In the end, Marcus finally let Luffy start eating the rotten flesh.
"Let's be clear, if it tastes wrong or makes you feel sick, spit it out imdiately. Got it?"
Luffy nodded, then cheerfully pulled a piece of rotten at from the box. He examined the clearly decomposed strips of flesh, his nose twitching as he sniffed them.
Surprisingly, there was no sll at all.
Without hesitation, he tossed the rotten at into his mouth.
He chewed thoughtfully, his expression growing more curious with each bite.
"How is it?"
"Tastes good... just no flavor," Luffy said, continuing to chew.
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
Then Luffy grabbed another piece and tossed it into his mouth. Clear, crisp cracking sounds filled the air as he bit down.
"This is..."
"The texture feels like crunchy bones," Luffy explained, his mouth still working nonstop.
Marcus scratched his head, then decided to try so himself. He picked up a piece of rotten flesh and ate it.
Sure enough, the texture was exactly like eating crispy cartilage. But the sensation reminded him of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. If you took away the spiciness, this would probably taste exactly the sa.
It really was like eating junk food, the very definition of junk...
After finishing, he felt satisfied for a while, but the "Hunger" debuff did appear in his status bar, just as expected.
Fortunately, it had a duration, about thirty minutes before it wore off.
At least it wasn't poisonous.
Still, he took out so milk as a precaution. Co to think of it, he hadn't yet tried drinking Minecraft milk in this world.
He sampled it... it tasted exactly like regular milk. But oddly, drinking an entire bucket didn't fill his stomach at all, nor did it seem to quench his thirst.
Seeing Luffy happily devouring piece after piece, the others grew curious and each asked for so to try.
The texture was genuinely nice, though that was about all you could say for it.
"If we could cook this into a proper dish, it might actually taste pretty good," Alvida comnted.
Without hesitation, she helped herself to more than thirty pieces from Marcus' storage chest, planning to snack on them throughout the day.
The others nodded in agreent, the texture really was satisfying, even if there was absolutely no flavor.
Marcus didn't bother restricting them anymore. If they enjoyed it, let them eat it. But he went into the kitchen, found so chili powder in the spice cabinet, and sprinkled it on a few pieces to experint.
It added so taste, but unfortunately not the right kind, nothing like the Flamin' Hot Cheetos he rembered. He sighed. If simply dumping spice on sothing were enough, anyone could make Cheetos at ho. There was a reason people kept buying the real thing.
Still, it made for a decent little snack.
---
For several days in a row, Usopp, Luffy, and the others spent most of their free ti fishing.
After all, Minecraft fishing was incredibly satisfying, cast your line, and you were guaranteed to get bites. The instant gratification was really addictive.
anwhile, Marcus handled the cleanup duty, collecting all the junk items and converting them into EMC.
It was during this routine that they finally arrived at the ocean-going restaurant Baratie.
Just like in the original story, they encountered a Marine warship. When Luffy bounced back a cannonball with his rubber powers, one unlucky shot flew straight into Zeff's private quarters.
For a mont, Marcus wondered if Luffy had done it on purpose.
But the story continued to follow the familiar pattern. Luffy was made to stay behind as a chore boy to work off the damage costs.
As for repairs? Marcus volunteered to help fix the destroyed room. Although the result was that the entire space beca perfectly square and blocky, very obviously Minecraft-styled, it was still completely functional and actually sturdier than before.
During this ti, Nami, Alvida, and Kira aboard their ship all enjoyed free als, naturally courtesy of Sanji, the cook who couldn't resist beautiful won.
Night fell over the restaurant.
Marcus stepped onto the deck of the Going rry, enjoying the cool sea breeze after the day's events.
At that mont, Nami was standing at the railing, gazing into the distance with a lancholy expression.
"What's wrong? You've been staring at the ocean since this afternoon," Marcus asked with a friendly smile.
Nami turned her head and saw Marcus looking completely calm and carefree, as if he didn't have a worry in the world.
"Why did you choose to beco a pirate?"
The sudden question caught Marcus off guard.
"Why do you ask that?"
"You're from so wealthy family... or maybe even nobility, right?"
Marcus looked utterly baffled. In both this world and on Earth, he'd always been just a regular person. So why did both Alvida and now Nami keep saying this about him?
Seeing Marcus' confused expression, as if she'd "seen through" so disguise, she continued, "I've encountered too many rich brats and young nobles during my years at sea. Your clumsy attempts to hide your background can't fool my eyes."
Marcus scratched his face. "What exactly makes you think I'm so rich kid or nobleman?"
"Your behavior, the way you speak, and that habit of bathing every single day. You're cleaner than most won I know."
"Huh?"
Seeing Marcus' continued bewildernt, Nami pointed toward the restaurant where Luffy was still working.
"Luffy, Usopp, Zoro... unless they really stink or get covered in filth, they basically never bathe. And most importantly, except when eating at off the bone, you always use cutlery. There are lots of little details like that."
"For example, even when your hands are already clean, you still wash them before eating. You rinse fruit with water before consuming it. You should understand, these aren't habits you can pick up overnight. They're the kind of behaviors you only develop if you've lived in a wealthy household or noble family since childhood."
She began listing observations like a detective presenting evidence, building a case for his supposed privileged background.
Marcus could only scratch his head helplessly. She wasn't wrong about the habits, but her conclusion was completely off base.
"And it's not just your daily habits. The way you speak, your knowledge base, even your literacy level, you're nothing like an ordinary person from these seas."
On this point, Marcus had to admit she had a point.
Ever since arriving in the One Piece world, he'd realized just how high the illiteracy rate was. Take Luffy, for example, he could recognize a few words, like his own na or the nas of various foods. But ask him to read through an entire newspaper?
Impossible.
As for mathematics, it was even worse. Luffy could manage basic addition and subtraction up to ten, but anything beyond that was completely beyond him.
Currently on their ship, only Marcus, Nami, and Kira could read properly and handle arithtic. Everyone else could get by in daily life, but that was about it.
Marcus wasn't surprised by this. In the One Piece world, widespread education simply wasn't a priority for most communities.
"Fine, you can say I co from money," Marcus finally admitted. After all, trying to explain why he had these habits and education levels would require starting with "I'm from another world," which was impossible to explain convincingly.
He had probably died from too much gaming. But at least no one could dig up his old search history, thanks to Opera GX.
"But I'm definitely not nobility."
"So now I'll answer your earlier question about why I'm staring at the sea. It's because I need money. Without money, I can't return to my holand. I can't escape from..."
She trailed off, letting out a deep sigh without finishing her sentence.
"If it's money you need, I can give it to you. How much do you need?" Marcus asked directly.
Before, he might have let things play out slowly according to the original story, waiting for Luffy to eventually solve Nami's problems and bring her fully into the crew.
But now, knowing that changing people's fates was how he gained experience points, this was a perfect opportunity to take initiative.
Nami turned her head, giving Marcus a strange look.
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