Capítulo 12: Syrup Village
As they reached the village, Elian spotted the three kids from the Usopp's pirate crew. Since Usopp was nowhere in sight, he decided to ask them where he might be, thinking it would be faster than searching the village himself.
•••
After getting the information he needed, Elian finally understood why Usopp wasn't around.
Though it wasn't quite what he'd expected, Elian wasn't shocked or particularly worried.
He had suspected something strange about the storm earlier, and now it seemed his suspicions were correct.
Luffy and Zoro had actually arrived on the island a few days ago. The strange storm had pushed Elian further away from the island but had somehow helped the Straw Hats get here faster.
Two days ago, they'd defeated Kuro and his crew, just like in the original story. Yesterday, they sailed out, taking Usopp with them, along with surprisingly—the hypnotist from the Black Cat Pirates as their navigator.
Elian hadn't expected the hypnotist to replace Nami, which explained why he hadn't received any coins for changing the plot so far. Nami's role up until this point wasn't crucial. It would only become important during the Baratie and Arlong Park arcs.
Elian thought he'd get a big reward soon, especially since his interference would likely prevent the whole Arlong Park arc from happening.
He also couldn't shake the feeling that something—or someone—was helping the Straw Hats and keeping the plot intact. Their quicker arrival at Syrup Village, plus the hypnotist filling in for Nami, seemed like more than just a chance.
"What's wrong, Elian?" Nami asked as she saw him lost in thought.
"Nothing. Let's go and meet the person we came here for." Elian shrugged as they headed toward Kaya's house, which was a little way out from the village.
After reaching Kaya's house, which was very large—more like a mansion—Elian used the door chime.
After a few seconds, a man with a sheep-like face came out of the house. Elian recognized him: he was Merry, Kaya's butler, and the ship Going Merry was also named after him.
"Who are you three, and what brings you here?" Merry asked as he looked at Elian, Nami, and Nojiko.
"I'm Elian, and I'm here to meet Kaya. I can help her with her illness." Elian said directly. He wasn't lying—after consuming the devil fruit which he bought from the shop, Kaya would indeed be cured of her illness.
"Really? But how do you know about Madam Kaya and her illness?" Merry was happy to hear this but found it strange that a stranger would know about Kaya's condition.
"Well, doesn't everyone know about that? I mean, the news about the Black Cat Pirates and how their captain was posing as a rich lady's butler and poisoning her." Elian replied.
"Oh... Has news of that already spread across the sea? But why do you want to help Lady Kaya? What do you gain from that?" Merry muttered, still wary of trusting strangers, especially after what had recently happened to Kaya.
But before Elian could make up another answer, a sweet voice came from behind Merry. "Who are they, Merry?"
A blonde-haired, innocent-looking girl came out from the house, her eyes filled with curiosity as she asked.
Merry explained to Kaya who just arrived about Elian and the others. Elian also told her about himself and how he could cure her weak body.
Kaya then invited them all into her house to chat and discuss things in more detail as it would be rude to keep them outside.
•••
"So, Kaya," Elian began once they were seated, "I've heard about your situation, and I want to help because I knew your parents when they were alive. They helped me once, and I came here after hearing about the Black Cat Pirates."
Elian lied. Claiming to know Kaya's parents was the easiest way to gain her trust quickly. And it was true that he wanted to help her, so he didn't feel guilty about lying.
Hearing Elian, Nami looked at him suspiciously. She wondered how he knew Kaya's parents too, just like he knew about Bellemere. But then she thought it was silly—Elian had already shown so many mysterious things up until now.
There was no reason for him to lie. With his powers and looks, he could easily attract many girls. She felt foolish for doubting him and silently apologized to him in her mind.
On the other hand, Kaya was genuinely happy after hearing that. She eagerly asked him how and when he had met her parents.
Elian quickly thought about the original work, but there was no mention of Kaya's parents except for how they doted on her.
So, he made up a story using that information and their wealth. He told her how much they loved talking about their daughter and how they had once helped him with money when he was a child and in need.
After they had chatted for a while, getting themselves familiar with each other. Elian finally got to the main topic.
"So Kaya, you know about devil fruits, right? I have a devil fruit that gives the owner the power to heal anyone, including themselves." Elian explained as he took out the healing-healing devil fruit from his inventory.
Seeing it appear in Elian's hand out of nowhere shocked both Kaya and Merry, though Nami and Nojiko weren't surprised—they had seen this many times in the past several days.
"Wow, so this is a devil fruit! Luffy-san got his powers from one of these, too!" Kaya exclaimed, her eyes wide with amazement as Elian handed her the fruit.
"Yes, and this particular fruit is for you. It will cure you completely." Elian nodded.
"But... I can't accept something this valuable for free." Kaya hesitated, though it was clear she wanted to accept the gift.
"Well, you want to become a doctor, right? This fruit will help you do that much more easily and efficiently." Elian explained before adding, "You don't need to worry about it. Your parents helped me once, so this is just me repaying them—but if you really want to pay me back, you can join our crew as the ship's doctor. "
"Ah, you're a pirate too, Elian?" Kaya asked, surprised. "While I do want to become a doctor, I'm not sure about becoming a pirate."
Elian knew, how she wasn't interested in becoming a pirate but he didn't give up.
"Think about it, Kaya. We'll travel the world, and you'll have the chance to heal so many people across the world." Trying to persuading her, he encouraged.
Kaya nodded, asking for some time to think. Meanwhile, Elian turned to Merry and asked him if he could gather a large amount of wood.
Since Merry had built the Going Merry ship, Elian figured he could easily arrange it.
"I'll pay for everything. I need at least forty to fifty tons of wood." Elian said, planning to upgrade the system's ship 3-4 levels at once.
Merry nodded and assured him it would be ready in a day. Elian then took out 9 million berries from his inventory and handed it to Merry.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder