The moment the small compartment opened, Lynn immediately retreated to Nami's side. The two suppressed their excitement and carefully observed the opening.
After waiting for a moment, they found there was no danger, so Lynn slowly stepped forward, and Nami immediately followed.
"Oi? Lynn, look, a small chest!" Nami pointed excitedly at the small box tucked away inside.
She was convinced it had to be treasure. Why else would it be placed in such a hidden spot?
Lynn didn't say anything. The moment he saw the chest, his heart started pounding wildly.
This looks way too much like a Devil Fruit chest. Is Nami seriously this lucky?
"Lynn, what's wrong? Is something up?" Nami looked at his stunned expression, confused.
"Ah? I'm fine, Nami. Let me grab the chest and check first." Lynn snapped out of his daze, suppressing the excitement in his heart.
"Yeah, Lynn, be careful. There might be a trap or some hidden mechanism." Nami looked at the chest warily.
Lynn heeded her warning and carefully lifted the chest. The moment he held it in his hands, something felt off.
It's empty.
"Nami, it seems like there's nothing inside." He immediately opened the chest.
Sure enough, it was empty.
"Why??"
"Dammit! I thought we found treasure, but I got excited for nothing!" Nami grumbled.
She pouted, feeling like she just lost billions of berries.
Even Lynn felt like he had been played.
Just now, he thought he had stumbled upon a Devil Fruit, but when he opened it—huh? Empty!
"Nami, let's keep searching. I refuse to believe that a kingdom this big has been completely looted!" Lynn said, determined.
"Mm!"
"Let's go, Lynn!" Nami agreed.
Even if the kingdom was destroyed, there had to be something valuable left behind!
With renewed confidence, the two resumed their treasure hunt.
Just as they were about to leave the study, Lynn suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Lynn?" Nami turned back to look at him. Why did he stop?
"Nami, don't you think that stone statue earlier was a little odd? It's way too heavy for something that small." Lynn turned to point at the statue in the study.
"Hmm? Maybe… it's just because it's made of stone?" Nami tilted her head.
Lynn shook his head. "If it were just stone, it wouldn't be this heavy. I think something's off. Let me take another look."
He stepped back into the study, heading toward the stone statue.
Curiosity sparked, Nami followed him.
Lynn crouched in front of the statue, inspecting it closely before picking it up.
"Nami, step back for a second. I'm gonna move it."
"Oh, oh…"
Nami quickly backed away from the narrow space.
Lynn carried the statue to the study table and set it down.
"The weight is definitely off. It's way heavier than a normal stone this size should be." Lynn clapped his hands, eyeing the statue carefully.
Nami circled around it but couldn't figure out what was strange.
Then, Lynn unsheathed his sword and lightly tapped the statue.
Ding ding ding…
The sound was oddly crisp, nothing like stone.
"Wait… could this be gold?" Lynn suddenly muttered.
"Gold? Really? This thing is made of gold?" Nami's eyes lit up at the word "gold."
"I can't be sure. Let me scrape it and check!" Lynn got an idea.
Using the back of his sword, he scraped the surface of the statue. As a layer of stone peeled away, a dark color was revealed.
"Doesn't seem like gold… looks more like iron. But this iron is way too dark." Lynn frowned.
"It's not gold?" Nami deflated instantly.
She just wanted to make some money—why was it so hard?
Lynn ignored her complaints, flipping the iron lump over and knocking on it again.
Boom boom boom…
"Hollow?" Lynn's eyes widened.
"Hollow? What do you mean?" Nami asked, confused.
"This statue is hollow! There might be something inside!" Lynn said confidently.
Nami's disappointment instantly turned into excitement.
"Quick, Lynn! Open it!" Nami urged impatiently.
Lynn carefully scraped away the stone layer at the bottom, exposing the dark iron underneath. He knocked again, and the hollow sound became clearer.
Lynn and Nami exchanged a glance, their faces lighting up with excitement.
They both had the same thought: There's treasure inside!
Lynn scraped away more of the stone layer, gradually revealing the dark iron beneath it. Soon, he found a hidden mechanism on the back.
A button.
Lynn was sure that pressing it would open the bottom.
"Lynn, Lynn! Let me press it!" Nami's hands trembled with excitement.
"Alright, go ahead." Lynn turned the iron lump to face her.
Nami stretched out her little finger, barely containing her excitement, and tapped the button.
Click!
The bottom had unlocked!
Lynn quickly flipped the iron lump over, revealing its underside. Just as he thought—there was only a thin iron sheet covering it!
Nami carefully lifted the sheet. The two of them looked at each other, then eagerly peered inside.
"…Why??"
"What is this? Where's my treasure?"
"Wuuu… Lynn, there's no treasure inside! Wuu…"
But Lynn wasn't disappointed. In fact, his hands trembled with excitement.
A Devil Fruit.
Inside the hollowed-out iron statue sat a Devil Fruit. No wonder the small chest was empty. It had been hidden inside this lump of iron all along!
"N-Nami… do you know… do you know what this is?" Lynn's voice shook as he carefully picked up the fruit.
Nami wiped her tears and looked at him in confusion. Why was he so worked up?
"Nami… this is the Devil Fruit I told you about! We're rich! This is real treasure!" Lynn exclaimed, gripping the fruit tightly.
"Eh???"
"A Devil Fruit? The kind worth at least 100 million berries?!"
Little Nami was so shocked she jumped on the spot!