Hawk Eyes’ First Chest-Opening Experience

"Looks like the first step was a success, Captain," Bismarck said from the side.

"That’s right." Shen Mo watched without blinking.

He had already used Investigation. The treasures on Hawk Eyes were even fewer than he had imagined, but it made sense when he thought about it. After all, Hawk Eyes was different from ordinary pirates and basically didn’t care about treasure.

That was why he had only given him a Level 2 Contract in the end.

A Level 3 Contract meant ten Level 3 Chests, which the other party couldn’t afford.

And at this moment,

Hawk Eyes had already picked up the jar floating on the surface of the sea. However, he did not rush to open it, instead staring at it intently.

He had sensed something strange about this jar.

It clearly looked no different from an ordinary jar, whether in material, patterns, or anything else. Even its presence was perfectly ordinary, yet it gave him an obvious feeling that it was different.

"Why?" A trace of confusion appeared in Hawk Eyes’ gaze. "Why is my heart actually being affected by a jar like this?"

Being a Sword Master was a profession that emphasized one’s state of mind.

One had to understand the breathing of all things.

And one had to be even better at grasping the changes in one’s state of mind.

Yet as the World’s Greatest Swordsman, his state of mind was being affected by such a tiny jar.

"Why hasn’t he opened the jar yet?" Bismarck could not read the other party’s mind. Thus, she was somewhat puzzled as she watched Hawk Eyes stare at the jar.

"Let him look. The more he looks, the more he’ll think." The corners of Shen Mo’s mouth curved upward.

The Twist Reality ability he possessed was an extremely advanced rule-based ability.

If it developed further, it would probably resemble the Creator God in Western fantasy works.

Although this was merely a simple enchantment, it possessed the characteristics of a higher level of power. The stronger a person was, the more clearly they could see its strength.

Hawk Eyes’ gaze had already grown solemn.

He had indeed discovered that this jar possessed a quality that made people inexplicably care about it. If he looked away, that quality became even more obvious, but he still could not find anything different on its surface.

Hawk Eyes finally reached out and touched the jar’s lid.

He opened it.

Inside, a sheet of paper that had been rolled up floated silently.

It was floating without making any contact with the jar.

As expected, this was no ordinary jar.

Without hesitation, Hawk Eyes took the rolled-up paper out of the jar.

Just then,

A sea breeze blew past. Under Hawk Eyes’ suddenly focused gaze, the jar in his hand actually turned into powder in an instant and scattered away with the wind, leaving no trace behind.

Even his Observation Haki had not foreseen it.

It was becoming more and more unusual.

Hawk Eyes stared at the paper in his hand and slowly opened it. The first thing he saw was a pattern resembling an eye.

Then he looked at the words written on it.

Sign your name, complete the transaction, and obtain a Destiny Chest and a Destiny Ship.

"If you want more power, go search for the Destiny Ship." Hawk Eyes read the final sentence aloud, his hawk-like sharp eyes missing no corner.

The contents written on the paper were very clear.

Write down your name and offer treasure to obtain power. If you want more, go search for the Destiny Ship.

So, was this jar made using the ability of some new Devil Fruit?

That was Hawk Eyes’ first guess.

Shen Mo wore an exasperated expression.

That was the problem. This world had all kinds of bizarre Devil Fruits, especially Paramecia. There were even Devil Fruits that could make other people stronger. The Shadow Fruit, for example, possessed such an ability, although it was only temporary.

This undoubtedly made things more difficult for him.

However, Hawk Eyes reached toward the bottom of the ship and still took out a pen.

An unfamiliar Devil Fruit ability might possess a certain degree of danger.

But—he was very bored right now.

The emotion Shen Mo read from Hawk Eyes’ mind was exactly that. After losing opponents who could compete with him in swordsmanship, his current life was far too dull.

This jar, which looked somewhat unusual, undoubtedly gave him a different kind of freshness and anticipation.

Thus, Hawk Eyes wrote his name on the contract.

The instant he finished writing, bang, the entire sheet of paper suddenly ignited with black flames. They were not scorching; there was even a trace of coolness to them.

Then, one jar after another abruptly appeared in front of him.

Hawk Eyes’ gaze was extremely sharp.

He had not detected any trace of an ability.

There were quite a few abilities capable of crossing through space.

As far as he knew, there was a Door-Door Fruit that could open doors in the air.

But what had just happened did not seem like a similar ability.

Ultimately, no matter how strange a Devil Fruit ability was, it still depended on training and development. To someone with Observation Haki, a Devil Fruit ability that could leave him completely unaware was enough to demonstrate the strength of its Ability User.

"Destiny Chest?"

Hawk Eyes muttered to himself, then reached out and picked up a jar.

It was the same weight as the jar just now.

When he shook it, it did not feel as if there was anything inside.

He opened it.

The orb inside shot out in an instant and burrowed into his brow at incredible speed!

That’s right, this was also one of Shen Mo’s minor modifications. The orb inside the jar no longer needed to be touched. After all, Shen Mo was not there to explain things.

This orb was an ordinary Experience Orb.

In Hawk Eyes’ mind, it was as if he had done several thousand complete sessions of physical training in an empty place.

Looking at his hands,

a trace of shock inevitably appeared in his gaze.

His strength had indeed increased.

Although the increase was extremely slight to him, it had truly increased.

So that’s how it is. This is the "power" written on that paper?

It seems this must be the ability of some new Devil Fruit. It can actually create such orbs—a never-before-seen ability.

Reading the thoughts in Hawk Eyes’ mind, Shen Mo found that the other party seemed to have determined that this was a new Devil Fruit ability.

That was understandable.

After all, the first jar contained an Experience Orb.

An Experience Orb could indeed have been created by some kind of Devil Fruit ability.

However,

as he watched Hawk Eyes reach toward the second jar, Shen Mo could not help feeling some anticipation as well.

To test the jars’ attraction, he had not controlled what was inside them.

The contents were randomly selected from the prize pool.

The instant the second jar opened, another orb flew toward him.

Hawk Eyes understood.

It’s probably something similar.

However, after this orb entered his mind, what he felt this time was not him training alone. Instead, an old bald man in strange clothing stood before him, demonstrating moves while practicing the technique and explaining the direction of the fist’s force.

Its name was—the Great Compassion Thousand Leaf Hand!

This was an Inheritance Orb!

In the Pirate world, aside from Sword Arts and the Marine forces possessing certain inheritances, most other combat techniques were honed by their users themselves. Their principles were simple and brutal.