yet somehow the moral compass was entirely off… Wait—Ain realized she was almost following his train of thought again out of habit. Wasn’t a skewed worldview the real problem here?

“Don’t you ever feel a pang of conscience, talking like that?” she asked.

Qiu Bai shot her a look as if she were a fool. Honestly, if he earned the money with his own wits, why should his conscience trouble him?

“Or think of it this way: the sword I sold was of impeccable quality. The only flaw, if you must name one, isn’t in the workmanship, but rather in the ‘shelf life’—a bit shorter than most. But that’s not deliberate deception, merely something outside the scope of the transaction, so it hardly counts as fraud.”

Strange, Ain thought—she’d never heard of a sword having a shelf life before.

“If the shop manages to resell the sword quickly and cut their losses, they shift the risk onto someone else. In that case, the wrongdoing is theirs. I admit, preying on customers is inexcusable, but such business practices have nothing to do with me.”

“Still, I’d like to believe the world is a good place, and hope they don’t do such things.” Ain was now regretting her earlier outburst even more. Just as she was growing dizzy from the conversation, suddenly, an arm snaked around her neck from behind, and a sharp dagger pressed against her cheek!

They were now in a dark alleyway between tall buildings, where sunlight never reached—a perfect spot for the promising career of robbery.

It was precisely because Qiu Bai had sensed they were being tailed since leaving the weapons shop that he’d deliberately led them down this side street. He knew nothing of shortcuts to the shipyard—unfortunately, Ain hadn’t picked up on his warning.

“Don’t move!” Qiu Bai said, winding the sword case around his neck and tucking it under his arm, freeing up a hand to make a “stop” gesture.

“As long as you hand over the money, nothing will happen! Otherwise, things will get a lot worse than just a simple mugging.” The burly, red-eyed, bearded assailant—who looked like he’d been sentenced to fifty years the moment he was born, for scaring an entire room of doctors, nurses, and his own mother—seemed to think Qiu Bai was speaking to him.

Perhaps he’d only just been released from prison.

Still, for all his bluster, the man’s voice trembled, and his knife hand shook. A complete novice—dangerous nonetheless, as such greenhorns were prone to panic.

But in fact, he posed no real threat. Qiu Bai wasn’t talking to him at all—he was restraining Ain, who was already poised for a swift and violent counterattack.

No need to be so rough, he thought. More importantly, don’t waste this opportunity. Qiu Bai wanted to use this robber for some high-level training—a practice the townsfolk kindly called “conversion through virtue.”

“Alright, no problem, you can have the money… But, just suppose—if I refuse? Maybe the hostage you’re holding isn’t all that important to me?”

The robber was taken aback. He’d never considered such a scenario with his pea-sized brain.

“I… I…”

Seeing the man’s reaction, Qiu Bai nodded in satisfaction.

“Good. It seems you lack the resolve to kill. That’s good news for both of us.”

But having his resolve questioned made the robber flare up again. “Shut up! Hand over the money! And back away! Why do you talk so much?!”

Alright, he’s getting worked up. Qiu Bai opened the pouch, revealing a glittering pile of coins, then set it on the ground as ordered.

But as he backed away, he continued talking, “May I ask, how old are you? And your astrological sign, if you please. It’s important to answer truthfully—because things could get serious. That lady there is about to lose her temper.”

Qiu Bai pointed at Ain.

But the robber ignored him, his gaze fixed greedily on the money, answering mechanically, “Thirty-one…”

He didn’t know exactly how much was in the bag, but it was worth the risk.

Thirty-one? Qiu Bai frowned. He hardly looked it—double that would be more believable.

Some things, after all, are private—even for a middle-aged man. An astrological sign is a tender, sensitive topic, like a girl’s secret choice of underwear. Even with a suspicious look, the bearded robber would never reveal his sign so easily.

Qiu Bai was disappointed.

“In my experience, if I take the weighted average, this world—especially compared to certain other worlds—while plagued by pirates, isn’t entirely black, more of a gray… maybe fifty shades of it.”

“I’m a man of principle; I only fight back with lethal force if someone threatens my life. So you’re lucky.”

“However, you may soon experience a racing heart, faster breathing, lowered immunity, a slight fever, a higher-pitched voice, and perhaps even a reversal in height and body shape. Your world… is about to become vast again.”

“And one more thing—once you’re back to childhood, your primary and secondary sex—”

Just as Qiu Bai rambled on, the robber suddenly noticed the hostage he controlled was “growing larger”!

Or rather, he himself was shrinking.

Qiu Bai’s monologue had gone on long enough; Ain could no longer wait for him to “convert through virtue”—especially as all he’d said was nonsense.

The robber, of course, had no idea how dangerous it was to lay hands on Ain. Compared to her, holding Qiu Bai hostage would have been far wiser.

Ain was a Devil Fruit user. With direct contact, she could make any object or person revert twelve years into the past with each use of her power.

So, she used her ability twice on the robber—he would theoretically return to the age of seven.

Or so she thought.

But he didn’t. The robber shrank, then disappeared outright…

What happened? Ain was stunned, looking at Qiu Bai with a plaintive, bewildered gaze.

The robber wasn’t middle-aged at all—he was a “precocious youth”! Thirty-one? He wasn’t even twenty-four.

A little elementary math revealed the truth: the robber was dead, in a rather tragic fashion.

Where was the basic trust between people? He’d been warned not to lie.

“It’s not your fault,” Qiu Bai quickly said. “Either he lied to conceal his identity, or someone—perhaps a neighbor—had always told him that was his age.”

In theory, it really wasn’t Ain’s fault. For once, Qiu Bai had said something useful.

Even Qiu Bai had only thought the man was hiding his age—who could have guessed the truth was the opposite? The man had exaggerated his age…