Chapter 486: The Method for Time Synchronization and a Willful Shop
After Kizaru vanished through the dimensional door, Nami continued to work her way through her meal, completely unfazed, already pondering her next move. Ren's gaze fell upon the hefty bag of gold on the table, and he sighed with a hint of helplessness.
"Just how wealthy are these worlds that still use precious metals for currency?" he mused aloud.
Nami glanced at the pouch, her mind briefly calculating its value before she spoke. "He's a Marine Admiral. Of course he's not short on cash. But Shopkeeper Ren... is she... still crying?"
Ren's eyes shifted to the corner. He let out another sigh. "Hancock, stop crying and finish your food."
"This concubine... understands!"
Beneath the towel she had draped over her head, Boa Hancock's face was burning a shade of crimson she was certain could melt steel. There was no way she could remove it. The reason was simple: she had wept openly in front of so many people. The humiliation was unbearable! And they were talking about her!
Despite her words, Hancock slowly, reluctantly, lowered the towel. Keeping her head bowed low, she began to eat in complete silence, each bite a monumental effort against her mortification.
A thought suddenly occurred to Ren, and he asked, "Hancock, you're the Pirate Empress and one of the Shichibukai. Is it really alright for you to be gone for so many days without returning to your country?"
Hancock froze, her chopsticks hovering mid-air. He was right. Had she been away for too long? Kizaru had also warned her to be prepared. What if the summons came and she wasn't on Amazon Lily to receive it?
But the thought of leaving was agonizing. A wild, rebellious idea sparked in her mind—what if she simply wasn't an empress anymore? Then she could stay here forever... No, she knew that was a foolish, impossible dream.
"This concubine feels..."
"Don't worry about it," Pandemonica interjected, her tone flat. "The shop is quite reliable."
"No... that's not what this concubine... Never mind... This concubine will just eat..."
Hancock clamped her mouth shut, cutting off her own words. She returned to her meal with her head down, her movements measured and deliberate, her true thoughts a swirling, beyond understanding storm within her.
Lucifer watched Ren as he returned to the counter, then reached out and poked his arm. "Ren," she began, a thoughtful frown on her face, "don't you think the massive time differences between all these worlds are incredibly inconvenient?"
Ren considered it for a moment before nodding. "It is. Extremely inconvenient. But there's not much I can do about it. Wait..." His eyes unfocused slightly. "I seem to recall a line about that after the last shop upgrade..."
He closed his eyes, querying the system in his mind. After a long moment, he sighed, the sound heavy with resignation. "Time synchronization is possible, but it requires... well, three conditions. Or rather, not quite three... let's just call it two and a half."
This immediately piqued Lucifer's interest, her eyes lighting up. "What are the conditions?"
"First, the shop must be connected to a world to synchronize with it. That's the basic prerequisite," Ren explained. "Second, four customers from other worlds who can control time must visit the shop, and all four must leave a positive review."
Lucifer opened her mouth, about to ask if her own demonic magic to stop and accelerate time counted, but Ren preemptively shut her down. "And no, you don't count. You're the Queen of Hell, yes, but you're from this original world."
Pandemonica tilted her head. "Ren, from your expression, it seems you've already had visitors who can manipulate time?"
He nodded. "To be precise, three have come, but only two of them count."
"The one who doesn't count is Kuro, isn't it?" Lucifer guessed.
"That's right," Ren confirmed. "Kuro is dead, so he's disqualified. The two that do count are Kusuo and Yuko. That means we still need two more."
Lucifer slumped slightly, looking deflated. "The power to control time is already exceedingly rare, and we need two more? Where are we supposed to find them? Besides, Yuko isn't the type to treat time as a plaything..."
"I have no idea," Ren admitted. "All in all, it's a troublesome and utterly absurd requirement."
"It seems we won't be getting those two anytime soon," Lucifer sighed. "But you never know, I suppose. Someone might just wander in. But what was that about 'two or three conditions' you mentioned earlier?"
Ren ran a hand through his hair. "That's the 'half' condition. It's an alternative for the second requirement. If we can't get four time-controlling customers, there's another way. As long as the total number of customers from a single world reaches twelve, the shop can perform a partial adjustment based on the number of time-controllers we do have. It won't be a perfect one-to-one synchronization, but it can get close."
Lucifer's mouth twitched. "Those are truly ridiculous requirements."
Pandemonica voiced her own question. "Ren, why didn't you know about this when the shop first upgraded?"
"Because at the time, there were no other worlds connected, not enough customers, and no single world had even ten visitors yet," he explained. "Crucially, I never asked the question. The shop's system apparently intended to bring it up once a world hit the ten-customer milestone, since that would be 'very close' to the alternative."
Lucifer's eyebrow rose. "What a willful shop..." she muttered, then her eyes caught a flicker of movement. "Eh? Aoandon, did you want to say something?"
The silent, lantern-bearing woman had been listening intently. She thought for a moment, then spoke, her voice soft and clear. "Shakky, Rayleigh, Mihawk, Red-Haired Shanks, Zoro, Nami, the three Hancock sisters, plus Kizaru. That makes ten people from their world."
Ren shook his head. "Not quite. When Hancock and her sisters were first brought here, they were unconscious. They didn't dine, so they never left a review and weren't registered as customers. Today, only Hancock herself officially counts. Which means we're still four people short of the twelve-person requirement."
Lucifer processed this. "So if her two younger sisters come back and have a meal, that would bring the total to ten, right? In that case, we're not that far off. Getting two more should be simple enough."
"Perhaps," Ren conceded, "but there's also a matter of qualification. You can't just drag two random people off the street to make up the numbers. Who the shop recognizes as a 'customer' isn't up to me. It's like how Pikachu can visit, but he doesn't count as a customer."
Meanwhile, Hancock, despite trying to control her pace, had still eaten quite quickly. Staring down at her now-empty bowl, she sighed, and then a mortifying realization crashed down on her.
She had been in her palace, about to retire for the night, when the glowing door had appeared. In her haste, she had merely thrown on a robe before stepping through. She never imagined she would end up here! She hadn't brought any money!
In that instant, Hancock felt an overwhelming urge to dig a hole and bury herself in it. It was too shameful. How could she possibly look Ren in the eye and admit, 'Master Ren! This concubine has no money on her person!'?
Ren, ever observant, noticed her strange, frozen posture. He sighed. "Hancock, you've finished your meal. Why are you still here?"
"Uh... that... that is..." she stammered, her face flushing again.
"I can read it on your face," he said, his voice gentle. "You came over in a hurry, didn't you? Don't worry about it. The payment Rayleigh left last time is more than enough to cover your meal."
Hancock nodded mutely, her face a deep shade of red. The embarrassment was excruciating; she had made a fool of herself in front of him yet again!
As Hancock prepared to leave, she noticed Nami was still seated comfortably with no intention of moving. "Aren't you going back?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Nope," Nami replied breezily. "I'm still waiting for my crewmates to show up. Looks like it'll be a while. Besides, I'm not an empress with a kingdom to run..."
Hancock sighed, gritting her teeth. Damn it all, the rebellious urge to simply abdicate her throne and be done with it flashed through her mind again. But after a glance at her own hands, the hands of a ruler, she pushed the thought away and turned to leave.
As she reached the doorway, she paused, turning back reluctantly to shout, "Master Ren! This concubine shall return!"
"Mm, got it."
"Then... this concubine is leaving!"
"I'm really leaving now!"
"Uh... Goodbye..."
"I'm truly... Eh?! Who pushed me?! This concubine does not wish to leave yet!"
Just as Hancock was dawdling, drawing out her departure for as long as possible, Pandemonica let out an exasperated sigh. With a simple wave of her hand, an invisible force nudged the Pirate Empress forward, sending her stumbling through the portal. If Hancock wasn't going to leave on her own, she would simply have to be sent on her way.
Lucifer watched the door shimmer and close, a deep sigh of relief escaping her lips. "Pandemonica! Well done!"
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