Rhett stood at the bow, gazing at the distant waves. He fell into a deep thought.
"Tesoro."
"Hmm?" The Golden Emperor elegantly sipped red wine as Stella fed him fruit. He glanced up.
Rhett abruptly realized he didn't want to talk to him anymore.
I could stay a kid forever, but the others wouldn't. They'd grow up, get old...
Could I really see myself, decades from now, still looking young while bossing around a bunch of middle-aged uncles and aunties? Nah, that wouldn't be nearly as cool as I'd like it to be.
"Say... in a dozen years, do you think we'll all become a bunch of washed-up uncles and aunties?"
The deck fell silent.
Moriah, sprawled on a deck chair munching watermelon, spat out seeds with a "pfft": "Captain, what nonsense are you spouting now?"
Moriah was already evolving into a full-blown NEET.
Enel crossed his legs with disdain: "A god doesn't age. I am Kami after all."
Perona floated over and pinched Rhett's cheek: "Rhett-sama, did Mihawk hit you too hard? I'm still so young - I want to grow up faster!"
Rhett swatted her hand away, deadly serious. He'd thought about this — Big Bro Roger was executed at 53, Whitebeard needed IV drips in old age, Senior Brother Rayleigh became that coating old man, and Senior Brother Gabu's kid would probably be tall enough to stack four or five Rhetts...
He slammed the railing, blood mist swirling: "I refuse to let decades pass, especially you Moriah, and see you become some bald, beer-bellied, greasy pirate!"
Rhett looked at them all, casual as if discussing dinner plans: "I... don't want to experience losing family a second time."
Though Rhett hid it well, everyone could feel the overwhelming grief radiating from him.
Tesoro adjusted his glasses, golden rings glinting: "So?"
"So—" Rhett grinned, baring white teeth, "let's go find 'Pure Gold'!"
Pure Gold - the legendary metal said to grant eternal life.
Two hundred years ago, scientist Myskina Olga successfully refined it before her entire research team vanished, leaving only fragmented legends—
"Those who wear Pure Gold... live very long lives."
Tesoro frowned: "Isn't that just a fairy tale?"
"No." Rhett shook his head. "It's real."
Lena unfurled a nautical chart, tracing a blurred sea region: "Legends say there were immortality rumors here, but we don't know how to find Pure Gold."
Rhett shook his head with a cocky smirk - he'd searched for it before: "We're looking for a lantern fish. What we want is inside its lantern."
"Lantern-sama?" Perona tilted her head. "What's that?"
Rhett gnashed his teeth: "A fucking gigantic lantern fish that's lived for millennia! Just wait till I catch it."
Laboon: "...Ooo?" (Suddenly feeling ominous)
Moriah lazily raised a hand: "Can I skip this? Sounds troublesome. Oh Captain, about that black bubbly drink you brewed the other day—"
That was Rhett's recreation of "NEET Happy Juice" during downtime. Pairing it with Moriah was just perfection.
"No!" Rhett yanked his collar. "If you don't exercise, you'll literally rot indoors!"
Enel sneered: "Mortals are so troublesome."
Rhett smacked him with blood mist: "Then stay! When we're all eternally young, you'll be the shriveled old 'god'!"
Enel immediately shuffled over, poking Rhett's arm: "Captain Rhett you'll need muscle...I'll go, to help expand territory."
Tesoro sighed as golden light enveloped their ship: "If we're doing this, we prepare thoroughly."
The Bluma Jackson had been circling the target waters for two weeks.
Rhett sprawled bored on deck: "Lena, you're usually reliable. What gives?"
He instantly regretted it. This was Lena navigating. Oh shit.
Lena's forehead vein bulged as she steered: "I'm a navigator, not a treasure hunter, Captain."
Rhett suddenly understood how Roger must have felt getting scolded by Spence for wasting Berries.
Karma's a bitch, isn't it? I could only sulk in a corner, just drawing circles.
"Captain, are you sure this is the spot?" Moriah lay limp on deck, his shadow drooping. "If we keep circling, I'll get seasick..."
Rhett scratched his head irritably: "Intel said the lantern fish should be here!"
Enel perched on the mast, impatient: "Just let me blast a 'Divine Judgment' into the sea to flush it out!"
"No!" Lena snapped. "You might scare it away permanently! Do that and I'll confiscate all your gold figurines."
Enel promptly joined Rhett's circle-drawing protest.
Just as they vowed to etch through the deck—
"Ooo—!"
Laboon suddenly shrieked - his special spicy fish jerky had fallen overboard!
"My premium spicy jerky!" Laboon frantically flapped his fins. Tesoro had bought that limited edition from Food Island at insane prices!
He was so distressed he started speaking human: "That was my last one!"
Rhett sighed: "We'll buy more—"
SPLOOSH!!!
The sea erupted as an abyssal maw swallowed both jerky and a ton of seawater!
Laboon's eyes turned red.
"OOOO—!!!" (Translation: GIVE BACK MY JERKY!!!)
He pulled mist from his tiny hat, slapping it onto himself before diving in. His body began transforming mid-air—muscles bulging as he reverted to full island whale size.
Everyone: Σ(っ °Д °)っ
No time to process!
Below, Laboon was already brawling with the lantern fish! Never forget—little Laboon ate the Human-Human Fruit: Fighter Model!
"ORA ORA ORA!!!"
His fins pummeled the lantern fish's face with island whale strength! The fish writhed in pain, creating massive waves that rocked the Bluma Jackson violently!
But ultimately this "lantern bus" was bigger—while Laboon's belly housed an amusement park, the lantern fish could fit entire kingdoms.
"Not good!" Lena gripped the rails. "At this rate we'll capsize!"
Rhett grinned: "Who cares? All hands—"
"Prepare for a belly-of-the-whale tour!"
In agony, the lantern fish suddenly flipped, mouth agape—
BOOM!!!
The Bluma Jackson was swallowed whole—ship and crew!
Inside the stomach, everyone tumbled about.
Perona floated tearfully: "Waaah...are we fish food now?"
Tesoro's golden rings illuminated the darkness: "Relax. The ship's coated—stomach acid won't dissolve us yet."
Rhett beamed:
"Alright, now—"
"We've finally found it."