I Sell Gacha Jars in One Piece

The system was crazy. Just like that, it had turned Crocodile into a woman.

Terrifying.

But honestly, you had to hand it to it. The newly transformed Crocodile was quite the sight, and she, yes, she now, seemed absolutely thrilled about it. After taking a moment to feel the changes running through her body, Crocodile was practically buzzing with excitement, running her hands across her face and fingers with barely contained joy. The Gender-Swap Pill had clearly exceeded every expectation.

"Thank you so much, Amon!"

After becoming a young woman, Crocodile's voice had softened considerably. It still took a moment to adjust, knowing full well who had been standing there just minutes before.

"Heh, don't mention it. Pursuing your true self is everyone's right! Oh, and by the way, I've already opened the jar for you. You still owe me that promise."

Amon hadn't forgotten what Crocodile had agreed to about dropping her plans against Alabasta.

"Relax. I'm not thinking about conquering the world anymore. All I want now is to live beautifully and freely!" She waved a hand with a bright smile. "I'll announce the dissolution of Baroque Works right away." Then she paused, just slightly bashful. "Oh, and don't call me Crocodile anymore. From now on, call me Crocodarny."

"Crocodarny?"

Well then.

She'd already sorted out a new name too.

...

Fujitora stroked the bamboo pole resting in his hand, his expression quiet and unreadable. "One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, turned into a woman. If word of this gets out, the whole sea would shake to its core."

No sooner had he finished than a streak of golden light gathered in the air, and from it materialized a tall man in a yellow pinstripe suit, his face carrying that signature languid, unhurried look as he landed before them.

Kizaru.

"Pff..." The moment his feet touched the ground, his eyes found Crocodile, and he couldn't hold it together. A laugh burst out of him before he had any chance of stopping it. And really, who could blame him? No one in the world could have imagined that the fearsome Desert King, once utterly ruthless and untameable, would become a pretty young woman seemingly overnight.

"Admiral Kizaru." Fujitora gave a respectful nod.

The arrival of a Marine Admiral sent an immediate ripple of panic through the members of Baroque Works. They operated under the banner of bounty hunters, but in truth, they were little more than a criminal syndicate, and seeing someone of Kizaru's rank show up sent imaginations racing in the worst directions.

Robin's eyes flickered with a trace of fear as well. She had witnessed what a Marine Admiral was capable of firsthand, having once come face to face with Aokiji. Now another one stood right in front of her, and the anxiety crept in before she could will it away.

"Oh my, if it isn't Mr. Amon. It really has been a while since I opened a Jar, hasn't it? My hand is feeling just a little itchy again..."

Kizaru turned away from laughing at Crocodile and settled his lazy gaze on Amon. He had been drawn over by the clash between the two, though by the time he arrived it was already finished. Standing here now, all he could think about was the jar Amon had opened for him back in the East Blue, and that book tucked inside it. The memory alone made his fingers restless.

The sight of it nearly made Robin's jaw drop entirely. A Marine Admiral, fawning over someone for the sake of a jar?

She thought back to that moment in the ruins, when Amon had offered to open one for her at a hundred thousand berries and she hadn't seized the chance. A small, tangled feeling stirred in her chest. Beyond that, she hadn't imagined Amon carried this kind of weight with people. Even an Admiral came to flatter him.

"Get lost."

"My jars are only ever sold to the same person once."

"And that expression of yours is genuinely asking for a beating."

Amon didn't quite know what it was about Kizaru's face, but every single time he saw it, the irritation arrived without delay.

"Well, I can't help the face my parents gave me," Kizaru replied.

"Forget the jar entirely. I'm not selling to you again. The only person here I'd consider is Miss Robin over there. Everyone else has already had their turn."

These people had all opened jars before. There was nothing left to gain from them. Robin was the only one who still counted.

"Miss Robin, would you be interested in opening one? Only a hundred thousand berries."

Amon shifted into a near-perfect impression of Kizaru's unhurried drawl as he said it.

"For me?" Robin hadn't expected the opportunity to land in her lap so suddenly. She had been quietly turning over how to even bring it up, and now, before she could form a single word, Amon was the one extending the offer. Something about that, small as it was, caught in her chest before she could brush it aside.

It was the first time in ten years that someone had done something kind for her without a motive attached.

For as long as she could remember, people had looked at her like something dangerous. Every person who heard her name treated her like a monster to be put down. Everyone who had ever stood beside her eventually sold her out for berries. For ten years she had run without stopping, never staying anywhere long enough to call it home. Even joining Baroque Works had been nothing more than Crocodile recognizing her ability to read the Poneglyphs and wanting to make use of her.

"Why would you sell to me?"

Even moved as she was, the question came out before she could stop it. She and Amon had barely crossed paths at all, just that one encounter at the ruins. Yet he had helped her deal with Fujitora at the Rain Dinners, and now he was offering her something a Marine Admiral would grovel for. It didn't add up. Years of betrayal had left her heart fragile in ways she didn't always notice, and she feared what she couldn't explain.

"Does there have to be a reason?"

"If you really need one, it's because you look a lot more tolerable than the annoying faces around me right now."

"Now stop stalling. Are you buying or not?"

Amon found the whole guarded look she was giving him equal parts frustrating and amusing. It was just a jar. Anyone watching from the outside would have thought he was up to something criminal.

"...Pft." Robin let out a surprised laugh despite herself. She hadn't expected an answer that simple. One glance at Kizaru's quietly wounded expression standing off to the side only made it worse. Something in the quiet walls she had maintained for years shifted, just slightly, without her quite realizing it. "Fine. You're a strange one. I'll buy one and see what comes of it."